The Social Experiment Begins...

So here's the story:  I am currently a 29 year old, attractive, interesting, single woman living in the wonderful city of Baltimore.  Currently unemployed, I am facing--among other issues--a slight case of depression and disinterest in life in general and especially my dating life.  After conversations with friends and--admittedly--a few Makers Mark and Cokes on my behalf, the idea that a good use of my time could be donated to the dating aspect of my life was presented in the form of a social experiment of sorts (seemingly, it would be the aspect of my life over which I would have the most control). Never one to turn down a good social experiment, I obliged. And, thus, this blog was born.  A beautiful story, don't you think?  

So, this blog will be used to chronicle my adventures in the dating world with the help of the two sites I have profiles on--Match.com and OKCupid--as well as the occasional evening to a happy hour or bar (discussed below).  However, as with any good study, there are a few rules for the experiment:

1.  I will be writing under the pseudonym Reese Holden and all dates will all be written with pseudonyms as well.

2.  I must accept any request for a date on either site--e-mails, winks, ANYTHING.

3.  On OKCupid, any e-mails regarding "so-and-so is checking you out" or "so-and-so have added you as a favorite" MUST be responded to in an effort to set up a date.

4.  Any evening date-free, I must either choose to attend a happy hour to a random bar of a friend's choice or must search either OKCupid or Match for a date online.  If the latter results in 5 rejections, the choice will default to the former.

5.  The only rule for conversation on the first date:  You can't ask what I do.

6.  Now, for the restrictions:  Since this is Baltimore, I am free to discard "people who will probably rape and/or kill" me.  Otherwise, I am only able to apply the following restrictions--
     a. In an effort to keep this experiment as close-to-home as possible, any potential matches farther than 20 miles from Baltimore are excluded.
     b. In an effort to remain age-appropriate, no matches under the age of 26 will be considered and those over the age of 45 will require a serious judgement call.
     c. Additionally, while normally all guys with children would be discarded, for the sake of the experiment everyone is fair game.


You guys, I am not going to lie--I fully expect this to be both terrifying and hysterical at the same time.  I currently have 15 potential date subjects in my inbox, and the ones with "hott" and "coolguy" in their screennames are going to prove to be very worthwhile to the experiment, I think :)  So, from here on out, its pretty self-explanatory--I go on dates, I come home and write about them, and you guys read them.  The experiment is officially set to commence after the July 4th weekend.  Alright, Baltimore, show me what you've got!!