SGWM, 28, 5’10"…
Wait, taller people are more desirable. For a guy, 5’10" isn’t all that tall. Better bump that up a bit.
SGWM, 28, 6’0", BROWN EYES, BLACK HAIR, N/S, AVERAGE BUILD…
Hold on, I live in Whistler, the land of 0% body fat and athletic obsession.
SGWM, 28, 6’0", BROWN EYES, BLACK HAIR, N/S, MUSCULAR BUILD, EMPLOYED…
"Employed"? That could mean anything. I don’t want anyone thinking that I work at a Quickie-Mart. "Neon green Slurpee" doesn’t rhyme with "high income bracket".
SGWM, 28, 6’0", BROWN EYES, BLACK HAIR, N/S, MUSCULAR BUILD, PROFESSIONALLY EMPLOYED, ENJOYS LONG WALKS AND READING…
Um, I repeat, I live in Whistler. Anyone reading this is going to think that I’m ready to be put out to pasture. Moooooo -ve over George Burns.
SGWM, 28, 6’0", BROWN EYES, BLACK HAIR, N/S, MUSCULAR BUILD, PROFESSIONALLY EMPLOYED, ENJOYS SKYDIVING, ROCK CLIMBING, BUNGEE JUMPING, SEEKS SAME FOR LTR…
To many, the lingo of personal ads is all too familiar. It is a Morse code that deciphers the personalized characteristics of an individual: height, weight, economic status, hobbies, eye and hair colour. The list can and does go on, with details as to whether or not you smoke, have religious affiliations, are looking for a committed relationship or summer fling, and your goals for the future. Any and all spontaneity are neutered so that the only thing left to chance is the severity of your garlic breath. But all the agonizing text editing is worth it in the end. After all, you may just find your soul mate, your raison d’etre , the tacky pair of shorts to your Richard Simmons. Or will you? Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the game of dating.
Driven by primal needs, dating is a means of finding your life partner. In and of itself, it is not a new concept. People have been dating in some form or other since walking upright came into fashion. This month, the Virtual Museum of Canada has an excellent online exhibit titled Valentine’s Day: Love and Romance Through the Ages that examines the history of Valentine’s Day as well as early dating practices and customs (www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/valentin). In medieval Europe, for instance, writers crafted epic poems and stories for their loved ones that embodied chivalry, faithfulness, and purity. According to the exhibit, this period of human history proclaimed the "greatest love was one yearned for, yet unrequited." We can also conclude that this time period is where the modern day "drama queen" originated.
Another interesting topic touched on by Love and Romance Through the Ages is the concept of the ceremonious present that one gives as a token of affection. In ancient times, King of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar ordered the creation of the Hanging Gardens. Now one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the love-struck monarch fashioned this architectural marvel for his wife Semiramis. Whoever claimed diamonds were a girl’s best friend clearly new nothing of Nebuchadnezzar’s gift. Sorry Marilyn Monroe.
Today, dating in Western civilization has grown to incorporate technology, enterprise, and the media. At the risk of sounding cliché, the Internet has changed the way people communicate with one another. In Whistler, those flying solo can visit www.whistlersingles.com. A free service, the site enables you to create a personal profile and add it to a database of over 600 other profiles. You can also send messages to other singles and upload photographs.
Speed dating, a paid service, is rapidly gaining popularity in North America. An interested person pays a fee to participate in a one-night event where he or she has a number of "micro-dates", lasting approximately seven minutes each, with as many as 10 different people. The atmosphere is social and relaxed. You can make notes of who tweaked your interest the most and at the end you have a list of future dating prospects. It can be a quick and easy way of separating the wheat from the chaff. Whistler has already hosted a successful speed dating event last summer, although the number of single people now eliminated from the game has not yet been confirmed.
Reality TV, a recent media phenomenon, has also added a twist to dating in the 21 st century. You essentially have two options here: appear as a guest on one of many programs, such as The Bachelor, or watch as a voyeur from the confines of your own home. Appearing as a guest puts you at risk of public humiliation but can have some big materialistic payoffs, with you singing "money CAN buy me love" all the way to the bank. Watching as a voyeur takes you out of the running for finding your dream guy or gal but saves you from embarrassment and guarantees amusement beyond compare. What could possibly be more interesting than the trials and tribulations of one randomly selected person’s quest for true love? On the other hand, what does that say about the society we live in? This is definitely a point of discussion for another article.
Other not already mentioned tools of the modern dating trade include the infamous singles dance and the nerve-racking blind date that friends and family organize with the best of intentions. I find blind dates to be the worst method for seeking someone special. At least with other methods, you more or less know what you are getting yourself into. With a blind date, you are going by what someone else has told you about the person and there is usually no preamble leading up to the arranged meeting time and place. You put on your best threads, have a couple shots of tequila to relax, head out the door, and hope for the best.
For those of you that have read this far, you must be thinking that it all seems pretty hopeless. Well, not so. According to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada, 15,018,130 Canadian men and women reported themselves as married or in common-law unions in 2002. Obviously this bodes well for those of us on the frontlines but as with any struggle, there are many obstacles to overcome. There has to be a way to solve the problem and make dating easy and effortless. Two possible scenarios come to mind:
1. Make arranged marriages legally mandatory.
On second thought, no. Arranged unions usually involve parental units making the selection. If my mother had her way, I would be dating Bea Arthur. Nothing says "sex appeal" like a 6’0" plus woman with a voice deeper than a bottomless pit and the personality of rye bread. Yikes.
2. Genetically engineer your perfect partner.
Why clone sheep when you can create el partner perfecto ? You can build him or her faster, stronger, and with that cool Six Million Dollar Man sound effect that would kick in anytime he or she jumps from a moving vehicle. Think of the possibilities! Oh wait, the "playing God" and "needing a spare $10 million" thing. Better scrap this one too.
So what is one to do? Will you ever find your beloved? By commercializing dating, society has placed a great deal of pressure on single people. Being single is not that bad though. There are many unspoken benefits, such as being able to hog the bed covers and having constant command of the remote control. Also bear in mind that there is a reason why it’s called the dating "game". Dating is an aspect of life and as such, is fraught with chance encounters, ups, downs, and risks. Of course, there are certain measures that you can take to stack the odds in your favour, like adopting good personal grooming habits, engaging in social activities, and yes, even taking out a personals ad – but there are no guarantees. All you can really do is ride things out and see what turns up.
There is someone for everyone. When we find him or her is not for us to decide. So Happy Valentine’s Day to my single brothers and sisters and don’t be discouraged. Remember, lousy dating experiences make great stories at parties.
