Confessions Of A Matchmaker

As a matchmaker who’s also co-founded an online dating site, I admit it is quite fun having toes in both ponds.

On the one hand, you have the matchmaking world demonizing online dating to convince would-be digital daters to turn to the personal love hunters.

On the other hand (or toe? I did say I had toes in ponds…), you have online dating sites that could care less about the matchmaking world.

To read more, click here. 

Guess what, gentlemen?! You’re definitely buying flowers this Valentine’s, and you’re absolutely sending them to her office! 

Theoretically, Valentine’s Day is about proclaiming the love you have for the woman in your life. Theoretically. That’s it. Period. 

Realistically, it is really about women showing to the other women that they work with that they do not in fact go home to a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, but to either a Ben or Jerry (or Dimitri, George, Yianni, or Nick if you’re of the Greek sort.) 

If you really want to score points this Valentine’s, send her a bouquet to the office. If you want passive aggressive behavior from your woman, which will inaccurately color her as ungrateful, have flowers delivered to her home. Jerk.  

You see, in an ideal world, giving her flowers at home would be just fine. But in the real world – let’s face it — women are bitches. What’s the point of buying overpriced flowers if it won’t gather the attention of envious female co-workers? 

Having flowers delivered to the office screams, ”I am loved!! Look at me!” Other women will scoff at this, but secretly, they’re jealous that the flower delivery guy has yet to call their name. It’s like that Valentine’s Day episode in Season 2 of The Office. Even though the episode opens up with Pam confessing she didn’t want Roy “to go too big for Valentine’s, since [they] were saving up for the wedding,” as Phyllis is adorned to what can only be described as Cupid actually throwing up on her, Pam’s ego begins to drown in disappointment.

You are going to buy your woman flowers, and you are having them delivered to her office. End of story. 

…but Maria, my woman says she doesn’t like Valentine’s… Bullshit. 

…but Maria, my woman has already instructed me not to deliver flowers to the office because she says “it’s tacky”… Sorry to break it to you, but your woman probably has another man who’s probably sending her a bouquet, and she doesn’t want the office to know she has a side piece. 

…but Maria, I’ve only gone on less than three dates with her… If you want another date, you’re sending her flowers. 

…but Maria, my woman works from home… Okay. This is the only time that a bouquet is acceptable to be delivered at home. 

Maria Avgitidis is a matchmaker and dating coach at Agape Match, a matchmaking company that caters to New Yorkers and Greek singles, and CEO of AgapaMe.com, an online dating site for Greek singles.

Hey there! Happy New Year!

I need exactly 40 seconds of your time. I was nominated for Best Matchmaker at the 2013 iDate Awards! (yay!) Part of how they decide the winner is through popular vote, and I need your help! Simply go to www.idateawards.com, scroll down to Best Matchmaker and vote for me! Last day to vote is January 4! (So do it now? Please?) You rock!!!

xoxo

Maria

I contemplated what I ought to name this post, as it’s quite self evident that many of my friends have heard or seen the infamous Best Buy commercial by now, where I proudly proclaim that I bought my father a smart TV. Then my father stole the show with his mustache and Greek speaking suave. Ah, five seconds of fame. 

I’m just going to be quite blunt right now. I flipping love my dad. 

I mean, just look at him! 

You’re probably wondering how the hell this even happened. Maybe you’re not, but you ought to, because you’re reading me on a Tumblr blog, just another pebble stone of social media mountain. Things happen when you connect, collaborate, and share. 

Essentially, I purchased my father a tablet, so he can read the Greek news and his favorite blogs without having to mess around with a pesky keyboard and mouse. While he sort of knew how to operate a computer, I could tell it was overwhelming. In the Spring of 2012, as an early Father’s Day gift, I got my father his very own iPad, with an AEK F.C. case of course. My dad calls his iPad the “AekPad”. 

I programmed all of his blogs, I switched the language settings to Greek, and I gave him a one hour tutorial on how to not purchase expensive apps by accident. He loved it. 

Here is my dad with his new iPad, using the Star Walker app, showing me his favorite star, my mom.

I believe it was a month later, where I tweeted/instagrammed/facebook’ed that my dad was using his smart device to access a local newspaper in Greece, from his χοριό. All of a sudden, Best Buy calls! They’d like an interview. Next thing you know, Dad and I are being flown out to LA to record commercial(s) for Best Buy. What an experience! This all began with a tweet!

One of my first jobs was working with the gaffers at NBC Olympics, Inc. back in 2004 Athens. I had experienced the heat of the cameras and the scurrying around of makeup artists. My dad though… this was truly all a very new experience. I think this is the first time, in my life, that I had seen my dad truly impressed. He kept exclaiming, “80 people behind the camera, just for our tiny spot! WOW!” I’m not going to lie. I was impressed too. It was an entire production! There must have been 130 people there when you include people hiding in trailers! Holy smokes! Needless to say, my father and I will never look at another commercial again the same way. 

Other things that my father observed and/or was impressed by:

• Burbank, California looks like Kifissia- Athens. 
• The work ethic of the film professionals behind the scenes. 
• Hollywood. The concept. The idea. The reality. 
• The topography and weather of Los Angeles is a lot like Athens.

What’s amazing about this entire experience was that I got to spend time with my dad. You can’t tell by this spot(s), but we have spent HOURS on the couch, talking. We’ve also spent HOURS on that couch trying not to laugh, trying to be serious, trying to be peppy, trying not to get frustrated with Best Buy tongue twisters, trying to sell it. Totally worth it. I learned so much about my dad on that couch. He’s got a great sense of humility and gratitude, and I can only hope I exhibit those qualities at the level that my father does. 

Example: The director yells, “That’s a wrap.” My father immedietely gets up from the couch, goes up to the director, shakes his hand and says in the most humbled and sincerest voice, “Thank you so much for giving me this experience.”  I melted, and of course I learned from example, too. 

…and I think Best Buy knew you’d love my dad too. (He rocked, right?!) I also think Best Buy underestimated how Greeks would react to seeing Greek spoken on a national commercial, by a real Greek father:

So, yeah. Greek-Dad-Mustaches FTW! 

I’m 28! Apparently I enter some Saturn planetary alignment today, which means nothing to me as I don’t know if I believe in astrology, but according to my friend, Bianca, things are about to get “cray” crazy. (Funny enough, my dating history includes all the men I’ve dated to be born the same week in August, same day in September, or the first half of February. Do what you will with that information.) It’s called “Saturn Return” and it essentially means that the next couple years will be tough, unforgiving, and challenging. It will propel me to my “evolutionary path”.

This Saturn Return mumbo jumbo is supposed to clear up the following questions:

• Who am I?
• Where am I going?
• Who am I meant to be with?

So while it is my birthday, and hundreds of friends wish me happy thoughts on Facebook, why not milk this opportunity, to ensure that the next two-three years of my Saturn-ness go as smoothly as possible? Let me reflect where I am, today, on my first day of 28.

Who I am: This remains to be seen, but the last year has taught me a lot about the way my brain processes information. I am analytical. I am definitive  I get frustrated with illogical statements. Ask my business partner, or any one I work on a day to day basis, I make decisions rather quickly while I feel like I manage a full circle thought process. I expect others to find the timelines I create just as important as they are to me.

In my mind, nothing is ever set in stone. Everything is constantly up for evaluation, debate, and subsequent evolution. 

I’m intimidating. I’m loud. I’m powerful. I’m optimistic and equally pragmatic. I am smart, in a witty sort of way. 

I’m sensitive when non- Greeks talk about Greece. I’m a realist when I talk about Greece with other Greeks. I am a proud Greek-American. 

I am constantly trying to find solutions for socio-cultural problems. It’s exhausting. Any project I take on, I take personally. I invest myself, 100%. 

Most importantly, my life has zero room for skeptics and negativity. I frankly do not care if my apathy to someone’s pessimistic attitude hurts their feelings. I have come to find out that people who twist your words or jump to negative energy on a frequent basis have low self-esteem, and I can no longer empathize for the way they feel. They need a therapist. 

I am never content, but that is what drives me. I am happy. 

Where I Am Going: With my latest undertaking, where Agape Match expands to its very own online dating platform, AgapaMe.com, I want to believe I am becoming bi-continental. In the physical sense, half my world is here in NYC, the other half in Athens. This is what I have always wanted. 

From a mental sense, I am entering a parallel dimension of capability and delirious excitement. (Think of Mario in Super Mario Brothers 1, when he gets that star, and begins running around like a mad, yet tiny, Italian plumber.) I feel unstoppable. I recognize life is short, and in the grand scope of things, my problems and accomplishments are nothing, but I question constantly, can I bring joy to others through this energy? This is where I would like to go. 

Who I am meant to be with: Someone awesome, obviously. 

I get asked every single day if I am single or married, like somehow this is supposed to be a true testament if I am great at what I do. At 28, two companies (one going through an investment round) and co-founder of a non profit, I would be impressed if I were in a serious relationship the last few months, and who knows if it would meet either of our expectations or if we would be happy. Currently, I’m single. That’s okay by me! 

I get told, at least once a week, without inquiring, that the reason I am single is because men are intimidated by me. Okay? 

Let’s talk about this awesome guy I am meant to be with. He’s going to rock! You know why? Because he’ll think my sass is sexy. He won’t be intimidated with my brain or my go-to attitude. He’ll come from a family where the female figures in his life were treated with respect, honor, and loyalty. He’ll have a passion for life. He will be social, friendly, and generally an all around nice guy. He’ll want to impress me, just as much as I will want to impress him, without a hint of competitiveness to glory. Hopefully he’ll be taller than me when I wear heels, and hopefully, he will speak Greek (so he can talk to my dad), but meh… these characteristics are not that important. What’s important is that he is a man of his word, that he is dedicated to his dreams with ambition and drive, and that he has positive energy to want to inspire *us* to be better each and every day. 

So, yes, I admit, 99.9% of men are probably intimidated by my personality, my career, my lifestyle, even this post! Who cares about the 99.9% though? If I am meant to be with someone exceptional, he’s probably not going to be in the general populace segment. I am willing to wait and play those odds, because… the rest of our lives are just so flipping worth it. 

That said.. here is to 28! May this year be everything it is meant to be, filled with happiness, laughter, and joy.