Online Dating

Have you ever tried online dating? I have. No luck. I've tried Plenty of Fish and eHarmony most recently. POF is free, and eHarmony is free for the next few days. Yup, I only try the free ones. I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment so paying a monthly fee to have men drool over my pictures isn't a worth while investment at this point in my life.

POF was weird. There a bunch of young guys lacking ambition on there. eHarmony is free, but you can't see the pictures of your matches unless you upgrade. I've chatted with a few faceless strangers, but I'm old school. I'd rather meet a guy in person, hear his voice, see his smile, feel his energy. I'm not against dating online, it's just not my thing. Surely once this free trial is over on eHarmony me and my profile will vanish.

I did a team project in my Entrepreneurship class last semester. We started a new business venture together. It was an on campus dating service. While researching our business market and industry, I learned about the ins and outs of the major online dating sites. eHarmony and match.com are the two largest online dating companies. They're generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from lonely men and women seeking companionship.

The difference between those two companies and their competitors is that these two sites are geared towards people desperately wanting to be married. Most of the serious relationship seekers use these two sites, and many find their matches and get married. The secret to their success is the compatibility tests and questionnaires that the subscribers must complete. These tests are formulated scientifically by experts to match people as closely as possible to the exact person they are looking for.

Unlike Tinder where you swipe someone away if you don't find that person attractive, eHarmony and match.com go deeper into a person's characteristics, personality traits, and "makes and breaks." These sites are not for designed for "hooking up" with the nearest single person within 100 feet of you. Kudos to these companies for truly wanting people to find their soul mates and fall in love. That's a good thing.

Ah well. I'm not interested at the moment. I don't like online dating because people lie so much online. They put up their best photos, give their best proper answers, and "estimate" their height and weight. Words can be tricky. An organizational and sanitation specialist can be a glorified phrase for a janitor. A person can click the $100,000 salary box and be unemployed living with his or her parents. Online dating is too misleading for me.

Then it gets all weird when you've been exchanging questions and messages with a person whom you've already developed your own perception of, then you talk on the phone and they are completely different from your image. Then you meet in person and it's even worse. Of the few guys I actually met in person or talked on the phone to I haven't remained in contact with any of them. Either they were too strange on the phone or in person, or because they thought the same about me LOL! I'll stick with the traditional old fashioned way of dating.

Here's a perfect scenario for me meeting a guy the conventional way. (This has always been a little fantasy of mine hehehehe...)

I'm at a local bowling alley with my girls, eating, drinking cocktails and having a fun girls night out. A few lanes down, there are a group of guys eating, drinking beers, and having a guys night out. I'm silly, so every time I get a strike I do a funny dance. One of the guys sees me and says something like "Get it girl, I see you!" We all laugh and keep having fun. The same guy keeps looking over at me but he doesn't approach me so I pay him no mind. The night continues and my girls and I get ready to leave. As I get into my girlfriends car, the guy runs out and says something like "Excuse me miss."

We all look towards him, and we play like we don't know who he is talking to. So he starts doing the dance I was doing when I got my strikes. We all burst out laughing, and I get out the car and lean my arms on the car roof.

Me: Oh you got jokes huh?

Him: Yes ma'am. And you got moves!

Me: Well thank you, you know I dab a little bit. I can't whip but I can Nae Nae!

Both: Laughter

Him: So what's your name?

Me: Ramona, what's yours?

Him: Mike. Nice to meet you Ramona. I like that name. Is it your birthday Ramona? And Do people call you Mo or Mona?

Me: Nice to meet you too Mike. Yes people call me either. Or Ladybug. And no it's not my birthday, just hanging out with my girls.

Mike: Oh ok. I see y'all had a good time. Well, I'm not going to take up too much of your time, I see we have a little audience. Hey ladies!

Ladies: Laugh and wave

Mike: Do you mind if I give you my number? Maybe we can meet back here next week and you can show me some more of your moves?

Me: Sure, what is it? I'll text you mine. And these moves are my own, patented and trademarked. But maybe I can show you how to strike like me.

Mike: HAHA! Oh ok. Well my number is 555-5555. Text me Ladybug.

Me: Ok, I'm texting you now. Y'all be safe, talk to you soon.

Mike: You too, bet. Bye ladies!

Ladies: Bye Mike!

Hey, can you blame a girl for dreaming?? That would be so cute and perfect. Yea, I'll stick to the old fashioned way. Keep your phone friends and laptop lovers. I like my men tall, dark, and in person!