LOOKING FOR LOVE ON THE INTERNET?

Advice from Pittsburgh lifestyle coach, Jackie Omotalade, “The First Lady of Fitness, Fashion, and Fun (http://www.fixupmybody.com):

Healthy relationships are crucial to both your physical and mental well-being! Research shows that healthy relationships are essential to our happiness and emotional health. They also have a positive effect on our physical health. It will influence everything from heart health to age-related health issues.

I never thought much of online dating, in fact i thought it was downright weird. There are way to many scumbags and sickos out there to risk casting a line out into the worldwide web! Yes, ya might reel in some sweetly succulent Mahi Mahi, but you could also catch a shark (i.e. Jaws) or some slimy industrial waste that could end up killing or contaminating you!

I prefer to meet people the good old fashion way - at bars and nightclubs - and let me tell you that that has gotten me no where except perhaps a few free drinks, that I could easily buy myself to save myself the energy of a wasted meaningless conversation with some dufess who could potentially be plotting to put some date-rape drug in my drink. Ce la vie of the single girl!

Recently, however i was out to dinner with a friend who informed me that he had met his wife over the internet. Let’s just say I was dumbstruck! I mean this guy is not crazy or a wierdo! I seriously cannot imagine him prowling over the internet for hours looking for hot chicks to chat with as me masterbates. In addition, he didn’t describe his wife as some freak either!

Voila! Internet dating made a slight break-through for me, because I know for a fact that this guy is not crazy and better yet, he is happily married (in fact, he is so happily married, he married his wife in three ceremonies!

After my dinner, it seemed that folks that I know that are not sick, perverted, crazy or God-forbid UGLY came out of the woodwork to tell me about their internet dating experiences.

They told stories of both exciting and not so exciting dates that had been made via online dating services. Now, not all those people have found a husband or wife, but most were happily dating someone or multiple someones and even when the dates didn’t work, they had colorful stories to tell (People don’t always look like their online photos)! So yes, there are wierdos, sickos, and perverts out there, but we cannot live our lives bound by fear of the unknown. For me, internet dating was the unknown and I was not quite ready to plunge into those waters yet. My discussions with friends taught me that the best thing about interest dating is that it allows you to fish for potential mates with a net and not a rod, there by enabling you to draw a wider range of fish. You can sample a lot of different kind of fish, before deciding which ones you like and suprisingly shark doesn’t taste too bad!