<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Kitten O’Shea</title><description>Ireland.com Going Out Blog Cluster</description><link>
          http://blog.ireland.com/itb_kittenoshea</link><pubDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:00:01 GMT</pubDate><generator>Prospero Technologies Active Content</generator><item><title>A little more on the topic of internet dating...</title><description>
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;
&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;Um, so much for my theory that the 29-year-old would call 'cause I
didn't really want him to. I haven't even gotten a text!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Jaysus, I've said this before, but I think my instincts have died a
slow death over the years. I don't seem to be making any correct
predictions these days.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Meanwhile, I logged back onto that dating site to see what the craic
was and I remembered why I'm a little skeptical about the whole
thing.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Online dating
like being in a nightclub full of the same people?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I don't know – isn't trying to meet someone on the internet a
little like being in a nightclub full of the same people day in, day
out?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I say this because I hadn't been on the site in ages and yet the men
there are no different since the last time I had a look.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
There was one guy in particular who was pestering me a while back,
and the minute I reappeared the other day he was sending me a new
message. (I'd ignored the last couple of mails he'd written me so
Lord knows why he was persisting.)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;The one liners
from the strange names&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Then I started receiving one liners from members with names like
“Nutsaboutyou”, “Horsebreath”, “Spankmaster”,
“Hotfireman” and “Nopsychosplease”. 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Actually I have a reluctant respect for he who doesn't want to meet
any psychos – I don't think any of us want that and at least he's
being straight up about it!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
But what is fascinating about these particular males looking for
females is the lack of effort some of them put into the hunt.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I mean seriously, if I get a message from a guy that says “Hey hon”
– am I going to reply? No, I'm flippin' not! A longer sentence than
that is required, thanks very much.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Photograph
please...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I'm also not going to respond to a “Hi there, are you shy?” when
it comes from a man who doesn't even have a photograph on his
profile. As far as I'm concerned there is only one shy person in that
exchange.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Everyone should have a picture, even if it's on a private setting. I
don't understand someone who wants to online date but doesn't want to
show a photo.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Yeah, yeah, I know personality is more important (and I do believe
that), but cyber space can be impersonal enough without having a
conversation with a faceless suitor.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;But I won't give
up yet&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I won't dismiss or give up on the idea of internet dating just yet
though – this is just my initial impression after logging back onto
the site following an absence.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I guess it's unfortunate that I attracted a handful of lazy
flirtations and anonymous come ons! I do think there's got to be some
decent blokes on there somewhere.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Now I must dash. There's a match on as I'm sure you all know, and I'm
trying to decide if I should watch it in the pub or in my friend's
place (my shower is still bust.)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Well, wherever I go I just have one thing more to say – COME ON
IRELAND!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://blog.ireland.com/itb_kittenoshea?entry=141</link><category></category><guid isPermaLink="true">http://blog.ireland.com/itb_kittenoshea?entry=141</guid><pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:28:17 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>I think I'm over the younger guy thing...</title><description>


&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;I had some plumbing issues in my house on Friday and as none of my
friends were around for the weekend I decided to head to my parents'
yesterday morning for a night or two. (I couldn't cope without the
shower!)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I'll head back to Dublin at the crack of dawn tomorrow and stay with
my mate until my landlord fixes the problem.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Anyway, I went out last night, met the 29-year-old and spent the
night in his bed. No sex though. He was up for it but I turned him
down for the second time as I wasn't sure it was what I wanted.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Apparently he
didn't save my number&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
So it turns out that he didn't have my number. I gave it to him but
he didn't save it properly. Or so he said. Well, he's taken it again
and it's definitely saved this time.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
And I've a feeling he's going to call – because I genuinely think
I'd prefer now if he didn't. That's always the way!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I had fun with him but I was thinking about it today and he is just
too young for me. I really fancy him physically, but mentally and
emotionally it's not happening. He seems like a nice guy, but he also
seems to be a bit of a messer.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Life is a party
to him&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
His favourite topics (ie only) are music and football. And it's like
life is just one big party to him. I get the impression he suffers
through Monday to Friday only to go utterly wild for the weekend.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I love a drink or two myself (as we all know!) but getting habitually
trashed at the end of every week is a bit repetitive and juvenile in
my opinion. He's 29 after all, not a student! 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I'm sure there's more to him than meets my eye, but I'm not seeing
it. He and I are on different pages and whether that's the age gap or
not, who knows.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I realise he's only about six or seven years my junior – but it
feels as if there's a huge generation gap there. I've almost always
gone for older men in any case so I shouldn't be surprised by this I
suppose.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
So cute and all as some of these younger blokes are, I think I'll
stick with my own age group and up from now on.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;On the subject
of internet dating&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;And
on the subject of internet dating – I'm not against it as such. I
disagreed with the person who suggested to me that it was &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;all
&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;that
was left for us single ladies in our mid-30s though. It's not! It
can't be!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I've been a member of a dating site for a good while, however I've
not met up with anyone yet. But I might. I'm not ruling it out. I've
not been on it in ages come to think of it so I may log on now to see
if I've any suitors!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;And on the
subject of the morning after asking for the number thingy&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Oh and ta to Magnolea for letting me know that he took that girl's
number.  Perhaps it is the protocol to “always ask for a girl's
number, even if it's just been a drunken random encounter, to at
least leave the person with some shred of dignity”.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Personally I would rather a guy didn't ask for mine if he hadn't a
notion of calling (yep, it's happened to me more than once!). 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Sure, the goodbye bit in the morning is cringe and sleazy when it's
not asked for – but I'd still prefer to know that he was never ever
going to phone instead of waiting and waiting in vain! But that's
just me.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I do approve of the fact that Magnolea would never go off with
someone who wasn't at least worth a second look!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://blog.ireland.com/itb_kittenoshea?entry=140</link><category></category><guid isPermaLink="true">http://blog.ireland.com/itb_kittenoshea?entry=140</guid><pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:56:02 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Fighting those feelings of desperation...yikes!</title><description>&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;
&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;No word from the 29-year-old. Good job I didn't sleep with him or I'd
now be feeling a tad delicate about it wouldn't I?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
It's funny how he's interested enough in me to be googling me, but
not so much to get in touch. Actually, I'm not that bothered to be
honest. He's gorgeous to look at but that will only get him so far. 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
At the end of the day he's nearly seven years my junior and our
personalities are miles apart because of that. I'm not saying that an
age gap will never work between two people, but sometimes it can't 
help being an issue.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;There was word
from Old Flame&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
On the other hand I did hear from Old Flame – again. He called to
apologise about his drunken visit. 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I purposely didn't answer the phone so he left me a voicemail, which
I listened to before texting him back to tell him not to worry about
it.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I figured that the less drama the better. I'm not going to change OF
and it's best to take his actions with a pinch of salt rather than
react to them. 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;There is no &lt;i&gt;why&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Having a conversation with him about &lt;i&gt;why&lt;/i&gt; he called to my house
would be pointless 'cause it's all very simple – he was hammered.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I would love to believe that there was some more profound reason, ie
he's actually in love with me but can't admit it! 
&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
But hey, I'm not deluded (most of the time!) and I know it was
nothing more than a boozy booty call, even if he was so plastered he
was hardly in a position to perform.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Anyway, here I am on a very wet, windy and miserable Thursday, fast
approaching 36 and single again. Not that I was ever actually
attached, but you know what I mean. I had distractions.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font color="#800080" face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;&lt;b&gt;I'm feeling
slightly hopeless&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
I hate to go down this road, but today I feel slightly hopeless and
desperate! I was talking to a single friend who is my age recently
and she reckons the only thing left for women like us is internet
dating!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
And while I absolutely refuse to buy into that mind set, I must admit
that right now I'm wondering if I'm destined to remain alone.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Right, enough of that pessimism – tomorrow is Friday and the least
I can do is look forward to the weekend!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-style: normal;"&gt;&lt;font face="Tahoma" size="2"&gt;
Oh one more thing – Magnolea, if you have a moment would it be
possible to let me know what happened with the girl whose bed you
woke up that Sunday morning about a week or so ago? Did you take her number/ask to see her again? I'm curious...&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
</description><link>http://blog.ireland.com/itb_kittenoshea?entry=139</link><category></category><guid isPermaLink="true">http://blog.ireland.com/itb_kittenoshea?entry=139</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:44:54 GMT</pubDate></item></channel></rss>