Who needs a Craigslist missed connection ad when you can get a billboard? A minimum of that's what Las Vegas hotel Park MGM had in mind once they noticed Devin Custalow's Missed Connections ad on Craigslist and decided to paint a commercial hoping helping her find love.
This story starts as numerous do: Custalow, a 25-year-old Brooklynite was riding the G-train on the way back from Coney Island when she made eye contact with a cute stranger wearing yellow shoes. As she told Park MGM, “you can type of feel when someone is looking to you.” They provided eye-to-eye contact throughout the ride, however, “when we've got off the train and we both realized we wouldn't possess the chance to talk to each other, I noticed the disappointment on his face,” she says.
So, Custalow did what anyone in cases like this would do: she penned a Craigslist ad searching for the yellow-shoe-wearing stranger she made goo-goo eyes with on the subway. While the guy didn't react to her now deleted app, it did capture the interest of a team in the new Park MGM hotel in Vegas. Attempting to help, they launched a social networking campaign while using hashtag #IfItsMeantToBe. Your accommodation then painted a 20-foot mural in Williamsburg, recreating Custalow's original Craigslist ad and with the “guy within the yellow shoes” to satisfy her at the mural (on North 10th St and Wythe Ave) at 1 pm. on Valentine's. The program ended up being to livestream the encounter.
Sadly, the man didn't show up. Cue: SAD TROMBONE.
However, while her yellow-shoe-wearing love interest rates are still in particular, Custalow will not be bummed by the experience. As she told CBS New York, “this continues to be such a great experience and I'm really just happy to be around.” She says, “I think you need to put yourself out there. There's no harm, no foul.”
While the majority of us not have the resources to paint a 20-ft mural to attract a date (something Custalow told ABC news, was “not designed to encounter creepy. Case following up on a really cool and impactful interaction. This is still lingering with me”), there are still a few things we are able to study from this story and apply to our online dating lives.
- Take your shot.
In case you have not noticed, life moves pretty fast these days. Contrary, Custalow's story is really a prime illustration of why you need to seize romantic opportunities if they are around the corner — which doesn't only affect attractive strangers you meet on public transit. If you notice someone online that looks interesting, please introduce yourself. There is a good chance when you shelve the individual in hopes of talking to them later, you will have missed the chance to set up a connection. I am talking about, what percentage of us have thought, “I'll message them later” only to return a couple of days later and find out the person in question has deleted themselves from the app? You've got one shot. Take it.
- If you see someone personally, respectfully approach them.
Not all dates start online! While online has become the norm, don't close yourself off and away to the possibility of also meeting people in person. Whether they're sitting across of your stuff on the G train or around the treadmill alongside you, if you sense there's chemistry, there's zero harm in respectfully approaching them and introducing yourself. The interaction might not go anywhere, but taking the initiative in these kinds of situations could make you a far more confident dater both online and offline.
- Be unabashedly yourself.
Attract the interest of individuals online, even before you need to think about painting a mural or renting out a billboard, by being totally and completely yourself. I'm a firm believer in the concept of 'like attracts like', so don't be afraid lean in to what you are and all of your nerdy pursuits. Wax poetic about your passion for Settlers of Catan. Wear that Lesley Knope lapel pin with pride. When you are unafraid to show what you are (versus who you think people expect you to be) you might just attract someone as perfectly unique while you.