Exit Stage Left

I'm not one for online dating. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not one for dating. Period. In high school my friends were convinced that I'd be the first one to get married, because I was always the last one you'd find out with a boy on a Friday night. I'm not sure how being socially awkward led them to believe I'd be a baby bride, but that's neither here nor there, because they were all wrong anyway. I'm on my way to spinster status; ready or not, here I come.

My love of all things Craigslist has led me, on ocassion, to surf the personal ads. I usually do this when I'm beyond bored (like tonight), and could use a good laugh (like tonight). I have never been persuaded by a posting to actually write an e-mail to anyone, I mostly like to point, click and stare. I am constantly amazed by the unreasonable, hopeless and nearly impossible demands of men out there, but women, too, are not exempt from this. I guess I'm surprised that people who must "resort" (for lack of a better word) to posting a free personal ad on the Internet then have the nerve to be so damn demanding. I mean, if you're looking for a girl who: enjoys the outdoors, sports, bar hopping and dancing has an eclectic taste in music, and "takes pride in her appearance" then are you really going to find her sitting on the other end of an Internet connection? Sure, I've heard the success stories, we all have. I'm sure many of you reading this post have them, I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm just posing the question.

Obviously I'm not any sort of a relationship expert, or anything, I'm more the other end of the spectrum, but this seems sort of backwards to me. Is it just me, or wouldn't we all get a lot further if we were more open-minded and pro-active in making connections in our day-to-day lives? Take one look at the missed connections (a personal daily vice) and you'll see that a good number of us wish we were bolder as we find our ways through daily life in the city.

Then again, maybe I'm just bitter because I've yet to stumble across the post that says: "...seeks a prematurely graying, curly haired, chubby work-a-holic with an insatiable flair for musical theatre, the Internet, Politics and 'The West Wing.'" Yeah, I'm sure that's the only reason I'm bitter.