About a year ago, I registered on a dating app. Inspiring love stories (cough *@azzo1 *cough) made me want to give love a chance.

In order to give dating a fair shot (and not run away at the first difficulty), I set myself SMART goals and a support team. Of course, lockdown soon happened and dating was became purely digital for a while.

Blame me not, but messaging numerous gentlemen at the same time can be confusing at time! I almost needed Excel sheets and mind maps to remember who was telling me what, and what I had shared with whom!

When the lockdown was lifted, I selected a couple of suitors to meet who were, apparently, very similar: same age, same height, same kind of high level engineering position, same broad frame, same agreeableness. One blonde, one dark haired. How to differentiate them?

I must admit that I didn’t expect much from these dates. I thought it would be nice, but that nothing would come out of it.

Also, dating activities in May were very limited: no movies or bar or restaurant or even public parks. We were not allowed to go very far. Even public transportation had limited access.

So I organized similar dates with these gentlemen to ensure a fair competition (in a Covid mindful setting): early afternoon, one on Thursday, one on Friday,  one in the woods East of the city, one in the woods West of the city, 4 hours each. And may the best win!

As expected, both dates were really nice and engaging. Both suitors indeed had a lot in common and a real dating potential. But Friday guy had a little something extra. I still cannot pinpoint exactly what it was. Maybe it was because he was insanely respectful of all my limits and barriers. Maybe it was because he was a pleasant company even when it started raining. So I agreed to a second date with Friday guy. And another. And another. And another. And another. And soon my calendar bear his name on most days of each week.

Today I’d like to send my warmest thanks to my past self for taking a chance at love a year ago. And to thank all beanies for sharing their love stories – I can assure you today that it made a difference in someone’s life.
 
(To be continued)

Love, February

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    SQUEEEEEEE! Oh my gosh, @azzo1 has a spin-off!
    I’m very happy for you 💐

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      Thank you 😊
      Azzo is an inspiration (she would not accept to be qualified as a love guru I think 😉)

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    Awww… I’m so happy for you! I know this is not important in the whole scheme of things but which one is Friday guy? The blonde or the dark-haired? Sorry for being nosy but my Ahjumma heart is interested to know 🤣

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      😂 Friday guy is the dark haired one. He also had / has a big beard which make him the perfect teddy bear 😍 (to be fair he came to our dates with holes in his pants, so I picked the laid-back guy 😂)

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        My husband is like a teddy bear too. Well he didn’t start out as one but after 20 years of marriage, I fattened him up good haha

        Teddy bears are the best, they are so nice to hug and snuggle to when it’s cold. Good choice! You have my ahjumma stamp of approval 😆

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    OH! Look at you! Im so happy for you!

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    Wow! I must admit, your organization and “fairness” made me chuckle. Love is not fair no matter how much you will try. Amazing you chose two similar personalities and even vocations. I was all over the place when I dated. I didn’t know what I would like. Good luck!

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      One of my (many) rules when online dating was to be as open minded as possible. I exchanged messages with all kind of people with different appearances and ages and professions. It just happened that the 2 “finalists” were very similar (on paper). I guess we do have a type? (I initially wanted to date a bald guy but I had to compromise 😂)

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        Friday guy may still end up bald—although I don’t know if you should tell him that fantasy!

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    Eeeep!!! What a nice story!! Thanks for sharing!! Maybe this is the nudge I need, lol. Catch up with me in a year, hehe!!
    In all seriousness, I am happy for you and your bravery to put yourself out there. I don’t have many friends, and you guys sharing your love stories and lives makes it seem like I have many:)

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    Aw, I love this and it just makes me really happy, I’m glad you took a chance on love!
    So now we have Pie Guy @hotcocoagirl and Friday Guy (if that’s how you want us to call him, of course 😀).

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      It’s all about those rhymes ~

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      😊 I am so glad we can support each other and inspire each other and find love, even when it seems impossible to us. Sometimes the most difficult is to remember that we are wonderful and lovely and worthy of love. Friday guy told me that he was very happy that I put myself “on the market”. Well, I didn’t have to put myself out there that long, so I guess I am a catch (kinda) 😂😂😂

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        You definitely are and of course he is. He sounds like such a wonderful guy and I really wish you two all the best together ❤

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    Aww I came across your story on azzo’s posts comments and kudos to you for taking action. It seems like you did it with such discipline and planning when I have mostly heard that love is spontaneous. That gives me a different outlook on all this ❤️

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      😊 Well, after believing in dramas and expecting a meet cute with a chaebol for years without anything happening, I did have to take the matter into my own hands 😂
      I don’t think we can command feelings, but the all dating process helped me identify what I was looking for in a partner and also in my life. And when I met Friday guy, it all clicked, it all made sense. I feel like dating was my homework to spontaneously fall in love with the right guy for me 😉

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    ^_^ I love this! Sometimes, all it takes is that step, taking a chance. Friday Guy sounds like a lovely person to have on a calendar ~

    Also, I recall when I online dated a few years ago, it is insanely difficult keeping everything straight! You’re idea of excel sheets is likely not unwarranted.

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      😁 I had to consider dating as a work project to manage the workload and all the input and stay focused on my objectives! 😂
      I confess Friday guy is not so much on my calendar these days… He is simply by my side everyday 😊

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    @DelSatu That’s wonderful ♥

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    Delsatu!!! Happy to see your name here again and equally happy to hear your story as well!!! Sending all my good wishes! And hope to hear from you more soon! Cant wait to hear more about Friday guy!!!

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      @acacia!! So good to read you! Thank you for your good wishes 😁
      2020 has been a strange and crazy year, but I have been lucky enough to experience wonderful changes (I must admit it kept me busy and away from DB). I hope you are doing well!!

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    This is such a good story and the kind of motivation I need to get my self out there. I can travel the world alone but I’m so good at talking myself out of doing these kind of things…

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      Love is an option and not an obligation! If you decide one day to go for It, you might discover that it is not that difficult (though, I confess, very time consuming 😂). I have travelled the world by myself and loved it – now I am ready to travel with someone else, I hope it will be just as fun! 😉

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    This is so sweet! Congrats DelSatu! I’m so happy for you 🎉🎉🎉🎉

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