Some days I contemplate that maybe I would like a relationship again, and then when I really think about it, I get scared and overwhelmed, because A, you never know they might be a serial killer or some con man
A couple of things. Well, a lot of my problems were self-imposed. It sounds like BigMat was given impossible situations to deal with and he soldiered through so I really respect him.
I can't think of a word other than "nerd" to describe myself although I am afraid people will get the wrong idea and imagine comic books and video games. I can talk about regular guy stuff like cars and guns and some sports. But I'm also reading a paper about the use of the Fibonacci numbers in fractal antenna design and that is my idea of how to relax on a Saturday evening... Help! I'm turning into Mr. Spock! I need to quickly watch a video of The Simpsons to save me, LOL.
But I am writing to give you ideas on how to see whether a guy is okay or whether he is a creep, and maybe how to scare away a creep. Assuming you cannot or do not want to do a criminal background check, there are some things you can check up on:
1. I think in most states you can look up a person's non-criminal driving offenses. Now, many of us get tickets from time to time. But if you look someone up and he has fifty citations for causing accidents or if he has 80 citations for reckess driving, you can be sure the rest of his life is as out of control as his car is.
2. There are a lot of jobs nowadays someone cannot have if he has a criminal record. So if he has that type of job he at least passed a criminal background check.
3. If a person of interest is a professional, you might see if he has a presence on LinkedIn but you might not be able to see a lot of details.
4. See what shows up in a Google search (Blackribbon mentioned this on another thread and I'm sure you also know all about that anyways).
5. A guy who is a creep will always be intimidated by a self-confident woman and won't want to stay around, but you know that.
6. Say something to him like, "My brother the Marine taught me how to shoot an assault rifle and it was so much fun I am going to buy a rifle and participate in rifle matches." Smile sweetly as you say this. If has creepy intentions he will be terrified and you will never see him again! If he is a decent guy, he will find it attractive that you have self-confidence with dangerous things like weapons, whether he likes guns or not. The danger is you might also repel a nice, ultra liberal, would-never-hurt-a-fly type of guy.