Match.com stats:

Total profile views: 1762 (16 since yesterday)

New received emails: 1

New sent emails:0

New winks: 0

Optimism level: New year, new outlook: I WILL find a man.

The holidays are over and my schedule’s pretty relaxed for the next week or two so I’m back to being a woman on a mission! I’ll be reconnecting with Mr. Energetic and Adventure Man in the next day or so and I’ll be making a more concerted effort to approach other guys as well. Somewhere along the way, I let good looks become too high of a priority but I’m bumping appearance way down on the list. The last 44 days have not been a complete waste of time as I’ve learned from some mistakes and I’ve streamlined the rejection/acceptance process. The criteria that must be met in order for me to even consider emailing somebody:

• Distance- I don’t know why guys from halfway across the country (or sometimes the globe) are winking at me, but I don’t want a long distance relationship. If I can’t drive to his residence in the time it takes to listen to my favorite cd, I’m not interested.
• Marriage potential- I’m looking for a serious relationship that could possibly lead to marriage. It doesn’t have to result in marriage, but I see no reason in pursuing anybody if it’s immediately clear there’s absolutely no chance for a future together. So that knocks out any guys who say they “definitely” want kids (and probably most of the guys who say they “someday” want kids). It also voids anybody who appears to have strong religious ties. Vegans are out too. I like my meat.
• Unkissability- I said I was knocking appearance way down the list, but not completely off the charts. If there’s no chance I’d ever want to kiss the guy, he’s out. This probably applies to 20-25% of the profiles I see but that still leaves a decent size pool to choose from.

From now on, I’m searching for personality. If a guy satisfies the basic criteria and sounds amusing in his profile and/or email, I’m going to shoot for a meeting. I’ll settle for someone who sounds somewhat compatible in lifestyle and interests, but I really want to get a sense of a man’s spirit. Until I have some dates lined up, I’m going to be sending out at least one new email a day. No more twiddling my thumbs.

EMAIL #1: This email has me in a quandary. The first aspects I noticed were his appearance and age. In his picture, he’s wearing a bandanna, has a strange tuft of fur on his chin and kind of resembles Jason Alexander. At 29, he’s a year younger than my age criteria of 30. I’m inclined to believe that the 30th birthday milestone has some sort of impact on most people’s lives which is why I’d prefer that a guy has passed it. Normally, this guy wouldn’t seem like much of a catch, but I really liked his email. It was pretty long but it was entertaining and gave me exactly what I just said I’m looking for: great personality. I mean, he came across well enough that it removed the “unkissable” designation I’d surely have given him otherwise. No more excuses for the new year, so I guess I’ll send him a quick reply and see what happens. Moved to folder: Don’t ask him, “Does anybody tell you you look like the fat, bald guy from ‘Seinfeld’?”

Saw this in a guy’s profile: Exhibitionist at heart, I love women to watch me while I please myself. The picture features a guy in a suit with the sweetest baby face. I’m sure there are plenty of women on Match who like to watch, I just wonder how many would respond to a guy who mentions that both in his brief essay and under “favorite things.”