Pearls

What can I do? It's just not there. That ineffable, magical feeling, aka the spark, continues to elude me.

I tried with Date #11, even extending my two-date minimum rule to three, in case the problem was mine and I was unconsciously self-sabotaging or simply looking the wrong way.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. And I mean "unfortunately" because wouldn't it be grand if I was done with this whole dating thing and instead could report, "Yippee, I found him. My Dreamboat. My Sweet Pea."

But in fact, after a good three months of searching, I'm not any closer to walking down the aisle (albeit for a third time) than when I began. Which is not to say it's been a waste. Far from it. All along the way, I've learned a multitude of things, about myself, about others and the world-at-large including:

1) Scoop-neck tops are for girls. Anyone older should stick with V-necks, particularly those that show a little cleavage.

2) To walk in 4-inch stilettos and not waddle like a walrus, tilt your upper body slightly forward and lead with your head.

3) Whole Foods sells a tinted, facial moisturizer that takes less than three seconds to apply and really does even out the skin tones --or so said my son after staring at my pores, before and after.

4) Always look a man straight in the eye, unless he's married, in the throes of divorce, or hates being alone.

And 5) That a lot of men (at least among the ones I meet) are on medication. But don't let this be disconcerting. As a psychiatrist friend asserts, the men who aren't probably should be.