I online date quite a bit, for I don't have the time or desire to go to a pub to meet women, and also it is a great tool for weeding out the crazies. One of my worst experiences was a few years ago, and really it isn't all that bad, however you may enjoy my tale.

We met on match.com, and hit it off in email pretty well with a few small "warning signs" that at the time seemed like general inquisitiveness. Signs like 'what is your job?', 'does that pay well?', in addition her constant drive for acceptance, compliments, status, and her devout materialism.

Being less cynical then than I am now; We set up a date and agree on a moderately fancy place in downtown Seattle. We set our date for 7, and I make reservations.

When I arrive, 5 minutes early she is already at the table and has 3 empty martini glasses before her, and nursing her 4th. Her photos were not all that out of date and represented her, perhaps 10lbs lighter, but they definitely were not up to date. She dressed to impress, but in my minds eye, I recall something not being right about it all.

Through the date she kept trying to impress me about things she owned, places she had been and name dropping famous people she claimed to have known. Her continued emphasis on equating her worth to material things, and her continued inquires about my worth such as "do you rent (with a sneer) or do you own?" were rapidly rising from warning to alarming.

When it came time to order she chose the most expensive thing on the menu, (surf & turf with lobster) and ordered not one, but two more "Bombay Sapphire Martinis" which she plowed through during the meal while only touching one or two bites of her entire meal. I kept my end chit-chat small and enjoyed my meal and paired wine and let her continue her self aggrandizement.

For desert she ordered some $50 chocolate champagne truffle mouse and two more cocktails, I had coffee. I was beginning to grow concerned not just for my wallet but also that she might actually be a pretty hardcore alcoholic.

She had two bites of her desert through the hour we talked and sent it off, like her meal, not requesting a doggy-bag. As she siphoned off those two drinks, bringing her known total to 8 in 2.5 hours I realized that there was something absolutely wrong with this person at a fundamental level and getting any more involved with her would probably be a very very bad idea.

When the waiter appeared after the desert I said to him "we will take the checks please" with an emphasis on the "S". On queue she excused herself to the ladies room. The waiter got my subtlety and promptly returned with two bill books and placed one on her setting and I gave him my card. She remained in the bathroom until the waiter returned with my card and the receipt.

As she came to the table complaining loudly about the bathroom, I bid her good evening and told her that I really wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship with her, but that I wished her the best of luck, and turned to walk to the door.

About the time I got to the door, I heard her scream, "FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS! I AM NOT PAYING THIS!!!" and I walked out. I never heard from her again, and I hope she got the help that she needs.

Also I would like to add that since this date I moved from the Pacific North West, to a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. Where here in Sweden, at least on the first date, women ALWAYS pay for themselves because regardless of gender equality is equality. I kinda like this and although I absolutely do not mind treating a date, I think that it sets an obligation free atmosphere for a date that allows us to get to know one another without the specter of one person being beholden to another over a meal.

TLDR; Met an insane woman on match.com, who decided to run up a $400 bill for her dinner and drinks probably expecting me to pay for it, I paid my part and left her to hers. Later moved to Sweden where women pay their own way.