Archive for the 'Dating Tips' category

A Christmas Carol

Adrienne, Mixologist| December 19, 2009 5:40 am

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Carla Dickens here – this month’s inspiration is my version of A Christmas Carol – the story by Charles Dickens about Ebenezer Scrooge.

Ebbie Scrooge, a good looking woman in mid life, was wasting her dating years grumbling about men. On the night before Christmas, she was commiserating with her single girlfriends, complaining bitterly about the horrible men they meet. How all the good men are taken. How they’ll never find love and refuse to settle. The girlfriends clinked their glasses one last time, toasting how they didn’t need men and parted ways. Ebbie stumbled home for a good night’s rest. But she didn’t get it.

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A single person’s guide to surviving Christmas: The bar-room bloke

Adrienne, Mixologist| December 11, 2009 8:39 pm

To single men, the Christmas party season seems too good to be true. Where else can you meet so many inebriated women in such quick succession? Like a good wedding reception – which all singles know is the best place ever to pull – everyone at a Christmas party is in the party spirit and, even better, smashed.

The party season is like speed dating – but with

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Blue Christmas: Still single?

Adrienne, Mixologist| December 9, 2009 8:53 pm

A 39-year-old woman is depressed around the holidays because she’s alone

Dear Dr. Gail: I am 39 and still single, despite my best efforts. I’m OK with this for most of the year, but not at the holidays. The whole world is all together-y, while I’m alone. How can I at least make myself not feel worse? — Single Gal

Dear Single: Though it feels you are alone, you are not. Plenty of people are single, divorced, widowed, or otherwise unattached. If you know the holidays will be tough to get through, I suggest you prepare ahead. Be proactive about making plans instead of hoping or expecting something will come up. Let people know you would like

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How to Survive Being Single at Christmas

Adrienne, Mixologist| December 4, 2009 8:44 pm
How to Survive Being Single at Christmas
Contributor
By Kristian Keefer
eHow Contributing Writer
Article Rating:   (1 Ratings)
The holiday season never seems quite the same when you are single. If you are one of the few singles among your family and friends, you might feel a little out of place over the holidays. By reaching out to others and joining with your other single friends, you can actively participate in holiday festivities and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas without feeling lonely.
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Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions
Step
1
Attend holiday parties and events if you do need to fly solo. There is no reason to be embarrassed if you are single over the holidays. Almost everyone goes through periods of being single. Participate in holiday meals and gatherings just as you would if you were the other half of a couple.
Step
2
Invite another single friend to attend holiday parties and meals with you. If you buddy up with someone else who knows how lonely you feel on the holidays, you will not feel so out of place and unusual. Of course, you will also be helping your friend to feel a little less alone over the holiday as well.
Step
3
Volunteer at a local nursing home during the holiday season. You can share your time and spread joy to elderly people who do not have many visitors during the holidays. There are many residents of retirement communities who are lonely and could use a friend like you. Make their season brighter and bring some love into your own heart by volunteering.
Step
4
Volunteer your time at a holiday meal for people who are homeless or who are poor. You will not be spending time alone and you will be making a difference in the holiday for others. This is a tradition you can continue even in years to come when you are no longer single at Christmas. You can volunteer with your loved one when that day comes.
Step
5
Participate in local holiday events and performances. You can sign in a local church choir or perform in a community Christmas play. Join other members of your community to sing Christmas carols throughout the neighborhood. Being actively involved will help to keep your mind occupied so that you do not feel alone. You will be among friends and neighbors. You might even meet someone new.
Tips & Warnings
Give your family and friends some notice if you will be bringing another single friend along with you to a holiday meal.

The holiday season never seems quite the same when you are single. If you are one of the few singles among your family and friends, you might feel a little out of place over the holidays. By reaching out to others and joining with your other single friends, you can actively participate in holiday festivities and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas without feeling lonely.

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Don’t Ditch Dating!

Adrienne, Mixologist| October 13, 2009 5:48 pm
I attended a restaurant opening in Nelson this week and met up with a Duck Soup regular who excitedly told me he may have
found someone – early days though.  I was of course equally excited for him and asked lots of questions – where did you
meet? (online) What about her attacted you the most? (similar quirky sense of humour) etc.  But then I started to hear
some warning bells and saw some red flags with other things I heard so my questioning took a different turn.  I asked him
what he disliked most about the dating process…. and boy did things clear up for me!
This is a guy who is SICK of dating – dreads the first date and is totally over the whole concept.  It turns out he has
had six dating partners since his marriage ended and now he’s ready to STOP dating and start a relationship because, in
his words, “six women should be enough to give me a good idea, right?”
Unfortunately I believe he is falling into a common trap and there are numerous reasons he may feel this way.
he may not believe he will ever find the ‘right’ woman
he may feel impatient with the dating process
he doesn’t understand the importance of dating to find love
he is a little shy and it’s hard to get out of your comfort zone
he doesn’t enjoy meeting new people
he doesn’t really trust new people
he doesn’t like or know how to flirt
he doesn’t think there are any decent single women around
All of these points are focusing on the negative!  It’s the top reason people jump too quickly into relationships and
ditch the dating too soon.  We forget that dating is a really important process for finding love that cannot be avoided.
One of the key things to attempt to do is find a way to ENJOY this process even if you don’t like every step.  By shifting
your limiting belief about dating, you’ll attract better prospects – remember, like attracts like.
Hopefully you can start learning to enjoy meeting new people. The more the better!  It can be really fun – you never know
who you might meet or what cool things you may learn.  One of my now closest friends I met randomly whilst our kids were
playing at a park….
If you hold this same attitude that meeting new people is tedious, try turning this around.  Make a challenge or game out
of it to see how many people you can meet in a month.  Find interesting (& positive) details you’ve learned from each man
or woman you meet and don’t take the whole process so seriously!  Dating is your interview process for the position of
your potential life partner.  And it’s also important for YOU to interview for the position of THEIR life partner…
slowly, and gradually, you’ll build up an authentic picture of each person you date over time.  Date as many people as you
can (without sleeping with any of them!) and someone will gradually become more compatible in your mind.
It may take some practice, but you can make this positive shift. When you are cheerful about meeting new people, you’ll
appear more confident and happy which will in turn make you more attractive. It’s a cycle of positive energy that builds
on itself…. and when you do meet the person who just fits so well into your life, you’ll be so glad you stuck it out and
KEPT DATING!
If you’re thinking – man, I can’t even GET a date, let alone have more than one – then consider online dating on
findsomeone.co.nz.  If you need assistance to write your profile and choose a great photo, let me know. Alternatively, use
Duck Soup networking to ask someone if they would like to go on a date to learn more about them – but remember, not
everyone comes to Duck Soup to find love – many people are networking to expand their social lives without looking for a
partner.  So be prepared for a “No, thanks” and keep trying!  Every NO is a step towards a Y

I attended a restaurant opening in Nelson this week and met up with a Duck Soup regular who excitedly told me he may have found someone – early days though.  I was of course equally excited for him and asked lots of questions like:

  • Where did you meet? (online)
  • What about her attracted you the most? (similar quirky sense of humour) etc.

But then I started to hear some warning bells and saw some red flags with other things I heard so my questioning took a different turn.  I asked him what he disliked most about the dating process…. and boy did things clear up for me!

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Dating Over 40: Why Don’t Men Over 50 Want to Date?

Adrienne, Mixologist| October 8, 2009 4:43 pm

Yesterday, Louanne wrote me a note out of sheer frustration about dating over 40 – actually she’s looking for men in their 50’s.  At one point we were discussing matchmaking services, and I mentioned to her that traditionally, men don’t sign on at the same rate as women, especially over 50. Somehow Louanne took this to mean that men over 50 aren’t interested in dating.

That’s definitely not what I meant at all.

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How to Start a Conversation with a Stranger to Get or Keep a Date

Adrienne, Mixologist| September 28, 2009 8:18 pm

You’ll probably run into many people throughout the course of your dating preparations that could be The One, but you’ll never know for sure unless you talk to them. Starting a conversation with a stranger can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be impossible.

Every conversation runs its course within a similar outline: making first contact, introductions, speaking with each other, and then ending the conversation – hopefully with plans to meet again. To navigate these sometimes scary but usually rewarding waters, read on.

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The Divorced Woman’s Guide to Meeting New Men

Adrienne, Mixologist| September 12, 2009 8:45 pm

You Have to Put Yourself Out There

Many years ago, when I was between my first and second marriage, I found a delightful little book entitled The Divorced Woman’s Guide to Meeting New Men. The basic premise of the book was that you need to “put yourself out there”. Go where single people go; talk about subjects single people talk about; dress and act like a person who is

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From a Bird’s Perspective

Adrienne, Mixologist| September 1, 2009 10:08 pm

Who’s not scared of love? I mean whether you are scared that it will or will not find you, that it will or will not last, that it can or cannot exist – in some theory we are each scared of love. Scared of getting our hearts broken – scared of taking a risk – scared of putting ourselves out there. Scared of not taking a chance, or taking too many. Scared of making a leap of faith, or not enough. Scared of losing ourselves, or of truly finding who we are.

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45 Lessons Life Taught Me by Regina Brett

Adrienne, Mixologist| August 19, 2009 8:18 am

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

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