The Googler.

“You should Google him before the date” my roommate wisely told me, “just to make sure he isn't crazy”. “That's ridiculous” I responded “Plus, whenever I Google people I know, nothing ever comes up.”

Famous last words.

To set this scene of this tale of woe, I should mention that I had just gotten out of a 2 year relationship with a man I can only describe as narcissistic and borderline evil. My shattered ego was still somewhat piecing itself back together and I was hoping that online dating would somehow pull me out of the hole of self pity and self loathing I was in. I hoped that it was boost my ego, and worst case scenario, would give me a few good stories to tell (as if I needed more). In my insecure state, I started talking to Manny. I think what initially drew me to him was his adorable dog (pets always suck me in). I thought to myself “Well here is a totally normal dude who has this adorable dog... How bad of a person could he be?”. Note to self: any man can own a dog. Look at Michael Vick.

He set up the date: on Halloween. At a theme park.

Men, please take note. If Manny did anything right in his life (apart from adopting such an adorable dog... seriously, this dog was cuuute), it was setting this date up. Not only am I a huge fan of Halloween (he even added the “Just think of how fun our anniversary would be...”), but I am a sucker for fun and creative dates. No more dinner and movies! Take us out to do something crazy and fun. Manny's date planning skills were awesome. We had a blast. Not only did we bond over being scared (both of rides and haunted houses) but it also gave us a lot of time to bond and talk on the way to and from said theme park.

But Manny did not mention everything.

I left the date feeling pretty excited. Not only did I have the first date since the big breakup, it went well! I had fun! This dating thing wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! I was patting my own back all the way home.

About a week later, I was bored and fiddling about on the internet when I remembered the conversation that the roommate and I had had about Googling Manny, and thought to myself, why not?

I Googled.

Not only did I find out that Manny had a blog, but Manny had a blog that detailed his time in prison. For violent (and possibly gang related) crimes.

Moral of the story? Always, always, always Google.