Anonymous
I wasn't going to do it.
When I became suddenly single after the demise of a relationship I found last year on eHarmony, I decided that I would go organic for a while - see what's out there, like they did in the olden days before you could shop for men as easily as you can shop for lamps on amazon.com.
Of course, those of us who have participated in the online dating game/fiasco know it's not exactly that easy. There are tiresome pitches from grossly underqualified candidates to seed through. The kind that when they pop up on your screen, you want to de-bug your whole computer and wash your hands. The good ones? They seem to be already engaged, or perhaps they just find my "wink" less than appealing.
And then there's the hassle of creating a new profile, where every word you write could be analyzed in a way you never imagined, leaving a potential suiter with a bad taste in his mouth before you've even met.
So once the pain of the breakup started to feel a little less stark, I opened my eyes to what was around me. Sadly, I saw nothing but exs to be recycled and otherwise bad ideas, like sub-par co-workers, or friends of friends with whom I could be fixed up... but the only thing we had in common was that we were both hoping to be fixed up.
It's not that I'm desperate for a man. I love to be alone. I have plenty of friends and male companions who would be happy to fulfill most of my needs.
But I was bored. I thought of all of my friends in unsatisfying relationships who would love to "see what else is out there". I thought of myself in 20 years, wondering if I had done enough research in the field. I'd say I thought of a potential future child, glad I "winked" at Daddy so many years ago... but that's a little heavy for this stage in the game.
The bottom line is: you never know. And my line is going back in the water to see what I can catch.