Hello guys and gals! Just popping in to say hello.
After swearing off men for what feels like forever, I went for a little jaunt around Europe to rediscover myself. I feel fabulous. Me again. :) Thoroughly recommend it.
In a related story, I got chatting to a waiter on my last day. I feel a little flutter thinking about him. When I left, he said he really wished I would come past again if I ever came back to France, and I saw a flash of hesitation and regret in his big beautiful eyes as he said that. I shrugged it off as him being nice to a customer and went on my way.
After I left the cafe, he tried to match with me on a dating app I hadn't quite realised was 1) running in the background on my phone and 2) used in France. Possibly he was being more than nice after all!
He lives in a different country.
He has a religion (deal breaker for me - devout atheist).
He lives in a different country, FFS. So ridiculous, I said it twice.
Ohhhh but he had the most gorgeous voice. I really have a weak spot for a certain vocal timbre, and you just can't check that online. They really should invent a dating app where men need to record a line of text and put that on their profile as well as having a photo. Looks wise, I could forgive a lot for a very attractive voice...
Maybe it's time to re-enter the dating game. Chatting to the waiter, I felt attractive for the first time in a long time, and yet I looked an utter mess. I wasn't wearing any makeup and my clothes didn't even match properly - it was the end of the holiday and I was past caring.
Rubypanda I am sorry you had such an awful Tinder experience. Do not let it make you paranoid - if you did smell bad, someone else would have told you a long time ago. Best case scenario on his part, it's a crazy excuse for why he wasn't ready/able to take things further, but if so, that's a bloody awful thing to invent. You don't want a man who is prepared to make you feel like shit to spare his own feelings. Good luck going fishing again...
pudding21 I wonder if men stalk their potential dates to the same extreme we do? I just like to check if their story is likely to be accurate and also get a feel for how much info they are happy to share on the internet. I get irrationally annoyed if there is nothing for me to check and if there is data overload, because no one likes an oversharer. They can't win with me, really. 
You could have got the wrong end of the stick, but your Spidey sense is tingling. I'd err on the safe side and ditch this one.
An amazing lover and cool guy is a good combination - is he definitely only looking for another FWB or something more this time?
Kinunir When you say nothing physical, I'm assuming you have at least kissed? As in, had a proper snog so you know that there is chemistry there for when you do eventually DTD? Otherwise, 14 weeks is a long time to be hanging around to realise actually, there's no spark. I don't think it's necessary too long to wait as long as there's lots of kissing and you've respectfully spoken about everything.
ValMc1 I don't understand why so many men continue to post serial killer photos.
Stmoritz Best of luck for speed dating. I've never tried it - I think it's a brilliant idea, but I've never had the courage to give it a go. You are a far better person than me!
esk1mo I think I'm where you are. I kind of want a serious relationship that isn't a serious relationship. I don't think I have the energy to put into meeting another giant family and I resent the thought of having to share half my hard-earned stuff. But I still want monogamous sex and to go for dinner together when the mood strikes. I think it's a consequence of being on my own for so long - I miss some of the nice things about being in a proper relationship and just can't be bothered with the bits that are hard work. Even though that's not how life generally works.