BACHELOR'S DIARY
Group dates were a no-win situation

Dear Reader,

Well, the roller-coaster ride has pulled back into the station, and it's time to unbuckle the safety belt and return to what I was doing before deciding to get on the ride. Overall, it was a memorable experience, and I got to meet a lot of great people.

What I didn't find through being Hawai'i's Bachelor is the "love of my life," but did you really think that I would? Tanya Bricking, the reporter, was quoted on the radio as saying that "I didn't play the game the right way." I really take offense at that because I think the game was not set up for me to find love in the first place.

When I first entered the contest, I thought that I would be going on 10 separate dates and writing to you about each date. (Sort of like that "Blind Date" show.) Upon learning about the way that each date was set up, with all of the girls going out with me at once, along with the videographers, the cameramen, the reporter, and the helpers, I knew that nothing was going to happen because of the lack of privacy and time on each of the dates. At times, it felt like I was on a commercial set, doing promotions and photo shoots, instead of relaxing and being on a real date.

The big argument I had with Tanya, upon hearing that I won the label of being Hawai'i's Bachelor, was that out of the 150 bachelorette applicants, I should have a say in choosing the 10 bachelorettes who I thought I could possibly have a "connection" with. She was against that idea, saying that she wanted to keep the bachelorettes a surprise. The next proposal I gave her was to have either my friends or family choose the 10 bachelorettes for me since they know they type of girls that I usually date. This idea was also ignored. The Advertiser chose the 10 girls on their own, without taking into consideration what I was looking for.

Besides the fact that all of them don't smoke, Tanya really didn't take into account what I was looking for in a possible girlfriend. All the bachelorettes she chose were great girls, and I made a lot of friends, but the dates lacked any "chemistry" between us.

In knowing this, should I have used my acting skills and misled the readers, pretending there was something there, when there wasn't any spark to begin with? I played the game my way, and I stayed true to myself and the readers by telling them exactly what was going on. If Tanya actually wanted me to find love through this game, she would have taken my suggestions more seriously. I know that I didn't please everyone reading about this game, but I can tell you honestly I did the best job that I could.

Lastly, I just want to thank my family, friends, and sponsors for a memorable month and a half. Even though I haven't found love, I have made many new friends and have learned a lot from being Hawai'i's Bachelor.

And aloha means goodbye,
Kelly Komoda