Any Which Way - Date #2

I was supposed to meet Date #2 last night but canceled on the guy when, at the last minute, I got a ticket to see a dance performance by Taiwan's Cloudgate. I know it was a rotten thing to do, and my karma will undoubtedly catch up with me, sooner rather than later. But I guess when it came down to choosing, I preferred my own company at the concert to meeting Mr. "New Freedom."

He sounded nice enough. And of course, it was absolutely fair that he wanted to meet halfway at a bar in a strip mall in one of Chicago's western suburbs. But there was something about his emails, so loaded with acronyms, that I felt like I was reading my 13-year-old's text messages.

I'm not faulting the man. The problem, I think, is in the system. There's something about the process of getting to know someone in a vaccuum that brings out my most judgmental self. Take "Tall and Handsome" who went on and on about himself without asking one question about me, then concluded his missive by asking if there was anything else I'd like to know about him. Delete. Or the guy who can't stop bragging about his kid, who has straight A's, won the national debate contest, raised a million dollars for Haiti, plus is on the Junior Olympic Fencing Team. Yes, I'm sure he's a chip off the old block, but no thanks.

Likewise, I'm sure I've been unfairly judged. When I wrote the "Hairdresser" that "I've always wondered what hair stylists are really like, since when you go to a salon, everyone who works there is always so concerned about how they look, that you always end up feeling second-rate no matter how many beauty services you've purchased," did I hear back? Not a word. And that was one of my more interesting messages. Most of the time, I tend towards the boring. I just can't seem to get into the swing of writing about myself when I have no idea whom I'm writing to.

That's why I think internet dating etiquette needs to be revised. Yes, I know there's a safety reason behind the recommended procedure - first emails, followed by phone conversation, and only then face-to-face - but when I follow the program, my interest invariably wanes.

I once went out with a man who later murdered someone. So I can't say I have great radar. But the way I figure, dating is a risky business any matter which way you look at it.