Octoberfest: Day 3 "Lighting a Match"

I've Got Matches (not to light anything)

Confession: Right now, I feel a little like Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail. Except the year isn't 1998 and the Internet has grown leaps and bounds. But the idea behind today's Octoberfest activity is the same. Click of the mouse, cheery "ding" sound and I've got mail. Or in this case, I've got matches. Yes, I have listened to the "but everybody's doing it" cheerleaders and silenced my own criticism and joined the online dating bandwagon. First let me say this, I'm not wildly crazy about this idea, even after going through the HOUR-LONG interrogation that left me sweating like Shaq at the foul line. For the longest time, I refused to even consider online dating because in my purely romantic, imaginative and not always rational rose-hued brain, I have felt that it's forced. You're not letting nature take its course. But nature hasn't produced anything but the sound of crickets for my love life. My overly rational and practical friends informed me "the right guy isn't going to just land on your doorstep Shawnna." Umm why not?! Clearly I'm asking for too much here.

Me Plus ? (not a real date)

So in the spirit of my month-long quest to try something new, I decided I would bite the bullet, and do it. I've got to put myself out there. I love the people that always give that advice. "You've just got to put yourself out there." While they sit there NOT PUTTING THEMSELVES OUT THERE, because oh that's right, they're already taken. Easier said than done folks. In all fairness, however, I have had very legitimate reasons for avoiding the dating scene as long as I have. Of course, I had the terminally ill relationship and eventual breakup - haven't we all? After I lost my job in 2009, I worked more than 70 hours a week to save my house. Who would have been able to think about dating at a time like that? But all that is behind me, I've got a newfound confidence and I'm ready to take on the world one eHarmony match at a time. I have to admit, the idea of dating still makes me nervous. My independence is screaming things like "now I'll have to worry about the toilet seat potentially being left up!" But all joking aside, I'm excited by what the dating will bring. Online dating is like a shopping excursion...only with men :) If all else fails and the eHarmony dates don't produce any keepers, maybe by then I'll have enough followers of my blog that someone can suggest a friend of a friend...my list of requirements really isn't unreasonable but a five o'clock shadow is a must, it's non-negotiable - just ask my friends.

Sometimes it can be exhilarating to leave your comfort zone. Even with an idea as nervewracking as dating. But getting out there and meeting new people can give you a lot of great experiences and you never know where the connections you make will lead. Usually to somewhere you least expect. That's the fun part. Remember, it's more about the journey than the destination. And in today's post-you've-got-mail era, I'm typing on an iPad while writing a blog, and I feel a little like a modern day Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. Minus the Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks. I'm no SJP, but a girl can dream right?