They're alright, but still all wrong

Date smarter by doing your homework on someone early on. But you won't get the whole picture from the web, or even by talking to your date's friends or family.

To gain more intimate details of someone’s life, and to determine chemistry, you’ll have to get to know the person — usually in person. 

I met Kyle on Christian Mingle. He worked as a billing analyst for a hospital, owned his own home and car, and had no prior arrests. He seemed all together normal, and promising. We went out for coffee for our first date and things went smoothly, though a little dull. I chalked any awkwardness or blandness up to first-date nerves. Apparently, neither of us was too discouraged, because for our second date we attended a city-wide art festival, figuring even if the art wasn’t great we would have a good time drinking beer and chatting.

For two hours, I pried answer after answer out of Kyle. Talking to him was like wading through mud and drinking Nyquil simultaneously. Every conversation topic was a chore, and every single answer was debilitatingly boring. Fortunately, I had locked my keys in my car before the date, so I had an excuse to duck out when things got painfully dull. I’ve never been happier to see a AAA driver in all my life.

By all accounts, that should’ve been a good date. Kyle was normal, successful, nice, and Christian. Arts and culture in Orlando are alive and beautiful. There was nothing in advance to signal what happened – it was just a bad date because we weren’t compatible.

The moral to the story is to look before you love. Find out everything you can to make sure you’re safe. Ultimately, though, you have to listen to your heart and decide what’s right for your happiness. Even the most upstanding citizens can still be dull as doornails, and just because you find dirt on someone, it doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of your love.

Remember to keep your eyes AND heart open when dating, because you never know what either will find.

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Courtney Furiosi is a 20s-something working professional in the Orlando area who is in the dating game. Reach her at InspectaDateAdvice@gmail.com.