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Fun-N-Games
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The Singles Center |
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Entertain Yourself -
HUMORME
- Jokes, Riddles,
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PAT'S CORNER (Click images for large view)
More Rev Fun from Our own SingleSmiles
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HUMOR ME:
On First Looking
for Love From Singles, The Magazine for Today's Single The profile described him as an "intelligent, good-looking, young professional" who spent time playing sports and watching movies with his friends. This, of course, was when he was not busy working at one of the "leading software companies in the Silicon Valley." We had exchanged email and phone conversations for the past week until I thought I could almost sense what Ryan looked like from the sound of his voice. I had even begun imagining us in happy couple-hood months from now, giggling about the way we had met. "Internet," we’d laugh. "What had the world come to?!" The night I was supposed to meet him at a downtown coffee shop, I went through my pre-date ritual, like on countless occasions before. I shut my bedroom door, cranked up Material Girl, and pranced in front of the mirror, while pondering my outfit for the night. Was he a sporty guy, who would show up in tennis shoes and a sweatshirt or a trend watcher, with fine leather jacket and Valentino shoes? I tried to remember the things he’d mentioned and place him on the style meter, but came up clueless. When I came through the door of the Coffee Roasting Company, I saw him right away. He was the tall guy sitting at the very first table, flipping through the pages of a newspaper and pretending to be reading. You could tell he was waiting for someone. I strolled past him, hoping he was not the man behind the sultry voice and sexy emails. God, I thought, how deceiving! I scanned the place with my eyes hoping, but to no avail. The dorky looking blond guy was indeed Ryan...and he was waiting for me. I slowly approached his table. "Are you Ryan?," I asked in a near whisper. His eyes were ablaze. "Yes," he responded softly. "And you’re....Karina?" he sounded quizzically. The K seemed to curl around his lips like the steam of fresh coffee rising up through the air in some distant winter. I nodded, and gulped. Yes, this was me, the solo adventuress in a sea of lonely hearts, of men and women who posted their desires on the Internet and in newspapers, hoping hope against hope to meet that special someone who they could spend their entire lives with. Or at least maybe share a couple of couple Café Lattes. I would dream of at least a couple of happy months, with the beating flesh I pictured behind the "Computer Geek" or "Incurable Romantic," headlines I had seen in this week’s personals ads Yet, what were these men looking for? A real relationship? Or Sex? I feared they were looking for kinky encounters or a dedicated wife with a hefty dowry. Positions I was not prepared to apply for. I plopped down in the booth, facing Ryan, and felt my pulse quicken. I’m never nervous around men, but this, somehow, was different. This wasn’t a date with someone I had met through school or work, but someone I probably would have never known if it weren’t for the web-site both of us logged on to. "So, how are you?, " I began, slowly, picking words. He assessed me with his gaze. "Good, good," he said, his eyes smiling. "Got here a little early, is all." Oh, man, I thought. An eager beaver who probably hasn’t had a date in months. Just what I needed. But with Silicon Valley just on the other side of the mountain, where the guy to girl ratio is five to one, what could you expect? We went through the "get-to-know-you" dance, carefully side stepping the difficult questions and trotting to the comfortable ones. From time to time my toes began to hurt from being stepped on. "Where do you work, what do you study, what do you like to do for fun?" It was a quickstep, really, maybe a foxtrot, but far removed from anything as romantic as the waltz or the tango. It would be a while for that. What had brought Ryan and I here, two strangers face to face, each with our own list of requirements for an ideal candidate to their heart? Are we willing to endure initially uncomfortable situations because deep inside there is a hope that the person sitting across from us could potentially be - the one? Those who regularly put up ads in the personals or post profiles on the Internet often say that they’re regular guys and girls who just aren’t meeting interesting people through the normal dating channels. "I have an a active social life and have no problem meeting people," says one guy , "but they seem to be girls who can’t keep up an intelligent conversation. I’m looking for everything—beauty, brains, and charisma and that’s hard to find, especially since I’d like them to have money too." It seems both men and women have the same complaint. They want an all-inclusive package, yet find it increasingly difficult to meet people with all the qualities. They’re raising their standards, too and not willing to settle for someone just to escape the clutches of bachelorhood. "I know the girl that is perfect for me is somewhere out there," says Manuel Delgado, a 33 year-old teacher. "I haven’t met her at the bar, at school, or at a club. Maybe I’ll find her through the Internet." Maybe he’ll find something else first though. Like a real woman who has warts on her left foot, and twitches at the sound of plastic crinkling. That’s the thing about love and relationships at the beginning of the 21st century. With people spending so much time at work and in front of computers, has real love gone out the window? Perhaps it had just changed mediums—from the usual channels such as school, parties, and work—to on-line, along with just about every other aspect of our culture. Now we could not only order books, shop for clothes, and pay bills through the Internet, but also spice up our personal lives and begin relationships with people. Viva la Revolution. And it seems to have worked for some. A good friend of mine met his girlfriend of two years on the Internet. She moved from a different state to be with him and they’re still together. Another met some of her closest friends online and says that online dating has turned her life around—from one date a month to a couple of times a week. She said she was finally forced to buy a Daytimer to keep track of them all. Of course, unlike a Victoria’s Secret purchase, there are no guarantees of satisfaction or your money back in either newspaper or Internet romance. And there are some pretty unsavory deals, like the guy who goes under the alias of "humblemumbles" who told me that he’s "just looking someone new, who likes my humor and isn’t an idiot and likes sex, A LOT." Or the one who stresses that "only extremely pretty girls need respond." But there are many other eligible singles who are outgoing, smart, and successful, without any sort of weird social phobias or unmanageable idiosyncrasies who are looking for the same thing—love. In the end it’s a matter of taking a risk. You just take a chance, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. Often, you’ll meet with disappointment, whether it’s because your date doesn’t close his mouth when he chews or can’t stop talking about his work.. as a sewer repairman. But there’s always "the chance"—that your eyes will lock the moment you meet, conversation will be easy, and affection mutual. It’s that glimmer of hope that keeps us going and the stuff that life is made of. And the frogs often do hide the princes or princesses.. "Ryan… what did you say your last name was?" |
