The Self-Experiment Part II: Conclusion

In November I downloaded the dating app Lovoo and I set up the time frame for about 2 months. Now since the last couple of months were very stressful I still owe you the results, so here it goes:

To start off: I still haven't deleted my profile or the app from my phone- which means first of all no relationship came from it and secondly I have to admit I like playing the matching-game. 

But let's start at the beginning: After I downloaded the app and set up my profile with 3 pictures and some personal information I was good to go. I am a little paranoid by the whole GSP-tracker thing and this function was disabled all the time. With the matching game you get (depending on how big the city is you are living in and how many users there are) lots of faces thrown at you you can either like or dislike. I am a very cautious person so I only liked a specific type of guy AFTER visiting the profile and get a look on all the provided pictures and the information. If he is a smoker for example there is no way I would like him. So I really was and am very picky because you get the feeling of...well I got the feeling if I press the like button I should be willing to meet up with him on account of this first impression and information (yeah I know most guys do not even enter your profile just like or dislike your profile picture..but that's just the way I am.^^)

I got quite a few matches right away and after texting with a few of them I decided to meet with one guy. He turned out to be very arrogant and not unfriendly...but well we just didn't hit it off and I noticed right at the beginning he was very disappointed with the real version of me standing in front of him. But he was not mean or did anything to convey that- it just didn't work out at all. But in all seriousness: if he would have turned out to be a 60 year old trucker guy I would have given up any hope at all in this app and deleted it right away- so all in all that first meeting was okay.

After a few more weeks of texting another guy and deciding we wanted to meet, we started talking on the phone everyday which was nice since there at least I knew we could talk about topics I was interested in. When we finally met up I was very glad I gave it another try because he was very nice, we had things to talk about and he basically was the perfect gentleman: nice, attentive and good spirited. I really enjoyed that evening a lot and we saw each other the following day as well. Then some time passed again but we did meet up a couple of times during the next month until he was very busy and well I actually wasn't very interested anymore anyway. The whole thing was very slow (we had 5 dated before he made any move to kiss me) and by the time he started like he wanted more I was completely not interested in that anymore. So as you can imagine: that did not work out either. But I am very grateful to him because he gave me a little faith in online dating, dating apps, etc. 

Now months have passed and I haven't met up with anyone else. I texted with a couple and I really enjoy swiping left or right but I think I will delete my profile and the app very soon and start to go back to the "if it's supposed to happen it will happen"-mind set and just hoping to stumble across a nice guy in real life. 

All in all I am proud of myself for taking a chance and putting myself out there and even got to know someone out of this- even if it didn't lead to a relationship in the end. 

To all of you who want to do the same and try some kind of app or online dating site: Yes, I would do it again. Just to give myself the little push you sometimes need to get out there and also to have the opportunity to make up your mind whether online dating is for you or not. Loads of people find partners via these sites and apps so why not? But I also have to mention that there were (as expected) some guys who clearly did just have one thing in mind. But if you are aware of that and are a little cautious and careful: why not try it? There are loads of nice guys and girls with the same mindset as yourself out there who probably are a little shy to make the first move or just do not know where to meet people these days. 

I would love to hear some of your experiences and opinions on that matter so please comment ;)

Cheers for now,

Mags

The Anxiety of Being Nearly Finished

 

I'm nearly done. I'm currently in my last weeks as a BA-Student of Musicmanagement. In fact, I should be writing my final paper right now. It is crazy how these past 3.5 years of my life just flew by and I am very nostalgic on the one hand- and very anxious on the other- since I decided to give myself at least a year until I will continue my academic path and start my masters degree. The decision behind that was that searching for my mandatory internship, I realised that actually there are two options: taking a position any high-school graduate could do or not being qualified enough to start a proper internship in my favoured companies. Basically, I was overqualified for some and too young and way to unqualified for others. That situation sucked. I can tell you that. But now I am at the point where I basically am inches away from my degree and there are no jobs out there for a person like me. I would have to start with an internship again (and another problem there: loads of companies only take on students because of insurance reasons etc.). Anyway, I feel like my market value should have increased now and me not having to start with an internship again. But apparently not. Anyway, for me a masters degree was always part of my life plan. I can't exactly  explain why.. possibly because I am an ambitious person, but I had this picture in my mind, and built my overall life plan around this fact. Even though it is not really necessary to have a masters degree in the music industry because it is actually all about your network and who you know.

So now I'm 21, pretty happy with my student life (finally) and now it's basically all over already- HOW DID THIS HAPPEN???? It's been already 2 years since I cane back from my term abroad in Australia and now I am crossing the finish-line of my first Uni-degree? NO WAY! Crazy. Simply unbelievable.
What comes next during the next couple of months I do not really know. This is very unusual for me since I am that kind of person that makes plans for everything, applies early and thinks ahead. Since Uni and my thesis take up all of my time right now, I put up with the "what comes nest?" question for far too long already, since I decided in autumn that I would figure that out once I finished my degree. Sometimes you have plans...and sometimes the plans find you. I'll see how this concept works out for me.
Fingers crossed for the next couple of months.
Cheers for now,
Mags

Autumn Playlist

It's been way too long since I neatly put together a playlist... Here is what I am currently listening to and accompanies me through autumn:

1. Sweater Weather - The Neighbourhood
2. Thunder Clatter - Wild Club
3. Lisztomania - Phoenix
4. Smile - Mikky Ekko
5. Dangerous Times - Wildlife
6. Immune - Groenland
7. Shuffle - Bombay Bicycle Club
8. I would Walk 500 Miles - The Proclaimers
9. Celebration - Kool & The Gang
10.  All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor
11. Right On Satellite - Superfood
12. Comeback Kid (That's my Dog) - Brett Dennen
13. Trains - Porcupine Tree
14. Busted - The Black Keys
15. Withcraft -Wolfmother
16. Light Up the Sky - Yellowcard
17. Uniformed & Black - Antimatter
18. Heroine - Sons of Alamo
19. Women of the World (Go On Strike!) - Cee-Lo

Enjoy :)
If you've got any suggestions fo me: I'm always happy to discover new music, so don't be shy and share ;)

Cheers,
Mags

A Self-Experiment

Putting yourself out there - in the dating pool - can be a crazy experience. I've been single for quite some time now (and yes it's been more than a week- seriously I am not joking here) and recently I rediscovered how nice it is to simply go out for dinner or the movies with a person you barely know but feel like you have same values or little things in common. I had one of these nice evenings just a week ago and nothing came out of it but even so I enjoyed the attention and conversation very much. And let's be honest the fact that his attention was with me all evening.

That is why I thought to myself: I really need to put myself more out there. The problem: how to achieve that. Well I decided since I've got a busy schedule and am not the party girl myself and more and more of my uni colleagues and buddies use it I would just give it a try: a dating app. 

I was always a firm believer in "I do not need the Internet" or phrases like "if you need to search online for company you really are pathetic". Well I decided that it is more and more normal these days to meet people online. So: why not?

I downloaded Lovoo and set up my profile. Why Lovoo? Simply because I did not have to link it to my (nonexistent)-Facebook account and could use my email to register. Plus it has enough users in my area to make sense to try it out and not only awkwardly bump into my grandma's neighbour online (thank god I moved away^^). Basically I chose the App with logical thinking. Is that a good start? No idea, but I will take that into account when I draw my conclusions.

Is is a bit weird for our society to search for relationships online? Yes, I still think so. But especially our generation, that spends so much time on the Internet they even call us "digital natives" it seems to be more common to at least try this means of meeting new people.

So here it goes: I will try this out until shortly before Christmas and then will either stop using it because it is simply a waste of my time or continue using it. Who knows what's going to happen?

Impossible Task at Hand

If I am leaving for a beech-holiday trip to Italy the task already seems unbelievably hard. The first question is always: What should I bring? 

I'll need bathing suits and regular clothes for the day and excursions into the city but also something to put on when going out for dinner. Then there is my issue with sunburns so I need loads and loads of sunscreen in every possible SPF available just to be prepared. Shoes? Towels? Do I plan on working out (honestly: NOPE, but who knows what could come over me?)? Games? And BOOKS. Well I love reading and especially on beach-vacations I just bury myself in the stories and devour book after book in a rather short amount of time. This means I really have to be prepared. Nothing worse than not having something to read around. It is really hard for me to sleep before going on vacations because I have to think of every possibility in advance in order to be prepared. Further there is the "Oh my God I am sure I forgot something"-Feeling, this  nagging feeling that I forgot something. I even get this feeling BEFORE I start the whole packing process and it just drives me crazy.

And this was just my thoughts before leaving on a holiday. Packing for 3 to 6 months: imagine my head exploding by going through everything. And take into account the season change.

This task lies ahead of me now, since University starts again in a few days and I am leaving for my apartment tomorrow morning. And I hate it. I simply do. Not even my "Recent Favourites"- playlist or "The Cat Empire" can get me into starting the process this time. 

I've been living at home again for the past couple of months and leaving until Christmas now seems not very appealing. Even though I was really looking forward to go back into my flat and getting my Independence back completely after leaving some (okay a lot) of it behind and falling back into the "daughter-role" here. I really am excited for university to start again and to see my friends again but on the other side just now I get comfortable in my place here again. It's always like this before I leave again after a uni break. It's always twisted and there is this inner fight going on whether I am excited or sad to go. And mostly: it's both at the same time. AWESOME this confusion.

Normally though, after I cried a little when I said goodbye to my family and especially my mum and I go through security control at the airport, most of the sadness turns into excitement for the upcoming  next phase of uni and my independent life in the big city.

But before the scenario at the airport can take place once again, I need to pack all my clothes, chargers, electronic devices, my Laptop, my other SIM-card, books and utilities for uni, bags, shoes, keys and loads and loads of little things. This list would be endless, so I won't even attempt on completing it. But I think you get the picture. 

So now the "Oh my God I am sure I forgot something"-Feeling crept up on me. Again. I think I should give the music another try and attempt the impossible task of packing everything I need for the next months into my suitcase and bags. 

Wish me luck!

Cheers for now,

Maggie