w4w

With all this talk of online dating I feel the need to make a confession. I've been online. I've posted ads, I've put up some particulars. What I like to do, where I work, what I'm looking for. The emails have come flooding in. I weed out the crazies and contact the pretending-not-to-be-crazies. We've emailed back and forth a bit giving more details. We've agreed to meet up. We've exchanged pleasantries, but I always leave feeling disappointed, never to hear from them again. How is this not online dating you ask? For starters, there's no possibility for sex. Nor is there potential for lifelong bliss of the romantic sort. You see, I'm not looking for a man, I'm looking for a roommate.

"What do you post for...woman seeking woman?" asked my uncle. No, that would get me a very different type of roommate (though not one that would completely surprise my family). I'm not really into that though what I'm doing can't be too far from that cyber world. Though I've never dated online before, but I'm pretty sure this is just like it...only worse. There are two major lines of evidence to support such a claim:

1. You basically have to write a personal ad, making yourself sound awesome, responsible and clean (this is the part people lie about) to entice someone to want you. But this isn't just to find someone to go out to coffee with. This isn't just a few dates. This is a commitment. I have to live with this person. I have to share a bathroom with them. I have to come home to them. I have to overhear things in the night. Makes the freedom of online dating look pretty good doesn't it?
2. In the case of online dating, one would presumably agree to meet in a public place. It's only logical. I have to invite them into my home. This freaks me out. A God-fearing Christian woman from the internet can turn into a 40 year old man with a foot fetish in no time flat. Every time I open the door, I'm expect to see a bad comb over and beer belly. In fact, I have told my friend at work that if I don't show up in the morning, to check my email for a potential has most likely killed me.
   

The good news is I've become a bit of a Craigslist connoisseur. I found one roommate and an apartment so far, with any luck I'll have roommate #2 by the weekend. I'm 2 for 3. Now there's an average you don't see in the online dating world.