online dating - the numbers

i know you guys want to hear about fried chicken, but i had to share these little morsels instead...

i broke up with my online dating site awhile ago, things just weren't working out for me or us and i ultimately discovered that it had just become a crutch for me to find fault in every single person i went out with, but...it definitely served its purpose for me at that time.

so, in numbers:

1. total cost for 6 months of dates: approximately $150
2. total dates attended: 40-50 (I'd say that thing paid for itself as most of the dates were very nice on some level)
3. total number of men in PDX metro area who are potential matches for me: over 700. (note: there are appoximately 700 men in the pdx metro area that some computer thinks are a good match for me and yet i'm still single. something doesn't quite add up here).
4. total number of concerts attended on said dates: 2
5. total number of times date concert taker warranted an additional date after concert: 2
6. total number of chain restaurants attended on a date: 1
7. total number of times chain restaurant guy got a 2nd date: 0 (note: I'm not a chain restaurant kind of girl)
8. total new restaurants/ bars tried while on said dates: 6 or so
9. total number of times the nightlight (my favorite bar) was part of my date: 3 or 4
10. total number of first kisses: 5
11. total number of break-ups by me: 1 plus numerous passive agressive closing of matches or non-responses after 1-2 dates
12. total number of times i was yelled at on email by someone i went out with once: 1 (um, this was really pleasant, let me tell you. i did keep the email though so i can occassionally remind myself that apparently i suck when i tell someone i have no chemistry with them).
13. total number of times someone i'd been out with numerous times disappeared on me: 3
14. total number of times one of the disappears re-emerged 6 weeks later: 1 (we're actually good friends now except when ambiguous text messages come into play)
15. total number of times a guy confronted me about our status and we both agreed we wanted to continue seeing each other: 2
16. total number of times above men suddenly were no longer a part of my life: 2
17. total number of times seemingly positive interactions ended and left me with a confused face: 3
18. current number of love interests: 3 (sort of)
19. number of said love interests that i met on dating website: 2
20. last date: Saturday night
21. next date: ?

all in all, the whole process left me more befuddled than before i began and as far as i can tell online dating somehow gives people permission to be crappier communicators and utilize weird crutches than meeting people in the real world. however, it did give me an excuse to get dolled up for someone many, many nights and i have more stories to tell than i ever imagined.

i'd say it was an experiement that did not yield the predicted results, but was successful nonetheless. will i do it again? the jury's still out.