Cupid Is A Horrible Closet Nerd

With most of my time being spent at work, I've found myself with not much time to go out and socialize. And even when I do get to socialize, it's with people in the neighboring stores at work. Whether it's being seen as the creepy neighbor, the fun guy across the hall, the funny new guy, Tropical Skittles (co-worker sorta called me that once), or just another face in the crowd, I'm still left with little time to actually try and make friends.

Just like the Doctor, I'm always better off with a companion.

And with my friend situation being an uphill struggle, one can imagine how much more struggle is going into the quest for a companion. Normally, my best approach is to just meet someone and find out if there's anything through a casual conversation. There's a few things I notice upon this initial time: facial gestures, comments regarding possible boyfriends (I try to fish for this info so I don't do anything I would regret), how much the conversation lasts, and other sorts of blah blah blah. In short, I pay attention to a few key signs that indicate whether we would get along and if she's single. If not, I finish the chat and kindly take my leave. Or I make a friend. Either way.

But with my current situation, I was once again tempted to try online dating. Now, it's been about 7 years since I last tried this system. With such a large gap of time, I can imagine how much it's improved and how effective it is now. But there's still that level of distrust. Why? My previous experience wasn't that good. I was a freshman in college and I was trying new things (nothing morally wrong or illegal) and one of them was giving dating a shot. I met someone through i dont remember the site dot com (lame attempt at pun? Yes!), and we seemed to be a good fit. But there was one problem. She kept canceling my attempts to meet.

Let's get a Fish Fillet at 6pm.

So of course, I got suspicious. Was she a man? Was she playing a cruel prank on me? Was one of my friends playing a crueler prank on me? Was she a robot? Was she still in high school and shy to date a college guy? Was I really talking to an old lady's cat who somehow learned to type? These were all considerable scenarios that ran through my head. And no matter which angle I tried, she would keep bringing up excuses. I was just a gullible kid at the time, so I just let it pass. However, my patience eventually ran thin and I confronted her.

She was so unsure about the real her, that she used a picture of her cousin instead. The personality was still her, but the fact that she lied to me like that really ruined it for me. Ever since that moment, I have shut down the possibility of online dating. Of course, that same year I would be introduced to a girl at a friend's party (didn't go well), then go off to have a few more experiences in the dating world. However, now that this option is once again presenting itself, I'm both willing and skeptical.

Online dating is like buying fish at the store? I need help.

And even though I don't lose anything by trying it, I got a little part of my ego telling me not to. And it's not because dating sites are for losers or anything (because it isn't), but because I don't wanna run into these kinds of facades again. But given the little time I actually have for socializing due to work, I wonder if it might be the right thing to do.

It's kind of like when you want a pet fish. You can either spend ages at a lake or river trying to get the right one, or you can just go to a pet shop and save yourself the time. Did I just compare online dating to a pet shop? Something is seriously wrong in my head.

Oh well, I guess I got nothing else to do but try it again. At most, it helps me meet new people.

Here we go!