OMG, Ginger_Craig - You sound like my twin! I agree with 99.99% of what you said. But, I also think a lot of it also has to do with what type of women are you going for, lonelysoul.
Are you going for the "bad-girl" types cause they look dangerous and hot? Or the demure types who look unassuming but exciting nonetheless. I think a lot of us in this type of situation, tend to go for women who are NOT good for us, but we do it because we let our passions speak for us.
While, there is nothing wrong with that per se- we tend to forget who these women are, fall for them and then hope that they will change and value us because we "love" them.
But, this is the girl who may have also said at some point, that she doesn''t believe in love - or that your relationship was "for now" not "forever".
I think one of the biggest problem with people like us, is that we choose erroneously and tend to blind ourselves from the truth. Nine out of ten, women will show you what kind of person they are - its up to us to pay close attention, and realize it.