Dating game becoming more like a chore

Winston-Salem Journal ^ | Thursday, January 8, 2004 | Kate Zernike

[KantianBurke]

A pic says much more than I ever could.

[Salgak]

And they wonder why Russian mail-order brides are such a big business. I was at a friends' birthday party several months ago, and one of his neighbors had married a woman he'd met via a Russian service. She was pretty, without being overwhelmingly so, intelligent, far better read than the average American woman, and had none of the attitude you see so often in the typical American woman. She was utterly devoted to her husband of 11 months and her 8-year-old son from her first marriage. She was also the only one, other than my wife and myself, who brought food to the party, and I'll admit, the cake she baked was FAR superior to the large tin of Walker's Shortbread I brought along . . .

[angcat]

I can't believe the gaul women have when it comes to their wedding shower gift lists. They have the nerve to ask for Lennox and Baccarat Crystal. I had one relative (through marriage) ask for such items. Now I hear they live with the groom’s mother because they cannot afford to make it on their own. Can you imagine! The little twerp go get a job and buy the stuff yourself you dam loser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had no shower gift demand list. Buy your own things if you don't get them for your shower!

[ikka]

"American women are like American universities: they have dull, half-dead faculties."

A quote from James Thurber.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

THat's why I found my wife in Indiana, and not here on the liberal East Coast where I was raised.

Hoosier women are great cooks, know how to shoot, and know how to take care of their men.

[Ciexyz]

If there's a spin on an old issue, someone will find a way to package it and sell it.

[Our man in washington]

Man-to-man advice: try finding a freeperette. I haven't had anything work out yet, but I've had "good dates." That is, no screaming for the hills, no B.S., and people giving each other a fair chance.

I hate to make politics central to my life, and I could conceivably date a leftist woman in theory. The big problem, however, is that leftist women usually have a number of other traits that make them lousy to date. They tend to lack senses of humor, make fun of men for liking sports, and think all men are either too macho or too wimpy.

Better to remain single than to suffer the agony of dating a typical leftist woman. But there are good women out there.

[_Jim]

I know I'll get flamed for saying this, but now that I'm a lifelong bachelor in my mid-40s I find that women are just more irrelevent as I get older.

They also cut into time spent on FR, time spent surfing eBay, riding the motorcycle, waxing the Camaro, walking the dog, oiling the 'fine steel' ...

[CalKat]

Are a couple getting married somehow more entitled to ask friends and family to buy them specified items than a single person?

[Tax-chick]

Go to your local US Department of Coupling and Marriage office

I think Singapore or somewhere actually has one of these!

I'm always confused by these articles. When I got married 15 years ago, I wasn't beautiful, rich, or in a glamorous profession; I wasn't even quite finished college. I was short, violently opinionated, and Republican. But if I had decided not to marry the present Net-Knight, I had a couple of other fairly good possibilities, who now have their own families. So what did I do right?

[_Jim]

"American women ... have dull, half-dead faculties."

LOL!

[Elric@Melnibone]

Lots of guys don't want to date a women who gives off strong early signs of wanting to radically change them.

The difference between men and women:

Women marry men expecting them to change but they don't.

Men marry women expecting them not to change but they do.

[ken5050]

FWIW, both my daughters met their husbands via Yahoo Personals...they're both great guys..solid, conservative, good careers..everything I could want in sons-in-law..so go figure?...

[ArrogantBustard]

"He's Catholic and Republican, but it's nothing you can't change"

Right. No wonder she can't keep a decent man ... when she finds one, she wants to turn him into Mark Morford.

[Nowhere Man]

Bump for later reading.

[mindspy]

We are out here but don't want to date because the people out there are just so weird. The internet ads look to me as men and women trolling for sex without having to go to the nighclubs. Also,the men seem to think that because they take you out a couple of times you should have sex with them. Aside from the fact that we are not dogs in heat there are cooties out there, major cooties. Further, out here on the left coast the men are wimpy products of the feminazis. I pass the time doing the things I like to do, and if by chance, which seems to be getting slimmer as I become more selfish with my time, I cross paths with a man that enjoys those things too and is not a libral I would consider dating him.

[Taffini]

I'm coming to the conclusion I may have to move to a more conservative state or end up a life long bachelor

Move to Michigan. We like men who are packing heat.

[Our man in washington]

Mindspy meet Jrp. Jrp, meet Mindspy. You're both left coasters, you're both conservatives. You're both smart, judging by your posts. Mindspy doesn't have a profile, but Jrp is clearly a guy with varied interests and a good career. Potentially a good catch.

Thank me later. Send me pictures of the wedding.

:)

[tjg]

I'm wondering if the problem is the type of men that will participate in the dating service.

Dating is antient history for me, but when I was involved in it, I couldn't imagine using such a service, and I can think of few of my single pals that would either.

Or maybe it's that people that need to resort to a dating service are too difficult to please in the first place that even computer matching doesn't work for them.

Finally, I don't think all the stuff they select for in the matching system matters. Weather you like pizza or polenta is irrelevant. People think having taste in common is important, but it's not. What's important is finding someone you respect and trust, and if you use critera like similar taste in movies and food, you'll never find your true love.

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

it's not a question of entitlement. It's a matter of tradition. It's tradition for marrieds register for gifts, it's not traditional for single people to register for gifts. Marrieds are traditionally given gifts in effort to get the couple started on new life with a few more things in hand than the had as singles. Singles may well end up with such a tradition, but they would do so at risk of looking like pathetic losers.