7 dates does seem like a lot especially considering I've traveled to Amsterdam,Frankfurt,and Washington DC within that month, but the girl is awesome and totally worth my time. I have no problem sacrificing sleep or other activities for someone I really like and enjoy being around. I am also fairly aggressive about spending time together when getting to know someone, I do not like endless texting, let's get face to face and continue doing that if things are going well.
As for online profiles, I put little stock into them once I start talking to someone. Im not going to reach out to someone who doesn't have an interesting profile, but you have to realize that in a way it's like a resume. Not detailing your history, but giving a brief overview of yourself and sort of an advertisement for yourself. It's not going to encompass everything. Now if I met someone and realized they aren't at all who their profile says they are then I will have some serious doubts as to whether I would move forward.
A girl who won't hook up unless exclusive is something I would respect, but I can see why you are turned off. I don't think I could be exclusive with someone if we didn't hook up before hand. That's too important to me, but to each their own.
I think the problem for me with online profiles is twofold: one, they aren't usually a deep reflection of the person, they are a want ad, and two (and related) they are static, not dynamic. None of the things we're talking about, including politics, are one-dimensional. I love a woman who is open and enthusiastic about sex, but not when we're at the dinner table with my parents, you know? So as far as snapshots go, they are a moment in time, but...
I know for me, and I've said this before, I just talk to people. At the first conversation, it's an open book. Black, white, young old, tall, short, hot, not, just engage. What's the worst that happens? She tells you to fuck off, and you're no worse than when you started. Middle of the road, you have a new friend. Best case, you're knocking boots by sunrise. I'm fascinated by people, and I've found that every person - EVERY person - has a story. Some are sad, some are fun, some are boring, some are fascinating, but you don't know unless you play. I feel like we (and I speak of myself here as well) make our own ruts. Have you ever just walked into a strange restaurant to have dinner as opposed to going to the "corner deli" for the 100th time? Ever just start talking to the person looking at the CDs at Walmart? Ever just go to a concert by yourself? Nothing happened, because I was already involved (though not yet engaged), but I went to see Extreme on a lark at the local casino, ended up moving down to better seats, started talking to two girls there, one bolted to try to get backstage (
) and I ended up chatting with the other; we both talked about our partners at length, yet at the end of the show, she clearly invited me to the bar in the casino for a drink. I don't know what - if anything - would have happened, but it's a start.
This is going to sound weird, but I also don't take anything at face value, at least at first blush. Not suggesting this is the case, but using the "I don't suck face unless I'm in a committed relationship" as example, that could be said for many reasons, and only one is that it is a hard and fast rule. I AM IN NO WAY SAYING "NO MEANS YES" OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I act on it as if it was true, but everything takes verification on the ground. Especially as one gets a little more world weary (read into that what you will) I find that people want to FEEL respected more than just about anything, and part of that is that their partner is putting in the effort. My experience on Match in particular is that most of the profiles talk about "committed relationships", "no more games", "looking for nice guy", yadda yadda yadda, but the reality is far more complicated than that.