Match.com

Given the success of my Clist date, I decided I needed to branch out into other dating venues. I forget how the idea first entered my mind, but I logged onto Match.com. I was hesitant about actually searching for folks or setting up a profile, but their marketing campaign completely won me over. "It's okay to look." Those four little words made me feel less than desperate and validated my curiosity. I decided that if I was going to look, I would really give the site a chance and put together as compelling a profile as I could for myself.

The site asked me to fill out a fairly questionnaire regarding my interests and what I was looking for. The sorts of things you could list are pretty superificial. Height, build, income, etc. I selected folks in education or the arts initially. After finishing my selection and uploading a photo, I was ready to go!

I initially started searching for guys around my age, and one profile immediately caught my eye. A film maker. Hmmm. This could be promising. However, in order to actually communicate with the person, I'd have to pay a subscription. Yuck. This is rather humiliating, I thought to myself as I punched in my credit card numbers. I went from feeling okay for being curious to feeling desperate again.

There's a function on Match.com where you can wink at a person to show interest. I decided to be liberal with my links and see what came back to me...