been holding your breath?
So I told you all that I posted an ad online to meet men in the rose city. It was a long journey that got me to this place, this place where I posted an advertisement on a website to try to meet someone special. But here’s what led me along this path:
In 2008, I had some goals. Move to Oregon. Spend lots and lots of quality time with family. Keep working to stay self employed. And that… was it, really. I hadn’t thought beyond the move. Once I was settled; once I’d been down to the coast a dozen times to spend long weekends with my folks, or spent many a lazy Saturday afternoon bicycling around Corvallis with my sister’s family, it was time to look at what else I needed. For me.
And there was definitely something missing.
So I posted an ad. And the next thing that happened astounded me.
From all over this fair city, and from many points beyond (California, Idaho, Washington, Montana- even Chicago and New York), I received email after email from hundreds of people who were all looking too.
I don’t what I expected. Maybe I thought it would be all spam. I remember thinking, I bet I get 20-30 responses and I hope it doesn’t overwhelm me. I had no idea.
I figured I’d get some downright silly responses and I did. Here are a few of my favorites:
- I don’t know about going out but you need to clean that room. (one photo showed me in my apartment, and yes, it’s a mess)
- You’re thirtysomething? Damn. I’m twentysomething.
- Sell some of those fucking vintage coats! (I fessed up to owning more than 100, which is a conservative estimate at best)
- I didn’t list any age or race or height or bank account requirements, because I think that’s shallow and superficial. So I got a number of responses like this one: “Is 74 too old?”
- You don’t want a man. Get a dog.
And my favorite, “You look like Sarah Palin.”
Then there were photos of men in drag, a woman (who I actually agreed to meet), several half-naked members of the Greek persuasion (or at least they all had SAE tattoos) and lots more fun and funny responses.
But mostly, it was just nice, sincere men who are all looking for someone special. I was really, really blown away by the time and thought that they put into responding to my ad. I still am, because responses continue to trickle in. And I am still reading through emails from two days ago.
I’ll have more to tell you soon, dear readers. How the whole process feels like a job interview. How very difficult it is to try to pick some people to respond to, and how worrisome it is to think that the right one might be missed.
I also think you might be interested to learn what I wrote in my ad that seemed to engender such a range of responses. I know my beer and baseball comments hit a home run with some Mariners fans (boo); musicians, artists and writers responded to a call for an artistic bent; and some people were motivated by something else entirely.
And the difficult, stressful process of elimination will be another blog. I wish there were more hours in the day. So that I could respond to everyone who emailed me. Since there aren’t, I had to make some quick decisions, or I’d be dating until 2011.
In 2008, I had some goals. Move to Oregon. Spend lots and lots of quality time with family. Keep working to stay self employed. And that… was it, really. I hadn’t thought beyond the move. Once I was settled; once I’d been down to the coast a dozen times to spend long weekends with my folks, or spent many a lazy Saturday afternoon bicycling around Corvallis with my sister’s family, it was time to look at what else I needed. For me.
And there was definitely something missing.
So I posted an ad. And the next thing that happened astounded me.
From all over this fair city, and from many points beyond (California, Idaho, Washington, Montana- even Chicago and New York), I received email after email from hundreds of people who were all looking too.
I don’t what I expected. Maybe I thought it would be all spam. I remember thinking, I bet I get 20-30 responses and I hope it doesn’t overwhelm me. I had no idea.
I figured I’d get some downright silly responses and I did. Here are a few of my favorites:
- I don’t know about going out but you need to clean that room. (one photo showed me in my apartment, and yes, it’s a mess)
- You’re thirtysomething? Damn. I’m twentysomething.
- Sell some of those fucking vintage coats! (I fessed up to owning more than 100, which is a conservative estimate at best)
- I didn’t list any age or race or height or bank account requirements, because I think that’s shallow and superficial. So I got a number of responses like this one: “Is 74 too old?”
- You don’t want a man. Get a dog.
And my favorite, “You look like Sarah Palin.”
Then there were photos of men in drag, a woman (who I actually agreed to meet), several half-naked members of the Greek persuasion (or at least they all had SAE tattoos) and lots more fun and funny responses.
But mostly, it was just nice, sincere men who are all looking for someone special. I was really, really blown away by the time and thought that they put into responding to my ad. I still am, because responses continue to trickle in. And I am still reading through emails from two days ago.
I’ll have more to tell you soon, dear readers. How the whole process feels like a job interview. How very difficult it is to try to pick some people to respond to, and how worrisome it is to think that the right one might be missed.
I also think you might be interested to learn what I wrote in my ad that seemed to engender such a range of responses. I know my beer and baseball comments hit a home run with some Mariners fans (boo); musicians, artists and writers responded to a call for an artistic bent; and some people were motivated by something else entirely.
And the difficult, stressful process of elimination will be another blog. I wish there were more hours in the day. So that I could respond to everyone who emailed me. Since there aren’t, I had to make some quick decisions, or I’d be dating until 2011.
I suppose whether I really do meet mr. right will have to be it's own blog, too.
More soon. ~
Comments