Giants and Hobbits: SingleGirl in the Land of Internet Dating

Giants and Hobbits
SingleGirl in the Land of Internet Dating

I signed up for okcupid months ago, and I've been carrying on a few conversation threads since well before the trip to Las Vegas. I'd had a few invitations for coffee, beers, etc. and when I got back, I decided that it was time to take the plunge and broaden my dating horizons.

Let me start by saying that my okcupid profile pretty much announces in flashy neon letters that I am a total geek! I actually made a joke of turning one of the religious tech debates (think "Apple vs. PC" but nerdier) into an okcupid personality match question and posting it in my profile. I have since had a swarm of messages from people who feel the need to weigh in on the debate.

The first guy I went out with introduced himself as follows:

Ah, your profile is a lovely little oasis of sanity on a site full of pretentious, self obsessed gym slaves and quasi intellectual emos apparently surviving on a combination of anxiety, daddy issues and non fat yogurt. Stumbling upon your profile made me gaine a little hope for humanity again. Ok, that might have been too strong. I?ll rephrase it: Misanthropy: -5 

No, seriously.. What a refreshing read! A smart, funny, nerdy girl with excellent taste in film, literature, loves traveling and lives in the same city.. Even good taste in beer.. Jeez. Tell me you love SCUBAdiving and I?m inclined to call shenanigans. Also, it doesn?t hurt that you are cute, after all I AM a guy and I?m not dead. (Hey.. At least I?m honest   

This led to an astonishingly humorous message thread, and we eventually agreed to meet at a local pub to explore their collection of unusual beers.

My first impression upon meeting him in person, was "OMG! He's tall!" I knew this going in, since his height is listed in his profile, but everyone here is tall. However, 6'4"/193cm seemed a lot taller in person than I was expecting. At 5'3"/161cm, I felt like I was looking at his kneecaps when we were both standing.

My other gut reaction was that he was much better-looking than he was in his profile photo. When does that happen? I had decided to go out with him mostly because our written dialog had been so amusing, and I just figured, "Why not?" However, I still wasn't thinking "OMG, cute guy!!!"

The beers we chose turned out to be unique and interesting, and he turned out to be unique and interesting. e.g. He actually spent some time in the US training with NASA to possibly go into space. In the end, though, there just weren't any sparks on either side. The next day our world exploded (literally), so instead of the typical "Nice to meet you" SMS, I got an "I hope you're okay" message, which I was grateful for. It would be too surreal to go on a first date and have the person die in a terrorist attack the next day.

The city was suddenly a different place, so it would be a few weeks before I resumed any of the previous conversation threads.

I decided that for the second round, I would choose someone I found to be better looking.

Unique and interesting profile.. intriguing favorites.. cute smile.. can.. not.. resist.. must.. send.. message.. 

and so was the first message by [ScreenName] sent through the gateways of OK Cupid. To be interpreted by a person, probably with an eyebrow raised, and make her realize what a mistake she had done creating her profile. 

The message read: Hello World!

(The last line is a geek joke. It made me chuckle.)

He suggested that we plan a picnic on a sunny evening and then go to a local arcade-themed bar known for its large assortment of classic pinball machines. (See, I told you that I'm a nerd) I thought this sounded like a fantastic plan, so I was really looking forward to it.

And then I fell sick. Really sick. Almost going to the hospital, lying on the sofa with a fever sick. I sent a text message apologizing that I would have to cancel, and the reply was a cute and clever, "I'll note down 'unwilling to suffer through pain to see me' on your scorecard. It's serious but won't disqualify you totally. Get better and we'll make a new plan. "

We did make a new plan for the next week. And then he fell sick! (With almost exactly the same symptoms, so I think there's something going around.) He was starting to recover by the time our rescheduled date arrived, but he still wasn't great. "It's not that bad, but it could impact my ability to awe and impress. And a picnic without being able to eat well would be a sad picnic."

Eventually both of us were well, and we found a day with a good weather prediction to have our picnic. This time my first impression was "OMG, he's short. Really short." Again, I knew this going in, and I was mentally preparing for it (after all, TC isn't all that tall, so heels put me close to even with him), but his claimed 5'6"/170cm actually seemed like a slight exaggeration! I'm rarely taller than anyone, even girls, and I often feel a little uncomfortable when I am, because I'm not at all used to it. It seemed like we were pretty much the same height. Add to the fact that his (fairly-common-around-here) name sounds like one of the hobbits, and you end up with a mental hang-up.

As for his appearance, this time he wasn't as attractive as his photo. He looks older in his photos (I generally like slightly older men, and a bit of grey is sexy in my book). In reality, he kept reminding me of Draco Malfoy.

The picnic was actually a lot of fun, and the conversation flowed easily. We ended up going to the arcade bar after all, and after a few games of pinball we had a few amusingly competitive games of shuffleboard. There weren't many sparks on my side, but he seemed interested until the last moment when he left rather quickly. I kind of wrote him off and wondered what happened, but he sent me an email a few days ago suggesting that we hang out again. We'll see. If I can get over thinking of him as a young Draco Malfoy...

In other news: HG has started whining whenever a few days pass without me contacting him. This is terribly annoying, and he keeps assuming the worst (that I don't want to see him again, and am running off with TC). All this in spite of the fact that I've already booked two trips to see him before the end of the year. *sigh* As for TC, he's been busy with his work, and my communication with him has been very platonic and infrequent. Perhaps this is why he sent me a overtly suggestive message this morning. *eye roll*

SingleGirl has been drowning in work lately and is starting to wonder what she's gotten herself into. She apologizes for the lack of frequent and juicy updates, but she's been more focused on work and travel than on dating.