Does Match.com Really Work???

First let me say that the reason for this hub is my wife. She has been asking me to write our story, a match.com success story of course. I have been putting it off for a while and so finally I received her usual response, "I'll do it myself!!" So to the readers of my hub-pages, I present my wife.

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Yes, wife here!!!

I am sure everyone out there is at least somewhat familiar with online dating now. Like everything in life, it might work for some and not for others. For us it worked, and so I want to share our story. I am sure you will find it useful, or maybe interesting, funny or familiar. Perhaps it will just be something different and entertaining to read.

Why did I sign up for www.match.com ?? Well, my reasons were simple...new country, new town, new neighbourhood...need to meet people!!!

I was on my eighth month of living abroad, around half way through my "international trainee program." Some of the few friends I had managed to make outside my busy work schedule were relocating to other states. I really did not have a lot of spare time to meet people. I was living alone in a new country, it was hard for me to just go out at night on my own.

One day a friend suggested I try out a website to meet people. She had been on Match.com and was finding it very interesting. So, one night I signed up for it. I figured I would try it out for a while and if I liked it, I would pay to get the full deal. They had a free trial period for a limited time. I think it was a week or so.

Work was up to my neck, of course, and after I had filled out my profile to the best of my ability (leaving out the part about being by myself in a foreign country and some other curiosities), I had not been able to really look at my messages, or just browse through the site. I received that email reminding me that in two days I had to either pay the registration fee, or bye-bye.

I went online, looked at some of the messages I had received. Most of them were BORING or not might type, according to the profile. Some were ANNOYING. Really, I do not know why some foreign men think that asking if "I grow marijuana in my back yard" is a good pick up line, or even "so, do you know Juan Valdez?" If you did not get the comments, it probably is because I have not mentioned I am from Colombia.

So, just a little piece of advice for people out there pursuing an "alien": If the only things you know about another person's country are not really worth mentioning, PLEASE, just leave them out of your conversations until you find out something interesting, or appealing to mention. I mean how enchanted would you be really if somebody tried to get you to date them by saying: "So, England huh?...Heard the food there is wonderful, I love Indian", or "Is everyone in your country like Michael Jackson?", or even "I've heard French women don't shave their under-arms."

Gosh!!! I mean, don't get me wrong, match.com did a good job finding profiles that interested me. The few I managed to read were pretty amazing, but then those emails just made me run, or should I say, delete without a second thought. Right as I was about to sign out and forget about everything, as I had no time to surf through these thousands of emails (ha ha), or millions of profiles, I saw a little tiny button by the top of the page that read "you have 378475999 winks" (ha ha again). "Winks?" What in the world is a "cyber wink?" So I clicked on the button out of curiosity and saw the pictures of the guys who had winked at me....winks huh??? I wonder why winks and not messages??? Insecurity?? Laziness?? Maybe they think it is charming??? or just bored out of their minds from trying out with emails??

Again, I had no energy to go through those profiles. I took a close look at the first few pictures though...mmm mmm!!! Very good looking men. And the first one there....very, VERY nice. Well, what the heck, lets look at this last one.

AMAZING, HOT, HOT, HOT; and that profile....like out of a "profile book". I read it again and again and again. The only thing I could do without having registered was wink back. So I did...here you go hottie: "wink, wink."

The first thing I did before leaving for work that morning was to check my email to see if something had happened with my flirtatious wink of the night before. There was an email from the wink-man, mcaruso, to be more precise. Huh, the most simple, down-to-earth, nice email I had read. Great!!! Now, should I pay to reply or should I not?? Should I, or should I not?...Lets read the profile again, look through his pictures, read the email again, pictures again, profile again...well fine, I'll pay it!!! And here is my answer, by the way, just so we are clear on some things "thanks for the email...bla, bla, bla... and if you were wondering, I do not know Juan Valdez, or grow anything in my backyard aside from roses.....bla, bla....Hope to talk soon."

Emails went back and forth for about a week or so. mcaruso made some interesting and impressive remarks about Colombia (all Googled to charm, but it worked). And then he popped the question....the "when should we meet question." As charming as the guy sounded, I did not want to meet anyone on my own, so I told him to meet me at a cookout I was going to at a friend's house.

The verdict: even though he had lied somewhat on his profile, the guy was very nice indeed. Smelled nice, good hair cut, clean, very welll spoken, did not live with his mother, had finished college... and got along with everyone. And well, what can I tell you, the guy was hooked, and who can blame him (ha ha). So we went out and saw each other every day from then on, and due to some unexpected circumstances (no pregnancies here...he was moving to Belgium) we got married after a month. I was surprised when he truly popped the question. I still remember that look he had, right between seriousness and mockery in which I could not decipher if he was kidding or not. HE WASN'T!!

Quick?...Yes. Risky?...Yes. Unheard of?..Maybe. But it felt right, and like we say in my country "if you don't risk an egg, you'll never end up with a chicken." Luckily for us, everything has turned out very well. Of course there is, from time to time, the clash of cultures, but that also makes it fun.

So, does Match.com really work? Like I said, for some it does, for some, it doesn't. But it is not a science that you have to master. It is not a skill that you can buy ebooks for, or download a software and let the autopilot run everything for you while you sleep. IT IS DATING, period. My advice is to just be true to yourself and to others. If you don't like someone, don't go out with them just because you're bored, or feel lonely. Choose wisely, it is a partner for yourself that you are trying to find, so don't settle just for anything. Read and re-read, ask, search, talk. Most of all, have fun, enjoy, and take it easy.

And again like we say in Colombia: "Is there a lid for every pot??"...You betcha!!! Really, I am a true believer that everyone has a soulmate out there. So just be patient and keep your horizon clear, because if not online, you just might find that "lid" at your neighbour's cookout.

IMPORTANT: Please know that our written work is licensed under the Creative Commoms Copyright License which states that you may NOT use it as your own.

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