Selling Yourself: How Not to Do It

I got a message from OKCupid that someone had messaged me, so I signed in to see if it was anything worth posting. It wasn't, really, but there was another message that hadn't triggered my e-mail alert because the person didn't pass my filters.

Probably because he lives in Tucson, AZ which OKCupid tells me is 2,064 miles from my current location. That's about all I know about the guy because his profile is completely empty...no, wait, scratch that. I know he never does drugs. See? Now we're best buddies.

His message to me was this:

Your profile sounds so normal.. except for killing aloe. There really isnt a reason for me to message you, especially since I use the word isnt, but I was looking around for people that play warcraft and you sound like someone I would get along with.. some of the time anyway... maybe on Friday.

I read it once. I read it twice. I read it three times before it hit me what bugged me about it: He's said that there's no reason for him to message me, so why would I bother messaging him back? I thought the point of these sites was to sell yourself so that the opposite (or same, actually) sex was interested in you, not to point out immediately that eh, it wouldn't work out anyway.

Besides, I maintain that my ability to kill aloe plants really isn't the least normal thing about me.

Fables.

And now it's time for Tales From My OkCupid Inbox!


This was a missed IM.

you look mad in your pics lol

I'm not mad in them. But what if I were, and you were "lol" at me and my feelings, you insensitive bastard?


I don't think some people realize that IMs are not like answering machines.

good evening. i enjoyed reading through your profile and would like to chat with you. i hope you are having a fantastic weekend thus far, and I look forward to hearing from you soon! :)

You've sent me an IM. We're chatting. In fact, generally people respond right away, given the concept of instant messaging. But if you insist...next time leave a callback number.


But if you're going to IM me with this, and only this:

?

...just give up.


Finally we have... Well, I find this indescribable.

have a random 'fable'

The Eggbanana and the molecule of vitamin B12.

Once there was an Eggbanana overwintering in a
gingko tree in Chicago. It was accosted by a molecule
of vitamin B12 who said "I am a molecule of vitamin B12".
The Eggbanana prompty ate the molecule.

Immoral of the story: Be wary of grains of cumin, for they may try to sell you Cheese Insurance.

Can someone explain this to me? Is there something funny here that I'm missing? At last check, eggs and bananas can't mate, ginkgo trees don't grow in Chicago, and molecules of B12 don't talk. Then again, I live on Earth - a place with which this man does not seem familiar.


I think the next entry will tackle the Holy Grail of all dating sites - PlentyOfFish.

But Tonight, I Can Be Whatever You Want, Baby

This isn't really a rotten fish, per se, but I'm boggled none-the-less, so I thought I'd share.

My profile, at the moment, says this:

I'm a technical writer at a call center who writes procedures for the people taking calls, though recently, I seem to be spending a lot of time in meetings.

So a fellow from Brazil IMed me. Asked me my real name. Asked me what I was looking for on the site. Then he asked, "R U really a technical writer?"

...

I'm sort of bemused, to be honest. Is that something that people normally lie about? I mean, if I were going to lie about what my job is, I'd be a doctor or a lawyer or an astronaut or heir to the Winchester gun fortune or something.

But a technical writer? Really?

Hiatus Schmiatus.

It's been a while. But as Amadei said, just because we end up finding a few quality folks, that doesn't actually mean the bad ones go away. I bring you proof, in the form of messages I've received over the past few weeks.


I ignored this guy's IM because he called me "sweetie," which I can't fucking stand. And he replied with:

you can still get it

Well, that's great, but I don't want it, obviously. Thanks.


This message came via the "IceBreaker" feature on OKCupid, which stated we both liked "technology."

Hello fellow technophile.

Oh. Well. That's a riveting conversation-starter. What's my reply? "Hello"? Wow, we're really getting to know one another here...


This guy is 19. I think that's all that needs to be said.

I Challenge your sexy ass to a duel girl, Btw beautiful if your a blazer like me and appreciate bud then we should totally chill cause I just picked up an ounce the other night and I could always use another smoking buddy. I may not be God but I can make Kool-Aid out of water pce

A) What are we dueling over?
B) Pretty sure I make it clear that I'm SOBER. More than once.
C) That last line is just...all kinds of fail.


This one comes courtesy a man with a blank profile. My favorite.

If I filled a hot tub with whipped cream, would you grab your bathing suit and join me in it?

Um. Is this a kink of which I'm not familiar? Did he have a stroke of genius and decide this would be an awesome pick-up line? I mean, it got me to reply. Basically to say, "WTF, yo?" But, uh...what?


Yep. They're still out there.

Feline fail.

I have pictures my of cat on my profile, like all aspiring crazy cat ladies should. And I mention in there that she's 14 and my best friend. Because it's true.

I got this message earlier.

hey i had my cat for like 11years now

Well, that's great. It really is. But what's your cat's name? What's he/she like? Come on, now. I call my cat my best friend in my profile. That means I want to hear everything.

Something's wrong with you when you can't even pick up a woman who spends all her time with her cat. Just sayin'.

Able to Pass Voight-Kampff: Y/N?

Having sent out quite a few messages on OKCupid in my time, I know there's a fine line between sounding like a robot and sounding like a stalker. What I didn't realize is that it's possible to sound like both at the same, but a fellow who just messaged me disabused me of any prior notion I might have had:

Subject: Hi
Body: Just wanted to say hi and that I liked what you wrote. Also, was wondering what is your meaning of life?

I will never doubt again.