'Welcome' Springfield: A Long Way from 'Sex and the City'

I guess I should introduce myself since we're going to be seeing a lot of each other. So, here it goes: Hi, my name is Lauren and this is my dating blog. 

Well, more or less a blog about how disastrously comical my dating life has been within the past year or so. Now, don't think this is a blog about a whiny miserable woman who hates everyone, while I do hate everyone, I am certainly not miserable. JUST kidding! But seriously, this is not about "Hey everyone feel sorry for me!" It's about reinventing yourself after that jerk rips your heart out and you feel like you'll never be able to breathe again...and knowing that you're not alone.

I have been toying with the thought of starting something like this for a while. I'm not so sure what has been holding me back? Maybe I'm not quite certain that I want to keep revisiting the nightmarish dates I tend to go on, or maybe the thought of how I picture tons of people reading it and having their lives changed when in reality no one reads it at all. 

Well, who knows, but I've decided to give it a try. Now,  for you 'Sex and The City' fans, I should warn you that I am no Carrie Bradshaw and while I'll keep the sex part under wraps there is little city girl chic in this story. So, if you're looking for dates filled with Manolo Blahniks and fifteen dollar martinis, I'm afraid you won't find that here. But what you will find, is a real woman, real heartbreak and real life situations. I know, it sounds like the title of a Lifetime network reality show, but really! While I know dating can be miserable, it can also be a bit amusing and for me that's the one thing that kept me going. So here's a little bit to get you started. Then we'll get to the good stuff :) 

(Please note that names will be changed for privacy purposes). 

I was dating Ryan, whom I was completely crazy about, in the summer of 2009. We had been dating for a couple of months until he called me one Friday afternoon (when we were supposed to be spending the evening together) and told me that he really cared about me but wasn't sure if he could see me anymore because the distance between us was just too much for him. Mind you, we lived about 45 minutes from one another.

About a week or so later thanks to Facebook (Mhhmm. Facebook, typical!) I pretty much had figured out that he was seeing his ex. He then stopped taking my calls and completely banished me from his life. I was completely heartbroken. Like I said, we'll get into more of that later. 

After months of feeling sorry for myself and doing the usual sleeping for days and eating gallons of ice cream, I came to the realization that I didn't need him: I was going to reinvent myself. I exercised, went out with friends, read books, did things FOR ME. When I was ready, I began to date again.  

Now, here comes the funny part. You name it, I did it. I was setup by friends, friends of friends, went out to bars, and even considered dating a crazy ex thinking that maybe there was something we could resurrect. I went on dates with guys whose credit cards got declined and made me pay, who made me drive, who had bad breath, and even a guy I work with, which in my opinion should be the 11th commandment. Thou shall not EVER date a co-worker. (UGH can't wait to tell that story).

After all that, I took a bit of  a break and thought maybe, "It's me, maybe I'm just too picky." So then after some consideration, I began...............online dating. And that, was a WHOLE other comedy routine. I can't even begin to tell you about the men that I went out with. I made sure that I did everything smart, didn't give out my address, met them in a public place and fortunately never went out with any serial killers (thank God) but definitely some pretty interesting fellows. After a series of disappointments I signed on one day to delete my profile and decided to check my messages one last time. It was then I came across a guy named Matt.

And HE is the silver lining to this storm cloud. BUT we have a long way to go before we get there. Hopefully this does someone some good, even if it is just a chuckle, trust me girl, I know what you're going through.

Keep shining,

Lauren :)