Recently, I read an article about two dating gurus met on twitter and are now engaged. The woman in this situation mentioned that she had been dating online since she was 19. At that point, I felt compelled to tell my story. I started dating online since I was 17. Almost 12 years of dating online until the Comedian and I made it official. In the days of AOL chat rooms and dial up, I was curious on how to meet new people. Right before my prom, I had asked an old coworker that I was interested in to come with me and he agreed. Needless to say, I should had at least reminded him on a monthly or weekly basis that he was taking me. When it was a few weeks before the prom, I called in to check on him. We weren't seriously dating nor did I know what kind of relationship we had so I had a hard time keeping track or getting returned phone calls. Finally, when I did get in touch with him, he informed me he totally forgot and that he was sorry. He had to work that day.
I was devastated. This was my senior prom and my world was over. For a 17 year old, that was serious business. I hit the chat rooms. I think at the time there was an Orlando chat room and I entered, just to get some sort of consolation. I entered my a/s/l and the conversations started flowing. "Hey Valenlatina", "What's going on Valen". Finally, I started a conversation with someone. He lived about an hour away and was willing to hear my sob story. A girl in need of a date for prom.
After talking for a while, he finally said, "I'll take you to your prom." I was overjoyed. I had a date! But first I had to meet this guy in person.
We met a local tourist spot called Old Town. If you're from Kissimmee/Orlando, you know exactly where this place is. He was a very polite guy and this was a good first meeting. Really nothing to write home about. We walked around Old Town and talked. My online experience was officially a success. He wasn't exactly my type and that became more apparent at my prom, however, I NEEDED a date.
The rest was history. I was just not that into him. My mom thought he was cute though. Better her than me, I guess. This is where my dating adventures began and I wouldn't change anything about it. Except my hair. I had really bad hair for my prom but that's another battle.