Siddity in the City

Then you hit a little speedbump, a hiccup of circumstance, and you can’t wait to get back to humdrum.

With the work thing and the occasional dates thing (neither of which is exactly a tickertape parade of activity), frankly, I’m knackered.

Work itself isn’t a struggle–that’s great. Alas, the HR hoop-jumping is doing a number on my nerves. I just want it to be over, to be told I am once again welcome into the warm, employer-sponsored-PPO-scented, loving embrace of corporate America. I want to stroke the hard member of the retirement investment account and watch it grow. I want, simply, to be one of the (dull, employed) chosen, wedded to the 9-5!

And now that I’ve beat the shit out of the lover-ly metaphor for business, onto the business of finding love! (Actually, simple dating will do, and if I find a playmate of sorts before finding the captain of my heart or whatever in the meantime, so be it.)

I work in media. Do you know how many straight, single men there are in media, in Chicago? Four. Maybe. And they probably all work at Crain’s, where I most certainly do not work. So, I’m clearly not going to meet anybody on the job.

All the males of my casual acquaintance are either gay, married, attached, not interested, borderline alcoholics, or some winning combination of the above, which leaves the Internet. Because you won’t find any of that there. (/sarcasm)

If you recall, I’ve tried this before. I generally sign up for some dating site, then slog through a few dozen emails from weirdos before finding, oh, five with potential. I go out with a couple of them, on dates that tend to be at best disappointing. I wash my hands of the entire business for another year.

Well, it’s that time of year again. *Shrugs*

Strictly speaking, dating Internet strangers is pretty much a numbers game not unlike the online job search. You’d be better off networking, but sometimes you have no other choice. So you apply to as many loosely appropriate candidates as possible, wait for interest, and take every face-to-face opportunity that comes along in hopes of lucking upon the right fit. After you meet with one, you set up an interview with another. Eggs, basket. You know.

Unfortunately,my approach to Internet dating is very much like my approach to Internet job hunting: I apply only to those in whom I am highly interested and for whom I am generally unqualified. Occasionally, I find someone I like and the interest is returned. This has recently yielded a few actual date-like scenarios, and for once, they were painless enough that I am not compelled to give up the whole endeavor for another year.

Yet.

Still, it’s an awful lot of excitement for someone who generally doesn’t date so much as become involved with people she’s known for a while. Add that to the work drama, and I’m really, really looking forward to a weekend spent doing laundry, sleeping in, and watching Hex.