First things first - you may have noticed I've updated my profile here on blogger... No? You didn't notice, eh? Well, go check it out. I'll wait.
Right, so there's e-mail there now, as well as a link to my other blog. Letters, Rants, and Raves contains pretty much everything I babble about aside from the Normal Girls and Bitterness series. I have placed a "parental advisory"-type label on it, because quite frankly sometimes I have a potty mouth and/or delve into subjects I perhaps shouldn't. And the e-mail, well... What can I say? I'm on the computer all day for work, and check my e-mail when I'm bored - which is often. So any questions, concerns, harassments, etc, about either blog can be left either as a comment - which will have to be approved by yours truly prior to being shown as public - or via e-mail.
Moving right along...
Week Nine
9.1 - 9.2 Okay, was away for four days, from Friday until Tuesday (in effect). Hence the early posting last week. Three matches in that time - none of whom I've checked out yet. Just got in to work for the week and am struggling to keep my eyes open. Remind me, in the future, to take a half day off after eight hours of traveling. Mmmmk? Mmmk.
A few things occurred to me whilst away: Number one - goodness, this whole idea of finding a match is exhausting. I think I had it right a few years ago when I put other people in charge of my lovelife. Sure, there was no action then either, but at least the potential was a bit higher. I am not any more "unique" than anyone else, but perhaps my heightened level of quirkiness (read: weirdness and ridiculosity) is a strike against me in the scientific-matching world.
This leads directly into Number two: are there any built-in filters for wild cards, I wonder, with this current service? Here we have someone (ehm... me) who is in her mid-to-late twenties, who occasionally acts like she's three years old, and occasionally acts like she's one hundred and three years old. Someone who doesn't "get" romance - not entirely averse to the idea, but it's not really something I have a whole heck of a lot of experience with. Is my life any worse off because of that? I don't think so, but at the same time, you can't possibly know what you've been missing until you experience it, right?
Oh dear, but I sincerely hope this doesn't start to become a dating version of Flowers for Algernon... *awkward face*
My point is that I know that I am not the only person in the world like this. There are probably about 3 billion other people like me, and I am curious as to whether or not the service is able to determine the best matches for us...
And Number three: Bah. Okay, number three is mainly brought about by the number of romcoms I've watched lately. I understand the whole point of a romcom is that warm, fuzzy feeling, but the flicks I've seen the last little while really hit below the belt, because the main characters were even more - it seemed to me, anyways - diametrically opposed than usual. Sure, opposites attract blah blah blah, but not to that extent. I am one of those nerds who honestly gets a kick out of people around me - either friends and family or complete strangers - being genuinely happy. It makes my day, even if I don't know the person. (the exponential growth of happiness, which is a long blurb already posted on my other blog Letters, Rants, and Raves)
So.... what? My best match would be someone who thrives on anger and hurt? Someone whose happiness is dependent on the amount of dismay around them? Ugh. Methinks not. I'd have to smack them about the face with a wet noodle on a regular basis. I was a teenager once, and I did the angsty "oh woe is me, the world is out to get me, no one understands me" thing. I don't get on well with people who think the fates have aligned to malign them.
So sending me a match who states: "I'm not interested in someone who cheats or lies or disrespects me. If you are a liar, don't bother. As long as you don't cheat, we'll get along fine" saddens me. It's upsetting that this person has been so hurt by previous relationships that they're preparing for the worst even before anything starts. I'm also not interested in someone who cheats or lies or disprespects myself or others - I don't know anyone who is interested in that sort of relationship... But it's not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of what I would say to any potential matches.
Okay, so finally (after work) got a chance to check my matches.
One in my town - a photographer, so you know I had to open communication. But no photos.
One in a nearby town - we'll see. Nothing jumping out at me there other than atrocious spelling. But I'm trying to get past it.
One in another country - closed. No interest in moving to Idaho, thanks.
9.3 No matches... No communications. Will check after work if there are any new closed matches.
But I found out today that my nephew - who, in three weeks, will be thirteen - has a date to his school Halloween dance. Not only does it make me feel impossibly ancient that he's old enough to have a date, but c'mon! Really?!? Someone, somewhere, is having a laugh at my expense.
I think maybe I'll take up knitting this weekend, get a head start on my afghan for the rocker on the porch. I may be that person earlier than I had expected...
HA! Forced a match. ... Nothing exciting, though. No info, no photos, no excitement.
Bah.
9.3.1 Soulmates and all that jazz... Something that is asked a fair amount - uhm, in online surveys... the type you fill out and spam your friends with... not that I ever do these... *cough* - is whether or not you believe in soulmates.
I do. Do I believe in the Hollywood-ized version of boy meets girl, boy and girl can't breathe without being with each other, boy and girl overcome ridiculous amounts of adversity just to experience the beauty of being together? (See also: boy meets boy, girl meets girl, etc) Sure. I don't think it's for everyone, though. I don't think there are enough Cinderella stories to go around.
I do, however, believe that everyone - every single person on the planet - meets people that are integral to our development or evolution. Those friends who just felt like home right away. The enemies (or what have you) who instantly caused your hackles to raise. The people who act as a river that takes you from one place to another - that are absolutely imperative to your existence, but that don't necessarily hang around in your mind after the fact.
I think everyone you meet changes you, but we rarely acknowledge the change. But sometimes, every now and then, something clicks - and whether we are brave enough to tackle the opportunity doesn't really matter. The tide comes in and goes out without any acknowledgement, right? We don't have to stand there and say "Mmmk. Go now." lest the beaches be constantly flooded.
Some people are a force of nature all on their very own.
Am I holding my breath to meet someone like that online? Nah. But a little glimmer of a tidal wave would be alright. A little motion in the ocean...? *winces* Sorry, but I had to.
9.4 One match that wasn't the match I forced last night. On the young side of my preferred age range, but still within it. Once again, hardly anything on his profile, and no photos.
No new communications, no new closed matches, no new nothin. I had thought that Acerbity was a bit of a bigger place, but it would appear we are chugging right along. I'm not entirely sure, at this point, if this train does go all the way to Bitterness - right now we're heading through the county of Self-Review. There's really no way of knowing which direction we'll head - either towards Bitterness or circling back to Complacence where it all began.
Well, Complacence with a side order of knitting, old-school Alanis Morissette, and sitting on the porch rocker with a blanket and a couple dozen cats...
But at least I'll be a content spinster.
9.5 No matches which is fine with me. I've got a devil of a cold. I'm going to go curl up on the couch and die for a few hours.
9.6 Two matches, one of whom is within my province. He is 36, an investment advisor, and wants to find someone who finds the positive in life and enjoys having fun.
Hrm. Also, quite attractive. Communication requested.
Still sick.
9.7 No new matches and no new communications.
On the plus side - no new closures... Sad that the only "good" news is the lack of "bad" news. Then again, it is the weekend, and perhaps the new gentlemen from yesterday just haven't checked their accounts yet...
