Match.com (without the dot com)

Meeting people -- especially potential love interests -- can be brutal. In this age of social networking, electronic connectivity, and mass communication it is, not ironically, very difficult to find people worthy of attention and who might find you of interest. Something about that mutual attraction and compatibility thing that makes the challenge so great.

Talk to any single friend and you'll hear the same tale of woe: Finding interesting people is difficult. Finding interesting people who are also attractive is even harder. Dating is a bitch.

It's all so depressing.

Your single friends will also tell you that the options for the love-starved are incredibly limited and quickly exhausted. Some border on desperation. Their choices:

• Pursue someone at work? Danger at every turn, to be sure. Policies may prevent dating someone in the workplace, the likelihood of privacy is zero (don't kid yourself), and the potential break-up could make for a messy and incredibly awkward day-to-day existence. And don't even consider your boss. It won't work.
  

• Frequent bars? A viable option, if an alcoholic is what you seek.

• Join an on-line dating service? Certainly possible, given the ever-increasing availability of such sites. Match.com, perfectmatch.com (for those over 40), eHarmony.com, DateHookup.com, Chemistry.com, Yahoo! Personals, Lavalife.com, Singlesnet.com, Matchmaker.com, and Date.com to name a few. (Yenta.com, MyMotherWouldLoveYou.com, nodatesfromhell.com, and cuteandcanreadtoo.com are undoubtedly soon to follow.) These services are safe, allowing you to shop from the comfort and anonymity of home. The problem, though, begins when you actually decide to try to meet someone -- never knowing whether the 2-dimensional description matches the 3-dimensional reality of the individual, if you know what I mean and I'm sure you do. By the way, who doesn't love long walks on the beach at sunset?
  

• Participate in activities to meet like-minded people? Take a class, get involved in a social-action organization, volunteer for a worthy cause, join a sports league. These are just a number of viable possibilities. The upsides are many; the downside is that it requires time. It's also old school which, for many, relegates this option to the bottom of the barrel, largely because 'it's how my parents met'. (Don't even begin to try to point out the irony. I mean, really. Why do anything that worked for them?)

• Blind dates? Like an on-line service, without the hope of reliable information. And beware the classic watch-outs: "She's got such a great personality." "He's nice-looking, if hair isn't your thing." "Some college is better than no college, right?" "The therapy has definitely made a difference." "Relationships are challenging for lots of people." Remember, there's a reason it's called a blind date.
  

• Speed dating? Reeks of desperation and potential humiliation. Probably requires copious amounts of alcohol (or other depressants) prior to the event and certainly afterward. That said, could be fun and productive. More likely, though, to be horrific. ("You're a Libra!? Fantastic!") Tell us we're wrong.
  

• Wait for the phone to ring, aka, who needs love? Relationships can be difficult. They certainly take energy, patience, and strength. Overrated, to be sure. Let others suffer. I've got my flat-screen TV, the 'net, and my Xbox. I'm good.

We get it. We at TJOW share your pain. We know the challenges, the difficulties, the frustrations of trying to find friendship, a relationship, love. We've walked in your shoes (but not the really pointy ones).

And we have a solution. Because no challenge -- whether organizational, societal or galactic -- is too big for us. That's who we are and what we do.

So, we thought, what's so hard about seeking a relationship? While there are hardships, the first, most obvious is that we don't know who is seeking a relationship. Picture yourself in a cafe. That person two tables over. Is he seeking a relationship? The woman across the room. Is she seeking a relationship? And if either or both are, what might type of relationship might each be seeking? Same sex? Opposite sex? Both?

Let's solve this problem.

Introducing HeartOnMySleeve! HeartOnMySleeve (patent pending) is a novel, low-tech, inexpensive and highly-effective solution to the age-old question: Is he/she looking for love and, if so, what kind? HeartOnMySleeve is a set of elegant silicone wrist bands in an array of vivid colors that says 'Yes! I'm looking for love!' and, tactfully, 'Here's what I'm looking for.'

Available for a relationship? Fabulous. Wear the green bracelet. Looking for a same-sex relationship but would consider alternatives? Terrific. Add the purple bracelet. Have a passion for literature? Lovely. Add the pink bracelet.

Other colors signify interests in politics (red, blue, tea), religion, outdoor activity, sports, movies, even long walks on the beach at sunset (sand, of course) -- just about any interest you might have or want to claim you have.

HeartOnMySleeve says it all for you. No longer need you guess about whether she might be in search of a relationship. No longer must you stumble about as you try to find out if he's available. No need for lame pick-up lines. HeartOnMySleeve eliminates the uncertainty and guesswork and replaces them with confidence and clarity.

Developing a relationship is still yours to do, but the awkwardness that characterizes most first conversations is a thing of the past. The HeartOnMySleeve bracelets tell your story, right there on your sleeve, er, wrist. And brightly, too.

Select the appropriate wrist bands and get out there and meet someone! Your parents will be thrilled you did.

Available soon in geometric shapes for the color blind. Packaged in an attractive leather pouch with 45 one-size-fits-all color-coded bracelets and instruction manual, HeartOnMySleeve is the solution you've been looking for. Watch for it on The Shopping Channel. Only three easy payments of $49.95.