I finally bit the bullet and jumped feet first into the data app realm. Since Tinder scares the bejesus out of me (I do follow the Bye Filipe Instagram), I tested out Hinge first. Hinge is super similar to Tinder in that you have a brief profile with a number of pictures from facebook and people can swipe left or right. The difference being that only people that are social network connected to you will appear in the deck of cards (the best and only way to describe it). It plays off the old fashion way of meeting: through a friend or through a friend of a friend. After a week of checking out that app, on a whim, I joined tinder. I, like most people, find it hard to to pinpoint exactly the type of person we want to date, all the while trying to be open to possibilities. In essence, I’m attempting to be breezy.
In reality, I’ll occasionally like (or swipe right) on people who aren’t exactly my type, but if anything this process is telling me that I’m persnickety when it comes to men, even before speaking one word (or IMing in this case.)
In my head, there is a magic combination of all the personality traits and likes/dislikes into one person. In reality, there are a few key elements that will make me happy.
No Fantasy Baseball Leagues
On a scale of a 0-10, 0 being absolutely hates sports and 10 being I am the rain-man of baseball statistics, I’m probably fall between a 4-7 depending on the sport. Someone that is also into sports and follows teams is fun for me. I enjoy going to games. I like watching the big game at a bar. I like to talk smack about other people’s teams. I do not however like spending time updating my fantasy baseball roster on a daily basis. I play fantasy football and usually have 1 or 2 leagues going each season, but I sometimes forget to set my players and have people playing that have bye weeks. Sometimes life gets busy and I forget these things. Fantasy baseball is an entire other thing. There are games pretty much every day throughout the 5-6 month season meaning constant updating of the teams. I have zero tolerance or patience for this or for this to derail possible, dates, events, TV watching or other fun times.
No Judging My Music Tastes
I may not be into One Direction, but I pretty much love singing along to a top 40 music station. I have play lists with Britney Spears and Kesha. I love me some Taylor Swift. Sure, I listen to a mix of singer-songwriters on Pandora, but I likely have never heard of whatever super cool, indie, long bearded band that you are into. Not to say I won’t listen, but do not judge me for singing Bad Blood at the top of my lungs. And no, I didn’t listen to that band during high school because that as during my Show-tunes only phase.
Enjoy a good Binge Watch
Sometimes there is no greater joy than watching a great show, episode after episode with another person. Even more so when you are 12 episodes deep and both of you are still in your PJs, can’t remember when you last ate, and have morphed into bizarre viewing positions. Here’s to hoping we both remembered to at least brush our teeth.
No Marathon Running
Marathoners typically want you to run too. I’m up for bike riding, talking long walks, hiking, kayaking or swimming, but never am I up for running. And no, I don’t care about the runner’s high. No, I don’t have to just push through it. No, I don’t want to just give it another go. First, I have terrible knees and both doctors and physical therapists are told me no running. And my niece, who just graduated as a kinesiology major, confirmed for our family that our muscle structure is not meant for distance running. Good grief, get off my back about running.
While my list can go on and on, it becomes about finding a balance: love brunch, but also like going to diners for some solid eggs and homefries. Like animals, but don’t have twice as many dog pictures on your facebook than I have of my cats.
Join me next time while we discover the same 4-6 photos that almost every guy has on the apps.
Have you dabbled with online dating? Have you done any of the apps? Am I being ridiculous?
