How Greg and I met

I actually met Greg online on Yahoo Chat, almost exactly 8 years ago. We met about a week or so before Christmas. Back then Match.com wasn't really big yet and I was into going into the chat rooms on Yahoo and just talking to people online when I had downtime. Occasionally I dated people I met online. I usually went to the Police and Fire chat rooms but sometimes I did the local DC ones as well. Here's my take on online dating since I get asked about it a lot when people find out I met Greg online. I say follow your instincts and definitely rule out anyone that throws you red flags immediately (ie- they bring up anything sexual, inappropriate, etc...). I think it's different to date online now because most people use Match or EHarmony instead of chat rooms. I advise getting to know someone a little bit but at the same time not investing tons and tons of time only getting to know them online before meeting in person. One thing I learned in the online dating process was that as much as you may think someone you meet online is perfect for you, CHEMISTRY is something that doesn't translate that well online. A couple of times I got very wrapped up in chatting with someone online and waited weeks before meeting them in person only to discover I had zero chemistry with them when meeting in person. I was surprised that it's that instant a thing, but I think it kind of is. You just know one way or another if you are into someone or not right away. Greg and I chatted online twice before we met in person. The first time I believe he was in Detroit on an overnight with ACA and I was on a night shift schedule, and we met in a DC chat room. The conversation was nothing earth shattering, I just got the impression he was a normal guy, which is what I was looking for. After chatting twice he suggested meeting in person. I was fine with it. I was a cop at the time, so I figured if he gave me any trouble I'd just pull out my gun (LOL). We met in a mall near where I lived in Arlington, VA. I got there first and sat on a bench and when he walked up I just smiled and giggled a lot because I instantly knew I liked him. We walked to a Mongolian BBQ restaurant for dinner and then walked to a bar called Carpool to continue talking. The conversation was easy and we kept discovering more and more things we had in common and would say "oh, we'll have to do that together sometime!" It was really nice. A couple days later we went on our second date which consisted of lunch at this french bakery and Christmas shopping at Tyson's Corner. At the end of our date Greg walked me to my car and wanted to kiss me so our first kiss was on one of those parking lot islands at the mall (again setting the stage for a future filled with pseudo-romantic moments). Our third date was actually on Christmas day. I was working at the college where I was a cop and Greg came there and had lunch with me on my lunch break at the police station. I later met him at his house to hang out when I finished work that night. The rest is pretty much history. I like that we fell in love during the holidays though. It was fun :)