Online Dating

Wellllllll after perusing a few of the online dating websites, it is time for me to give an overall review of this idea. I have/had accounts with Plenty of Fish, Christian Mingle, Black People Meet, Black Celibacy, and Tinder. Some sites/apps are more developed than others, and typically the amount of time put into the user interface is indirectly/inversely related to how ratchet the site has the potential to be (i.e more developed, less ratchet OR less developed, more ratchet). Now for those who are new to online dating, I will list a few things to be weary of in the process.

Traditionally, when you meet people naturally in person, you are able to see their physical appearance, mannerisms, and ability hold an intellectual conversation....all at once. The main thing that you must pay close attention to is what the other person is NOT saying. This is how you learn most about a person...I think.

However, when you meet people online, you are only able to see what he or she wants you to see. So not only must you pay close attention to what they aren't saying, but also to what they are NOT showing you in their images/profiles. Ideally you want to do this prior to wasting your time and meeting someone in person. A quick and painless way to possibly see this is through a quick Skype call, etc. For instance, I caught a guy off guard and asked him if he wanted to Skype. Of course he agreed, then once on cam, I asked who I heard in the background, and it was his mother...because he still lived at home with his parents -__- Another guy I talked to on and off for a while had very handsome pics and was goal oriented. I finally agreed to meet him in person one day (of course in a public place), and he's missing a front tooth! I went back to look at his pics and realized he's never smiling in any of his pics! Prime example of paying attention to what they aren't showing you. And no I'm not shallow, but all I'm saying is if his life was really together like he said it was (career, etc.), I'm more than sure dental insurance would cover that -__- After that, I just couldn't take him serious. He wanted to grab a bite to eat, and I'm thinking "how when you don't have front teeth snagatooth."

Dating in general is very, very time consuming and has the potential to waste my time more times than not. For those who like the online dating, kudos to you, but it's definitely not my cup of tea. I would love to meet someone in action, doing something they love to do candidly. There's no pressure in these situations, whereas online everyone is putting up a front to be the ideal guy/gal.

Oh and lastly I would like to add that even the Christian Mingle type sites have pervs as well...which kind of makes them worse than the Plenty of Fish type sites. You wouldn't expect it at all from Christian Mingle, but it's very prevalent.

Oh and one more thing, height can be deceiving in pictures, and even on Skype. If you're big on tall/short guys/girls, be aware of this.

Well it's past my bedtime. I hope snagatooth or momma's boy doesn't read my blogs :/

Until next time, toodles :-*

Vonda B.

Forward Movement: #ProjectPhD

Over these past few weeks, I've noticed that's hard for me to focus on school when my life is in shambles...well maybe I'm over-exaggerating a little. My home has to be clean (laundry done, dishes washed, bed made, trash dumped), groceries have to be in my fridge, car has to be washed and clean, I have to be in shape, and my finances must be taken care of...to name a few :) Only then am I able to sit down and focus on research, smh, but I'm currently there now. I had lunch today with one of my mentors, and it was so refreshing and motivating! I was able to listen to his PhD journey, how he did it, things he would've done differently, words of encouragement, the risks he took, the risks he didn't take....the list goes on and on. He honestly has stories for days, but he made it man...so there's hope! I left lunch with so much drive and motivation to keep pushing. Hopefully this fire lit under my a$$ will burn for a while -- I feel like I become complacent at times, and that's not good. But as I said in my last post, I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and even moreso after today.

Well it's getting late; I just finished working out in my gym not too long ago, but the bed is calling my name. Until next time...toodles.

Vonda B.

Loving Life :)

So many thing seem to falling in place in my life, and I know that I have no one other than the Lord himself to thank :) I see the light at the end of the tunnel with my research and graduation....don't get me wrong, it's still a long tunnel, lol, but I know what I need to do to reach the end goal. I have a number of conference publications under my belt, now it's time to tackle a few journal publications...which are a little more difficult to attain, but I'm ready to put forth the work!!! Plus, I can do all things through Christ ;-)

Summer is near, which also means my birthday is almost here! I guess after 25 it's no need to broadcast the actual age unless it's monumental...like 50 or 100 -__- I guess I'm officially old man, but I prefer seasoned ;-) I envision myself laying by a beach for my birthday....well who am I kidding...probably a pool, lol, but I've been hitting the gym hard here lately so I will be swimsuit ready. I ran in the R.O.C. 5K Race this past weekend, and it was sooooo much fun! Lots of water slides, tarzan swings, climbing walls, and jumping balls. AND we completed the race in style in our tutus! Next week is the GT pi mile, which is a more competitive 5K race -- my time has definitely gotten better, so I'm ready for it!

Well it's Robotics Week here at Tech, so it's time to demo my robot to the future engineers :) Until next time...TOODLES!

Vonda B.