College. I was a freshman, she was a pre-freshman (ok, high school senior, though still 6 months older than me) in for a preview weekend in the Spring before deciding where she wanted to go to school. She was placed with friends of mine down the hall. I thought she was cute, but was too inexperienced with girls (never dated in high school) to even try to hit on her, though I did invite her to join me for the art history class I was taking (she was planning to be a graphic designer).
In the Fall she showed up as a freshman, and we happened to be in a class together. We became friends, and I listened to her troubles with all the boys she tried to date that first semester. I fell hard for her, eventually, and she noticed I was acting strangely with her. She confronted me about it, I told her I was in love with her, and she was wildly ambivalent about that. She thought about it over Winter Break, and agreed to try dating when we got back in January. We basically went from friends to being one of “those” couples who are permanently attached to each other within about a week. She was my first and only girlfriend.
That was almost 31 years ago. We just had our 26th anniversary, and last week sent our elder child to the same university as a freshman.
We were teenagers in different short plays. He was wearing a wig and beard, I fell in love with his eyes.
To go between the two available dressing rooms, there was a tiny corridor. He sat on a chair, playing the guitar and taking up the whole corridor. I had to clamber over him, and when I was half-straddling him, I just fell in love. I had to say something, and the first thing that came to mind was that I wanted to learn to play the guitar. Blatant lie.
Good thing he fell for it. Being too head-over-heals to think straight, I didn’t do anything else about it. He called around to everyone, trying to get my number, and eventually called. He came over with his guitar. I opened the door and recognised only the blue eyes. Couldn’t believe how gorgeous he was.
It’s been 12 years. I still can’t play the guitar.
Don’t do it. You’ll waste a lot of time scrolling through the same boring-as-hell profile over and over again. Plus, lots of fat guys in fedoras.
Anyway, last guy I dated was a friend of a friend. We were all out fraternizing and decided we liked each other. Guy before that I met at a scummy bar.
Our first year in college, she noticed me sitting by the vending machines studying a lot. Then she noticed that, as people had the usual inane college-student conversations around me, I was kind of muttering under my breath. Then she noticed that my comments were sarcastic ones, and they were the same as the ones running through her head. Then she threw herself at me. That, I noticed. Since then, we’ve refined the art of making sarcastic comments about the people around us to the point that we usually don’t even need to say anything, we just burst out laughing at inappropriate times. It’s tremendous fun.
Wow you guys, I’m impressed with all these long-term marriages! Hope restored! And thanks meanoldlady, I was just about to have my faith restored in dating sites until your comment lol. Argh!
You know, come to think of it I owe a lot to Craigslist. The best job I’ve ever had where I stayed for more than 3 years was listed on Craigslist. I met my husband by posting an ad on Craigslist. I’ve gotten furniture and given away stuff I no longer needed. Given the reputation of the site as being somewhere to meet hookers and serial killers it made a remarkably positive impact on my life!
I met my wife approximately 25 years ago while working part-time as a floor manager in the ladies shoes department at Macy’s Herald Square. She was one of the part-time sales staff.
According to her, she’d tried to get my attention a number of times over the span of a few months, finally resorting to pulling me aside and stating her case. A few other women on the floor were apparently interested in me as well, but I was ridiculously oblivious to such things back then.
When I think back, I am very grateful that my wife was as persistent as she was. I didn’t make maintaining a relationship with me easy at all in the beginning.
Match.com here. She was my first long-term relationship from online dating, and it worked out great, as we’re married (for a year and half) and have been together for seven plus years now. I had good relationships from more traditional ways of meeting (school, work, friends of friends, etc.), but this is the one that really stuck. I’m one of the few who loved the online dating world. I’m an average looking guy, but, for whatever reason, clicked with the women on Match.com.
She was crashing at the home of a woman I dated about 5 years ago. I ended up chitchatting with her for a bit, but she was just getting out of a very messy very abusive relationship.
Fast forward 4.5 years: Same woman shows up at my computer shop asking about getting a gaming computer built. End up talking to her for an hour or so about some common interests. She does not order a computer.
about a month or so ago, she comes into my shop again, asks if I still do SCA (medieval reenactment) I said yes, she asked if I would take her to an event. Told her about some of the upcoming events…and agreed to do so.
The next day she text messages me and say, since we are going to be spending all weekend together for that event, maybe we should hang out a bit before then.
So I finally took the hint that she was interested…
I didn’t really have any hobbies either. : / I had work, but I’m sure you’ve seen my BBQ Pit post on that. Haha.
I had a lot of one night stands after I broke up with my ex. They made me feel even worse. There were lots and lots of failed dates. Meeting my girlfriend was very random. It will happen, but just continue to meet people.
We met at the public library. It was actually a fundraising event for the library.
I was invited because I was a longtime financial supporter of the library. She was a volunteer working one of the food stands. One of the library docents knew both of us and introduced us.
One day, when I was in college, the local clown group was hired for an event at my school. The girl I was dating at the time thought it was cool and wanted to go to a meeting. She dropped out after a few months (and went back to her husband, but that is another story) but I seemed to have an knack for clowning. There was a young lady who also had recently joined the group and we gravitated to each other.
One day at a regional convention, we looked up and all of our friends had left the room. They had maneuvered us into being drunk and alone. That was thirty-one years ago, we will be married twenty-six years this October, and I can still make her laugh.
If you are looking for advice on meeting someone, the first step is to go out and do something you enjoy.
I hit “random opponent”, played a game, and won. She (who I thought was a guy at the time) rematched, and I won. She rematched again and messaged me saying that she was “a very competitive girl”. We chatted in-game for a few weeks, and texted for a couple months after that.
On my invite, she took a ludicrous leap of faith, packed up her life and drove 700 miles to be with me. The day we met face-to-face was the day she moved in with me.
That was a bit more than two years ago. The wedding was in March and our first child is due in February.
Many people say that a relationship is hard work, and that even though there are highs and lows, a good couple can put forth the effort to make it work and that it’s worth it in the end. I say that’s a load – I’ve learned that when you find the right person, there’s no work, no lows – just 787 perfectly awesome days (and counting!).
She thought about it over Winter Break, and agreed to try dating when we got back in January. We basically went from friends to being one of “those” couples who are permanently attached to each other within about a week. She was my first and only girlfriend.