Ep. 1 – I Go Where I Want: It Just Happens to be Down the Street (continued)

I write the second part of the beginning of this blog on my lunch break, in the heat, just sitting close enough to an open door to feel the A/C blasting inside to the outside. Because Fuck You to energy efficiency.

Anyway, I knew that this whole coming out into the world after hiding from it my entire life was going to be hard. Of course being newly single, my friends immediately jumped on the idea of me joining a dating site. Because to them, being single means meaningless hook-ups. Wasn’t really what I had in mind. Not that I wasn’t open to meeting new people or going on dates, but I wanted it to be more than just a hook-up.  This is why it took a few months for me to really truly try and get out there, dating wise.

First was Tinder. Ladies, if you want a one-night stand/I don’t care situation, this is the site! Me personally, I used it to work on my flirting. I really had no intention of meeting a guy from there. I think the reason was deep down I thought I would still meet someone organically and in some small way I still think that.

Alright, I suck at flirting. Worst EVER! But man did I have fun trying. Honestly if I ended up pissing any of those guys off I just remind myself that not one of them was particularly nice, most were just plain creepy as fuck. Most dick pics sent to me per capita than any other site. Not a lie. Some samples of what I encountered:

Next was Plenty of Fish (PoF). I tried this one because my cousin told me it’s how she met her boyfriend at the time. There were some…nice guys I guess, but all were pretty much creepy in their own way and no one seemed to want to meet me. Why do guys act that way? Seriously, coming from a woman to the men out there, just act like yourself. Dating is already exhausting, let’s not play games too.

In the end I had heard through others that yet another dating application might hold the key, OkCupid.

In a drunken state one Saturday night at a friend’s house I created my profile on OkCupid. I was so beyond really caring at this point. The other sites had worn me down and I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to get out and meet a complete stranger somewhere. I found it depressing and I really believed that nothing was ever going to come out of making myself as appealing as possible on the interwebs.

I was asked on a date within a week of making that damn profile.

In total: I’ve met two guys on PoF and two guys on OkCupid and to this day I still only talk to and see one of them and he is quickly becoming my best friend and the man I dream about. (Sorry, went a little sweet and corny there…it happens)

Even though I did meet one person on one of those sites clearly this wasn’t the answer. I deleted Tinder and PoF (I keep OkCupid because of reasons) and I just decided to explore my new town.

It’s what I ultimately wanted to do. Meeting in person is so much more fun than through electronics. And even though I haven’t met anyone this way, I realized I didn’t have to go out of my way to meet someone or that I needed to meet anyone at all. I just needed to be me and step out my front door and walk down the street, my street.