watching expired appliances align

I've reached the point in the summer where I'm ready to go back to the world of online dating. Did you know I'd taken a bit of a pause? Well, I had. A few months ago I woke up with the thought "I must delete all of my online dating profiles." That morning I did.

Now I want to go on dates again. I like to think I can construct a fairly good set of answers for the written parts of various profiles. It's the accompanying photographs that worry me. Is the photo I'm using too old? Does it show off my best side? Is this photo too tricky and good at hiding my bad sides? How can I present a single photo (or a 2nd and 3rd photo) that gives someone the sense of who I am and what they'll see when they meet me? As someone who is using his fourth digital camera you think I'd be adept at this. Now that I've survived a few years in my 30's I'm starting to doubt myself.

Take a look at the photos below and tell me which ones I should use and your thoughts on them. Should I photoshop any of them? Should I discard all of them and start anew? Do you have a photo or two of me that would be perfect and help fill my email inbox with plenty of "winks" and "nudges"?

The photo below was taken two years ago. It's a photo I've used previously in dating profiles. I worry about the age of the photo, but I like the smile (but not the tiny cut on my hand).

This shot was taken this past 4th of July. My hair is a little faux-hawky (I'd just woken up). I'm wearing my glasses and eating popcorn. I'm not sure if that's the image I want to present. I kind of like to think it says "wholesome."

From early July, this photo says "laid back good times person." I mean, when did I start unbuttoning my shirts that much? I don't like that the hair of my beard is so short. And I couldn't quite figure out the right gesture with my left hand. And I don't actually like catsup, so I could be misrepresenting myself with this one.

Hey, remember last spring and summer when I grew a giant beard? Wasn't that funny? Should I throw this photo into the mix, knowing it'll prompt the inevitable "do you still have that beard" query? If you like reading between the lines and you know NY, it kind of says "I know hamburgers."

Your comments are appreciated.

Posted by Marc at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Yesterday some friends joined me for a few games of bocce in Dreier-Offerman Park. The pictures are located here.

Don't forget to check out the Coffee Flats Terrors blog, my bocce team's blog.

Posted by Marc at 07:23 PM | Permalink

Last Wednesday I read one of my 1991-penned 90210 letters at Cringe. A crew from ABC's NIGHTLINE was there to put together a short piece for the show. That segment was supposed to have aired tonight, but I guess it got bumped until this coming Friday. There's some bonus footage of people reading on the Nightline website, and I'm included in that. As I watched, I realized that any public speaking skills I may have possessed in high school, I have totally lost. I have no idea why my eyes dart left and right.

On a related note, can I have my linen shirts dry-cleaned? Some say hand wash/line dry. Some say wash cold and I can tell they shouldn't go in the dryer. I'd rather not deal with any of that. I want to drop my clothes off and have them come back wrinkle-free.

Posted by Marc at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)