Dear 2012,

Hello and welcome. I'm very happy to see you. Although 2011 was a wonderful year for me I have even higher hopes for you. When a new year arrives I like to write things down to make things happen. I don't call them resolutions because they aren't necessarily things I want to change, but rather they are things I want - to do or to see or to have - most of which are in my control.

But some things still involve bigger forces like luck and fate and timing and the Santa Anna winds or El Nino or something similar. That is why I'm writing directly to you. Because this year I have one big thing that I'd like to happen.

But, 2012, I have smaller things on my list too like: pursuing a different career path (which I'm working on now); taking a few trips - one snowboarding and one to Europe (hopefully for a few weeks); continuing to study improv and to get better; keeping my credit card bills to a minimum to save money for...a rainy day. I think all of those things I can make happen on my own. If I stay focused and stop buying so many shoes.

So, 2012 I need your help for the big thing. Because I'm ready but I can't do it all by myself.

I WANT A BOYFRIEND IN 2012.

Yeah, that's right I said it. And I'm still a feminist and a very happy single woman in her 30's. And that is exactly why I want one. I've grown so much in these two years being single. I've gotten to know myself, to love myself, and I've even learned how to date properly (not crazily.) I've learned that I still have room for more amazing people in my life.

I don't want a boyfriend to fill any hole in my being. The truth is I don't have any holes. They have finally healed. And that is why I'm ready. Fully, wholly, happily ready to let someone into my life. Really in. All the way in.

Love,

100FD

P.S. The sooner the better because I really enjoy cuddling in the winter.

Dear OkCupid,

I cannot begin to express how much our year-long relationship has meant to me. You helped me bounce back from a soul-crushing break-up with a man who I thought I was going to marry. You made me get out of bed and back into the dating world. You exposed me to dozens of man-boys within a 5-mile radius, and at times they exposed themselves to me (read: penis pics).

I'll never forget the thrill I felt when seeing new messages from you in my inbox. Could they be from someone hot, someone funny, someone who might be ‘the one’? (not usually; hardly ever; no). Thank you for surprising me while I man-browsed with of all of those pink flashing instant messages containing talk of penis size, penis piercings, and how those penis’ could make me feel if I could just give them a chance.

I will always cherish those drunken-pizza-eating late nights we spent together in my bed. You were free, comforting, and always there for me (provided my internet connection didn’t fail). I admit I’ll miss playing your quickmatch game of rating people solely on their photos, which initially disgusted me but then amused me.

The truth of it is, I love you but I’m no longer 'in' love with you. And yes, I could treat you just like the myriad of men you’ve introduced me to by deleting my profile without saying a word. But I can’t do that because I respect you and value the time we spent together.

I am who I am, and this blog is what it is because of you, and because of that please know you’ll always have a place in my heart. But I have to move on. I have to try to meet men other ways (or through other sites). I hope you understand, and I really hope we can be friends – on Facebook.

With love,

The dater