online dating

Facebook Is a Snitch (upDATE: Mr. Can I Get A Vowel)

~ Single Girl ~ Leave a comment

It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve turned into a Private Investigator and gone to social media to find somebody to stalk,… err, I mean, look at.

We all do it.

And with new dates popping up faster than the Orville Redenbacker popcorn machine at the movie theater, I’ve got to find extra info on these boyz STAT, yo!

Remember Mr. Can I Get A Vowel?

Well thank goodness he’s missing a vowel in how to spell his name cuz he was the ONLY guy on Facebook that came up in my search. How convenient!

He’s still texting me everyday, calling me “baby” (Btw, what is that with guys? I’m not your baby until we’re exclusive! Do you know how many people’s “baby” I am?? It’s getting watered down.  Ugh.), and he’s tried to see me again (I already had plans that night) .

Let’s see what this guy’s REAL story is…

His profile? Pretty barren and locked down. Most recent profile pic was from 2011, and it was one of the same ones from his dating profile.

I couldn’t see or learn anything else, really. I flipped through a few old pics in an album on the red carpet with his brother, the guy in the NBA. Meh. Whatevs. Nothing too shocking. No women in his pix, just a bunch of guy friends. He still looks good, though.

But THEN… I see it.

A picture on his timeline from 2011, a selfie of a woman he had tagged as “my friend.”

She’s a pretty Asian girl and right away I remember him saying on our first date that he has a crazy, Asian ex. Whatever that means.

So naturally I click through to her profile and lo and behold, her current default profile pic is both her AND Mr. Can I Get A Vowel all hugged up together.

Further, her cover photo is of him and her at a zoo.

Busted.

I dig deeper to find the dates these pics were taken. Turns out, it was awhile ago but she had just re-uploaded them a few weeks back. I can read a public comment thread and see her tell her aunt who commented on how cute they are together that she “loves him very much!”

Hmmm.

Either they just broke up recently and she’s not quite ready to let go of their 3+ year relationship, or they’re still together.

Either way, I ain’t the one!

Too messy. And as I told him, I’m looking for a more serious relationship. I couldn’t expect anyone to be ready to jump right back into one.

I ended up questioning him about it. He said he had already “explained” the situation me. (No, playa, you didn’t. I’m pretty sure I would have recalled that info.)

So I told him I ain’t the one, and he said he wishes me the best and that I deserve the best.

Yes. Yes, I do.

Vanna, out.

Next!

I Think I Got Proposed To…

~ Single Girl ~ Leave a comment

I owe you all an upDATE from the other night.

First of all, it’s so funny how different the men all are that I’m going out with in terms of relationship readiness. They are keeping me on my toes!

Fresh off the heels of The Doc assuring me he’s NOT interested in anything serious, I meet up with this other guy – an ex, actually.

Well, not technically an “ex” as in boyfriend, but a man I’d casually dated several years ago during my phase where I was not relationship ready.

We always had a good time. He’s funny, charming and a total gentleman. The guy once delivered flowers to me after a simple misunderstanding just to make sure we were cool.

He’s financially stable, divorced for a long time and has two grown kids out of the house. He just turned 48 but looks and acts much younger.

During the time we were “dating,” this guy fell for me hard. Like, head over heels. I had some sort of a clue back then, but really didn’t know the extent of it…

One night last week, I was surfing around on Plenty of Fish and there he was! We had originally met on POF, and it was cool to see him single and available.

We exchanged messages and he said he was JUST wondering about me! How strange.

I was uber curious to see this guy again. I had changed. I was ready. Had he changed? Was he still ready? Was the timing better now?

It turned out that his birthday landed on the day after we selected to go out. Cool! One stone, two birds. We’d celebrate.

It took awhile to figure out where we’d meet for dinner. I suggested a few places and he was pretty indifferent.

Now, normally that’s not a big deal, but this is the guy who when we were first dating used to pick two restaurants before our date, and DRIVE to them each, check out the vibe and ambience, look at the menu, and actually talk to the manager to get their feedback before choosing which venue would be best.  Screw Yelp. Just ask this guy…

But, whatever, I just took it as maybe he was feeling guarded and didn’t want to extend his gentlemanly-self quite so soon. After all, I kinda rejected him and broke things off last time.

So we arrive at Bottega Louie, a nicer Italian spot downtown LA. I love this place. He had never been.

We have the “Wow, I haven’t seen you in a long time…” jitters and strangely enough we launch into conversation about dating. Online dating, dating in LA, what he’s experienced since we had last been dating, what I’ve experienced, etc

(Btw, I’ve found this conversation to be a pretty typical one with guys nowadays. Nothing too extensive but we definitely chat about dating and meeting online without any stigma. In the past? Stigma.)

So he’s actually telling me that dating hasn’t been going so well for him. That it’s been hard because he started working the graveyard shift over a year ago for his job and that makes it impossible to date. He admits he’s a bit rusty.

He also tells me he no longer believes in the institution of marriage.

Screeeech! Hold up. Say what?!

This dude HAD changed. But why?

So he proceeds to tell me about a “relationship” he had after me that really messed him up. He says he got played pretty bad by a conniving woman who wanted him to chase her for a year when he really wasn’t interested, and when he did switch from only liking her as a friend to all of a sudden realizing he loved her, she broke it off because the chase was over. Messed up. And I felt bad.

That was over two years ago and he’s over that now. But it had changed him a bit.

So I’m listening to his stories. We order a fancy Italian pizza and drinks and continue to chat.

He’s still making me laugh, in between stories and I’m enjoying his company. He’s really one of the good guys and I can still see that. I tell him I’m having a good time and it’s good to see him and catch up.

And then he drops the bomb…

“It’s good to see you, too. But as far as I’m concerned, we should be sitting at this table as husband and wife.  You should have long since been my girl.”

Ummm…. excuse me??? Did you say WIFE?! #WhatTheWhat

He proceeds to tell me that he held back a lot when we were first dating because he knew I wasn’t really interested in anything long term. He is acting timid and kinda shy and totally vulnerable now, but he continues to share his feelings.

I was “the one.”

The whole time my mind is reeling. Is this guy serious? Is it worth checking out? Maybe we should date again…

He assures me I’d be the happiest woman on the earth, that we’d be great together, and that bit was always easy with us.  We clicked.

I tell him I’m confused because earlier he had said he didn’t believe a happy marriage was in the cards for him. He cleared up that I was a different situation. I was different from all the other women he’s dated over the years.

Oh.

I begin to understand. I’m acting super sweet, caring and aware of his vulnerable state, all the while. But still processing this news…

So the restaurant is closing down by this point and the lights start to come up as bus boys clear all the tables.

It’s getting late, it’s a “school night” and I have to work in the morning, so we head out.

I drive him to his car parked farther away, and he’s making me laugh so hard by random things he’s saying in our small talk conversation. (Sense of humor is MUST for me in a match.)

He reminds me that the “ball is in my court”, he gives me a quick kiss goodbye and we part ways.

So there ya have it! The proposal-ish conversation.

It’s been 5 days since that date and I’m still not quite sure what to do. He’s definitely a different person nowadays. I suppose I am, too. There are new things about him that I don’t love and that rub me the wrong way, but I dunno… Maybe I’m sabotaging what could be a really good thing? Heck, I did it once with him already! (even though the timing was off)

And I further suppose that starting over with each other might just be a good idea. I’ll continue to date and meet other people until I figure things out.

The shenanigans of a single woman in her 30s in Los Angeles continue!

“MANifesting”

~ Single Girl ~ Leave a comment

There’s a term I learned while living here in California. It’s called manifesting. Now I may lose you right about now and you might think I’m about to get all “hippy dippy” and “woo-woo” with you, and you’d be right, but get over it and read on anyways. 🙂

I wasn’t raised this way, but I’ve proven over and over that we definitely have the power and/or capability to manifest specific things we want into our lives. I know God has a hand in it, too, but I also know the “Universe” is at play.

That being said, there are times when I’m on a manifesting roll. Where things I want to happen, just happen.

For example, one day I’ll literally be thinking about or talking about something I want and then, BAM! The next day it’s happening to me.

From huge things like wanting to hear from someone I haven’t heard from in awhile and then they go ahead and text me, to small things like telling a friend I’m wanting a chocolate covered strawberry from Shari’s Berries and the next day it shows up at work because a gift from Shari’s Berries just came in from a vendor. (This happened yesterday.)

Some people might call this coincidence. Others might say that my energy of what I want is being put to work and that the Universe just starts conspiring to make it happen. Either way, I know one thing is for sure: You can’t be vague. You have to knew EXACTLY what you want, or nothing happens.

So it’s clear that I’m on a manifesting roll in my dating life, too. Two months ago I made the decision to start dating again (after a year or so hiatus)  and really start looking for someone special. And the abundance of men in the last few months only shows I’m on track. I’m intentionally and unintentionally bringing people into my life. Online dating sites help, but it’s organic, too. There’s no question that this MANifesting thing is working. My butt is tired! 🙂

But what’s most crazy is that in the past week, guys I’ve dated in the past that I’ve been thinking about, have reconnected with me and wanted to see me. (separate #upDATE blog posts coming.. Including a marriage proposal)

Like, they’re contacting me out of the blue.

And I think I know why…

A few years ago, I was truly only about the shenanigans of dating. Having fun, no-strings-attached shenanigans. I was always classy with it, but I was busy building my business and only “dated” men in a casual sense. I thought I wanted a relationship then, but looking back, I wasn’t really in that place. I was unknowingly a heartbreaker and I acted like a dude.

I was focused on something in Los Angeles other than seriousness with a guy, one of the “challenges” a lot of women (maybe me, now, too?) say sucks about dating in LA.

(This is also why I ended up laughing out loud when I was last with The Doc recently.  Taste of my own medicine, indeed!)

But now, I want a committed, long term relationship. My best friend and partner. And the guys who wanted to give me that back then are now showing back up. It’s weird.

I think it’s a test.

I think I’m being tested to make sure I know for SURE what i want. These guys are popping up to see if I’m interested in what they originally were offering. They represent guys who want something long term. Omgggggg! It actually exists in LA!

So stay tuned for the conversations and insight I’ll gather from these men. Not sure if anything will happen with them, as I’m still meeting new guys, too. (another first date on Saturday that I’m really looking forward to!)

Until then, I’m going to get very clear on other things I want in order to continue my manifesting trend.

Winning lottery tickets, anyone? 🙂