I feel bad guys. When it comes to the topic of love and romance, it seems like all you ever hear about on Skinny Dip is heartbreak, catastrophic dating stories and tales of men behaving badly. Yes, reading about romance gone awry is entertaining. I mean who doesn’t enjoy a good bad online dating story?! I feel like dating blogs are like the grown up equivalent of those stories I used to read in Seventeen magazine when I was in Junior High. You know the ones I’m talking about – the embarrassing anecdotes that always went something like this: “I did something totally embarrassing in front of this majorly cute guy I like…and I have no idea how I’ll ever show my face in Math class again!” We like these kinds of stories because we can relate to their tragic humour and they allow us to say “Hey, it could be worse!” about our own missteps.
The Holiday Season is the busiest time for online dating (fact). It’s also the time of the year when people start to feel bummed out about being single. So to switch things up a bit, I thought I’d share a happy, inspirational story about love and online dating (yes, I actually have one!)
Remember that online dating profile writing party I went to last year? To recap, a bunch of us got together and with the help of a couple bottles of wine, helped my friend write a stellar online dating profile.
After we’d published her profile, we spent a good chunk of time perusing the dating profiles of the available men in our town. My friend stumbled across the profile of a guy we’ll call “CC.” He seemed different – intelligent, quirky, non-creepy – and she sent him a message that night. We gently urged her not to get her hopes up too much. After all, online dating involves a lot of trial & error and this was the first guy she’d messaged. However, he promptly wrote back and they set up a date, which turned out to be a success.
Then the holidays happened, we both got really busy and I didn’t have a chance to catch up with my friend until a few months later.
As we chatted over a glass of wine I asked her,
“So what ever happened to that CC guy?”
To which she happily replied, “We’re still together!”
A year after that initial message they are still going strong. A few months ago I went to their housewarming party to celebrate their moving in together. I’m really happy for them!
My friend’s story serves as a good reminder that good things happen to good people when they put themselves out there, and that online dating isn’t necessarily the giant freak-show that I’ve made it out to be in my mind.
I’m going to be attending another online dating profile writing party very soon….mine!
Yes, you read correctly. I’ve decided to lose my online dating virginity and give the whole phenomenon a try.
Armed & Ready.
I’ve been single for over a year now and although I’ve really enjoyed living like a pseudo senior citizen in my sleepy hometown, it’s time for a change. Being back in Toronto for a month made me realize that I need to stop hiding and start living my life more. This means doing things that normal 30-somethings do like going on dates. It’s not that I have been a complete angel this year either. Whether it’s been documented on the blog or not, there have been guys: a rebound romance that failed miserably (but for the best), Handsome Guy, a charming & witty Winemaker whom I met in Portland, a cutie from LA that kissed me goodnight in Vegas and a guy we’ll just refer to as The Sexy Russian. All of these experiences have been positive or at the very least lead to some personal growth. None of these guys live in Victoria.
Dating in this city is known to be challenging. It’s very easy for me to sit back and make fun of all the hippies and hipsters here, but at the end of the day I’m not giving the men of this city or myself a fair chance. There’s only so many nights you can spend at home watching back to back episodes of Damages, wondering “where are all the men in this city?” before the joke is on you. So I’m going to keep an open mind and give this online dating thing a try. I’m optimistic that there are some good love stories out there left to be told. Maybe even one that includes me. Whether that story takes place in Victoria or elsewhere…well, we’ll just have to wait and see.
If anything this will be an interesting social experiment.
This post was brought to you by eharmony.ca. For more dating tips and info, please visit eHarmony Canada on Facebook. All opinions are my own.
Do you have any inspiring love stories that began online? Please share!
