Signing Up

I signed up. I signed up online to go into the dating world. How safe is that? I feel very safe, safe enough to stare at profiles and photos, triage out certain guys and then write to others. Or just walk away from the computer. This type of dating works for me. So far.

The actual signing up took a long time. I had to fill out all kinds of questions about myself, my wants, my personality, my dislikes, my 'must haves' and so on. There were times during this process when I felt like I didn't know myself at all. What do I like to do on a Saturday night? Choose A, B, B, or D. A: Go to the theater B: Go to a professional sporting event, C: Stay in and have a nice dinner with friends or D: watch TV or rent a movie for a romantic evening. Well, it depends on how I feel. I like all of the choices. Some days I'd prefer one over another. But some evenings I'm tired. Some evenings I'm feeling adventurous. It all depends.

And then I lied about my age. Wow! That's not like me. I even tell my students how old I am. But this time I got chicken. I contacted my online-dating maven friend. She fibs about her age by two years. I fibbed by five. I told her; she was skeptical. Five was too much. A week later I decided I wanted to change the age and be honest. Apparently the site doesn't allow for that kind of a change. So, I am still on there five years younger than I really am.

What is the number one quality I look for in a mate? How do I answer that? I used to think it was intelligence. Then I thought it was a good sense of humor. When I got together with my college roommate last fall, our conversation helped me realize that all my college boyfriends were cute. That is a hidden deal-breaker for me. They have to be decent looking. Then I thought maybe it was honesty. Then integrity. What's the truth? The truth is that it's a combination of many things. But I did put down that I would date absolutely no gamblers.

But before I could be activated on the website, I had to post some pictures of myself. I had a difficult time finding pictures of me alone. I came up with three. I posted them. The one that pops up as my profile is okay but I don't have any make-up on. It's what gives them their first impression. I must find better!