Confessions Of A Matchmaker

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.

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! 

In case that you haven’t heard already, AgapaMe.com is a new online dating site for Greek singles, powered by Agape Match, one of the leading dating services for Greek singles. Shared core values, aligned communication patterns, and scientific compatibility matching are the tools we use to connect you with the right one. At AgapaMe.com, you will find someone who shares your values, your traditions, and who’s ready to commit at the same level as you. 

I absolutely love The Pappas Post. Created by Gregory Pappas (one of my favorite Greek Americans ever!) The Pappas Post is a great online news source featuring amazing and wonderful things happening in the Greek community. Lately, press about Greece or Greeks isn’t always so positive, so having an online community that promotes Hellenism and features Greeks in Greece and the Diaspora shaking things up for good has been really a breath of fresh air. 

That said, I was totally pumped and truly honored to be interviewed by The Pappas Post recently. In the article, titled “A Headhunter for Love: NYC Matchmaker Has You Covered by Kathy Tzilivakis, I illustrate how Agape Match came to be and how my awesome parents handled the news. Check it out here! 

I’m looking for single women from Boston, ages 32-40, who are Greek, fun, witty, and warm, that are looking for a serious relationship that could lead to marriage and babies. That’s right.. BABIES! 

Know anyone?  Send ‘em my way! I may have a match for them for free!  Ohhh snap! 

To sign up, go to http://agapematch.com. 

xoxo

Maria

Our amazing intern should exhibit the below qualities:

• They should be outgoing, confident, and personable. Creating trust right away is key, and at Agape Match, we favor warm and sympathetic personalities to help us on our mission of finding love for our clients.
• They should be professional. You know how nerve wrecking a first date can be? Yeah… working at a matchmaking firm is like being on a perpetual first date. You’re expected to be on your best behavior, dress the part, and not blog about the crazy psychos you may meet and/or accidentally fall in love with our potential clients who look so dreamy.
• They should be exceptional at social media and communication. You should know not to post drunk and naked photos on Facebook and use proper grammar on Twitter, even in tight 140 character spaces. You should also know how to write a professional email.
• They should be fluent in Greek. Έχεις ιδέα πόσες μήτερες τηλέφωνουν με φόβο οτι δεν θα έχουν εγγόνια πριν πεθάνουν;
• They should be able to take initiative, be organized, detail oriented and have superior time management skills. Pretty basic right? I’m pretty sure every company asks for this. However, with flexible hours, it’s important that you can get things done and be a quick thinker.
• They should know Microsoft Office and/or Pages and Keynote.
• They should have a computer. You’ll have the flexibility to work from home. I’m almost certain lugging my desktop computer to and from our office is going to kill your back, and unfortunately, this position comes with zero health insurance/ benefits.

Agape Match is evolving! Though this position is unpaid, there will be many opportunities for compensation via commission and possibly a paid position in the future. Ideal candidates are studying or would have studied human resources, management, marketing, public relations, or marketing, but we’re definitely open to other areas of studies. They should live in the NYC Metropolitan area.

How to apply for this position: Send us your resume at info@agapematch.com with the subject line: Agape Match Internship. Your resume should outline your work experience and/or relevant educational courses that you believe qualify you to work at Agape Match, America’s most innovative matchmaking firm.

Whatever happens in Greece over the weekend, remember that love is recession proof. Everyone wants a piece of αγάπη in their lives, regardless of what currency they operate in. <3