The year is up!

It’s been a while since I posted anything on this blog. I don’t have any excuses except to say that real life sometimes takes center stage, and other things get shelved. I’m hoping to continue updating this site much more frequently in the next little while. If anything, I want to write about my experiences since last March.

Last year, I started this blog as a sort of personal challenge. The idea was that I would give myself one year to find romance. Well, obviously my year is up – it actually ended this September.

Looking back now, I realize that the whole concept was a little short-sighted and naïve. In the past year, I’ve had more disappointments than success - to say the least. I learned a lot about myself, my abilities, and my limitations. All things considered, the experience was good, although I’d hardly consider it successful.

While I’d like to stay positive and concentrate on my success, the failure, embarrassment and humiliation I’ve experienced weighs heavily. Now, the old Dan would have let that shut him down and I would have sulked for days on end, however, I’ve learned to handle rejection in a more mature way – a more productive way. Yes, things didn’t exactly turn out as I hoped they would – but what I’ve learned from the whole experience is priceless.

On the positive side, I’ve had a decent amount of success with the dating sites. Of course, this also requires a lot of time to prepare profiles, contact people, and respond to emails.

One thing I’ve discovered is that there are a lot of dating sites out there. The majority are very new and most likely run by one person (regardless of how they might promote themselves). Ah…but that’s a separate post altogether.


So what’s the bottom line? Well, the year has come and gone, and I’m still single and actively looking. I suppose I should change the sub-title of this blog to reflect that.

I want to also mention that I’ve managed to shed that excess weight I was carrying around. I’m now down to my proper body mass index. I’ve even had people comment that I look thin. Well, maybe I am if you compare me to a year ago. This weight loss is probably going to prolong my life and, if anything, I’m grateful for that.

What’s the most important thing I’ve learned?

I learned how tough, resilient, and resourceful I can be - and I‘ve learned that I’m capable of doing much more with my life. There is no way I’d have figured this out without going through the trials and tribulations of the past year.

What’s my next move?

I simply plan to appreciate my successes and learn from my mistakes. I intend to keep putting forth the effort while improving the many areas of my life.

Eventually, things will click – I’m sure of that.