Tick tock tick tock… midnight is fast approaching and you need to be in bed.  You have a big day coming up tomorrow.  Work that nine to five grind, a quick run at the gym, and then the big moment… a first date with that special someone you just met.  You’re sitting in front of the computer.  Email – up to date.  Facebook – checked.  Youtube – no time.  It’s just you, the low hum of your AC, and the curiously blinking cursor in the Google search bar.  You ask yourself…. should I??

“You know the name, all you have to do is type it in me and I will show you everything you need to know,” entices Google.  “Come on, you can even misspell the last name a little bit so you can tell a white lie and say you didn’t do it.  I’ll take it from there.  I have a ‘Did you mean…’ feature that works like a charm,” it beckons. (more…)

One of the great ways to meet someone new is to dip into the the pool of your own friends network.

Always a tried and true path, trying to date someone that already has your friends approval puts them a few steps ahead of a random that you meet on your night out.  As long as your friend has decent taste in friends… which I would hope you think so… then it never hurts to roll the dice and give it a shot if you think a mutual friend could be a potential interest.

The sticky situation can occur when things don’t go as scripted.  Their phone calls spike past ‘ok freak, ease up’ volumes, and you realize that there is no way you can see any potential.  What happens when it doesn’t work out? (more…)

One of the perks of being a grownup, in addition to buying candy without asking for permission, is the ability to choose your own friends.  If a person rubs you the wrong way, you don’t have to join their softball team or put up with mindless chatter about the always interesting Chicago weather.

It’s the ultimate power that is often taken for granted.  Don’t like the way I talk?  Then get lost pal.  Oh it bothers you when I talk about something other than your life?  Then scram!

The one time this situation gets sticky is when your lady’s friends are the enemies you’re trying to swear off.  She wants you to meet up for drinks with her gals, or even worse, spend the day with them while you’re stuck thinking of a hundred different excuses that will get you as far removed from these creatures as humanly possible.

How and why should you have to put up with this? (more…)

Score!   So you’ve met that cute crush while you and your buddies were out on the town last night.  Your confidence was flying high…  Great opener, smooth dialogue, and a perfect execution in getting her number.  Like George Costanza, you’re walking out on that high note.  “Thank you and goodnight!”

Then the next morning you get that feeling…  WHAT’S MY NEXT MOVE!?!?   Quick, dig up that Swingers DVD… was it 2 days?  Or 6 days?  Wait, but they didn’t have text messages… or facebook… or (really?) twitter!

The age of connectivity can leave you standing on the side of the information superhighway looking at 14 different exits.  Which do you take?  And more importantly, which path is going to lead to that follow up date?

(more…)

Just as common as the ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ line that gets dropped when ending a fling, one of the biggest cliché’s, yet still used lines, is the ‘I’m not ready for a relationship’.

While this isn’t a CSI case that will require a team of detectives to figure out the true meaning, it does throw the person on the receiving end a curveball that they can’t always hit due to the feelings involved.

Inadvertently, the question always remains, “when will you be ready for a relationship” and more importantly, “will you be ready for a relationship with me?”

(more…)

So you’ve met your special crush… and your heart sinks at the thought of them.  Take all the warm and fuzzy moments from every romantic comedy you’ve seen and it still doesn’t top the feeling you’re getting at this very moment.

But wait, there’s one small catch.  Your flame lives in another zip code… and not just another zip code, another state… or worse, another country!

I’ve seen it happen many times.  The initial chemistry when you meet someone you connect with for the first time can have your mind up in the clouds and your stomach doing somersaults.  It’s a wonderful feeling and it gets the monkey in your head to start throwing wrenches.  How far away?  What if?  How soon?  Why not!

(more…)