"We are very pleased to report that you are in the top half of OkCupid's most attractive users. The scales recently tipped in your favor, and we thought you'd like to know. You will now see more attractive people in your match results. Suddenly, the world is your oyster." ~ Email I received from OkCupid dating site this month.

That last line is the one that really kills me. When I was homely in OkCupid's eyes, apparently the world was not my oyster; but now that they've deemed me good-looking, the game has changed. What did they expect me to do? Jump up and down shouting, "Woohoo! Bring on the hotties!"? I literally laughed out loud when I read this email because this is the exact problem with most online dating sites, and dating in general: we sort for compatibility primarily by looks. How does anyone find love like that? Or just someone to have coffee with?

A perfect match

I hate being wrong -- about everything, really, but especially when it comes to dating. I really hate it, and this is a problem since I get dating wrong about as often as I get it right. As much as I hate to telegraph this fact, one in five couples now meet online (the same amount that meet in bars and at social events). Clearly these sites know more than I do about dating. I wish I could say one in five of my dates is a perfect match. My success rate's a little lower. Ok, it's actually A LOT lower.

I actually like dating. Well, I have liked dating up until now. Now I'm really ready to meet my "plus one." I thought I'd never get tired of being an independent-I'll-do-what-I-want-when-I-want-without-checking-in-with-anyone type of girl. Lately, I've started to realize that I'm ready for a new, more committed chapter. 34 years old - better late than never! I don't know how this happened, but like the OkCupid good-looking ticker, I crossed some kind of line. All of a sudden I was just ready. People told me this would happen. I thought for sure they were wrong and that they didn't get me. Turns out they got me better than I did. (I did tell you my hit rate of getting it wrong was about 50% so this should not be surprising to you.)

Turning over the reins

Maybe the people in my life and these dating sites -- even with their attraction tickers -- know how to match me better than I do. Maybe an outsider's perspective really is most valuable when evaluating matches. Why not turn over the reins and give it a go? Matchmakers have been around for a long time. If they were useless, they'd have died out as a breed long ago. What the heck - let someone else match me as they please. The worst that can happen is I'll have a few more good dating stories, and be that much closer to finding the right partner.

What about you, Pinkies? Did you ever let someone else match you up on a date, online or otherwise? How did it go? Did your matchmaker get it right?

Still on the lookout,

Christa

[feature photo credit: photoxpress.com]