You can get anything on-line - even a date!

For the past month or 2, I percolated a lot about writing a blog about my adventures in dating. 

Why? 

I have had a lot of adventures in dating during the past few years.  The experiences and stories I have are quite comical (or so me and my friends think), and not at all unique to me.  In sharing dating adventure stories with my peeps (girls and guys alike), I've come to realize that we've all had some very similar experiences - some funny, some scary, some unexpected, some nightmarish, and some that are unmentionable.  We think we've seen it all, but very quickly realize that we've really only experienced the tip of the iceberg.

San Francisco is a city with a population of approximately 809,000 people (or so the internet tells me).  I can't find a statistic on how many of us are single, but I know it is a lot.  Just look at how many people are on any of the plethora of on-line dating sites - eHarmony, Match, Chemistry, OK Cupid, Plenty of Fish, not to mention Craigslist, Yahoo! personals, etc., etc., etc.  Now, I know not all of the people on these sites who say they are single are actually single, but I think we can all agree that there are lots and lots of unattached people out there looking to become attached in one way or another.

For those of us who are looking to meet a special someone, we sometimes and more regularly turn to our computers, smart phones, or other such devices.  You can order groceries, shoes, clothes, furniture, electronics, and basically anything you want on-line, why not a companion?  I have taken a few plunges into into the on-line dating scene over the years.  I have perused and answered some Craigslist personals, tried speed dating (not really on-line dating, but adventuresome nonetheless), joined & left Match.com and Chemistry.com, and most recently joined eHarmony.  (Man, I seem like an on-line dating junkie).  I don't think these sites are the end-all be-all way to meet people.  But I do believe that these sites give you exposure to a much larger pool of people than you might get through hitting up friends or co-workers for introductions to their single friends (hence why I've tried so many of them).  And, because money is involved to join or use some of these sites, hopefully the people who pay to be on them might be more solid individuals than the random person you meet at a bar or other spot for socializing.  More on that later.

Much like ordering groceries, clothes, shoes, electronics, etc., on-line, looking for a special someone on-line takes a lot of work - maybe even more than searching out that perfect pair of shoes.  You need to write a profile, decide on pictures & upload them.  On eHarmony, in addition to creating your profile and selecting pictures to upload, you have to take a detailed personality profile assessment before you can get started.  On Match.com, you have to search, filter, and peruse lots and lots of profiles, and then decide whom you want to wink at or email and also decide whom you want to respond to - it's a 2-way street.  With eHarmony, you get matches delivered to you - no searching needed.  But, when you get your matches, you need to look at them and decide whom you want to initiate communication with, or respond to.  Then comes the waiting - waiting for them to respond with a wink or an email, or politely say "no, thanks."  Yet more on that later. 

That's probably plenty about how these popular sites work.  I thought it important to lay a foundation to build on because so many of the experiences I intend to write about will begin on an on-line dating site.  The sites themselves can be an adventure - some of the things I see make me literally laugh out loud or cringe or just ask myself "really?".  And, the adventures just take off from there.  I will explore some of the communication exchanges, some of the comedy of on-line profiles, and, of course, the adventures of meeting someone you don't know and who doesn't know anyone you know for an actual in-person, in-the-flesh date.  Yikes!

So, that's it.  That's what you'll find here - Single in SF: Adventures in Dating.  Hope it brings some comedy to your day!