Baby boomers try online dating

Here's an interesting article about baby boomers' attempts to navigate the online dating scene. An excerpt:

Dating online the second time around — after divorce or the death of a spouse — isn’t always second nature among the nation’s 78 million boomers, let alone people who are 65 and older, but neither is it all that scary.

Yet they often have unrealistic notions of how to hunt for love and companionship, said Pepper Schwartz, a sociology professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, sex and relationship expert for the AARP and developer of an algorithm to make matches more meaningful on the dating site PerfectMatch.com.

On the surface, this doesn't mean much to 20- and 30-somethings.

But we're the children of boomers. Amid factors like divorce and death, there's a chance we'll encounter the odd experience of watching a parent date.

Have you been in this position? If so, how did you handle it?

Tuesday power anthem

Can you believe these guys are coming to Columbus this weekend?

Confession: I'm a little jealous that my colleague Sara Pauff is writing an advance story about the concert right now. Learn more here.

What's that smell?

Oh yeah, sex and candy. Mmm.

Hangover 2 and dating

Your friends will likely be talking about "Hangover Part II" this weekend, so why not extend the discussion to the dating world?

Ladies, here's an article about how to use various GPS tools to track your significant other while he's away at a bachelor party.

Is that going too far? You decide.

I have no objection to the elusive "boys' night out."

However, I don't think "boys' night out" should be synonymous with "the night I temporarily cut off all communication with my girlfriend."

Listen, guys. We understand you're enjoying male bonding time. And that's fine.

Just please take a minute to call or text.

Otherwise, I'll have to bust out my GPS.

Doggy dating

Must love Greenies, rawhides and long walks in the park.

I envisioned the profile after reading this article about a new dating site designed for dogs.

Of course, the goal is a little more complex than simply finding a new digging partner. The site is designed to gauge "whether the puppies from two adults are likely to be healthy."

Still, I like to imagine two dogs sipping peanut butter martinis while coyly licking each other's ears.

The only problem? My dog probably wouldn't care for the site.

She's been fixed, but also has incredibly high standards in the social world. When we go on our nightly walks, she generally doesn't even look up when nearby dogs bark.

But yes, the image that accompanies this post is her dating profile pic -- if she ever wants to dabble in the online meet market.

What has your pet taught you about dating?

Let's get married?

Marriage is losing ground, according to Census data cited by USA Today. An excerpt:

Unmarried couples made up 12% of U.S. couples in 2010, a 25% increase in 10 years, according to Census data out today.

Two-thirds of the cities with the largest shares of unmarried couples were in the Northeast and Midwest, up from about half a decade earlier.

The information isn't exactly groundbreaking. I've read plenty of articles about how cohabitation has made many couples less willing to take the marriage leap.

So here's my question: Do numbers like the aforementioned Census figures change your views on relationships and marriage?

Margaritas and massages

"Let me give you a massage."

Sigh. I can describe many bad dates that began with that pickup line. I'm only half kidding.

Massages generally fall in the "love it or hate it" sphere of public opinion.

If you love massages and need Wednesday night plans, you might want to stop by The Cantina (1030 Broadway) between 6 and 8 p.m. tonight.

For $5, you'll get a margarita and a 10-minute chair massage from Miller-Motte massage therapy students.

Have fun!

Long drive, short marriage

I knew I moved close to work for a reason.

Jezebel discusses study results suggesting long commutes increase your risk of divorce. An excerpt:

Clearly commuting creates some problems that are gender-blind. It's annoying, especially if you have to do it by car, and a long trip home every night can put someone in a bad mood. It also takes time that could otherwise be spent with a partner or kids, and may put partners on drastically different schedules, which is hard on any union.

The research underscores something that often goes unnoticed: the way work stress can extend into your personal relationships.

I think a lot of us assume we can maintain our job as an entity separate from our personal relationships.

But more often than not, it's the impetus for some sort of relationship tension -- whether that's spurred by pressure on the job itself, our factors like commutes and salaries.

Thoughts?

Pregnancy test videos

Would you watch a video of someone reacting to her pregnancy test results?

Yeah, me neither.

Still, there seems to be an audience for the videos...or maybe our narcissism has just reached a new high.

Marie Claire describes a trend of women posting recordings of their pregnancy test results on YouTube -- or, if you prefer, "WombTube."

A little strange? Maybe. But amid a tendency to live-tweet labor and delivery, I'm hardly surprised that seemingly intimate aspects of motherhood have entered the public sphere.

What do you think?

Monday power anthem

Everybody's talking about this video. If you can't beat them, join them. Right?

Hope you had a great weekend and you're ready to run the world...even if you're a boy.

Seize the day!

Another marriage proposal video

Is this really the greatest marriage proposal EVER? You decide.



(via Huffington Post)

Friday photo: Midget mania

Even though I was battling some pretty serious chicken-inspired exhaustion, I found time to attend Thursday's midget wrestling event at Oxygen.

The picture that accompanies this post summarizes my night. It features The Beast, possibly my favorite midget wrestler.

Also, he kissed me. My life is complete.

Midget wrestling tonight at Oxygen

Need Thursday night plans? Midget wrestling returns to downtown Columbus tonight, thanks to the Micro Wrestling Federation.

The event begins at 9 p.m. at Oxygen (1040 Broadway). Tickets are $10 until 9 p.m., then subject to an increase.

I love midget wrestling! I highly recommend tonight's event. Still not sold on the idea? Watch the video that accompanies this post.

Chick-fil-A and dating

I tried to brainstorm a relationship question related to camping outside Chick-fil-A for 24 hours. I failed.

So I'll simply note that early this morning, I watched 350 people wait for an opportunity to hang out in a Chick-fil-A parking lot for 24 hours. Free food was involved.

Click here to read my article.

To preserve a (slight) focus on dating, I'll leave you with this question: Can a classic chicken sandwich fan and a spicy chicken sandwich fan live happily ever after?

Optimist meets pessimist

You think the glass is half full. He thinks the glass is half empty. Will the relationship work?

The Huffington Post has an interesting article about what happens "when optimists end up with pessimists." An excerpt:

It's particularly common for one person in the relationship to have what psychologists call a promotion focus, meaning that they tend to see their world and their goals in terms of what they can gain, while the other person has more of a prevention focus, seeing their world and goals in terms of what they stand to lose.

In other words, one half of the couple sees success as being about achievement, aspirations, reaching for the stars and being your best, while the other defines success as fulfilling your obligations, avoiding danger and mistakes and being the kind of person others can really count on.

Intimidating? Kind of.

But on a more positive note, the article concludes your relationship isn't doomed if you have different life outlooks. Assuming you can compromise, of course.

That's easier said than done. Despite mantras like "opposites attract," it can be draining to date someone whose life outlook is dramatically different than your own.

Have you broken up with someone for being a Debbie Downer...or, um, a Happy Harold?

Passive-aggressive behavior, wedding style

"So, are you going to lose some weight before your wedding?"

That's probably the most common passive-aggressive wedding question I've heard on the social scene.

Now that I think about it, that question is so overtly rude that it might not even fall into the realm of passive-aggressive behavior.

It crossed my mind when I found this collection of passive-aggressive wedding notes. They span topics like weight, religion and more. You'll even see a few passive-aggressive Facebook posts.

As someone who's never been engaged, I can't exactly offer advice on handling passive-aggressive comments prior to your wedding. (Katie might have some tips, however.)

But I imagine the comments aren't too different from inquiries you get when people want to know why you're not dating. Or engaged. Or having kids.

You can brainstorm a witty response. Or, you can just smile, laugh nervously and hope somebody questions your interrogator's double chin.

Monday power anthem

Nothing brightens your Monday like a little Bieber Fever, right?

Don't answer that question.

Hope everybody had a great weekend. Is it Friday yet?

Seize the day!

In sickness...

It started when I watched Chris Medina audition for "American Idol."

My boyfriend and I listened to the 20-something singer tell a camera crew how he became his fiancee's caregiver after she was in a car accident that left her with a severe skull fracture, a traumatic brain injury and multiple fractures to her face.

I avoided asking the question dominating my mind: "Would you do the same thing for me?"

"In sickness and in health" is sometimes a scary prospect, enough to make one writer decide she's not cut out for marriage:

If this vow is intended to be taken both seriously and literally — and I believe it is — then it absolutely terrifies me. Could I spend all my free hours taking care of somebody and tending to his medical and emotional needs? Could I willingly put my own career on the wayside and make him the utmost priority of my life and existence so long as he needed me?

What if he asked me to quit my day job and spend all my hours with him at the hospital, like my father did with my mother? Could I agree to do all that? The answer is a resounding no!

My career is one of my top life priorities. I've spent more time dreaming about a book deal than my wedding gown. I've made many social sacrifices in the name of ensuring A1 bylines.

That said, I'd like to think that amid a significant other's sickness, I'd choose my relationship over my personal aspirations.

Yes, maybe that sentiment sets women back however many years. Whatever. Ultimately, I'd rather be judged by the strength of my human bonds than the length of my resume.

Thoughts?

Too old for a bikini

If you're 47 years old and wearing a bikini, change your outfit. Immediately.

Today's public service announcement is a result of a wardrobe guide I discovered while reading Jezebel. The site tells readers about survey results that indicate when women should stop wearing certain items.

Fortunately, I can keep my entire wardrobe intact for a few years.

I'll hit my first major fashion milestone at 34, when I'm supposed to stop wearing leather trousers. Hmm. Does pleather have an earlier expiration date?

Here are some other noteworthy results:

Bikini, 47

Stilettos, 51

Ugg boots, 45

Miniskirt, 35

Overall, I think most of the guidelines are pretty spot on. I'd even go for an earlier age cutoff for Ugg boots.

What do you think? Cool? Offensive?

Bromances help relationships

Full disclosure: I'm still not tired of the word "bromance."

So I couldn't resist clicking on this article, "Why his 'bromance' is healthy for him (and you)." An excerpt:

As Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D. (a.k.a. Dr. Romance), psychotherapist and author of "Money, Sex, and Kids: Stops Fighting About the Three Things That Can Ruin Your Marriage" points out, if you cultivate a good relationship with your guy's best pal, you'll have an ally who can be very useful -- not in a mischievous way, but in a caring way.

I've had bromance envy on multiple occasions. Maybe I need to calm down.

From now on, I'll savor my role as the annoying third wheel who won't drink Natural Light.

My blog, my breakup

This blog can be a great vehicle for emotional release. On a less pleasant note, it also has potential to ignite a breakup.

I've heard plenty of stories about women who unintentionally end their relationship by starting a relationship blog.

I'm at a slight advantage since I write this blog for work and thus can't divulge too many gruesome details of my personal life.

Nonetheless, I'll never forget when a blog post about keeping in touch with exes led my boyfriend to give me the silent treatment for three days.

The memory resurfaced after I found this advice column concerning a girl whose boyfriend broke up with her after finding her blog.

She didn't write about their relationship. Rather, she posted some "not-so-nice" photos of herself. He freaked out and broke up with her.

Wrong move? I don't know.

Either way, I think many of us regard our digital self as someone completely separate from the self we put forward in face-to-face interactions.

While good in theory, that view simply isn't realistic.

Thoughts?

Mother's Day fallout

Here's a cheery thought to follow the joy of Mother's Day: The day after the holiday "is the second most popular day women start cheating -- or at least looking to cheat," according to this article.

The reason? Women are apparently trying to make up for feeling unappreciated on Mother's Day.

Big surprise: The No. 1 day for women to start cheating is Valentine's Day.

Monday power anthem

Happy Monday! While playing around in YouTube's endless abyss over the weekend, I found a long-desired treasure: the full version of the "Unwritten" remix that played on the series finale of "The Hills."

I'm sure you're totally jumping up and down right now.

Give it a listen and channel your inner Lauren Conrad while staring longingly into the distance.

Then go out and seize the day, of course.

I love you, too!

One of my biggest relationship fears is saying "I love you" to a guy and not hearing it back.

That's why I generally refuse to be the first one to say "I love you" in a relationship. Needless to say, it's not always a fun waiting game to play.

Relationship goddesses Em & Lo have an interesting collection of male advice for what to do if your guy doesn't say "I love you" back.

I agree with one guy's assessment that you shouldn't say the words expecting to get something in return. And yes, not everyone is keen on vocalizing emotions, especially love.

That said, it's hard to just shrug off someone's resistance to return your "I love you."

You can't help thinking you're on different pages.

Thoughts?

Bodily functions. Discuss.

You know it's going to be a good day when somebody e-mails you a story pitch with this subject line: "Bodily Functions in Dating?"

Of course I opened the attachment. Duh.

Here's the press release's full headline: "What Bodily Functions Should Women Perform In Front of The Men They’re Dating? Men Confess That They Don’t Really Want to See Any."

Hahaha.

It's an attempt to promote results of a poll recently conducted by this website. Among the findings:

*Seventeen percent of women think it's OK to burp in front of their partner.

*Thirteen percent of women feel comfortable passing gas in front of their partner.

*Eight percent of women think it's OK to pick their nose in front of their partner.

Surprised?

Kiss me, computer!

This video of a computer simulating a human kiss has hit many popular blogs. I figured I'd join the club. Totally weird. I have nothing else to say.

Just watch.

Best cities for bachelors

Yesterday I posted the top dating cities for single moms and was surprised to find a Georgia location on the list.

Unfortunately, Georgia doesn't appear on this list of the top bachelor-friendly cities.

Houston takes the No. 1 spot.

The list doesn't directly have much to do with dating. The results are based on factors that pertain to owning/renting a home or apartment.

That said, we can naturally infer that more bachelors in a city = more dating prospects = an overall better meet market.

Thoughts?

Single moms love Alpharetta

If you're a single mom desperate to find love, you don't have to leave Georgia. You might have to move out of Columbus, though.

Alpharetta, Ga., ranks No. 2 on this list of the top 10 dating cities for single moms.

Yonkers, N.Y., took the No. 1 spot. The list is based on surveys from Match.com.

I've never been to Alpharetta, but the city's website boasts activities like Ambush Soccer and a Totally Tubular '80s Pool Party.

Some of Bravo's Real Housewives might want to relocate.

Monday power anthem

I had this song in my head throughout the entire weekend. It entered my brain when I was on my way to a royal wedding viewing party at 5:40 a.m. Friday and is still playing over and over in my mind.

I suppose things could be worse.

Hope you're having a great day!