Like a job interview but instead of a handshake, some creep wanted to swap spit.

On the eve of Valentine's Day, I am utterly grateful that I give the day very little thought. (Other than those freakin' homemade Valentines that I made with Laurel thinking it was a good bonding exercise.)  According to Mr Ching Wang, every day is Valentine's Day with him.  But what I think of the day is that past dread that I would have when I wasn't with anyone.  Perhaps I was out there, trying to date.  God, dating absolutely sucked.  Like a job interview but instead of a handshake, some creep wanted to swap spit.

I do believe it was a good thing that I did date and "date" several men prior to meeting my husband.  I truly felt that I wasn't settling for him..I knew what was out there and he was my man.

There were bad dates, some good but mainly bad ones.  There was the guy that gnawed on a wart that was on his hand (like he was biting a fingernail) as we were about to order lunch.  There was the guy who kept saying "ex-squeeze" me years after the duo from Wayne's World made the phrase trite and stupid.  And then there was the guy that thought it would be a good idea to offer a motel by the hour on the Berlin Turnpike (complete with shag carpeting and ceiling mirror).

I wasn't the princess of picks either. While I cleaned up nice, if I was bored, I couldn't hide it.  A lot of times, I was just comparing him to someone else.  You know, that guy that I pining for and acting like an absolute idiot. If I could, I would cut my loses mid date.  (Let's just move on)

After a lot of bad dates and bad decisions, I took a year off in my mid-twenties.  I thought I needed to work on myself first and then get out there.  When I was ready to get back in the game, I wasted no time.  I wasn't going to go to a bar or let someone fix me up.  I hit the personals in Boston Magazine.  I know that screams, "bad decision", but I had nothing to lose.  I truly felt like I was good catch.  Unfortunately the guy that I responded to was not.  Not only was I using the mag as a resource but I was also using a new mode of meeting men..internet dating sites (this was in 1999)  While I was getting ready for this Boston Magazine date, I was also corresponding with some Asian dude that called himself Mike but his initials were CCW?

To this day, I can't remember the name of Boston Magazine's guy.  But I can tell you key points of the date--he told me that he didn't like sports, lived with his parents and tried to convert me to Catholicism on the spot.  Then his drink came..he ordered White Zinfindel.  I am sitting across from a guy with pink wine.  The conversation was so strained but luckily we found a common bond..we liked to watch Beverly Hills 90210 re-runs.  That was the only commonality that we had.  I also remember the beautiful faucet fixtures in the ladies room.  You know when a date is bad when you are making note of the bathroom fixtures.

Luckily, he didn't even try to lean in for the business when we said good night.  There wasn't a second date.

But while I am a glass half empty on guys..I was strangely optimistic about talking again to this Mike....I went home not disappointed and eager to log on to my computer.