About Barbara

The Short Version

Barbara Baskin Qualmann is a broadcast journalist, entrepreneur, and the author of The Ponytailed Guy From Last Night. She holds a degree in Broadcast Journalism (earned despite whale-shit low grades and undiagnosed ADHD), raised triplets, founded an online news business, survived two marriages, and relocated to Manhattan at 60 to start over.

She's been on podcasts, written for various publications, and somehow managed to navigate the chaos of online dating while maintaining her sense of humor and most of her dignity.

The Longer Version

Barbara has never done anything the traditional way. Even before ADHD was formally "invented," she had it—manifesting as whale-shit low grades, a chronically messy desk, and a tendency to bolt naked onto verandas while babysitters looked on in horror.

Despite teachers' warnings that she needed to "apply herself more," Barbara somehow stumbled into a Broadcast Journalism degree. Her favorite teacher, a woman named Barbara (second runner-up: Mr. Streeter, who generously passed her out of kindness), actually chose her poem for the school's yearly publication. It was probably the first time anyone smart took her seriously.

The Career Years

Barbara built a career in broadcast journalism and later founded an online news business. She learned to weaponize her ADHD traits: hyper-focus became deep research, pattern recognition became investigative instinct, and the ability to handle chaos became essential management skills.

She also became a mother to triplets (yes, triplets), which is essentially a crash course in crisis management, sleep deprivation, and accepting that perfection is a myth.

The Plot Twist

Then came the divorce. The move. The realization that at 60, she'd be starting over in Manhattan—arguably the most intense, competitive, overwhelming city in America—and doing the one thing she never imagined: online dating.

But here's the thing about Barbara: she doesn't do scared. Or rather, she does scared, but she does it anyway. She holds her nose, takes a deep breath, and jumps.

The ADHD Advantage

Decades of navigating a neurodivergent path turned out to be the perfect training ground for cyber dating. That hyper-focus? Essential for dissecting profiles and spotting bullshit. The risk-taking? Necessary for actually showing up to dates. The ability to hyperfocus on research? Let's just say Barbara knows how to work LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google like a private investigator.

And the impulsivity that once got her kicked off the cheerleading squad? It evolved into a carefully calibrated "fuck 'em" philosophy that's now her dating superpower.

Why She Wrote This Book

When Barbara finally forced herself to lean into online dating, she wished there was a manual. Or a friend of a certain age she could call who'd been through it. Someone who wouldn't sugarcoat it or promise soulmates in 30 days. Someone who'd just tell her the truth: it's weird, it's exhausting, it's occasionally fun, and you will absolutely want to delete all the apps at least twice a week.

So she wrote that book. The one she wished existed.

The Ponytailed Guy From Last Night is her real-life account of pulling the trigger at 60, leaving the world she knew, and diving into online dating with no map, no GPS, and no idea what she was doing.

It's part memoir, part field guide, and entirely honest. It's for anyone who's ever felt like dating apps were designed for someone else—someone more patient, more photogenic, more neurotypical, more... something.

Today

Barbara still lives in Manhattan (5th floor walk-up, because of course). She's still dating (spoiler: she didn't end up with the ponytailed guy, but she did raise her standards). She's still neurodivergent, still unfiltered, and still showing up as herself—because for some people, that's a lot. And she has references.

Those who don't like it? Fuck 'em.