Rules Were Made to Be Broken... Right?
After dallying around with a couple younger guys who were mostly interested in the physical, I considered my Cougar Card punched and retired. I made a rule for myself: no more younger guys. (When I say younger, I mean 7+ years younger.) They can be fun, but usually not looking for what I'm looking for.
Now a pro -- and a con -- to Tinder is that there is no such thing as search criteria. No way to limit age, distance, etc. After being on eHarmony and Match in the past, there's something to be said for a wider field. But when the age range of guys swiping right on you is upper twenties through mid-fifties, sometimes you wish for a little more control.
I have some guidelines when I'm going through my Tinder likes. Generally not too much younger than me. The list of reasons I'm guaranteed to swipe left (to which I add a new one, any picture of a guy wearing a MAGA hat). Too far away. No profile information.
And sometimes, you just have to take a chance.
A gentleman 10 years my junior swiped right on me. I scanned his profile picture (only wearing a towel down low), went through his other two pictures. No profile information to speak of other than where he went to college. One picture of him in a suit. For whatever reason, I said "what the hell" and swiped right on him, too. I don't know what possessed me (although the towel picture is pretty dang hot).
Less than 5 minutes later I had a message from him. "Good afternoon gorgeous." Okay, that's a good start for sure. Much better than the usual "Hi" or "Hey". Within a few messages, he had me smiling and laughing -- another good sign. He's not looking for a hookup; he only does long-term relationships and thinks short-term things are dumb. Professional, educated, successful. And a total beefcake.
After messaging on Tinder for much of the afternoon, I asked if he wanted to go to texting instead. His response: "Yes. Let's text." So we blew up each other's phones for a while and agreed to go on a date Friday night, since he is on the West Coast on business until Thursday night. Current plan is dinner and drinks outside somewhere, followed by maybe a stroll. He said he isn't sure about after that; I told him it's okay to not have everything planned out. Still working on a location, but we're 4 days out, too.
So far, he's checked off all the right boxes, age aside. And he's very interested in me, so I'm guardedly optimistic he isn't going to ghost me. He ticks all the boxes on what I find attractive, including personality. What remains to be seen is how our in-person chemistry will be. And that I will find out Friday night!
Now a pro -- and a con -- to Tinder is that there is no such thing as search criteria. No way to limit age, distance, etc. After being on eHarmony and Match in the past, there's something to be said for a wider field. But when the age range of guys swiping right on you is upper twenties through mid-fifties, sometimes you wish for a little more control.
I have some guidelines when I'm going through my Tinder likes. Generally not too much younger than me. The list of reasons I'm guaranteed to swipe left (to which I add a new one, any picture of a guy wearing a MAGA hat). Too far away. No profile information.
And sometimes, you just have to take a chance.
A gentleman 10 years my junior swiped right on me. I scanned his profile picture (only wearing a towel down low), went through his other two pictures. No profile information to speak of other than where he went to college. One picture of him in a suit. For whatever reason, I said "what the hell" and swiped right on him, too. I don't know what possessed me (although the towel picture is pretty dang hot).
Less than 5 minutes later I had a message from him. "Good afternoon gorgeous." Okay, that's a good start for sure. Much better than the usual "Hi" or "Hey". Within a few messages, he had me smiling and laughing -- another good sign. He's not looking for a hookup; he only does long-term relationships and thinks short-term things are dumb. Professional, educated, successful. And a total beefcake.
After messaging on Tinder for much of the afternoon, I asked if he wanted to go to texting instead. His response: "Yes. Let's text." So we blew up each other's phones for a while and agreed to go on a date Friday night, since he is on the West Coast on business until Thursday night. Current plan is dinner and drinks outside somewhere, followed by maybe a stroll. He said he isn't sure about after that; I told him it's okay to not have everything planned out. Still working on a location, but we're 4 days out, too.
So far, he's checked off all the right boxes, age aside. And he's very interested in me, so I'm guardedly optimistic he isn't going to ghost me. He ticks all the boxes on what I find attractive, including personality. What remains to be seen is how our in-person chemistry will be. And that I will find out Friday night!
Comments
Post a Comment
We are all adults here. Comments are welcome, but they are also moderated because there has been a marked increase in spam, trolling, and generally snarky and nasty comments being submitted. Different opinions are welcome when expressed maturely; rude comments and links will not be published.