Recommendations?

A friend recently asked if there’s one dating web site, company, etc. that I would recommend above all others, considering my frighteningly vast experience. I had to think about that for a bit. I do know that in my current mood I wouldn’t recommend speed-dating. The idea is terrific, in that you get to meet people immediately rather than waste weeks e-mailing someone you’d never like in person, or vice versa. But it hasn’t worked for me at all. My favorites, the guys I know right away I would love to go out with, never choose me – except for one, who, after one phone call, backed out of the date, saying he wasn’t ready because he was still getting over a serious relationship. (Sigh.) And with the guys who do choose me -- guys who seem nice enough to have potential -- it just never works out. I’ve never had any speed-dating relationship last longer than one date, or two at the absolute most. My whole Date & Dash experience (http://www.dateanddash.com/) is just one more example. I ended up with only one match, sent him an e-mail, and he never wrote me back. At least that event was free.

I’ve actually had the most luck on Match.com (http://www.match.com/): two relationships that lasted about two months each, and multiple dates with other guys. But I also spent the longest time on Match – about seven months – and met the most people through it, so that could be partly why.

You know which company I never heard from? Cause and Effect Dating (http://www.causeandeffectnyc.com/), where they match you up with someone on a date to do volunteer work. I filled out the contact form in May, but they never called or e-mailed me. Strange. Maybe I’ll try again.

I still don’t know what to do about the Nicest Guy in the World and Mr. No Touchy-Feely. Honestly, deep down I think what I want is someone who is more like Mr. No Touchy-Feely, but who treats me as well and as thoughtfully as the Nicest Guy in the World does. If only I could combine them, I’d have the perfect man.