maleficent

Caught this "human interest" piece on the news this morning. Seems this guy is tired of dating and such and wants to get married, only the available crop of women for him to date seems to have dried up... so he, like a few others, has resorted to the world wide web and his own site to find himself a woman. Guess he's had the same luck with on-line dating services I have had.

His site is:
http://www.see-tom.com/home.php
(He seems to have some issues with the host because it comes in and out)

Would you ever resort to doing something like this to meet the person of your dreams... What is the wackiest thing you've done to meet that person?

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maleficent

He's got himself a billboard too:
Tom's com-on for a wife

Trying billboard, Web site

By BRIAN HARMON
DAILY NEWS LONG ISLAND BUREAU CHIEF

He cooks, cleans and irons. He owns a house on the bay and, for Pete's sake, he shops at J. Crew and the Gap.
How on Earth is this 41-year-old teacher still single?

Tom Barrella has asked himself the same question for years. Now, bored with the dating scene, the salt-and-pepper-haired bachelor is renting a billboard at the exit of the Midtown Tunnel in hopes of landing a bride.

"This is the last piece of the puzzle - and the most important," said Barrella, whose billboard will face eastbound drivers exiting the tunnel in Hunters Point. "I want the fulfillment of having the right woman in my life."

The high school business teacher is shelling out $20,000 a month for the billboard, which carries his silhouette and a simple message: "see-tom.com."

Barrella also is shelling out big bucks on a public relations firm, all in the hopes of finding "a soul mate." The former computer businessman promised this is no publicity stunt for some Internet-based business.

"I am looking for a woman who's adventurous, energetic, gracious, accomplished, feminine and inquisitive," the hazel-eyed Barrella said without taking a breath. "I know I may not get them all, but I am looking for something special, really, because I feel I have something special to offer."

Barrella also wants kids - two or three - so that means, he said, a woman who is preferably about 30 years old.

On his Web site, which is due to be up and running today, Barrella will post pictures and stories about himself. He will have testimonials from friends and family and quiz his prospective brides on the meaning of love.

There is a link where a female visitor can ask him out on a date, and there's another link where the woman can ask him questions.

"What I'm trying to do with my site is to give you a feel for my personality and to tell you a lot about me," he said. Barrella said he is a "very genuine person" and is "very creative." His hobbies include boating and photography.

He is a former independent record producer, and the Long Island native spent 10 years in Atlanta running a computer business. For three years, Barrella has taught at a high school in Nassau. At home, he said, he cleans, irons and picks out his own clothes. He even sautées some mean shrimp.

Barrella, who is off from teaching for the summer, said he's wondering less about what his students will think about his endeavor than how the school administration will react.

Long Island is still home to Barrella's parents, and a brother and sister. His family has reacted with "guarded hopefulness and weariness," Barrella said.

"This is a way for me to hopefully attract a woman who may find me interesting, and would have never known me if I didn't do something like this."


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Well Ok then...

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ShaniFaye

I think the bop tom is my favorite thing on that site.

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

*Nikki*

He's really a nice looking man and he sounds like he is well put together. If I was single.....

Charlatan

He seems to have a good sense of humour... I just find this kind of behaviour a little creepy is all.

I've never had to resort to stunts to meet people but then I've been off the market since I was 18 or so. I don't know what I would do if I had to be single today.

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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

Gatorade Frost

That's brilliant.

Creative. I don't see it as desperate particularly, but at least it works for him. Pretty cool website set up.

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I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well."
Emo Philips

maleficent

What I find disturbing about it, he's a good looking guy, he's got some money, he's got property and a boat, he's got a sense of humor, he's a little older which is a plus, because that generally means they know who they are, listening to him talk on the interview his voice is a little whiney (that'd be a negative for me but...) he seems to have the entire package... He shouldn't have trouble meeting women...

Are his standards that high, that regular women aren't good enough for him? Is he that difficult to please?

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Gatorade Frost

My guess is that he just doesn't advetise the faults. There's normally a decent reason why a 41 year old guy isn't married or with some one, we just don't know his.

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I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well."
Emo Philips

NoSoup

Odd, someone just did something very similar around here - I was driving home one day and I saw a billboard for someone looking for a job.

For those interested, the website it mentioned was www.hiregary.net The image on the main page is the same used on the billboard. Creative idea - I wonder if it'll work out for him...

(Mods, I am not affiliated with the site in any way, so if you need to remove it, feel free)

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I have an aura of reliability and good judgement.

Just in case you were wondering...

Suave

Haha! That bop Tom game is fantastic!

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"Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

Seeker

I thought about this as well

Another point that crossed my mind...
This guy is approaching this as if he has a responsibility to bring the person he wants into his life! I know it's a bitch when you want someone to share that with, but honestly you can't make that happen! (or can you? *waits for updates*)

I'd prefer someone who was a bit more laid back in this department. Thinking about the lengths he has gone to seems intimidating and impatient. Whilst it's not a desperation, it gives me the feeling he is a control freak. And does this mean that anyone he becomes involved with will become the next major news story?

This to me is just over the top and reduces any pluses he might have had before going to these lengths...

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To those who wander but who are not lost...

~ Knowledge is not something you acquire, it is something you open yourself to.

maleficent

It's a creative idea, but if I were a person that does hiring, I'd say - -dude, is it really that wise to drop that kind of money on a billboard? You need a job so badly, that you have 20K to spend? Maybe investthe 20K? Ok, maybe I wouldn't have said dude.

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clavus

Well, we all know what MAL is thinking about...

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Ass, gas or grass. Nobody rides for free.

maleficent

naw, they had dress up tom on the site, I wasn't impressed

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paddyjoe

I was hoping Mal was thinking about giving Tom a call........

maleficent

Let's see - I don't make the cut - I"m too old, too unattractive and there's that whole be fruitful and multiply thing.. I lose on all counts... Want me to lie and call him anyhow?

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Elphaba

Why not? He sounds far more attractive than the guy that researches farts.

Seriously, Mal. You are far more attractive that you give yourself credit. It's his loss if he doesn't recognize the whole of you.