This morning one New York woman—a veteran of every online dating site [1] under the sun—posted a pièce de résistance of a personal ad on Craigslist. The title "SWF who isn't asking too much" was written (hopefully) with tongue firmly in cheek, as what follows is a list of more than 38 qualities her Mr. Right [2] must have. That is, if you call owning "more than 3 items from The North Face jacket line but no more than 5" a quality.
A few highlights from the reportedly 32-year-old single, white female's list:
-must love cats and be open to the idea of future adoptions
-must not be opposed to wicker furniture
-must be fluent in 2 languages (English DOES NOT count); I still like to practice my French from study abroad
-toilet paper must go over, NEVER under, when placed in dispenser
-PUT the lid DOWN. Animals have better manners than most men
-owning a car is a plus, but it can't be a hatchback (some standards)
-must read at least 3 books a month, no comics unless Gary Larson
-must be on T-Mobile for Fave 5 access
-Ivy League education desirable, but Amherst, UPenn, Colgate, Vassar, Georgetown etc. acceptable
-must like North-Eastern microbrews, NO COLORADO, NO EXCEPTIONS
As the debate on whether or not to settle for a man [3]—and what qualifies as settling? and at what age should a woman settle?—rages on among singles, it's refreshing to see women (surprisingly often on Craigslist [4]) speaking out for what they really want. Leaving the toilet seat up is obnoxious, and annoying habits can ruin relationships [5]. But our SWF, "M", might have shot herself in the foot with this ad. Is a man's mobile service provider truly a deal breaker [6]?
Maybe she was taking a hint from the Stuff White People Like crew and attempting to use habits and superficial preferences for certain types of music and beer to paint a comic image of a certain socio-economic background [7]. In which case, if we hear of any man willing to "be home from 2-6pm on Saturdays to receive packages" who"s also an "Ebay power seller," we'll be sure to send him "M"'s way.