Finding love in Y-S

The red camellias and first violets perfume the air spicy sweet. And birds unfurl their freshly plumed wings on winter twigs that now have blossoms as leaves.

The Yuba-Sutter area is a mix of this new spring tapestry with touches of winter at the edges.

And as Valentine's Day turns the corner to our part of the world, the thought of love — amor — crosses our minds.

With chocolates in ruffled heart-shaped boxes and dozens of crimson roses for sale everywhere, and computer-chip Hallmark cards chirping syrupy tunes like "I Belong to You" in drugstore and grocery store aisles everywhere, we know the time is ripe for Cupid to strike.

But what if you are solo at the moment and looking for love in all the wrong places? What follows are a few love experiences from Yuba-Sutter residents that can, perhaps, enlighten us about how to find love in all the right places.

Dora Maldonado, a local teacher, has some experience in making connections. She has used Internet matchmaking sites such as Yahoo Personals to make some contacts.

"I met two people online. I didn't know what they looked like because there were no pictures exchanged.

"One was an electrical engineer from U.C. Davis. We met and had coffee, but there were no sparks," said Maldonado, who is completing her master's degree in Spanish at Sacramento State University.

The Yuba City resident said she also has met people while she was traveling the world to romantic countries such as Italy, France and Costa Rica.

"When I go on these summer trips, you meet all kinds of interesting people and make friends. There are plenty of opportunities to connect, even though I have not yet. I am going again real soon," said the 45-year-old.

Maldonado said she has heard of some local establishments, like Los Charros Taqueria and The Happy Viking in Yuba City, where it can be good to meet people, as well as Colusa Casino in Colusa, where dances are held.

"Of course, you can also meet people at the grocery store," Maldonado laughed.

Martin Ramsey (who asked that we not use his real name), who works in Yuba City, also has had some interesting experiences in the local dating scene. Some have been good and some not so good.

"As for my experiences, I am no longer with the woman I met last year on the Internet. She decided to make other plans. So, needless to say, I would prefer not to discuss that painful chapter," Ramsey said.

"We did meet through a website called plentyoffish.com and chemistry.com," said Ramsey, who has also recently connected at seniorpeoplemeet.com.

The Yuba City resident says he remains optimistic about the future, however, even though things haven't worked out so far. Ramsey says he will continue his search.

Edurado Barriga, a Spanish teacher in Yuba City, says his love connections have been both good and some not so good.

"The Internet didn't work for me. You would send little messages and get no response," the local educator said.

Later, Barriga said, he put a picture of himself on the 'net in which he had long hair, and it got no response, either.

"Maybe it was the long hair that turned them off. I was a musician at the time (the picture was taken) in Sacramento," Barriga said, laughing.

But what has worked, Barriga said he has made some good connections through friends and family gatherings and parties.

"I have met many wonderful women through my friends and family members' introductions. I think this is the best way, because they know me and what I want," said the 39-year-old.

Barriga went to a cousin's wedding in November and met a special lady there.

"We were introduced by my cousin, and right away, we connected. I think she is the one. She is coming for a visit very soon from L.A.," Barriga said excitedly.

These are but a few tales of people's local search for love. Inevitably, some stories will have happy endings, while others are not so happy. But in this great universe of chance and fate, what seems true is that during our search is when we get to know ourselves better — and that knowledge improves our chances of being struck with Cupid's golden arrow!