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I met my wife through Guardian Soulmates. Through somebody else's Guardian Soulmates. It's quite a good story so I'll try to tell it. A few details will be a bit misremembered or accidentally made up, probably, but I'll do my best.
I was staying with a friend. He had several dates through @guardian_SM. We lived in Oxford, most of the dates were in London. I think his location settings in the search were 'very generous.' Probably the whole south of England. But he set it only to show profiles with pictures.
I encouraged him to look at profiles without pictures. He was sceptical. To prove a point, I ran a search on his account and read some of the picture-less introductions to him. One in particular sounded ace. (Maybe you think you know where this is going... well, I'm not so sure)
It wasn't so much what this introduction revealed (it said she was in London and played tennis, I remember that much) it was the *tone* of it. It wasn't dour. It wasn't flip. There was a kind of alchemy that was... a mix? I guess melancholy sounds too sad. But it was *shaded*
My friend wasn't going to message her because she didn't have a picture. That should have been the end of it. But I thought about her intro again, later on. I liked it. I was getting really good vibes. It's hard to put a finger on it.
But I didn't have a Soulmates account.
But I didn't have a Soulmates account.
Anyway, this is where some of the details get a bit fuzzy but I do remember there were drop-down options one would choose in setting up your profile and one of them referred to certain things being "Absolutely serious." I was new to this, it stuck in my mind. That's important.
There was some way to send up a flare between two non-paid accounts. I signed up as a free Soulmates user and I took a punt, sent out the sign. Maybe she'd sign up and message me.
She didn't. She did something a lot more tricksy.
She didn't. She did something a lot more tricksy.
She edited her profile and drew my attention back to it using one of the drop-down options. I wish I had the interface now, I could work out exactly what she did. Suffice to say, I was directed back to look at her intro again - and to look a little more carefully, or closely.
And that's when I saw it: she had edited her profile text and put in a conspicuous bit of nonsense. It was a code!
That was it. That was the clincher. I was going to crack it and find out what the message was...
That was it. That was the clincher. I was going to crack it and find out what the message was...
It was, quite predictably, her email address!
How could I not email her now? So I did, and I told her more or less everything that I've already put in this thread. And then, later that day - 15 February 2005 - she replied.
How could I not email her now? So I did, and I told her more or less everything that I've already put in this thread. And then, later that day - 15 February 2005 - she replied.
