The GeekHiker

For the first time in a few weeks, I decided just to take Sunday and spend it in the laziest manner possible.  I slept in.  I went out for lunch.  I read.  I sent e-mails.  Hell, the closest thing I did to actual effort was to make a salad for dinner.  Just about killed me.

It was nice to have a day to relax.  I think I’ve been pushing myself out every weekend to try to expand my social circle as much as possible, since it more-or-less took a nose-dive after the breakup.  That’s what sucks about a shared set of friends: they have no clue what to do, and I haven’t pressured them anyway.  And sometimes, just getting out to distract myself from all the other stressors in my life is a goal in and of itself.

But… for a rather shy, non-social person like myself, going out and doing these social activities, while rewarding, is also kind of exhausting.  It’s not yet in my comfort zone to go out and be sociable, strike up conversations, etc.  Perhaps it never will be.  So for the time being it takes a lot of energy and effort to do.

Still, I did e-mail Pink Sweatshirt, so we’ll see where that goes.  I have the nagging suspicion that I sent the world’s worst e-mail though.  I always have the sneaking suspicion that I’ve accidentally typed something stupid that has offended the other person.  Of course, the experience with The Nurse, who not only didn’t reply for almost a week but then spurned me, doesn’t help with that belief.

Not being one to put all my eggs in one basket, however, I decided to (finally) finish updating my profile on one of the dating sites.  I’ll set it live once the site’s approved it.

I have to say, though, I’m not feeling as eager about the online dating thing as I have been in the past.  Not that I don’t think it can work: The Ex Girlfriend and I met through online dating, so I know it’s certainly possible to make a connection.

The big part of it, I think, is that in my previous experience I met very few women who were even remotely my type.  I got a lot of hits from overweight couch potatoes who’d never even seen a hiking trail, or hated museums, or would much prefer to spend their time in the mall talking about Britney or Paris.

Okay, now reading what I just wrote, I should probably explain something: no, I don’t have a “No Fat Chicks” bumper sticker on the back of the truck.  And I’m certainly not looking for a woman who’s so damn thin that if you shine a flashlight at her stomach her internal organs make shadow puppets on the wall behind.  Or whatever insane extreme body types the media is currently using to bash women’s self-esteem these days; Lord knows I’ve had enough female friends get depressed over such things.  I’m certainly not in perfect shape myself (classic thin (but not skinny) geek stock, with about 8 lbs. around the middle I’d like to lose), so an average figure, or whatever that person’s “average” is, is just fine.

But it doesn’t seem unreasonable that, given I’m the type of person to bust out a 10 mile hike in a day, that I should desire a potential date/mate who wants and is capable of doing the same thing.

Which is exactly what I didn’tget on the dating sites last time around.  Instead, I got couch potatoes.

Unfortunately, living in such a harsh dating market as LA, I’m not sure that not having an online profile on at least one dating site is an option.  It’s not like I’m going to meet anyone on the bus.  The last time that happened I was in college in San Francisco.

I’m starting to remember just how much I hated the dating game…