Introvert?

I’ve never met anyone quite like Patti … except for maybe my mom. I think all Jewish women are put on this earth to set up their son (or client) with a nice young lady. I guess some are just better at it than others, and Patti is certainly much better at it than my mom. I did find her somewhat quick to “label” me into a certain category, ie. “introvert” rather than really listening and getting to know me, but maybe she is just a really quick judge of character. That being said, I have never had much luck being “set up” with women, but I thought I would give this a shot, and if anyone was fit for the job it would be Patti. I have been so busy working to launch our new 3-D Social Networking site designed to bring the club to your computer, riplounge.com, running my Digital Marketing Firm, Seed Corn Advertising, launching a new medical website builder and directory, MDSearchEngine.com and managing my other businesses and travels that I hadn’t made a lot of time for dating. So, if someone can bring me 20 beautiful women in one night, it’s not a bad deal.

When I walked into the room that evening and saw all those beautiful women it was definitely intimidating. While I can certainly be shy about first meeting people, once I get into a conversation I generally find it easy to relax and get to know someone, but I can’t get to know 20 people at once which is kind of what it felt like. While there were a lot of gorgeous women at the mixer, I didn’t really get the impression that any of them had been “handpicked” by Patti as a perfect match for me; and Patti was the first to tell me that she was not happy with the selection of women. I think she called them her “D-list." I decided then that I would choose the girl that I thought would be the most fun and that I seemed to have the best physical chemistry with - Whitney. Even though she was very young and not Jewish, I just felt like we got along really well and she seemed open to anything. We really had a nice time on our date and despite the cameras it was actually quite natural and fun. Whitney and I dated for a little bit, but in the end, where we were in our careers and life was just too far apart. Patti was right about this, of course, but I ignored her advice. I think under different circumstances it might have worked out, but in relationships timing is everything and the timing was just not right for us. We always had a blast together, though, and are still friends - although she has since moved to Las Vegas to pursue a new career.

Since this experience I have had a few very meaningful short-term relationships where I have developed strong feelings for a woman, even the twinges of “love.” While it’s upsetting that none of these relationships have ultimately worked out, I am happy that at least I have been able to have those strong feelings. There have been points in my life since moving to Los Angeles that I didn’t think I was capable of falling in love or that I would ever find someone to spend the rest of my life with. That still may never happen, but at least I am hopeful that I am getting a little closer to that possibility. LA is a crazy place and the “Shiny Ball Syndrome” Patti always mentions is probably greater here than anyplace I’ve ever been. It is really hard to find someone in LA that doesn’t think there is someone else out there who is better looking, richer, younger, more powerful, etc. and so it is difficult to maintain a long-term relationship with all of the distractions and competition. If I had stayed in Ohio, I’m sure I would already have a family, but because I grew up in a small town in a small family, part of me always wanted the glitz and glamour of big city life.

Overall, my experience on the show and with Patti was really positive. She was nothing but extremely gracious and supportive of me. The employees of the Millionaire’s Club and all the crew of the show were very professional and great to work with and I am hopeful that this will be the year where I will find love and finally settle down. I know my parents are not happy having to call my dog, bird and fish their only “grandchildren.”