Most of you probably Google a date’s name before you go out with him — some of you probably Google his name before you AGREE to go out with him (I know I would)—but how many of you Google a date’s email address? If you think that’s a crazy idea, too stalker-ish or whatever, have I got a cautionary tale for you! Recently, a friend of mine we’ll call “Angie” met a guy she thought might hit it off with her roommate — we’ll call her “Sheila” — and set about putting them in touch. “But I’m actually attracted to you,” the guy said to Angie, to which she replied honestly that she was already seeing someone and, besides, he wasn’t really her type anyway (he’s heavily tattooed and pierced — something she’s not into, but her roomie is). “Fine,” he said, “But will your roommate put me in my place like you will?” Angie assured him that Sheila was no doormat and would put him in his place if need be. “And you told her what I look like?” He asked. Angie assured him that she told Sheila about his tattoos and piercings and that she was totally fine with it.
Once everyone had been assured enough to proceed, email addresses were exchanged and Sheila and Tattoo Boy went about making introductions with each other.
“Angie told you what I look like, right?” Tattoo Boy emailed right away.
“Yeah,” Sheila responded, “She told me you have a lot of tattoos and piercings and stuff and I’m totally fine with all that.”
“Oh, good. But did she tell you I still wet the bed?” he joked.
“No, I guess she must have forgotten that detail,” Sheila said, only slightly alarmed by his odd comment (Angie had warned her he had an “interesting” sense of humor).
They exchanged a couple more emails before setting up a date. A few days before they were to meet in person, Sheila decided to see what she could find about this guy online. She Googled his name and didn’t find much she didn’t already know. Then she Googled his email address and, lo and behold, the first (and second and third) link to pop up was to a message board for diaper fetishists! With increasing repulsion, Sheila read all about how Tattoo Boy was really into wearing diapers, enjoyed being dominated, and was looking for a woman to baby him and “put him in his place.” Turns out he wasn’t joking about still wetting the bed!
Sheila quickly emailed Tattoo Boy with some excuse about why she wasn’t going to be able to meet up with him. He, in turn, emailed my friend Angie and said, “I guess I’m not your roommate’s type after all.” And Angie, who had become privy to Sheila’s online discovery, read his message and replied: “Yeah, I guess not.” Needless to say, things didn’t work out with Sheila and Tattoo Boy, but hopefully she’ll find someone nice in time — someone who doesn’t wet the bed — and with any luck, he’ll meet some hot dominatrix on that diaper fetish message board soon.
Moral of the story: If you’re being set-up on a blind date (online dating counts!), be sure to Google a person’s name AND email address before going out with him!
Original by: Wendy Atterberry