Two of these three encounters could have happened without the aid of craigslist-- the free spirit who won't commit, the guy who is okay, but just not right for me-- but I learned a little about how to phrase my ad.  Every guy I met was a heavy drinker, because my ad had emphasized alcohol above anything else.  I also used words like "fun-loving" and "friends," which guys read as "let's party and hook up!" 

If you're placing an ad looking for a relationship, be specific!  Make it clear you don't want a one-night stand or casual hookups.  Don't worry about sounding too exclusive...do you know how many people are out there on the internet? You want to weed some out. 

Don't feel obligated to respond to every reply you get.  It is perfectly okay to delete any or all of them.  If anyone seems weird, changes his story, wants to meet in a less-than-public place, or makes you feel uncomfortable, run away!  Delete his e-mails and block him.  This is about finding a happy, fulfilling relationship for you, and you don't owe any guy out there anything just because he answered your ad.  You owe it to yourself to be careful and to be picky.

I've since placed another ad, one much more specific.  Again, I got a bunch of freaky answers from strange guys, but I weeded it down to two decent-seeming ones.  I had a date with one tonight, and while he was really nice, there just wasn't any chemistry.  We'll see about the other :o)

"Take me out for Drinks!" My headline read.  "Young, fun-loving gal looking for new friends, maybe more.  Let's go out for drinks, let's go out for coffee, let's talk and hang out and see what happens.  If you're a jerk, don't bother.  No Republicans need apply."  I thought it was quite witty.  I posted it and went to bed, slightly embarrassed that at 22 years old, I was desperate enough to post an ad for a boyfriend on the internet.

My inbox flooded overnight.  Most of the replies went like this "Ill show u a good time. Whats ur #?" "Got any pics?" or "check out my website."  I deleted those immediately.  Three or four of them caught my attention.  They were well-articulated, introduced themselves, and seemed like there might be a real person behind them!  First was J.J.  His picture was a little blurry, but when we talked on the phone, I saw stars!  He was so funny and kind.  I couldn't wait to meet him.  We talked a few times over a couple of days, then arranged to meet at Starbucks.  I got all dressed up in what I thought was a great outfit, and headed out.

When I entered Starbucks, I couldn't see my heartthrob.  So I dialed his number.  And my heart sank.  A bald, middle-aged, overweight fellow in a tight white suit picked up his phone.  I'd like to say that I could look past his size and love him for the voice on the phone...but there's slightly overweight, and then there's... deal-breaker overweight.  After we took a walk together and chatted for a while, other reasons came up why it wouldn't work out.  I tried to let him down easy, but I should have just told him no.  Three months later, he was still calling every few days. 

My second potential match was HOT!!!!! He was a musician, with long brown shaggy hair and his own style.  I loved his music.  He looked at my MySpace pictures and said I was beautiful.  I couldn't wait to meet him.  We met up at a bar, both of us way too drunk, and ended up making out that night.  I tried to backpedal and tell him I really liked him and didn't want to ruin our chances for a relationship.  He gave me that old "Just got out of a bad relationship" line, that he wasn't ready to commit.  I saw him a few more times, usually when I was throwing a party and he knew he could get free liquor.  After that we lost touch.

Now here's the crazy thing-- I actually ended up dating my third match.  Rick and I stayed together off and on for nine months!  He charmed me with his big dreams, glossing over past failures, and I fell for him.  We had some good times, lots of fights, and it ended terribly.  Somehow, we're friends again today.