Out with the old…

Yesterday, I found out that some of my friends/neighbors were having their annual garage sale on Saturday morning.  Time to get rid of some old junk and make a few bucks in the process, so I started the hunt for everything unwanted, unused or just un-needed.  One folding bike that I thought I was going to ride to work but never did – check. My space heater and Snuggie (don’t judge) – check.  A large Rubbermaid tool chest that I loaded in a truck to move out here to San Francisco and loaded in a truck to move twice while here (I am not loading that thing onto a truck again) – check.  I even had a few pairs of (gasp!) old shoes that I didn’t wear anymore.  So off I went this morning with two car loads of stuff, and voila!  Most of the stuff sold and I’ve got an extra $170 in my pocket.

It’s so easy to get rid of old stuff… if only you could take old feelings or memories from past relationships to a garage sale.  Box of unhappiness:  $5.  Bin of hurt feelings: $3 each.  Broken heart:  Oh, just make me an offer and take it off my hands because I’m not packing that thing back up and taking it home.  I’m not wallowing in sorrow here, but as any gal out there who’s been on the receiving end of a crappy relationship knows, it would be nice to unload all those feelings in one fell swoop.

This is a perfect time use an old cliché… out with the old and in with the new!  And by new, I don’t mean the awesome wood heel wedges that I got last week (although they are quite fabulous).  I mean the fact that I actually started an online dating profile.  I know I'm not moving for about six weeks, but who says you can't get started a bit early, right?

First of all, there was a bit of debate with my friends on E-Harmony vs. Match.com.  I liked the fact that they matched personalities on E-Harmony, plus, a friend said that it seems to be a better mix of people.  Match.com has brought luck to two of my other friends, and I was told that they don’t discriminate against gays like E-Harmony does.  These were all good and valid points to consider.  Even Google wasn’t much of a help with this one – I Googled “E-Harmony vs. Match.com” and got some so-called rating website that also had information on a site called (seriously) sugardaddie.com. 

Being that I’m not in the market for a “pimp-daddy” and I’m not gay, I decided to test the waters with E-Harmony.  2500 questions (including essay-types) later – I am the proud owner of my first online dating profile.  I scrounged up an acceptable picture, but I’m planning on having someone at work take a nice picture of me Monday.  You know, just your average “make me look good, thin and date-able” picture.  I still have some work to do on the profile (and, of course, add the “good/thin/date-able” picture), but I feel like I’ve made some progress. 

To entice you to want to pay good money to play the E-Harmony game, they share a selection of “matches” as soon as finish your questions.  Of course, you can’t actually see pictures of these guys until you pay – that’s how they get you.  And, speaking of paying good money, the amount you pay “per month” goes down the longer you sign up for.  The best price is when you sign up for a year, but doing that is just admitting that you’ll need 12 full months just to find a match, which is kind of sad and pathetic.  Now it’s time to play the “how hopeful am I” game to choose whether I want 3 months or 6 months.  Ugh!

So, this morning, I checked my email.  Someone “smiled” at me after viewing my unfinished profile.  Wait, let me back up here… “John/56” smiled at me.  Really????? 56????? Oh, good lord…I put in all that time and that’s the first thing I see?  No offense to “John/56,” but I think I’m going to be more comfortable with a “4-number” than a “5-number.” Well, since then, I’ve gotten about 10 other emails with “Meet so-and-so” in the title, most of which are a little closer to my age range (whew!)  I logged on to my homepage and I’m up to 16 matches and I don’t even think I’ve hit the 24-hour mark yet, so obviously, I’m not the only one out there looking for love.

I accomplished a lot this weekend.  I cleaned out some clutter, which will make moving a bit easier.  I made a little cash, which helped to offset the awesome wood heel wedges.  And, I jumped into the deep end of the E-Harmony pool, which means I’ve started my quest for love… I think I’ll leave the water wings at home.