It was my first weekend alone in a new city, my roomie went out of town. And though I don’t mind being alone, it was Valentine’s Day, President’s Day weekend, and that made for 3 nights of just me and my dog.

I don’t care about Valentine’s Day much either, so it wasn’t one of those desperate lonely girl acts. I’ve been single for over 7 years, it has pretty much zero meaning. And even when I was dating someone in a period that included that day, I didn’t care. Of course his best girl friend told him I was just saying that to test him. She said that about a number of things I did. Pretty sure that’s why that one didn’t work out.

But of course, I was in a new city, hanging out with my dog and Facebook and everyone was out that night but me. I had heard about Tinder so I figured, why not see who’s single and hot around here? I browsed for awhile, swiped way more left than right and headed to the bar. I was quite surprised, (and flattered!) to see how many handsome matches I had. The next morning I discovered that after a few drinks I had added something to my profile about being there for nothing more than a drinking buddy and make-outs.

I spent the rest of the weekend Tindering and hanging out at the neighborhood bars. I had far more fun chatting with the bar staff than swiping through Seattle singles but I kept at it anyway to pass the down time. I don’t think I ever really thought I’d make a date out of any of them, it was more a nice reassurance that there were plenty of handsome single men out there just waiting to hike, travel around the world, play with puppies (and some kittens, ish), hang out with nieces/nephews, volunteer in poor countries, skateboard, surf, cook fantastic meals, run marathons and cuddle with me. (apparently almost every single guy does all of these things. AMAZING!)  I don’t think I’d been on a date in Minnesota for a couple of years.

But I felt bad leading anyone on, so I did agree to meet up with a guy that I chatted with for awhile. We went out for a beer one afternoon. We had plenty to talk about but I just didn’t feel anything. I’m not even sure I ever laughed at him. If you know how easily I laugh, you’ll understand how sad that is. And he is an aspiring comic! So more sad for him. The next day I had an interview downtown and he happened to be there as well. He suggested we meet up so he could show me something. He took me up to the 17th floor of some tower and brought me out onto a patio with an amazing view of the sound and city. After that it was just awkward. He tried to chat, I stared at the mountains. I’m a horrible date.

I met up with two other guys and it was more of the same. One of them I went out with solely because he’s a fisherman. I’m convinced I need to marry a guy who spends a ton of time on a boat. He fished out of Cordova, where I spent most of my time in Alaska, so we shared stories of the town and had a nice time. Ended the night at bar with karaoke, I sang a song, he fell in love, I brushed him off. Same old story.

The third one, there’s really not much to tell. Looks wise, he was right up my alley. Super tall, broad, very capable of growing a beard. And that was it.

If you’re like me and aren’t really into the whole online dating thing, I’d recommend Tinder. You’re only connected with those who like you too (or accidentally swipe right, oops!), you don’t have to read much and it leans more towards meeting now than messaging for days. (this article kind of sums up my swiping tendencies.) Sure, plenty of people use it for hook-ups but many profiles I’ve browsed adamantly expressed that was not what they were looking for. (right!) I’ve since deleted the app as I’m content not to be dating right now. If I meet a handsome guy at the bar, fine.

And if you’ve ever wondered how I could possibly be single, you probably know now.