Stood up by EH dates... what's the deal?!

I'm starting to wonder if there is something wrong with me. Or maybe it's who I am being matched with? I have now been stood up on two separate occasions by people I have met on EH under completely different circumstances with the last month.

The first time I was stood up, it was our fifth date. We had planned for him to come to my apartment for dinner. We texted the day before the date confirming the time, to which he replied he was "excited" to see me. Needless to say, 6:30 p.m. came and went the next day, dinner got cold, and no date! I called and followed-up with an E-mail. It's like he vanished into thin air.

Last night was the last straw. It was our first meeting. We had E-mailed significantly, and mostly about what we were looking for in a relationship. He came across as seriously looking for his better half. He was late, but arrived and parked next to my car. We hugged in the parking lot and walked into the restaurant. When the hostess said it was about a 20 minute wait for a table, he seemed disinterested in my suggestion to look for a table in the bar, but agreed. He immediately excused himself to the bathroom when I sat down at the bar, but said to get a menu and order a drink. I did so, but after 5-8 minutes passed, I knew he didn't fall into the toilet. I quickly located my phone in my purse to find a text from him saying, "Sorry, we're not a match." What the...?! I then had to explain to the bartender why I needed to close my tab so soon, as well as the people sitting around me. Most people's first instinct was, was it a blind date? I prefer to think it is not, as he had also requested to be my friend on Facebook prior to the date and has seen 100+ photos of me. I've never had a problem with people accusing me of not looking like my photos.

Do these scenarios happen to anyone else? It's experiences like this that leave me hopeless. I wish dating websites had some sort of way to leave feedback or commentary or a rating on the date for future daters. Had I even been a "match" to him, I'm sure he's pulled this on other girls in the past, which would be an immediate turn-off. It's rude, ignorant, poor dating etiquette, and not how you treat someone.

Can you really tell chemistry in 5 minutes? Is that really giving someone a chance? With maybe 2 of those minutes spent in silence walking through a crowded restaurant? Maybe I am too nice and give people the benefit of a doubt of at 45 minutes, to get through a round of drinks. Someone's personality can really change my mind about chemistry. Oh well...

As far as the fifth date guy, HE took every initiative and called or texted me every day throughout the week, and in fact, asked me to go out Friday night. Unfortunately, I already had plans, so I asked him if he was free for dinner the following day, as in Saturday. He said yes and was a no-show. I've dated enough that I always make sure the ball is in the guy's court to pursue me.

I can't believe there are people in this world condoning the ignorant behavior exhibited last night. Just grow a pair of balls and tell me you want to leave!

Honestly, this kind of stuff is extraordinarily rare. Weird people happen, and weird stuff happens and I would write it off as that - anomalies. In hindsight they make for fun dating stories to tell your friends.

One important point to note is don't waste a lot of time on e-mails. Rather just meet quickly in a nice public place. This way you don't build up crazy fantasies and expectations of who this person might be and then get horribly disappointed in real life - most likely what happened with your second guy. Still, what he did lacks even the most basic human decency.

I would not let things like that get to you. Those people are their own constant problem and hardly a blip on your screen. Have fun with dating and don't forget to laugh when you come across weirdos like that.