Online Dating at 36 - The Good, the Bad, & WTH?

I've been back on Match now about a week, give or take a few days. Things started off as they normally do: a creeper or two who "wink" at me every chance they get somehow knew I was back on and "winked" at me again; I read through dozens of profiles with grammatical errors and misspellings and exclamation point abuse (ironic since almost every guy says they are "laid back"); I marveled at how a gentleman easily 60+ pounds overweight considers his body type to be "about average" (just try doing that as a woman. Double-standard, anyone?). I was reminded that even though a guy may "wink" and "favorite" you, he will not necessarily reply to an email. And I started chatting with a guy which proceeded to texting and then to setting up a date. Initially, the date request came a week ago on Sunday. We had just started texting, and I said it was "wine o'clock". He said, "Don't drink alone! Meet me somewhere

I rejoined Match again today. I mean, why not? I'm ready to move on, meet new people. So, I updated and reactivated my profile and here we are. Online dating isn't for everyone. My success with Match has been hit and miss -- granted, more miss than hit, but it would be that way no matter what site I'm on. Otherwise, where else am I going to meet a potential date? I'm not a club/bar kind of girl, so my other options are basically work and church. Church. When you are a church employee, dating your members isn't exactly encouraged. That is, presuming there is anyone to date. My current church is smallish and in a neighborhood of families. Single men rarely walk through our doors. Work. I have two jobs. The first, my full time job, has me working in a limited circle of associates, most of whom are female. My other non-church job introduces me to plenty of single men -- who are generally young enough to be my son. I've done the cougar thing before, and it'

It is said that things often come in threes. Celebrity deaths, for example. Or, "good things". The Holy Trinity, for the religious readers. Christians believe Jesus of Nazareth arose from the grave after three days. In numerology, the number 3 is associated with creativity and, at times youthful joy and impulsiveness. Many composers believe in certain "powers" of the keys of Eb and A -- each having 3 of their respective sharps or flats in the key signature. So far today, I've had two. Two reminders of the past. Very unexpected ones, and not necessarily unpleasant. The first came at 9:15 or so this morning. I was on my phone working on an email to my boss. Suddenly a text message appeared! Although my phone is quieter in this A.D. period (After D), texts aren't completely  rare. However, the person texting me hadn't texted in 14 months. We hadn't otherwise communicated in at least 8 or 10. You would have to go back practically to the beginning o

D's son got married today. I've known "the kids" as long as I've known D. Literally. I met them on my first date with D. I was supposed to provide the music for their lakeside ceremony -- my gift to them not only as great people but also a couple doing a wedding on a raggedy shoestring budget. Instead, as they were exchanging vows, I was recoloring my hair. Any regrets? Nope. I was just touching up the areas that didn't take as well the first time. Oh wait, I was talking about missing the kids' wedding. Okay, because they are special people, perhaps I have a tinge of regret. But that is quickly assuaged by the thought of having to see not only D, but both  of his ex-wives -- something that would only be funny as a side scene in a slapstick comedy like "The Hangover". It was some two months ago that D … ended everything. Unexpectedly. Violently. The last time we "talked", he called me up to cuss me out. After that "conversat

I have a good, even great, relationship with D's family. They love me, and I love them. I was able to extend the olive branch when he and his future daughter-in-law had a major spat. So of course I let them know what had happened, and not surprisingly they are concerned. Today, his aunt called me. He and his aunt are good friends. In many ways, he's also the only child she's ever had. She was emotional, and so was I during our brief conversation. She told me that they (her & her husband) were going to go over to visit D in a bit, and that he hadn't answered their call, either — something he always does. Less than a minute or two later, D called and proceeded to cuss me out but good for talking to his family and has now declared his family off limits. Guess what, asshole? You can't tell me who I can be friends with. Even if they are related to you. And, you can't tell your family who THEY can be friends with. It doesn't work that way. You don't

Well, I'm back. At least for one post. If you've been a regular reader of this blog, you know that the infamous "D" and I have had quite the on and off "relationship" all the while being friends. We've had our spats, some more serious than others. But today, that all came to an end. And since HE decided to end our friendship, I can talk openly again. First of all, it is my personal belief, upon observing his recent behavior and having done research, that he is in a full psychotic break. He quit his job with no notice and no contingency plan, although he is in the midst of a bankruptcy. He then spent 48 hours doing ... no one knows what. He can't remember. All he knows is that I've shown him my end of his electronic trail where he called me (and sounded incredibly inebriated although he claimed he wasn't), texted me (didn't remember that), and that he has a NASTY 8" long horizontal bruise on his back rib cage that he doesn't r