Match.com Round One

My first experience in online dating.

The End (Round One)

March 17th, 2006

My apologies for abandoning this blog the way I did without wrapping things up- I was just doing my impression of all the guys I “met” on Match. The last guy seemed like a great prospect. We exchanged about four emails each then he asked for my phone number. I sent it to him and [...]

Day 88: Puzzling

February 16th, 2006

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 2424
Optimism level: It ain’t over ’til it’s over.

The title sums up my Match experience over the last couple weeks. I’ll start with the guy I mentioned in my last post who sounded promising. He’s definitely the best looking guy to write me and his email showed some personality. Though his [...]

The Date (Final)

January 30th, 2006

So…when I left off, my wine was sucking but my car was ticket-free. I suggested why don’t we plan a time in advance to end the date no matter how well it might be going to avoid any awkwardness later. He liked the idea. I would have been generous and suggested 9:30 or 10:00 but [...]

The Date (Part One)

January 28th, 2006

My three day delay in recapping my date with Mr. Engergetic wasn’t due to us falling madly in love and eloping in Vegas. I think I just need some extra time before reliving the boredom of it all.
I’ll start with the pre-show activities. I’m the rare woman who’s always either on time or early because [...]

FINALLY!

January 25th, 2006

I have a date tonight. It’s with Mr. Energetic, whom I put on hold about a month ago. I have to admit, I’m not particularly enthusiastic about the date. In fact, I think I’d prefer to stay home and watch “Lost.” He lives at least 30 minutes away and when it was time to make [...]

Days 59-65: Match Hasn’t Killed Me (Yet)

January 21st, 2006

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 2163 (86 since day 58)
New received emails: 3
New winks: 5
Optimism level: Maybe I shouldn’t have downsized from the six month membership.

It’s been so long since I’ve posted, some people probably wondered if I was lying in a ditch somewhere (and thought, “Yay! That means she finally went on a [...]

Days 55-58: It’s Always Something

January 14th, 2006

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 2077 (69 since day 54)
New received emails: unsolicited, solicited
New winks: 1
Optimism level: It’s not over yet.

Due to some travelling, I’ve fallen seriously behind on both this blog and my Match searches. I’ve noticed that I receive a lot more page views, and consequently more emails, when I [...]

Days 51 and 52: Dating Games

January 8th, 2006

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1961 (55 since day 50)
New received emails: 2 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: 2 new, 1 reply
New winks: 1
Optimism level: They’re all either too anxious or not anxious enough. Goldilocks not happy.

I fell behind a bit because Friday’s migraine never quite went away and came back full [...]

Day 50: Fifty?? Seriously Fifty????

January 6th, 2006

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1906 (54 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: 0
New winks: 1
Optimism level: This is giving me a headache.

I didn’t send out any new emails today because I had a migraine most of the day and couldn’t bear to look at my monitor for more [...]

Day 49: Putting Myself Out There

January 5th, 2006

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1852 (12 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: 2 new, 1 reply
New winks: 3
Optimism level: Does my profile say I’m a hooker?
At the point that I’d received three winks and one email, my profile indicated I’d had four page views. It’s [...]

Day 48: Emails and IMs and Phone Calls OH MY!

January 4th, 2006

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1840 (12 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: 1 new, 1 reply
New winks: 1
Optimism level: Interestingly, I think this whole process is making me LOSE interest in meeting a guy right now.

SENT EMAIL OF THE DAY: This guy viewed my profile [...]

Day 46: Getting Back into the Game

January 2nd, 2006

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1792 (30 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1
New sent emails: 1
New winks: 5

I sent an email to Adventure Man. I didn’t feel like it was a great letter but then again, the best email I’ve sent anybody (the one responding to the guy’s bird analogy) didn’t get a reply so maybe [...]

Day 45: No More Excuses

January 1st, 2006

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. [...]

(Day 44)

December 31st, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1746 (30 since yesterday)
New received emails: 0
New sent emails: 0
New winks: 2

Day 43: When Reality Checks Bounce

December 30th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1716 (14 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: 1 reply
New winks: 2
Optimism level: Anxious to get back to full throttle on Match.

When I signed up for Match, they included a magazine subscription in the deal. I thought it was a nice little [...]

(Day 42)

December 29th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1702 (17 since yesterday)
New received emails: 0 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: new, reply
New winks: 3

I received a reply (actually two) from Reality Check Guy. He wrote:
How is that now? By the way that was sweet of you to email me your comments, can i ask [...]

Day 39: When Profiles Attack

December 26th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1676 (17 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1

New winks: 0
Optimism level: Hoping someday the good will be as good as the bad is bad.

I think stepping back from the Match process the way I have over the last week has helped a lot. My intent when I joined was to [...]

Day 36: The Race to Date

December 23rd, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1620 (29 since yesterday)
New received emails: 2 unsolicited, 0 solicited
New sent emails: 0
New winks: 2
Optimism level: I can throw out this season’s mistletoe.

EMAIL #1: Good email but the guy’s two inches shorter wants a couple kids someday and he’s Protestant. Plus he’s got that little tuft of hair [...]

Day 34: Go Look for Friends on MySpace

December 21st, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1574 (22 since yesterday)
New received emails: 2 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: 0
New winks: 1
Optimism level: Joy to the girl.

For the last couple days, I’ve been kicking myself for sending Adventure Man the “let’s meet” email. It makes sense that Mr. Energy, who initiated contact with me, would like [...]

Day 31: One Little, Two Little, Three Little… Profiles?

December 18th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1516 (14 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New winks: 1
Optimism level: Hoping to catch some last-minute deals before the shops close.

I have a confession to make: I have more than one Match profile online. I had to do it to accommodate all my personalities. Ok, [...]

Day 30: The One Month Mark

December 17th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1502 (34 since yesterday)

New received emails: 1 (Month total: 32 unsolicited)

New sent emails: 1 (Month total: 7 with 3 responses)

New winks: 6 (Month total: 40)

Optimism level: I think Britney Spears married, divorced and remarried in less time.

I can’t believe I’ve been at this for a whole month [...]

Day 29: The Freaks Come Out Online

December 16th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1468 (33 since yesterday)
New received emails: 0
New winks: 0

Optimism level: Maybe I’d find more matches if I browsed profiles drunk.

My blogs have been so long the last few days I haven’t had a chance to mention that I put a profile up at Date.com to check out their scene. [...]

Day 28: Information is Power

December 15th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1435 (25 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1

New winks: 0
Optimism level: Ok, so I don’t have power, but at least I have a little information.

[Polls that were previously included have been removed due to formatting errors]
First of all, thanks to those who played along with my little polls- [...]

Day 27: The Polls are Open

December 14th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1410 (12 since yesterday)
New received emails: 0
New sent emails: 0

New winks: 0
Optimism level: I could be close to a “yay” or “neigh” from a favorite.

I noticed that the guy I wrote to a week ago who seems like he’d be a great match finally logged on today and checked [...]

Day 26: Career Setbacks

December 13th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1398 (14 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 0 solicited
New sent emails: 0
New winks: 1
Optimism level: At least my old rejection letter’s getting a good response.

If you’ll recall, on day 4 I filled out eHarmony’s personality profile (”A $40 value FREE!” they say, but if it was [...]

Day 25: Young, Dumb and Full of…Something

December 12th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1384 (12!!! since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 0 solicited
New sent emails: 0
New winks: 0
Optimism level: ‘Tis the season… (with the highest suicide rate)

Ok, this will be my last comment on the low profile views for awhile. I picked a bad time to start my Match experience. People [...]

Day 24: The Experts Know Less Than I Do

December 11th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1372 (26 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 0 solicited
New sent emails: 0
New winks: 0
Optimism level: Maybe I should omit this until I actually experience optimism.

I stayed off Match today, instead spending a little time browsing other blogs that deal with online dating. I found a [...]

Day 23: What’s the Deal With Guys and Dumb Questions?

December 10th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1344 (19 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: 1 reply
New winks: 0

Optimism level: Does my profile say I beat puppies?

EMAIL REPLY #1: This morning I received a reply from one of the guys I wrote to yesterday (the favorite). In his note [...]

Day 19: Boring Day, Boring Blog

December 6th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1204 (49 since yesterday)
New received emails: 0
New sent emails:0
New winks: 0
Optimism level: Tough to put a positive spin on all those zeros.

I noticed in my searches, that Match always displays 34 pages of results (with 10 guys per page). Even after removing profiles, there would still be 34 pages, which [...]

Day 17: Bad Religion

December 4th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1128 (23 since yesterday)
New received emails: 1 unsolicited, 0 solicited
New sent emails: 0 new, 2 reply
New winks: 3
Optimism level: Wondering if I’ll get a refund if I cut my subscription to a month.

Twenty three page views on a Sunday??!! I’m starting to wonder if Match found my blog, determined it [...]

Day 15: The Falafel Truth

December 2nd, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 1062 (28 since yesterday)
New received emails: 2 unsolicited, 0 solicited
New sent emails: 0 new, 1 reply
Optimism level: Surely things will pick up over the weekend.

I tweaked my profile slightly today, removing the “falafel” request. I think it’s been well-established that most guys either don’t read the full narrative or they [...]

Day 13: I Don’t Wanna Talk on the Phone

November 30th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 984 (32 since yesterday)
New received emails: 0 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: 1 new, 1 reply
New winks: 0
Optimism level: Maybe Match was down for maintenance all day.

It’s as if my profile jumped off the radar screen today. I had very few profile views and no new emails or winks. It’s become [...]

Day 12: Size Doesn’t Matter (Well…)

November 29th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 952 (68 since yesterday)
New received emails: 0 unsolicited, 1 solicited
New sent emails: 1 new, 1 reply
New winks: 1
Optimism level: I like what I’m seeing.

Given the short action period I mentioned yesterday, I decided not to waste my time writing to the second tier guys and went straight for one of [...]

Day 11: Dr. Phil Wants to Help ME?

November 28th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 884 ( 44 since yesterday)
New emails: 2 (”falafel” count: 4/16, sent email: 1)
New winks: 3
Optimism level: Gotta spread the eggs to several baskets

For some reason the page views dropped significantly today. It can’t be because of the new narrative because they’d have to open my profile to read it. Maybe people [...]

Day 10: And She’s Off!

November 27th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 840 ( 79 since yesterday)
New emails: 2 (”falafel” count: 4/14, sent email: 1)
New winks: 3
Optimism level: Made the jump. Where’s the damn safety net?

Last night I scrapped my old profile narrative and made a brand new one. I’m glad I did. The one that’s been viewable for the last week was [...]

Day 9: The Last Delay

November 26th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 761 (106 since yesterday)
New emails: 0 (”falafel” count: 2/12)
New winks: 4
Optimism level: I need an unsend button.

Well, today I did something that could land me in some guy’s blog of Match.com horror stories. I’ve been feeling bad about not responding to the emails. I could have used Match’s pre-made rejection messages [...]

Day 8: Countdown to Rejection

November 25th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 655 (130 since yesterday)
New emails: 2 (”falafel” count: 2/13)
New winks: 5
Optimism level: Things seem to be picking up.

I’m sure my blog is becoming a bit redundant; guy sends me an email and I pick it apart. But as I mentioned, I’ve been holding off on contacting prospective matches because of the [...]

Day 7: Still Holding

November 24th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 525 ( 59 since yesterday)
New emails: 1 (”falafel” count: 2/11)
New winks: 4
Optimism level: They’re all turkeys.

One of the winks came from the guy on day #2 who emailed me saying my profile was “seductive.” I have to give him points for following up and for replacing his main picture in which [...]

Day 6: In a Holding Pattern

November 23rd, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 466 (75 since yesterday)
New emails: 2 (”falafel” count: 2/10)
New winks: 3
Optimism level: Nothing to be thankful for…yet

I seem to recall that when I tried Match the first time, I received around 7-10 emails a day instead of the two or three I’m getting this time. Maybe it’s because of Thanksgiving being [...]

Day 5: A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words (And Doesn’t Make Spelling Errors)

November 22nd, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 391 (83 since yesterday)
New emails: 1
New winks: 0
Optimism level: Attention drifting to humorously bad profiles

I haven’t received any winks since the first day. It occurred to me that all the winks came in the wee hours of Saturday morning when I happened to be logged on to Match. It made me [...]

Day 4: Baby Steps

November 21st, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 308 (69 since yesterday)
New emails: 3
New winks: 0
Optimism level: Already checking out other dating sites.

I realized that today is the last chance I have to change or cancel my subscription (I signed up for six months) so I decided to look into eHarmony and see what they have to offer. [...]

Day 3: Tapering off Already?

November 20th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 239 (127 since yesterday)
New emails: 1
New winks: 0
Optimism level: Testing, 1, 2, 3. Is this thing on?

Only 48 hours into this journey and compared to yesterday, I’m down two emails and four winks (though I got an extra 15 page views). Perhaps on this, the day of the Lord, more [...]

Day 2: The First 24 Hours

November 19th, 2005

Match.com stats:
Total profile views: 112
New emails: 3
New winks: 4
Optimism level: It’s only the first day.

Today I did my first search for a suitable mate. The initial set of criteria brought 340 possible matches so I had to chop it down to a manageable number. I started by weeding out everybody I couldn’t possibly imagine having [...]

Day 1: Writing the Profile

November 18th, 2005

I’m taking the plunge…again. I tried Match.com briefly a few years ago with no success. I actually went out with three guys I met online and surprisingly, they were decent guys with good jobs: an engineer, a dentist and an actor. Ok, so just two had good jobs. I didn’t feel chemistry with any of [...]