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Advice desperately wanted please! He's giving me mixed signals and I'm goign nuts!

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    Advice desperately wanted please! He's giving me mixed signals and I'm goign nuts!

    Hello,

    I’ve only posted a couple of times here but I’ve found the people incredibly friendly and non-judgmental. Thus, I’ve come back for more words of wisdom. Or heck, even some comfort.

    Let me just start off by saying that I have no idea if I’m in an LDR. Obviously not if I’m posting here, but for the last month I thought he and I were working to at least get to that point. Please note I tried to keep this explanation short, but it turned out rather long. I hope any advice-givers bear with me as I pour out my sad tale.

    First off, he and I met on a dating service. If anyone remembers my first post, I put all the details there. But to save time here’s the rest. I was the one that approached him. He seemed very receptive and eager to get to know me, so I followed up on my initial “Do you want to chat” overture.

    We began e-mailing at the end of the week and within a couple of weeks exchanged a handful of e-mails before I was the one that took the initiative and asked if he wanted to try chatting in real time. Fortunately he and I were on the same chat program, so we made plans to try it. He wasn’t able to chat right away as it was leading up to Christmas and he was still working and trying to prepare to drive up to stay with relatives.

    Much to my pleasure, we finally did get to chat online. “He” had several weeks off and I was in seventh heaven thinking that we’d get plenty of time to chat. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. The time difference and all the stuff surrounding the Christmas season supposedly got in the way. I’m a recent college graduate trying to find a job, so sadly I have plenty of time on my hands. Thus I am and was always on the computer or nearby. Needless to say I was extremely disappointed in the number of hook-ups we were able to get. We never really spoke of arranging a time to meet, and I felt self-conscious about it since our “relationship” was so new. I’ve not had a lot of dating experience and I feel like such a duck out of water.

    Moving along… I thought things were progressing as well as can be expected considering we live 7,000 miles and an ocean away. I never let on my disappointment in our lack of time chatting and simply took what I could get. The thing is, things have gotten to a point the last few days where I don’t know what to do. Mainly regarding the mixed signals he’s been giving me.

    To give some examples… Over the last two months every now and then he’d out-of-the-blue pop out a remark that would flatter me considerably. He would say how much he really enjoyed talking to me. How his humor and my own matched so well. Last week he said to me in a chat session that he felt like he’d known me a lot longer than in actuality. He said I was funny and he enjoyed chatting and exchanging e-mails.

    But here’s the real kicker… On new year’s eve we managed to chat for a bit before he had to head out to a party. I asked him if he had any new year’s resolutions. He said one thing and then said and to meet you!

    Again, I was so flattered. I thought, this is a good sign I think. He’s at least mulling over the idea of us meeting in person in 2011.

    But the follow-up kicker? He told me that he had to go pack his bag to head back for the party. I don’t remember if he asked me if I would still be on (it was 1 a.m. where I lived) or if I was heading to bed. I told him I had catnapped earlier so would probably be on if he wanted to come back. He told me that he would be back in half an hour. I wound up waiting two and a half hours for him. More because I was genuinely awake than waiting for him. But when it hit that 2 ½ hour mark, I got disgusted and went to bed. His lack of an appearance even after he told me he would be back didn’t worry me so much. I mean, I know how it is when you stand up to do something supposedly quick and you get sidetracked.

    Unfortunately, that was the last real-time contact I had with him. I’ve been seesawing between hurt, anger and at the moment tears. I have to admit it. I hate thinking I’m so weak that I would shed tears at this early stage of a “relationship”, but I can’t help it. His signals, in my mind, have indicated we were getting along fine.

    What’s happened recently is that I’ve neither spoke nor heard from him since. Oh, he did send me a very, very brief e-mail on new year’s day to wish me happy new year and to offer a couple of sentences on what he did. I thought, okay, he’s not totally digging out on me. I replied with a simple e-mail of my own. More so because I really wasn’t sure what was going on in his mind.

    Since then I’ve had zilch contact. Not a damn e-mail. I’ve had my chat program on, but he never appears. I don’t stalk his Facebook, but I can’t help painfully notice his posts appear at times when I know I’ve been on the computer. This is the longest absence of communication since our early days of e-mailing.

    The worst part about this is the last guy I thought I was getting to know (again through that damn dating service) did a similar thing to me. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s me. Maybe I just have this knack for making guys think they want to date me and then realize they want out but don’t want to hurt my feelings. And the last guy I did end up e-mailing him to ask if he was still interested. It was another damn seesaw. He said yes, but give him time. That guy and I had already been e-mailing almost a year with no chatting online or any phone calls. I just can’t go through this again.

    This is where I am right now people. Please, please tell me what I should do. I’ve been wanting to do like with the last guy and e-mail him and pour out a little bit of my feeling and/or ask if he wants to cut off our communication. But the few friends and relatives that know about him caution me on such a move. They say that pressuring him like that can really send him away, especially if that’s not his frame of mind right now. But I can’t take this. I don’t want to be kept in limbo. If he’s not interested anymore, I would rather know now than have him keep me hanging like this. And the worst part is, I just don’t know what he’s thinking. Why hasn’t he contacted me? I know he’s been online. The agony of wondering is what’s killing me.

    What do I do? I’m not so foolish that I can’t perhaps see the writing on the wall. Someone once told me if he was really interested, he’d be making more of an effort to e-mail, talk, chat, whatever. Sadly, I know they’re right. I just am so upset that I’m being kept hanging. Is e-mailing him the right thing to do?

    Thank you for any advice.
    Pikachu99

    #2
    My guess is that whilst interested, he's also keeping his options open. It's possibly he can't read the socail ques you're sending to tell him you're interested and is backing off... or maybe he's busy... or maybe he's scared that with such a distance you's can't make it work anyway. I'd say play it by ear and keep your options open as well.
    Happily married to the little Canadian boy I never thought I'd meet in person

    Comment


      #3
      That's another thing too. I thought I was a little more than blatant I wanted to move things forward. I have tried suggesting Skype and even hinted that my summers were free. After Christmas, he said he would register for Skype. Even asked for my user name. Haven't seen a thing. For a while I wondered if I had moved too fast. In the last week or so I made a silent vow to back off, let him make a move. I'd been getting exasperated anyway with the fact that it'd only been me initiating stuff. I wanted to feel a little special and have him do something that made me think he was genuinely interested. Unfortunately, it seems to have backfired. He's pulled even farther away. Even as I type this I know he's online. I saw another Facebook post while going to comment on a friend's comment. I'm thinking maybe I should just forget him and begin the healing process. Get into the frame of mind that he's done and gone.

      Comment


        #4
        okay, not to be too harsh but you may be over reacting just a teensy bit. I have been "officially" in my relationship 6 months, unofficially a year and seven months. we met online. Last Christmas he did something similar to your guy. I talked to him the day before Christmas Eve, then didn't talk to him again until sometime after New Years ^^; I freaked out but it turned out he'd just been busy with family he never sees.

        Try to be positive. If he hasn't given you an indication that there's anything wrong with your relationship then don't think there is. If you really feel the need to e-mail him again my suggestion would be to give him a short "I'm thinking about you" e-mail and say something sweet like, "I don't know if I've told you but I've been getting really interested in you." that way it's sweet, it's not too "clingy" and he knows you're still interested in him. Then, the next time y'all chat you can let him in on the fact that what he did this time scared you just a little bit and go on to explain what happened last time WITHOUT mentioning that you were scared he was going to leave as this still sounds in its early stages and some guys are pushed away by the suggestion that they might leave.

        As for the Skype thing...guys say things and then they forget. If a girl's interested in a guy she'll sign up for whatever he suggests they do unless she really doesn't wanna do it. A girl suggests something, the guy's going to like the idea and he'll be enthusiastic, but unless he does it right then it gets put off. So don't worry too much about that either ^^;

        I'd say give it a bit more time before tapering off.

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          #5
          I think that you're in an early stage of developing a relationship, and you need to take a step back and relax. It's easy for you to get hyper-focused given your looking for a job, online constantly situation. I know how that is; I was there after I graduated college, and it's a totally different state of mind. While you're sitting there really thinking about this and going over and over it in his head, he's probably balancing his budget, figuring out what to do for a birthday potluck at work etc... see my point? Totally different mindsets, so he probably doesn't even realize he's not paying attention to you.

          I highly doubt he wants to cut off communication. He wouldn't have emailed you on New Years if so. I would like to encourage you to push away from being online as much and really focus on external activities, even if it's watching movies. Hang out with family/friends, volunteer somewhere, just keep yourself engaged in real life. Plus the volunteering looks great on a job application.

          Some people really don't like to 'seal the deal' on a relationship until it becomes real life. He may be one of those people. Go your merry way and let him make the next move. Maybe send him an email asking how he's doing if you want, but keep it casual.


          LFAD Book Challenge: 34/100 Complete

          Comment


            #6
            You aren't really in a relationship yet, not even that close to one, from the sound of it. To me, it sounds like you're expectations are much too high for some guy you met on a dating site a month ago, you very well could be scaring him off, imo. He's obviously feeling that at this point that you're a very casual thing, you haven't given him much time to start forming a bond with you, an LDR is much different in that regard than close distance. Why would he spend his several weeks off sitting in front of a computer? You need to see this from his perspective, yes he was interested and yes, he really wants to meet you in person, but that in no way constitutes a relationship at this point. If you want to see where this is going--BACK OFF, way off, otherwise he's going to think you're much too much for him, and he's gonna run. Get to know the guy, and give him a chance to get to know you, without the pressure of calling it anything, these things take time and you can't rush it. He very well may be talking to 10 other girls just like you, which is his right at this stage. Be cool, make yourself stand out a little, and see how it goes. Sorry if this was blunt, I don't mean to offend, but sometimes that's how you need to hear it If this isn't something you can do, you should probably try sticking to local guys on those sites, it's easier and faster to form a bond when you can see each other frequently.
            Our separation of each other is an optical illusion of consciousness. ~Albert Einstein

            Comment


              #7
              It's interesting. My brother happened to call me a few minutes ago so I spent some time venting to him. The last two posts said almost exactly what he said.

              Just one more thing. I guess the reason I got so frustrated is that when I saw him on Facebook, he was joking about playing some wii game. So it's not like he's been busy with chores or stuff. And he still is on vacation. So my mind is just going crazy here. *shrugs* I'll do as suggested and write a "hi" e-mail and see what happens. Thank you for all the advice.

              Comment


                #8
                Just a quick follow-up. Nothing's really happened. However, I thought I would update all you kind posters to let you know I sent my, "Hi, how are you?" e-mail. I sent it knowing it was still very early evening his time. I haven't heard back yet.

                I'm just curious, what should I do if he doesn't reply? Oh heck, I sound like a moron right? Obviously if he doesn't reply he's no longer interested. But should I send him a closure e-mail or just shrug and turn the page on that chapter of my life?

                Like I said earlier, I don't like all the seesawing going on. I fully understand that he could be keeping his options open. But after two months of contact, don't I deserve a little something? Or is two months too unreasonable? I'm not trying to sound naive, in denial or demanding. I just don't know how this all works. I simply don't know how the dating game is played.

                Sigh. Thanks again for all the advice, even the blunt stuff. It keeps me grounded in reality.
                Pikachu99

                Comment


                  #9
                  I'm not good with dating.. I don't really know a heck of a lot about it, but I do think two months - especially starting online - is too soon to expect anything. You don't sound like a moron, but being in a rush tends to scare the blokes away. The whole online thing takes a lot of time and patience.
                  Happily married to the little Canadian boy I never thought I'd meet in person

                  Comment


                    #10
                    If he doesn't answer, just let it go. Don't bother emailing him anymore, if he wants to get in touch, he will but don't give him the satisfaction of knowing he affected you so much.
                    Our separation of each other is an optical illusion of consciousness. ~Albert Einstein

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Yeah, if he doesn't answer now, I would consider that the end of the story. Writing again, after no response from him, giving a goodbye, probably not the best idea.

                      I'm sorry that it went this way. I know it's hard not to obsess, and keep trying one more time. >.< I was dating a LD guy for six months, and he vanished. I know full well that I tried too many times to make contact without hearing a word from him, and I feel pretty foolish now. Anyway, I hope things are much happier with the next guy you meet, and that he rocks at communication.

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