That Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady

After my divorce, I decided that I would not go out looking for a man to fill the void. I have a house, three great kids, a husky, tropical fish and a mini van, what more could any woman need?

Date number one:

I let down my guard when a friend whom I'd known for nearly 10 years asked me out on a date. I was free that night, the kids were with their dad and so I said yes.

I've had a crush on this really cute friend for a long time and we always got along, laughed a lot and seemed drawn to one another. I wore my cutest dress and a push up that night and we went to dinner. He held the door for me — big plus!

He said all the right things: "You look nice."  — Wow, it's been a long time since anyone said that to me.

"I wonder if our signs are compatible."  — A little 70s but, hey, I wonder now too.

"I'd like to be able to just call you and pick you up and take off on the spur of the moment and have an adventure for the day." — That sounds like fun, I'd love it!
He made it sound like he liked me a lot and that he was thinking of spending some time with me in the future.

We made our way to the bar and had a seat and, even though he was still charming to me and I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be with him, things began to unravel when the bartender took our drink order.

He began chatting her up, learning her entire back story and I was beginning to wonder if he was going to ask her out after he dropped me off at home.

This went on for about 90 minutes or more while he seemed to forget he had brought me out that night and he delved into the bartender's story. And I sat there uncomfortably, trying to smile while pretending it didn't bother me.

My date to her: "Oh, you don't look like you had two kids." "How long have you had the apartment?" "Are you living with the guy now?"

By the end of the night I knew more about Casey the bartender than any of my own friends.

At around 11 p.m. we decided to leave. I thanked him for the dinner, we hugged and that was it.

I still don't know if he went back to keep Casey company after I was safe at home.

I did, though, look up our astrological signs — guess what? We're a "perfect" match — "Soul Mates" according to the charts. Uh huh, right.

So Guys, here are your tips for the week.

• If you're out on a date with someone, remember who you are out with. Don't spend more time talking to someone else.

• By the end of the evening you should know more about your date than your server.

• Don't put your date in an uncomfortable position by making her have to pretend she's interested in someone else's life story because she's being polite to you (while you are being rude to her).

• Don't give her the idea that you plan to call again. Saying you would like to go on an adventure gives her an idea that could stay with her for a long time and if she is sensitive, she may lament over it if the adventure never happens.