OK interwebs. Lend me your expertise.

I’m loath to spend any money on dating sites this year. I’d rather have that money for buying gifts and souviners on my trip in November. I haven’t spent anything on dating since last year and by god I don’t intend to start now. But I am feeling like I need to "get back out there." Still, I would love to have a little advice on this here profile.

Be honest. Be brutal. I can take it. And really, if I can’t I’ll just bitch and moan here about it, so whatever.

These are all the various bits for a match (dot) com profile. Except the pictures.

It’s too much. I know it’s too much. But you, oh Blogosphere, know how wordy I can be. You know I have to explain and craft and massage the message.

I clearly need an editor. Someone with a brutal red pencil that is not afraid to use it. Do I make it public and hope for a 3-day lucky streak or try the craigslist? Or be realistic and just keep painting and decluttering and try to forget about a social life for the rest of the calendar year?

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What do you do for fun?

I have fun in the wilderness with no "modern conveniences" for a week at a time, or in a 4-star hotel in the heart of a big city. Fun is an attitude more than an activity…although there probably are some things I wouldn’t do again.

Favorite local hot spots or travel destinations?

My favorite travel spot is a place in the Cascade Mountains, WA. It’s remote and takes about 2 days to get there. I love it for the wilderness, the hiking, the fishing, the stars and the fact that there’s no t.v. radio or satelite phones or internet.

Favorite things

I like to eat at really good local restaurants. I prefer cooking complicated, delicious, unusual things to ordinary dinners. I’d rather have a rousing discussion than watch T.V. I love theater, opera and movies; things where people are creative.

Last thing you’ve read

Recent Fiction: "Lamb" by Christopher Moore. Non-fiction: Just finished Anne Lamott "Bird by Bird." Other than that, theological stuff mostly. Newspapers (real and on-line), blogs, magazines.

Work

I’m currently "bi-vocational" which means I work FT for corporate America (as a corporate trainer/instructional designer) and PT doing some justice/advocacy work for the Lutheran church. My goal is to phase out the corporate work.

Ethnicity

My dad’s family immigrated to this country in 1629. My mom’s family in the early 1900’s. I probably identify most with the Norwegian heritage (maternal grandmother) but there’s a strong "American/British Isles" influence as well.

Faith

The spiritual side of life is very important to me. I find value in being part of a community of faith but completely understand why some eschew that path. I get riled up when people use God to support their bigotry, privately and publically.

Intro

You should probably know from the start that I play the accordion.

But hey! Think about it…can you really not smile when you see one? Plus, there’s really not a more perfect instrument. (You can’t take a Steinway to the campground!)

Friends tell me I have a good sense of humor, but also that I can be pretty intense and "serious" too. Basically, I live life with the attitude that what we do and say actually does matter on some level and at the same time it doesn’t matter a wit on another level.

I’m a mom of 2 who works FT in a corporate job and PT following my bliss. Soon, this bi-vocational aspect of my life will be finished and the next chapter promises to be more centered, with my days filled with work I find meaningful and important.

The boys are active in school activities and I try to attend as many as I can with a job that has some evening hours. Their dependency on me is changing as they get older and their own social lives are taking up more and more of our time together.

I’m a passionate person who has learned that being authentic is the path to health and wellness. I have a strong spiritual life that informs my public (and private) life, but not in the ways you might suspect. My friends (men and women) tend to be intelligent, funny, creative, passionate and sometimes a little idealistic. (Sometimes, we actually think we can change the world!)

I’ve traveled some but not nearly enough and have a regular wanderlust overtake me. Sometimes, it has to be sated by a trip up north. Other times, I’m lucky enough to go somewhere like Manhattan or Paris. I’m excited to get to take a trip to Italy this coming November and recently found there’s a possibility of a research trip to South Africa. There are lots of places are left on my list. Mostly because there’s so much to see, hear and learn!

My match will be a man who knows who he is and is comfortable expressing that identity with as much authenticity as he can muster. Someone who understands that we’re all broken in one way or another but has figured out a way to operate in the healthiest way he can, both mentally and physically. He probably has done some formal spiritual or theological study even if that means that he can’t find a place in "organized" religion.

Like my friends, the man I date will be intelligent, funny, creative, passionate and sometimes a little idealistic. He will love the simple and *real* things life has to offer: real food, real beer, real conversation, real art and literature and music (even while keeping an eye on the popular) and won’t be afraid of taking the risk of being who he is for the chance at a real relationship.

He may like some sports but will not be someone whose life centers around them. Rather, they will have a balanced place in his life along with other relaxing diversions. He probably will participate more than he is a spectator. He will be comfortable (and capable) in the wilderness as well as in the heart of the cosmopolitan area.

His family relationships (father, mother, siblings, children if he has them) are important to him. He is able to share the "driving" in a romantic relationship.

He’ll be looking to have a woman in his life who is smart, articulate creative, passionate and direct. Not because he can’t stand to be alone, but because life is so great and so abundant that he wants to share it. In short, he’ll be looking for me!

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— — —
A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…

A whole new ballgame 2007
T-6.5 2007
it has come to this 2006
slings and arrows 2006

— — —
A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…

A whole new ballgame 2007
T-6.5 2007
it has come to this 2006
slings and arrows 2006

— — —
A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…

A whole new ballgame 2007
T-6.5 2007
it has come to this 2006
slings and arrows 2006

Posted on July 16th, 2008 under on-line dating. RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback.