The Wide World of DATING

... I can feel it happening again.... it's that quiet tugging at the back of my mind when the autumn is reaching its colder points.... it's that vague, half-wondering state over the cause(s) of my singledom... I can almost hear the Siren song of Plenty of Fish and all its potential dating connections....

Yes, I've been pondering this matter for a number of weeks now. Ship Sharp and The Aussie have been apartment hunting together; My Advocate dove into the world of online dating and is frolicking among the avalanche of e-mails she's received; and one of my favourite bloggers, Ferry Tales, has been debating the same issues raised by PoF that I've been concerned about, too...

Girl, I need to get a date.

I swear, it must be a condition of winter -- the need to date is all mixed in with that need to eat hearty meals and hibernate/curl up in the warmth of a fleece blanket. We're all getting cozy as the cold sets in and that cuddling sort of vibe --> DATING. (This is a part of the reason why us Canadians are just so lovable -- because WE ARE COLD. ALL THE TIME.)

Serious though, I am still such an amateur at this whole dating game. I mean, don't get me wrong -- I am AWESOME when it comes to first dates. Like, freakishly so. I'm good with small talk, so it's never an issue. But, second dates...... well. That's a whole different breed, that one.

One of the main reasons I pushed dating to the background had to do with my "pre-Out" days -- I knew it wasn't fair to A) See someone behind my parents' backs and B) Force a girl to closet herself in order to date the still-closeted me. 

But, I'm out now. It's a whole new state of being for me. The former excuses have dissipated and, well.... um, I'm.. still...single -- Granted, I know these things take time to change and blah blah blah, self-enlightenment and other intelligent insights.

It boils down to me being a N00B, with capital zeroes (if that is at all possible in 1337-speak). I've deleted my account at PoF twice in 2009 alone. Hmm, I should probably dedicate a post to the dating issues I've encountered. I'm curious to know how many other ladies out there have come across these same problems, both online and in person. We can compare our battle wounds, what say you?

But yes, definitely debating a brash comeback to the deep end of the dating pool. Time to polish up that weathered profile and dive on in... though a helmet might be in order, just in case I hit the ocean floor once again.