Linda Slama, 55
Senior account manager for Oxford and Associates
The perfect date: I'm pretty easy to please. The restaurant scene in Cleveland is so wonderful. To go with someone to have a glass of wine and a nice dinner at one of our wonderful restaurants would be great. Being a sports fan, a sporting event is also a good evening for me, like an Indians game and maybe hitting East Fourth Street first. I love being outside in the summertime, all the restaurants with the patios. To me, that's a chance where you can go and talk and learn about the person. Nothing like a movie or something where conversation is difficult.
Something most people don't know about me: I'm shier than they realize. I can be very outgoing, and I'm very energetic, and sometimes, I can be very gregarious. But if you put me into a room of people that I don't know, I really will have a hard time breaking into a conversation or introducing myself to somebody. I think people wouldn't expect that to be the case.
My passion: My family and friends, the people in my life are very important to me because they provide a backdrop for my entire life. I have four brothers, and they're all still here in Cleveland. They're my brothers, but they're my best friends, as are their wives now.
Biggest turn-on: Sense of humor. You just can't take yourself too seriously, and life too seriously, either. I love pretty eyes or a nice smile, but that all actually comes out with the sense of humor, too.
Biggest turnoff: Fake or phony people. Trying to pretend to be something they're not. Whether you're working as a janitor or CIO of a company, just be yourself and be true to who you are.
I own too many: I don't think it's too many, but I suppose shoes. I have a lot of shoes. I have them stacked in shoe boxes, I'll open the box and be like, "Oh, yeah." I totally forget about some of the shoes I have.
My favorite ... place in Cleveland: In the summertime, on a summer night out on a patio some place. ... musician/band: This is really going to date me, but it's Lynyrd Skynyrd. I love Southern rock. The memories that are connected to those songs from that particular band are really, really happy ones. ... sports team: In the past, it would have been the Browns. But they've been really hard to have as my favorite. I'm a season-ticket holder, and it's just been painful. So I'd have to say right now it's the Indians. It's a summertime sport and I think they do have potential right now. I love being down at the ballpark, having a beer and a hotdog and sitting outside. ... TV show: I'm a TV junkie, so it's really hard for me to pick. I love the Food Network, so pretty much anything on there. I love Chopped, which is funny because I can cook, but I really don't cook all that often. ... vacation destination: Any place where there is palm trees. I'm a big fan of Cancun, and Mexico in general. ... dessert: My mom's cutout Christmas cookies.
My usual hangout: East Fourth Street. We probably frequent that more than anywhere else.
In high school I was ... a cheerleader, so I was very involved. I got involved in student council, and I wanted to a part of what was going on. I was pretty outgoing and I had a lot of friends. High school actually is a happy memory for me.
And now I'm ... I think I'm still the same person. A lot of those qualities are still the same. I do like to get involved. I basically am a happy person. My life has not turned out the way I thought it was going to, but I am happy.
My best feature: My hair
My bad habit: If I didn't have acrylic nails on, I'd bite my nails. With the acrylics there, I don't do it. It's worth the investment.
My first kiss: Eighth grade, downstairs in my basement. His name was Larry. It was just a little quickie kind of kiss, but I was very excited about it because I liked Larry at the time.
My guilty pleasure: Lying on the couch with the clicker on a rainy afternoon and just doing absolutely nothing but that. Which is terrible because I always feel like, especially on the weekends, I need to accomplish something. So when I just totally blow a day like that, I feel very guilty about it.
How my ex would describe me: He would say I was one of the nicest people that he's ever met.
Going out or staying in: I love both, but probably going out.
Early, late or right on time: Early to on time. Being in sales, I'm very conscious of other people's time, and I don't waste other people's time.
Dogs or cats: Dogs. I'm just not really a cat fan.
Dancing ... yes or no? I love to dance. Again I'm dating myself, but a little bit like the disco, fun, high-energy stuff. We've had a couple '70s disco parties, which have been huge successes.
Twitter ... yes or no? No
My longest relationship: Five years
Beer, wine or martinis: Wine, but it depends. If I'm at a baseball or football game, it's beer.
Roses or chocolates: Chocolates
My No. 1 dating rule: I really try to listen. I try not to talk too much and scare them away.
My deal-breaker: Smoking. I don't care how good looking or how successful he is, if he puts a cigarette to his mouth, it's done.
I hate when a date ... talks too much. I've been on dates where he's just talks about himself. We will part and he doesn't know anything about me.
But I love when a date ... treats me like a lady. I like to have the doors opened, just thoughtful things like that. That makes you really feel special and that you're the only person in the room.
Worst pickup line: I guess one you hear is, "Oh, you look so familiar." You don't know me; don't say that.
If I could date anyone: Bradley Cooper. He's cute. But Pierce Brosnan, he'd be closer to my age.
On a first date I never: Talk on my cell phone
Best place to meet someone: A sporting event. Just like Dr. Phil says, you need to put yourself in an environment where you're going to find people that are doing the same thing as you. Ironically, I haven't really met anybody at a sporting event. Unfortunately or fortunately, it has been in bars. My feeling on that is I'm a nice person and I'm at a bar, there are other nice people there too.
Most unusual place I've met someone: A cruise ship. We dated for a little bit. He was in Miami, so it didn't last long.
My take on Cleveland's single scene: My perspective is different because I am older. It's just hard to meet people. People are very busy with their own lives. Just finding the time to make time to go out and really try to meet somebody is difficult. I think the singles scene in Cleveland is just fine; it's just people don't know where to go or how to do it.
What I find sexy about myself: That's a word I don't really apply to myself, but I guess my eyes.
Why I'm single: Unfortunately, I've been attracted to the wrong kind of guys. Guys that didn't want to make a commitment or for whatever reason. My timing was always off. I truly did not expect to end up single at 55. I won't give up on [finding the one], ever. I still think he's out there somewhere. We're just not finding each other for whatever reason.
