OMG. (And Not In A Good Way)

My second foray into dating happened last week at a Starbucks in Arlington. This was the second guy I had been emailing from eHarmony. In the very first email, L. said he was only 5 feet, 2 inches. I'm only 5 feet, 1-3/8 inches (in bare feet), and to tell the truth, I've never dated anyone that short. But, you know, I'm keeping an open mind.

I showed up, walked in and immediately thought, "Oh. My. God." L. was probably about 40 pounds heavier than his profile picture. L was so different from his profile picture, I came home afterwards and checked. Just to make sure I wasn't crazy. And he was practically bald. And really round. And sort of shaped like Humpty Dumpty. And I had to bend over a bit to hug him.

Now, I don't have a problem with any of these things. I'm not the most svelte woman out there. And personally, I like men who embrace their baldness and shave the whole darn head. I can think of quite a few sexy men with shaved heads. Jason Statham. James Blake (post dreadlocks - tennis player). Michael Chiklis. Um. My mind went blank. But a man losing his hair doesn't bother me at all.

I've always thought of myself as an open-minded, kind person. Someone who doesn't judge people based solely on their looks. But as I was sitting there talking with L., I couldn't help but wonder what people would think of me if they saw us walking down the street together. Then my next thought was, "How incredibly shallow." But where does that leave me? See L. again just to prove to myself I'm not shallow - even though I'm not interested? And wouldn't that be leading him on more?

Our conversation was alright. I did sit there with him for an hour and a half talking and getting to know each other a little. And L. invited me to dinner, but at that point, I knew I wasn't interested, so I declined. And then I left and called Angela and expressed shock. She pegged what was bothering me about the whole thing - I had a bait and switch pulled on me. The profile picture showed one thing - the person was another. Which, I guess, isn't that suprising with the whole internet dating thing. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

The kicker of this experience? L. closed out communication with me on eHarmony with the reasoning of, "I just didn't feel like the chemistry was there." At least I avoided another phone call like this.