I think this is most likely the reason I placed the ad. In the end, I did exchange a few email messages with two people but it died out after that and I never hung out with them in person.
Sometimes I too feel lonely. I’m good spending time on my own and I’ve actually gone to several places alone since writing this article. I met and talked with people while I was there, which was cool, but it’s not a friendship I can look back and share memories with.