CNN iReport

A little over 3 years ago my cousin was doing online dating. She would send me links to her prospects and we would spend hours on the phone (as we lived 700 miles apart,) discussing the possibilities... or NOT. We dubbed the ritual "shoe shopping," as it was much the same as trying to find the right fit, but still being pleased with the overall appearance. At one point, she sent a candidate's profile to me, as I was single at the time. There on my screen was a picture of a guy, in what looked like a mink coat, covered in dust, and, riding a bicycle in the dark. I was immediately intrigued. And being adventurous and curious by nature, I told her that I was going to email him to find out what that scenario was all about. She was instantly appalled at the thought of my doing so. She mentioned that she sent his profile as a joke... that he looked like a deranged, disheveled individual of questionable character, someone perhaps suffering from some form of mental illness who might have missed a few doses of his medication. Undeterred, I promptly emailed the guy to find out what the mink coat bicycle covered in dust look was. Once I told her that he gave good email and that I was kind of liking this "mink coat dude," she promptly requested to speak with my coworkers so that she could let someone know that I had totally lost my mind. As it turned out, the mink coat was actually half of a gorilla suit, the dust was from the playa, and the bicycle was the only mode of transportation, day or night, at Burningman. And after a year of long distance dating, too many emails to count, he and I made our own trip to BM, spent 10 days together in a small travel trailer, and decided to live together in unwedded bliss from then on. And I highly recommend the trailer in the desert with no amenities thing for anyone contemplating living together at any age. It was THE determining factor in whether we could pull it off in the "real" world or not. LOL

p.s. We're still in bliss despite experiencing job loss and tremendous difficulties. So while my cousin found nothing but liars, cheaters, murderers, molesters and yes, even a 46 year old male virgin, I found true happiness with a wonderful, loving human being who actually looks stunning in a gorilla suit. :)