...and so it begins...

 My name is Gina and I was married once. For like 5 minutes.  Hard to believe but I have a daughter that turned 18 this year. My ex-husband left when my daughter was 3 months old while we were having the house exterminated.  No, seriously.  I have highly recommended that company over the years.  They really do eliminate all of the pests. 

Since then I have dated (and dated and dated and dated) so much so that I have now become what my friends refer to as a serial dater. 

So here I am, still single (and loving it) and my daughter will graduate from high school soon and go off to college and I will be here alone.  My daughter is concerned about me being alone since it has been just the two of us for as long as she can remember.  My family and friends are concerned as well and think it’s time for me to settle down. I am not so sure.  I really love my single life.  Sure, sometimes it gets  a little loney (and I imagine it will be even moreso when my daughter leaves) and having sex with a warm body can be a good thing (depending, of course, on who's warm body); but, I really do love my single life.  I don't have to cook or clean if I don't feel like it and I don't have to make sure that my legs are shaved (like in the winter when it's cold).  And best of all, I can have sex with whomever I want whenever I want (after having shaved my legs, of course).

Maybe. Maybe I will think about it.  I mean it's not like I haven't tried finding a long term relationship in the past.  I had every intention of getting remarried and probably having more kids 15 years ago.  I dated guys (granted, mostly that I met in bars and clubs) that I thought might turn into something long term but they seemed to want to move so quickly.  A few months of dating and they are talking about moving in together! The thought of having to clean out a dresser drawer or make space in my closet seemed like a lot of extra and unnecessary work. So I typically ended it.  It was nice for a couple of months though.

My mother insists that I won't meet a nice guy in a bar and suggested I try to meet one in church. I imagine I would have to actually go to church in order for that to happen.  "Fine. I'll give it shot," I said, "but it better happen quickly because I am NOT making a habit out of church."   I walked in tentatively waiting to be smited for all of the swearing I do and the sex that I have had but I made it in safely and looked around for the singles section. Huh.  Not readily apparent.  In fact, there seemed to be families everywhere! WTF??  

Coincidentally, because I am a sinner I chose a more casual, laid-back church that wouldn't necessarily toss me out if I got into the moment and yelled, "Yeah! I fucking LOVE God!"  But, because of the casual nature of the church, they readily accept people of alternative lifestyles.  While I have no problem with that, I found myself staring at men that wouldn't stare at me back.  Why are gay guys so damn good looking??  This church thing wasn't working.  On a side note, if churches were smart they would make all of the single people sit in a particular section, perhaps by sexual orientation, thus making it easier to find one another thus ultimately perpetuating the congregation. Unfortunately, none of the church people ask for my opinion.

Being the tenacious (and horny) kind of girl that I am, I was NOT going to give up. 

Shortly thereafter, while sitting around drinking with a couple of girl friends, it was suggested that I find a man in the grocery store. (Looking back, perhaps taking dating advice from married women while sitting around drinking and talking about sex wasn't the best idea, but hindsight is 20/20.)  I was told that when I am out shopping and spot a hot guy in the aisle picking out his pasta sauce, I am to enthusiastically start a conversation pertaining to his pasta sauce needs.  Uh huh.    At the grocery store a few days later, I am approaching a cute guy in the aisle ready to make my move and I begin to play this scenario out in my mind.  I see many various endings, only one of which ends with me meeting the man of my dreams.  Most of the scenarios end with hot guy looking at me as if I am on crack, or his wife walking around the corner, or the guy answering my sauce question followed by awkward silence in which I am obligated to purchase the pasta sauce with meat when I am a vegetarian; so I choked and lost my nerve. 

It is then that I decided to go with the dating plan of the modern age: online dating.  This blog is my dating story:  past, present and future. 

Coming tomorrow: My first attempt at online dating.