Tonight's Revelation

I'm babysitting for my friend's daughter tonight. She's asleep, so I'm left with some time to think. This morning I got another wedding announcement... this time for my adopted parents oldest son. He's a year, or so, older than I am... and this is his second marriage (and his second girlfriend... lifetime count). I know that the first marriage wasn't a good match, and I'm very happy for him and wish hiim all the luck/happiness in the world.

So, how did this cause me to need "thinking time" tonight?

Well, some of you know about the date I had last month. We met on LDS Singles Online, and talked (via phone) for about 3-4 weeks before we planned a face-2-face date. We were both very excited about our first F2F date because we had a lot in common and our conversations tended to flow really smoothly and comfortably. We had even made the remark that if the chemistry was there, and we got along as well in person as we did on the phone... we may as well set a date for the temple... cause it was such a good match. So, he picked me up for dinner... and we sat talking for 2 hours before they practically kicked us out. This was where the date had planned to end.... and he asked if I was interested in going to the bowling alley/arcade for a few hours. I thought it was a great idea since we were getting along so well. 2 hours at the bowling alley... and we were having a great time! On the way home, we talked about future dates (restaurants, dinners, sightseeing, etc). We both had upcoming finals, so we thought we'd just talk over the phone for a week or so (til finals were over), and then we'd celebrate my birthday and the end of finals with a great date.

Over the next few days, we swapped text messages, and (he) planned a lunch date for the weekend before finals. Well... he never called to tell me a place/time for our lunch. He stopped texting me, and he never returned any text's I sent him. I finally sent him a final text asking him if I should assume he wasn't interested in another date... and I never got a reply.... so I guess I got my answer!

Well, I was approached online about a week ago from another seemingly nice guy from LDSSO. After an innocent IM conversation (no attempt to flirt, or anyting... just talk), he sent me an email saying he enjoyed our conversation, thought I was intriguing, and wanted to know if he could take me out to dinner. I emailed him with my phone number, and he called me the following morning. We talked "briefly" and set up a time that evening where we could talk at length. Well... after a 30 minute talk (that I thought went alright).... I never heard back from him.

So, my question is... what am I doing that is making guys run for the hills, or disappear into thin air after meeting me, or talking with me for only a half hour?

I asked my friend's husband this very question tonight... cause I knew that he would be honest and that he would tell it to me straight. Not just that... but he is LDS, and around the same age as these guys.... so he might have an idea. W told me that I am a very strong, independant, and intelligent person... and that my strong personality may scare or intimidate these guys. He felt that, maybe I should tone it down a bit for the date... and then slowly become more like "me".

Now, I pose these questions:
#1: Should I really have to change who I am in order to "hook" a guy... and then change back into who I really am?
#2: Why are guys scared of smart women? Do I really need to "dumb down" to get a guy to look twice at me?
#3: How do I meet a nice LDS guy who is interested in a strong, intelligent woman and won't be intimidated?
#4: Does anyone out there have any single LDS guy friends that they want to set me up with?
#5: Am I destined to be single forever because I'm independant and educated?
#6: Am I really that difficult to connect to... and am I really so odd that I've unconsciously become un-marriable?