First Appeared in the Barrie Advance
Sunday Aug 06, 2006

Love may be just a keystroke away
(Guest Column by Elaine Murray)

As a single woman in my – ahem, early 40s – I’m discovering that the dating ritual has branched out in a completely different direction. No longer do singles try locking eyes with the hottie standing on the other side of the bar, water cooler, grocery aisle or wherever else we tend to congregate; we’re more likely to be peering intently into the pixels of our home PCs. Yes, I’m referring to Internet dating.

Now I myself have not ventured forward into the relatively new mating.com custom – I’m still trying to perfect the “locking eyes” technique – but I have several friends who have found success (and mates) with it. Recently, a good friend of mine pulled up her Barrie roots and moved to Kemptville, Ontario, to live with a man she met online.

Céline Audette, a veteran of online dating, met Alain through one of these services. She was a bit skeptical at first. Dating him would mean a long distance relationship and the fact that he was recently separated, with a young child had to be considered. But she found him interesting and they clicked. “I met others who matched my profile and interests,” says Céline “but there was no connection.” This time there was a connection and a big part of it was cultural – they’re both French Canadian. “Alain met some of my checklist criteria but he didn’t have everything,” Céline says. “But he was sensitive, funny, and loving once I got to know him.”

Céline explains the hardest thing about online dating is getting back in there after a relationship hasn’t worked out. “It takes a lot of energy and time, especially when you’re trying not to be offended or offend anyone else,” she says. “The good thing about online dating is when you’re away from it for a few days, there’s always someone to talk to when you come back.”

An active volunteer since her college days, Céline’s presence will be sorely missed in this community. Since moving to Barrie in 1992 she has been instrumental in forming the Barrie Folk Society and is a founding committee member of the BarrieFolk: Roots Music Festival. Active with the Barrie Film Festival Committee throughout the 1990s, she also helped introduce music to their festival. In addition, Céline presented music for the MacLaren Art Centre through the MacLaren Live series. She has also been an active member of the Barrie Canoe Club since 1995, starting with taking courses, then progressing to a trip leader, trip instructor and eventually teaching flatwater. She was also president of the Club for three years.

“I’ve had all kinds of families in my life,” says Céline. “The Canoe Club, music, work, and friends. Now I get to experience the family unit. All of them have shaped me into the person I am today. The challenges have, and will continue, to teach me who I am.”

Au revoir Céline, bonne chance à Kemptville. As for me, I’m off in search of a mirror to practise my eye-locking technique.

(Elaine Murray is a local writer who has hijacked the column of the vacationing Donna Douglas.)

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