I don’t need to tell you that what goes around comes around, but that’s exactly what I am going to tell you. 

I realized this the other week while I fielded that awkward, uncomfortable phone call where someone on the other line is fumbling through a series of sentences that essentially say this: I know we went on a few dates and it seemed like we liked each other, but I thought about it and I actually don’t want to date you.

Now look, I’m no stranger to the sting of rejection.  My fourth-grade boyfriend dumped me in public at the school carnival and the first time I asked a boy to a high school dance, he lied about having to go to a church retreat to avoid being my date. 

But things have changed since I got my braces off and learned that Champion sweatshirts aren’t a fashion staple.  Or perhaps they hadn’t, because in the same way that boy was immediately afflicted with a severe case of acne shortly after standing me up to that dance, my phone-dumping was directly related to several bad-karma dating moves of my own:

1)    From October 2009-May 2010, I spent a good amount of time saying not-nice things about boys I have previously dated.  Bad karma score: -7

2)    In March, I made plans to meet up with a guy during the week.  When it came time to set the date and place, I never called him back.  Bad karma score: -5

3)    In July, I broke up with a boy I cared about on a street corner while unlocking my bike.  I avoided eye contact and biked away afterward.  When he came to get his things they were already in a bag by the door.  Bad karma score: -167

4)    In September, I broke up with a perfectly wonderful guy OVER E-MAIL.  A TWO-SENTENCE E-MAIL.  Bad karma score: -14,698

Looks like I’ve got a long list of awkward dates and rejection phone calls coming my way.

by Nora McInerny

What is your worst dating karma story?