I met a guy and had a six-month relationship, met a guy who filed for divorce the day of our first date, met a cool guy with whom I had absolutely no spark, and went on my fair share of first dates that were not followed by second dates.

Dates have included riding in a tractor, a bonfire and tossing rocks over the Illinois-Wisconsin border, a dinner of appetizers, and a guy who, over pasta, explained how he used to have an anger management problem. (Seriously. He said that on a first date. And described how he threw stuff all over at one of his high school athletic events, which, admittedly, was 12 years or so before that.)

I thought it would be cool to meet a wider swath of people than I meet in my day-to-day interactions, especially since my day-to-day interactions have been generally limited to five square miles in the past year or so.

But "putting myself out there" is starting to feel a lot like trying to sell myself. You know, finding the best picture, a good slogan, the right words to describe who I am without sounding like a crazy person.

The whole thing can seem kind of contrived. I recently had a guy who had e-mailed me once ask for my phone number so he could see if we had chemistry. Apparently, over the phone. As if a phone conversation with a complete stranger could accurately reveal any chemistry that might be there.

Maybe the problem is the economy: Fewer people are participating in paid online dating services or willing to spend hard-earned dollars on women they met through a profile. Maybe I've already clicked through all the single men in McHenry County. Maybe I'm way less attractive than I thought I was. I really don't know...

Sorry, guys, I am who I am. I frequently say the wrong thing and joke about dark/sad/depressing things that actually aren't funny. I have a lot going on, but I'm usually the quiet one in a group. I am horribly non-photogenic. My work is draining enough that my "hobbies" revolve around reading, working out, my dog, and random charity work. I love "Desperate Housewives" and bad reality TV, and I'm not really a sports fan. I do think I'm smart, funny, gainfully employed, and caring, but really, that's about that. I'm not sure how that stacks up next to the other four women in your "Daily 5," but the concept of a "Daily 5" is even kind of starting to annoy me.

What's more, most people have a somewhat limited understanding of their own personality and an even more limited ability to explain it on an online profile (me included). So, I'm sure some people who described themselves as "a normal guy with a good job just looking for a cool girl to make things complete" thought they were being honest. But really, who's normal? And how doesn't that translate to boring?

So, yeah, match.com, I think it's time for you and I to take a break from each other.