Best Online Dating Sites Offer More Than Blind Dates

I had been in a monogamous relationship for 11 years when my wife decided that she wanted to "see other people." That shocked me, but to tell you the truth I didn't much mind because, frankly, I wanted to see other people too.

Getting out there in the dating world was something like getting out of prison, I reckon. Not that I have ever been in prison, but I've always thought it would be weird to walk out of the walls a free man after a decade behind bars, the sun and wind on your face, freedom staring you in the face...

... and the world a different place.

Back in my 20s, I did OK with the ladies. It was different then. Back then you met someone at a party, record store, or some other real world place; either that or one of your friends set you up on a "blind date," which verged on painful because what kind of desperate person could not find their own date?

The world of Internet dating can seem like one blind date after the next, except Internet dating services are not your cousin setting you up with her college roommate, they are for-pay services. It is convenient, though, I must say. Instead of prowling book stores and other places where one might find an interesting woman, I am able to simply browse profiles.

What does that give you, though, really? I'm looking for something deeper, something more meaningful. That special human energy just can't come through in a profile. I want to find someone who makes my heart beat faster, not just someone who is pretty or who says she likes yoga and spending entire weekends in bed.

You know what I mean? Is it possible to get that human connection through Internet dating?

Eleven years out of the game in the self-imposed prison of a relationship drove that question right into the core of my heart.

As it turns out, it is possible. I found an online dating service that is more than just browsing a takeout menu. It's impressively scientific, and the weird thing about it is that it takes the whole "blind date" stigma right out of it. As I write this, it is Sunday evening, and I just had a wonderful weekend with my lover.

If you're out there looking for love and finding nothing with online dating, keep the faith. All you need is the right service.