Were you dateless in high school too?

Hey hey, everybody! So, after a couple of suggestions, I've decided I'll put what I've learned and experienced in the dating world down on what is well-known as "the Interwebs". Keep in mind this is primarily from using OKCupid, apart from a couple of real-life blind dates. I'm going to try to do it in sections, one guy at a time per entry; or multiple people per entry if the dates consisted of ONE meeting. Details will include what I thought we had in common, what we did on that date, and why it didn't work.
Special Features include:
-ANALYZING OF THE GOOD OL' QUESTION 'WHY WAS I WITH HIM'!
-WHAT I'VE LEARNED FROM EACH PERSON, EITHER ABOUT MYSELF OR DATING IN GENERAL!
-ADVENTURES IN TRYING OUT DATING SITES!
-And perhaps most useful to everybody out there, HOW TO SPOT A WEIRDO ONLINE!

After I get through these, or depending on demand and questions/suggestions you may have, I will write on other important topics. But...here goes:


Growing up, I didn't date at all. There was a cute guy I liked all throughout middle school and high school, and we flirted, A LOT, but the most we ever did was slow-dance. He was a victim of the clique culture, whereas I couldn't care less (i.e. he was a popular kid, was awesome when he was on his own, but with his friends was a total douche. Such are high school boys.) Then there was a guy friend I liked...and you know how that goes. TERRIBLY.

Come college, and I started finally coming out of my shell. Frat parties weren't my scene, and the club culture was still a couple years away both in legality and maturity. Started to make a circle of friends the end of my first semester, and developed a crush on one of the guys. Again...disaster. Right when I finally had the courage to ask him out, he started going out with another gal - with whom he had NOTHING in common in terms of reference points - and would always invite me along on their "dates". We'd start singing in the middle of dinner (always Cole Porter songs), and "girlfriend" would, guaranteed, exasperatedly ask "WHAT ARE YOU SINGING?!" They broke up within a couple of weeks, but by that point I'd already determined that he was too moody for me to deal with in a relationship.

Nobody caught my eye, despite going out more than ever around town and keeping my eyes peeled on campus. Senior year of college arrived, and suddenly on my 22nd birthday, I snapped and broke down my personal bias against online dating. I knew some people my age for whom it had been successful, but otherwise I felt that it was a "last resort": something only the desperate, middle-aged, or obscenely busy would use. Not knowing where to start, and not wanting to immediately use sites where you need to pay, there was an ad for PlentyOfFish on Facebook. (Make your own joke about taking advice from Facebook.) I was overwhelmed by the amount of guys within my age range and distance, and immediately was messaged by a good number of them. Flattered, I started talking...and quickly realized I needed to weed out the losers and creeps. The "hey your hot" [direct quote] and "what up" IMs get annoying fast. Continually editing my profile helped, and I eventually garnered a date with a 25-year-old teacher. "Awesome", I thought: he has a good job, is cute, is nearby, we have similar opinions; let's see how this goes.  He suggested meeting at a cafe on the Ben Franklin Parkway, so that was something different than I was expecting. Day of the date: we meet in late afternoon, I see he's already there, and is EXTREMELY tall. Problem, as I'm rather petite. Doesn't matter though as we're sitting down. We start talking, and immediately it becomes obvious that we don't have enough to talk about, as we are in totally different lifestyles: me finishing college, no "regular" job lined up apart from working on weekends, artsy, open-minded - him: teacher, rigid schedule, life already figured out...not including that we didn't have the same points of reference.

In conclusion: he asked me out, that was the only reason we met up. The first person I started to talk to online, so there's a first time for everything. Learned that I REALLY need to have a conversation with someone before agreeing to meet up in person, as otherwise it's just awkward and a waste of time.

NEXT TIME: Starting to use OKCupid; compatibility problems; the beginning of something good (albeit brief...)

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Care to share a similar experience?