Dating via Craigslist

Last night over dinner with the Mean Girls, Romeo asked how I had so many dates. The answer: Craigslist. Apparently with the gay men, CL is much more of a 'bang me now' site than a dating site. Anyhoo, why Craigslist?

Here's some basic reasons:

1. On both match.com and eHarmony, I received some of the most fucked up matches in the entire world. The one good match I received from match.com was D9, and obviously we are not dating, just friends. My worst dates EVER were as a result of eHarmony and match.com, both of which were suggested by well-meaning friends who found their respective loves on each site. Congratulations, ladies, I am delighted for you. Me, I'll pass on both.

2. It is free. Free often equals good in my world. I'm not paying for godawful matches anymore.

3. The odds of men v. women on CL are in my favor. Lots of guys on there, many porn spambots on there for women. Real women are in the minority. Lucky me.

4. I don't date people I work with, nor can I rely on my friends for dates. Most of my male friends are gay, thus limited exposure to straight men. Most of my women friends are married, thus have little interaction with single men. The ones they do have interaction with are often their husbands' friends, of which they are often not very complimentary. You are right ladies, I can find jerks on my own. Getting good at it, in fact.

5. I'm not looking to get married tomorrow, so having a virtual buffet of dates (even if they are all first dates), gives me an opportunity to hone my dating skills. I was off the market for five years and what I've found is that dating is totally different in my 30s than it was in my 20s. I'm rather enjoying the casualness of it all.

6. Yes, Mean Girls, there are plenty of straight guys looking for an immediate hookup on CL. This is not exclusively the purview of M seeking M. Each first date is always at a coffeeshop and if a guy doesn't want to do that, I kick him to the curb. Yes, this girl enjoys her happy fun time but I prefer it on my terms.

7. I've responded to ads and placed my own ad. I've met some pretty interesting people this past year and I can't say that I regret any of them. All have offered some educational benefit. One has made me want to be a superspy before even going out on a first date.

8. The worst thing that can possibly happen with a CL date at Starbucks is that I waste an hour. Big Whoop.

9. Craigslist offers me an opportunity to hone my creative writing skills while seeking a potential date. What fun for a person like me ... :)

10. Dating is weird anyway. Why not add a little punch to the mix and see what happens when you insert the Internet into your dating life? What do you have to lose? An hour? A cup of coffee?