I can wait to see you again

At what point does a smart person give up on meeting a romantic partner online? I’m not sure how long it takes but I’m not there yet. I’ve tried several different sites for meeting men online. I’ve actually met some really great guys but thus far, there’s been no true romance. From friends and family, I happen to know it can happen but how long do you give it before you throw in the towel?

A couple of weeks ago, I went to dinner with a guy I’d befriended on MySpace. Overall, our online profiles make us look quite compatible. We’re both brighter than average , appreciate off-kilter humor, have similar musical tastes and read like fiends. Although as far as I can tell, none of the above has much to do with compatibility.

We had lunch one Friday on the spur of the moment, then followed up with dinner the following Saturday. Our lunch was fine but I really didn’t feel any romantic connection. We bantered well and the lunch hour flew by. He was funny and so was I but I didn’t get that I-can’t-wait-to-see-him-again feeling.

After lunch we e-mailed each other quite a few times and talked on the phone twice. We met for dinner early on a Saturday evening at a favorite local place we’d both been to before. Forty-five minutes into the date, I sneaked a peek at my watch. That’s not a good sign. I get restless if I sit for too long so if I’m going to sit still, my mind and heart seem to demand full engagement.

You know how you meet someone and immediately click? Well, that didn’t happen with me and This Guy. The good news is the younger, dumber me never would have gone to dinner with him when sparks didn’t fly over our foot-long hot dogs. The older, smarter me said, Eh, give yourself and This Guy a break. Give it another try. So I did.

Dinner provided no spark either. It was a pleasant enough dinner but who wants to settle for pleasant? I’m in search of OHMYGODIFIDON’TSEEHIMSOONI’LLCATCHONFIRE. You don’t come across that kind of crazy feeling every day. Well, you may but I don’t. And that’s what I want. I don’t want to settle for Mr. Almost Right. And, by the way, I’m not really looking for Mr. Right. I seek Mr. Just Right for Right Now. He would be fine.

I’ll keep harvesting my online resources but I’m beginning to think about giving it up. Those are hard words for me to use but I’m starting to lose hope. The competitor in me can’t help but think if other people meet someone special online, then I can too. So for now, I’ll keep trying.