Fisherwoman

I broke down about a week ago and posted a profile on a popular, free online dating site. I hadn't even looked at the site in about six or seven years, but remembered that when I was on it last, there were about 30 men in the entire city that were registered (outlying suburban areas included). I thought it was strange when a friend told me recently about her experiences on the site and how she was meeting people. I don't know why it didn't occur to me that more than 30 people had joined in the past seven years.

It was a weird experience at first, viewing the different profiles and knowing that I could just e-mail them and they could e-mail me back without paying a cent. It was daunting, really. You mean, I actually have a chance to meet all of the guys I'm interested in???

In short, I can't keep up with the mail I am getting. I thought for sure that my matter-of-fact profile would scare a lot of people away but it's not turning out to be the case. Either they are intrigued by me, or they just haven't read what I wrote. (Oh, and since you're probably wondering, I said in my profile that a) any guy that contacts me should have a picture, but if it's a picture with a blurred out face of an ex-girlfriend, then don't bother. Verbatim, "If that's the only picture you have of yourself, then you're obviously not over her." B) Any guy that contacts me should do so in full and complete sentences. I ended with something like, "I realize I sound harsh, but I know that these two things are important to me. Why pretend like they're not just for the sake of meeting someone?").

I have a coffee date on Monday with a photographer/graphic designer. And I have another coffee date in a couple of weeks with an academic type who isn't actually my type, but I thought it would be an interesting conversation. I'm expecting a phone call this weekend from another guy, a teacher, who I've exchanged a number of amusing emails with. And I'll probably have another coffee date with a guy who is in the film industry doing special effects. And that's not all of the real potentials. And it's been week!

What the heck was I doing, paying for a chance at love???