Sam I Am...Not Interested

Online dating fosters a lot of rejection. Sad, but true. Whether it's accurate or not, I feel as if I am usually the rejectee. On occcassion, however, I am on the flip side of that coin. Case in point: Sam. This man contacted me, which led me to reviewing his profile. I was not "wowed" immediately, but I am trying to cast a wider net and be more open minded. He was attractive enough and his profile was well written with no spelling errors (sorry...I'm a teacher, it's my thing). So, I contacted him with a short and sweet note telling him I would like to chat and get to know him better. His turn: he asked for my phone number. My turn: I gave it to him. His turn: He called the next night-at 11:15 P.M. Now, I am not usually one to make phone calls just to chat at that time of night to people I actually know. I thought it was a bit odd and even borderline inappropriate. I would not even call my own sister at that time of night unless I was having some kind of crisis. Not to mention, I had fallen asleep on the couch and he woke me up....BAD move. Nonetheless, he apologized for calling so late (did I mention that was the first time he ever called me?) and said he'd call me the next day. He did and left a voicemail for me. It went something like this: "Hi Julie, it's Sam. Sorry I missed you. I am on my way to the gym, then off to meet up with friends and hang out for the night. I try to stay very active and busy. Call me back when you get a chance." Agree with me or not, but that kind of turned me off. In my opinion, if a stranger feels the need to tell you how social and busy he is, he is trying to prove something...perhaps convince me that he is super social and super cool and I best hurry and call him back before I miss my tiny window of opportunity to talk to him. That coupled with the fact that my interest in his profile was debateable, helped me decide I didn't wish to proceed. When you meet someone online, they are a stranger at first and it's important to keep it cool and casual upfront. That does not translate to not returning calls or ignoring someone, mind you. There is a right way to let someone who has taken the time to contact you know that you are not interested. And it goes like this" "Hi Sam, it's Julie. Thanks for the call. After thinking it over, I don't think we are a good fit, but I wish you the best of luck." Done. I will never apologize for not wanting to date someone, but anyone who blantantly ignores someone who has reached out to them should be sorry for their poor ettiquete. All too often, we tend to forget that there is a real person with feelings on the other side of that profile. Just because I don't want to date them, does not make it ok to be rude. I believe in karma, I believe in manners and I believe my Mr. Right is out there somewhere...it's just not Sam.