Dating Advice

I separated from my wife this Summer and moved out into an apartment in the West End. I think everyone who would care knows about this already. I apologize to anyone finding out from this blog post.

A few weeks ago, I joined an online dating site (Match). I would have probably joined eHarmony, as that seems to be the site that targets long term relationships, but they do not allow people that are separated but not yet divorced (fair). I had not dated someone new for thirty years, so was happy to ask for advice from friends. Here are some of the tips I received:

• Dress well and buy a nice new car [BW: from my father, 89 years old]
• Cut your mid-life crisis hair and buy a car 
• Don't let her see right away how nerdy you are 
• If you text a woman enough, she will sleep with you [really? has that been tested empirically? I would say this is more likely to lead to a restraining order than intimacy.] 
• It is too soon after your previous long term relationship to start dating
• Why did you wait this long to start dating? 
• Just get noticed [I think this is a successful strategy, but you don't get to choose who you end up with]
• When she comes over, don't wear those old sandals you use as slippers. The ones you repaired with orange duct tape. 
• Be kind, honest, and respectful [this sounds like a good one to me. It is from my hairdresser. She retired but still cuts my hair at her apartment] 
• Don't date a woman that owns a horse. She will always love the horse more than you. [from my adult daughter, wise beyond her years]. 
• When she comes over to visit, put the toilet seat down and have a garbage can in the bathroom with a lid [also from my daughter]. 

Imagining me at the apex of all this "wisdom", you might be surprised that I have actually had a date, that seemed to go quite well.