Top 10 Ten Reasons Why Online Dating Sucks

So I go back and forth between online dating. I sign up for a month and then I will walk away from it. I have always had mixed feelings about it. So just for your enjoyment pleasure I have made a list of Top 10 Reasons Why Online Dating Sucks.

10. Creepy guys from random countries try to get you to be their VISA ticket to the USA

9. Guys who are old enough to be your dad keep looking at your profile . . . REALLY?? You honestly think somone 30 years younger than you would be interested in dating you??

8. Instead of getting rejected just by one guy you get rejected by several a day. Whether it be that they look at your profile and don't do anything or you message them or flirt with them and they never send a response back. Great for the self-esteem. If you didn't feel bad about yourself before it sure will make you feel even worse afterwards.

7. You thought that dating in your ward was slim pickings try online dating . . . even slimmer than your ward

6. You can invent whoever you want online. So you may think you are talking to a real nice guy but really he's a creeper

5. Sometimes you get a guy who initiates contact with you and then once you start talking to the guy they go mute and you have to create the whole conversation. (Try IM'g with someone who doesn't help you carry on a conversation)

4. Guys online are just as challenged as guys in real life (meaning they are lacking a lot of social skills)

3. Essentially you feel like you are part of a Breakfast Buffet, They can puruse all of the pictures and pick which ones they like and don't like just like you would the Breakfast Buffet

2. People keep telling you that Online Dating actually works, including well meaning family members who just want you to be married and happy, but so far you've tried and you have yet to meet the man of your dreams.

And the #1 Reason why Online Dating Sucks is Online Dating isn't really dating . . . you still aren't going on dates. . . . so what's the point.

This isn't to make anyone who has tried and enjoys Online Dating feel bad. This is just from my personal experinece and I am venting.

Why Do You Eat?

Food, while it is a necessity for living sometimes we tend to abuse it. As you may or may not know I have struggled with my weight most of my life and this past year it reached its all time high. I was so frustrated that I wasn't fitting into my clothes and I refused to go out and buy new clothes especially if it meant going up a size.

As you know I have been on my journey of becoming a new me. I joined Weight Watchers 12 weeks ago and I have lost 19 lbs so far. I am starting to fit into some of my old clothes again and this makes me really excited. I started thinking about why I was doing it the other day and didn't put two and two together, but really it is part of my journey that I have been on the last year to figure out some of my issues and resolve them. Focus on me time is what I like to fondly call it, but really it is me learning to love myself. Everyone always says I have the biggest heart and that I just love everyone no matter what. But that was always everyone but myself. Last year I started to focus on things that I could control. I started getting my medications in check, I started seeing someone and talking about some of the issues that I had, I started sticking up for myself (which I will always be working on), I started working in the temple so that I could grow closer to my Heavenly Father and see myself the way he does, and finally my weight loss journey. Yeah sure it feels nice to have people compliment me on my journey, but really I am doing it for myself. I want to be happy with myself and regardless of what size I am, I am going to know that I am where I am because of what I have done to get there.

With that all being said recent meetings at Weight Watchers has made me think about why I eat? Yesterday I realized that a big part of it is I am emotional eater. Being the highly emotional, sensitive, yet loving person that I am. . . it comes to stark revelation why I am where I was 12 weeks ago. What made me come to this stark revelation you ask?? Well yesterday was the day from hell!! And since I didn't pack any fruit or snacks, by the end of the work day I was not only mentally and emotionally exhausted, I had already pretty much eaten my daily alotment that I have for the day from Weight Watchers. And it didn't stop there. I drove through Taco Bell and got myself dinner on my way home knowing perfectly well it wasn't going to fill me up and when I got home from FHE and the grocery store I then proceeded to eat a bowl of cereal and some slices of pizza that my roommate had brought home from work.

What have I learned from yesterday's catastrophe of eating . . . well I am pretty sure that the scale is going to go up instead of down, which I have come to accept the consequences of my actions. I need to ALWAYS pack snacks . . . today I brought my cheese twists and two bananas. Totally prepared today. Have a big breakfast so I am not so hungry throughout the day. Finally, I need to find a new outlet to release my strees, anxiety, and emotional turmoil.

Dating

So I am approaching my 30th Birthday at the end of the month and honestly I have been dreading this day for the last 6 months. Being 30 and still not married was definitely not part of my plan when I was thinking of how my life would be when I was a little girl. The church has noticed that people are getting married later and that is why they have been talking about it soo much the last few years.
My family is very supportive for the most part, but occasionally I will feel pressure from a few of them. Asking me if I am getting out there. Telling me that I should join lds dating websites, to go to as many activities as possible, moving where there are more members (ie: not in california), etc. My sister even as cute as she is, she even told me that she put my name in the temple so that I will find husband.
The thing that I really didn't think about until recently what being 30 and single means is the type of people that are available to date. Unfortunately the first thought that comes to my mind when I meet a guy around my age and single is, Are you divorced and if you are what happend (because obviously something must be wrong with you.) The second thought that comes to my mind if they haven't been married is, If you aren't married what major issues do you have because you aren't married yet. Sad, but true. Then you start to think . . . well should I go for a younger guy. I have never been interested in younger guys. Being the youngest of 5 I have always dated older than me . . . the one exception was Jared and he was only 2 days younger.
With all that being said, one of my friends thinks I am going through a mid-life crisis. There is a guy at work that I started to flirt with a few weeks ago. He isn't a member of the church, he is 5 years younger than me, has a tatoo, and a lip ring. Not usually the guy I go for. Part of me wants to pursue it because he's a really nice guy. But then at the same time . . . in the back of my mind I am thinking . . he's not a member and I want to get married in the temple. I have all of my Young Women's teachers lessons repeating like a broken record in my head. "You marry who you date" I have never dated a non-member and all of the sudden all sorts of things come up that I never had to deal with. Like how do I set up ground rules for him and how do I keep him from not crossing any of my lines. I take my covenants very seriously and I try my very best to live the gospel. Today we went to luch together and he kissed me for the first time. Of course he tried to put his hands where they aren't supposed to be and I kept moving them away and saying no. Then you have to talk about the whole garment issue. I am starting to see why people are saying it is hard to date outside of the church. But I started going into this thinking I wasn't really expecting to marry him and that I wasn't going to take it seriously. But being 30 and still single . . . should I really use my time dating someone that can't take me to the temple.

Be Fake or Not to Be Fake, That is the Question.

So I have always been a very expressive person and I usually wear my feelings on my sleeve. While this can be good at times it can also be not so good. The good thing is . . . . you always know where you stand with me. I had a friend say to one of my other friends one day "I think Erin's mad at me." The other friend said "What makes you say that?" The person then started listing some things . . . . and the friend replied back, "Well honestly, if you think Erin's mad at you . . . she probably is." The bad thing is that it can get me in trouble sometimes. It makes me a little more vulnerable to get hurt by people. It also can sometimes offend people. So I went to institute tonight and a topic was brought up that is there any sin that isn't selfish. While we all know the answer is no there isn't. Someone brought up White Lies. We've all done it. We've told a little White Lie because we didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. With that in mind I'll bring you up to speed. After institute I went to grab something to eat with my roommate and two other people we know. Mind you I was a little tired so my patience wasn't the best. But the other two people that joined us were being rather obnoxious. Me being the person I am it wasn't hard to notice that I was getting irritated and annoyed. My roommate having already lived with me sometime could read my mood and just politely said she's a little tired. After we got home we talked about it and she said to me "Maybe we should teach you how to be more fake" I told her that I dislike fake people a lot. But then that comes back to the White Lie thing . . . is it bad to tell a White Lie? Is it bad to be completely fake with a person that you don't really like or that you are bothered by. Or should you be honest with people?? While I don't think it is smart to go around and tell people you don't like them and I don't think I handled tonight very well at all. But at the same time . . . I don't think you should pretend to like people when you don't. You know what I mean?? I don't know . . . . it definitely gives me some food for thought.