This time of year is notoriously spent looking forward and making resolutions for the upcoming year. I have never really been a resolution kinda gal – I don’t wait until the New Year to make the important changes in my life – so I often spend the weeks leading up to New Year’s looking back.

Not so much on changes I’ve made or how far I’ve come; more at the ridiculous situations I have found myself in over the past 365 days.

My 2007 can probably be summed up as a year of dating. Not relationships. Dating. I made a lot of drastic changes this year – online dating, getting setup, handing out my phone number – and it definitely made for a lot of first dates, one quasi-good relationship, and some amazing stories.

Looking back on everything, there was one particularly amazing story that I think everyone can enjoy.

Right before moving home from New York last year, I met a boy online. He seemed really interesting and funny through IM’s so we started talking on the phone and eventually planned a date.

“I want to take you out for drinks and dinner,” he told me.

We decided to meet at a central location, grab a drink and then head downtown to a cute little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant he and his dad had been eating at for years. I am not usually a fan of multiple locations (or even dinner!) on the first date, but he seemed so excited that I really couldn’t resist. Read More »

I know, I know. Everyone is using their cell phone to date these days. Texting is totally 2007. It’s quick communication without the hassle of actually dealing with a voice on the other end.

But I hate it. Especially when it’s combined with dating.

Way back in the day, it was common practice for people to speak on the phone after a first date—or not. Either a duo chatted a few days later or someone decided to just “forget” to call, making it pretty obvious what the future held. A call meant “I like you, let’s go out again” no call meant “eh. You lost me at hello.”

But now, with the increased popularity of texting, people can walk the line and make everything 100 times more confusing. Sort of like the person but not sure if you really feel like going out again? Send a random, friendly text message. Cover your ass in case you bump into them on the street.

“You’re pretty cool and we should talk soon.”

That’s the gist of a text I received a few days ago after going out on a first date last weekend. But no phone call followed the text. Not even an email. Just some random, noncommittal, rated G words typed into a phone in the middle of the day. Read More »

I’m a sucker for acts of chivalry, however contrived they may be. Opening doors, pulling out chairs, offering his jacket on a cold evening, and yes, paying for dinner—it all makes me swoon.

Though I never agree on first date to a place where I can’t afford to pay my own way, I do firmly believe that whoever does the asking out should pay. Being the introvert that I am, this translates into my date always paying. But of course, not wanting to seem unappreciative, I always end up doing what my friends and I now refer to as “the fake purse-reach.”

As soon as the bill lands on the table, I reach into my purse and dig for my wallet, which is usually lying in a prominent location that requires no digging to reach. At this point, my date will usually offer an ardent “No, no, I’ve got it.” You know how it goes, ladies. I offer a “oh, no, please, let me at least pay my share,” while opening my wallet and casually taking out bills. My date protests once again, and I wrinkle my brow and say “Are you sure? Thank you so much!” Read More »

“So like, you work how many hours?”

“About forty. But I get paid overtime.”

“Really? Do they do time and a half? Or do they just work it into your salary?”

I mean, that’s the most boring conversation you’ve ever read, right? I actually almost fell into a coma writing it. But yet, I heard it this afternoon as I was walking in the freezing (what the HELL, right?!) weather to my luscious hair appointment. It wasn’t the horrid content that made my ears perk, but the way it was being said and who was saying it.

Knowing the bumpy, hesitant, enthused speech pattern of a first date all too well, it seemed quite certain that the speakers had just met each other for the first time. Ever. In their lives.

It’s funny. The way we talk with new people we’re trying to impress. The questions we ask. We want to seem so interested, so cool, so inquisitive, we’ll ask anything. We’ll delve into someone’s work schedule with a fiery fervor, pretend we know all of the 784 bands they list as their favorite, and stare into their eyes happily as they detail what exactly they’re studying or what exactly they do for a job. Once I listened to a cute boy explain his financial occupation for twenty minutes without comprehending a single word. Read More »

I’ve been single for a while. And when I say single, I mean…not in a relationship. I’ve had things. We’ve all had things. But things eventually go down one of two streets; Boring Lane or Sucky Road.I can usually tell the difference between a thing and something cool within the first five minutes of being out with someone. Even when my head is telling me to ‘give it a little while!’ my instinct is already walking out the door. Either there’s a spark or there’s not. Either I feel something when I’m around him, or I just feel annoyed.

Admittedly, I’m a picky gal, and try as I might, I can’t settle for anything less than awesome. Why should I? Why should anyone? I’m sure some great philosopher once said something like, “life is short, why chill with losers?”, and I can’t think of any reason to argue with such a statement.

The combination of being single and liking adventure, but being picky as hell, has led me on a lot of first dates. Some of them have been hilarious. Some have been uncomfortable. And some have just been bullshit. (“I don’t know why girls think a guy should pay for anything” an asshole once said within 10 minutes of meeting me, “I’m a starving artist. I’m not into paying for things.”) Read More »