Dating and relationships...

Just some random thoughts, based on viewing a great deal of profiles on a 'free online dating site' which will remain nameless...

If your last failed relationship still affects you enough that you mention it in your "write about yourself" section or influences you to choose a username like "xBrokenHeartedx," you probably shouldn't be dating, online or elsewhere!

Everybody, male or female, describes themselves as "unique" or "random" - which reminds me of this XKCD comic, and Steve Martin's Nonconformist Oath. "I promise to be different! I promise to be unique!"

Many women on this site seem to be of the opinion that the best pictures for them to use are ones in which they're flaunting cleavage. I don't have a MySpace or Facebook account, so I don't know if this is common on those sites, too. As a straight male, I can't help but notice this phenomenon, and while I do look at those pictures, it doesn't make me more likely to try to contact the people who posted them. It reminds me of the female bartenders and servers who purposely dress to enhance that aspect of their bodies, presumably to earn more tips. I feel a little guilty for looking, but never guilty enough to leave a much larger tip simply based on their amount of exposed cleavage!

Starting over.

It's a new year, and I'm single. The split was mutual, after having spent a couple years just going through the motions. We've got quite a few months to divvy up our stuff and go our separate ways, since we're stuck in a lease. I'm not going to say that I wasted the past however many years in that relationship, since I learned some important things about myself and what I really want from a relationship and from life. That probably sounds bitter, but I'm not. It's just difficult to pick up on nuances when you're just reading text on a screen.

I thought that when I got older I would eventually understand how to handle social situations properly. It never really happened. Being in a long-term relationship didn't change much, either. I don't feel any more prepared to jump into any situation involving other people than I did before! The only difference is now if anyone would ask, I have "I was dating this girl for years" as an excuse for being a recluse.