Keeping on the perspectacles in eDatingland

Well I'm on to yet another dating website.  This is starting to get old?  Or perhaps I'm too old for e-dating...  hmm, will ponder that another day. ;o)  Match, eHarmony, okCupid....  I've tried them all.  Next up?  Tinder.  Tinder makes no qualms about being a "hook up" website.  The only profile you have is an upload of up to 5 pictures of yourself.  I think you can write a short sentence, but I've not yet figured out how to do that and it hasn't seemed to make a difference in the number of "swipe right to like"s I've received. :o)

The obvious downside to this site is you don't find out much about the guy until you meet, which I suspect means more "not fun" dates in my future than I want?  Luckily, my dear friend Erin provided me necessary perspectacles today.  Keep it simple/don't over think, enjoy the time, have some fun!  Being someone who skipped right over the sowing-wild-oats stage of life, this is something I've come to realize I need to do in order to move on to my next long term relationship.  I need to ditch the unrealistic expectation that I'm going to meet Mr Right the first date I go on.  And I need to get rid of the preconceived notion of what packaging he comes in.  I've decided this year to just go with "practicing" so I learn what I do and don't like.  And perhaps I'll luck out and find a gem in the process?

My enginerdy characteristics are in full force as I've noticed a pattern in the guys I quickly swipe left (dislike) on.  Here's my Tinder criteria I apply as instant pre-filter during my time on this judging-purely-by-photo dating website:

• Pictures of guys gesturing with fingers in some weird gangster way (you'd be surprised how many guys have one or more of these types of pics?)
• Guys wearing Necklaces (Its just not my thing.  Jewelry is for me to wear, not you!)
• Smokers (infrequent cigar smokers are acceptable.  emphasis on infrequent!)
• Pictures of your car/truck/motorcycle (Great.  You have a nice car and you wash it regularly.   Sorry, but these pictures just read to me as materialistic?  There's more to life, man...)
• No smiling pictures (Who wants to hang with Mr. Negative?)
• Every picture involves alcohol (I enjoy imbibing, but its not a prerequisite for me to have a good time.  When that's ALL your pictures show?  Guess what kind of message that sends?)

And to end on a positive note, here are the things that tend to make me swipe right or at least give a further look:

• Glasses (sucker for those, they make you look SMART!)
• A funny 1 line bio (at least I know you have a sense of humor!)
• Tattoos (Gulp, total sucker for the ink....)
• Nice dresser (Dapper Dan, gets me EVERY TIME)
• Facial hair (I find most of the guys I like have facial hair in at least one of their photos, interesting...)
• Travel and fine dining shots (Extra credit if you have both!  Travel is definitely on my bucket list, so seeing pictures of you in exotic locales is indicative of a common passion.  If you are also a foodie, you get to move to the FRONT of the dating line!)