It is a hot topic among the single ladies: when a guy takes you out when are you obligated to offer to pay? What does it mean if he lets you pay? Or if you split the check? I have firm ground here, I hope the guy pays for the first couple of dates and then I offer to pick something up or make dinner... I will typically offer to help with tip in hopes that he turns me down. If it doesn't go this way, I lose interest pretty fast. For other women, it is different... they don't mind splitting the check, or even paying.
This is the only rule that makes sense to me when it comes to dating. Seriously. That is it. Nothing else makes sense, everyone does it their own way... and from what I have observed, not sure who has it all figured out. In the last 18 months I have dated a wide range of guys, from the investment analyst to the environmental lawyer, from the construction sales rep to the construction worker... I have kind of liked them all. I will say though, of the four that came to mind right away, three just ended things the classy way, but not calling back. Technically, you are allowed to do that. Technically, Sarah Palin has the right to run for President, doesn't mean she should.
I got this from a friend: While it's often fashionable to dwell upon what might have been, what's usually overlooked is that, really and truly, it couldn't have. Because, invariably, any romanticized versions of how things "might have been," are based upon fictionalized versions of the past.
So I have accepted that I may be dating for a long time. That is fine. And after each first date I look forward to discussing with my girlfriends, who paid for what.
