But how many times will I have to tell some stranger my life story
Which gets longer and longer and longer the longer I live on this earth?
And how many times will I pretend I’m fascinated by the ordinary
Details of the lives of the strangers that I’ve encountered on my search?
Christine Lavin, “Blind Dating Fun”
Back at the beginning of December, I had a little personals ad contest; many of you participated by writing very creative and amusing “ads” for me. I am positive that my life would be infinitely more… unusual if I actually used one of your ads. 😉
As I mentioned in that post, one of the wonderfully unexpected side effects of my October surgery has been how much happier and grounded I’ve been feeling – better than I have for two or three years, actually. For much of that time, dating just sounded like too much effort; by December, it was starting to sound like it might be kind of fun. (Really! Shocking, I know. I swear I was off the heavy duty painkillers by then, too!)
But… I don’t actually meet any dateable people in my regular life. I’m a knitter, so my free time is spent hanging out with groups of women (you’re my pals and you’re cute and all, but…). I’ve worked at the same small company for nearly 12 years (not that I recommend poaching coworkers! No! Do not want!). So… on to the online personals.
I’ve done the online dating thing a time or two in the past and I have a few interesting stories (as does Juno). For some reason that escapes me now, the first time I did the online personals, I went on 25 or 30 coffee dates in six weeks. Shall we pause to contemplate the utter insanity?! Christine Lavin could easily have written “Online Dating Fun” instead of “Blind Dating Fun.” Out of all that craziness, I went on two second dates, one third date, no fourth dates, and finally took a break from the whole venture.
Then I dated a friend of a friend (that classic method of meeting) for a year or so. But really, once you’re out of your mid-30s, your friends tend not to have a lot of single friends anymore… at least not ones they can, in good conscience, introduce you to. So, back to the online personals – but that also coincided with the beginning of the waning energy and enthusiasm mentioned above.
Which brings us back to the present. I’ve been giving the online personals another shot, albeit on a much more restrained basis this time around – I’m aiming for quality over quantity. Wish me luck!
“Have you cleared this plan with us?! We do not approve of you having any more distractions.” -Mayhem
Ill or well, 5 dates a week would make me swear off dating for a while 😉
Can we see the ad?
I’m giggling at “in good conscience” 🙂
Good luck, but more– have fun!
Good luck!
I am eagerly awaiting results! I myself might actually come out of my dating hole once I’m back in the US. But then, I always say that about the next place I’m going to live….
Good luck this time around!
Good luck!! I hope the men in your area and on your dating sites are better than they are here 🙂
Woo! Have a great time!
Doesn’t look like the Kitty Counsel would pass approval anyway, so…
I have this hysterical mental picture of you out on a date and your cellphone won’t stop ringing because Chaos & May are calling you & texting (like those emailing cats in your comic) for things like tuna & RSM’s. hee hee.
Good luck! Whoever he is – he’ll have to pass the Chaos test (e.g. angry glare)
But you could get some extra pets, Mayhem…two more hands.
Good luck!
Marina – Maybe at some point when my profile isn’t up at that site. I’d hate to make it too easy for someone to find the blog by googling…
Good luck! And hey, if you do get a story or two along the way, you’ll share them, right?
Good luck!
Uh, you want to go on a date so you have to imprison the cats first?
Good luck! Online personals worked for me: my husband and I met via Match.com while I was living in Oregon and he was in Philadelphia. So that’s at least one happy ending! 🙂
But Mayhem – what if he were to fish, or work at a tuna factory, or grow organic catnip, or own a mystical toy mouse factory? Or better yet, play endless hours of fetch and have decent lap for you and a nice set of shoulders for mom?
Best of luck, Chris! Here’s hoping you meet your “Mr. Darcy” soon.
BTW, if you’re into motorcycles and wrestling, I have a still-single 40-something brother in the Mpls. area. 🙂
I am not suprised about your feeling better after the surgery, that is great! It also helps you feel better about yourself, which will help as well with the whole “love conquest”. The salon i had been working in had 2 single gals..one in her 20’s one in her 40’s. Us married gals got to live vicariously through them and the on line dating scene. We helped to weed out the flakers and fakers, actually even interrogating a few to be sure they were good people. The girls are still single but enjoying life and have made some good friends to hang out with, mr right is still just around the corner. Good luck Chris! Have fun!
Good luck dear! I’m positive you’ll find someone perfect for you.
I hope it works out for you, I was just talking to a male friend whose 50 and has 3 kittys, never been married and was telling him he ought to start a blog about his hiking group he leads everyweek and see if he could meet some women through that. He was feeling like it was too late for him to meet anyone, poor guy.
Good luck!
I have a ‘friend’ from an anonymous board, who lives in Minneapolis, is very into the live/alternative music scene and cycling. I keep thinking to myself that Chris and PLF should meet. But first, I have to get out there and meet each of you IRL. You’d either hit it off or hate each other.
Best of luck with it! And don’t worry May, I’m sure mom will only date someone who is willing to be a cat slave.
It made me glad to read that you are feeling lively and happy and centered. Everyone deserves that, but not everyone gets it.
Do share your dating stories with us if you want. The dating scene can be enjoyed vicariously.
here’s a couple of qualifier questions i’ve come up with…
Have you ever eaten a taco? [I went on a date once with a woman who had her first taco at age 32, I thought that was f’d up]
Do you have any webbed toes? [this would be handy if you have an emergency at sea]
Oh…YES, Mayhem, I feel your pain…My Mommie did this, too. She finally gave up on it, but has mentioned a time or two lately that it might be worth trying again.
There is ONE good thing about having another human around. If they like us, they play with us when Mommie’s knitting and sewing.
So perhaps it’s not such a bad thing – but don’t remind me of this if and when another human comes into my Mommie’s life and I’m grumping about it, okay?
>^..^<
Purrs to you and Chaos!
Yay dating! Yay entanglements! Yay us! 😉
Poor catchenal units.
Sea emergencies are always good date material. LOL
Good luck…make sure to find someone who doesn’t mind cleaning the litter box. 😉
Good luck, They will need kitty approval!!!
But May, additional persons also mean additional feeders. And people to play with the MGWT with you. So I’d suggest allowing the distraction, as long as he has kitty clearance. 🙂
Good luck!!
Good luck! Actually, it can work.
Chris- My daughter has a fridge magnet: Men are like public toilets, they’re either taken, or full of shit.
But I’m sure you already knew that.
Good luck with the dating adventure–just try to have fun and not take anyone too seriously…at least at first! I remarried five years ago at the age of 47, but the thought of dating again still sends a chill up my spine! But having said that, you note I did find someone great in my 40’s who didn’t run away because I had cats!!
But just remember, you WILL have to put up with a certain amount of acting out by the “kids” when you present them with an evil outsider who is vying for your attention! Either that, or they’ll rub on your date like shameless heathens and get hair all over the guy’s pant legs!
Of course, you DO realize that it will be ultimately up to Chaos and May as to exactly WHO gets to stick around! How do I know this, you might ask…my dearly departed kitty Bert peed on the lid of a plastic storage box that my now-husband left at my apartment for a while….luckily it was a rubber-lid box!! And Bert loved him—imagine what he would have done if he didn’t! LOL!
BTW, I haven’t noticed any more mention of the evil upstairs neighbor….hope all has been resolved for you!
Wishing you happiness in your new adventure! Or at least good stories to tell later….
Maybe you should let Chaos and Mayhem help you select men. Hmm, but then you may just wind up with only fishermen and catnip farmers. Okay, maybe not such a great idea….
Good luck!
As long as you don’t give up blogging for online dating 🙂
Good luck!
Seriously, pay attention to Chaos and May’s reactions! They read the vibes WAY better than we do. And men are not all taken or full of …. Anyway, I got into the dating pool at age 40 and met my most wonderful husband. Could not have turned out better. It does happen. It can happen. You deserve it.
You’re a braver woman than I, and I wish you all the luck in the world!
Well, considering I met the ex online, I have to say that I’m a little down on the matter. On the other hand, if no other options are forthcoming and you approach it with a not too serious attitude, it can be an interesting time-waster, if nothing else.
Good luck and hope the kitties don’t eat any of your dates 😉
It’s so good you feel so much better after your surgery. 🙂 I hope you have some fun and success with the online dating thing. Hey I met Rick online. I wasn’t really looking for anyone at the time but we hit it off and the rest is history. Nell, the cat I had before Katie, even peed in his shoes several times at first but they ended up becoming good buddies.
Wow. I wish you all the luck in the world. I actually have quite a few married friends who met their spouses on line. You never know!
Oh, good luck! I hope you find someone who Chaos can put up with!
PS. Why is Mayhem in jail?
I TOL’ you you’d wonder why you hadn’t had the surgery earlier! 🙂 However…remember, you have a Jewish Bubbeh in Wisconsin, two (always discerning) cats and a whole PASSEL of knitterly friends here to run these gents past. (*I*, for one, can barely imagine a Worthy Lad, but that’s just me.) Remember this: there’s no RUSH. I was twice divorced and decided I liked myself better than anyone else anyway….and along came Mr Dearling. I honestly would’ve been perfectly happy with Me, Myself and I; but he’s an enhancement of that. The huge advantage of being past the Age of Silliness is that you recognize “quality”, and are not desperate. The further away the 1950s get the healthier it is for we women, I think.
Good luck with the online dating. At least with the ads you received, you have some variety if you try various services. That was a good idea to have others help write an ad. When I was in the market and thought about trying an online dating service, I never got past my ad.
LOL! I remember the number of dates you went on a month–AMAZING. Plus, your comment about the friends not having someone single they could, in good conscience, introduce you to is hysterical. At the beginning of the sentence, I started going through my friends and by the end of the sentence I just gave a knowing nod. A male friend of a female friend is on the dating scene–an LJ friend of mine (who I’ve never met in person), and he seems perfectly fine; however, he is in Chicagoland.
Mostly, I’m so glad you are feeling better post surgery. That is wonderful news.
how fabulous! (you brave thing you!!)
perhaps you can bring along your camera and snap a photo of each new date, and tell them… “it’s for my blog, you know… I have this bunch of wild knitting friends who will have to approve, so you might as well get used to this..”
then again, maybe not.
Best of luck! : )