Since moving back to Chicago permanently in August I have made it my goal to be more social and, in turn, bring some much-needed balance to my life. Not only have I tried to see friends and go out more frequently, but I have also attempted to meet women and go out on dates. Most of the women I’ve gone out with I have met on JDate since my job takes up much of my time and energy, especially during the season.

While online dating has overall been a very good experience for me, and has led to two relationships (for lack of a better word) that have lasted longer than 2 months, most of my interactions with women I meet online result in only an exchange of emails or a single date. In some of these situations I have been the one who ended things because I lost interest or didn’t feel a spark when we went out, but in other cases it has been them who has moved on.

Regardless, the simple fact that I have continued to talk to women and go out on dates intermittently is something that I know is good for me and that I need to continue. Although recently I’ve gone out on several first dates that I was excited about, however none of them resulted in a second date. In a few cases I decided not to ask them out again, but in the others they have been the ones who lacked interest. In either case since the season started back in mid-November I haven’t gone out on any dates where both of us had a good time, felt a spark and wanted to go out again.

In spite of my lack of dating success over the past few months I can honestly say that I haven’t become frustrated or disenchanted with the process because I know that dating can be very unpredictable. Additionally, part of my life philosophy is that things tend to happen when we least expect them to, and I know that unless I continue to go out on dates it is highly unlikely that a woman, and relationship, will just magically appear.