Online Dating

The wonders of technology make hundreds of men available to you with the touch of a button. Instead of spending time meeting guys and committing hours and days to getting to know what they're all about, you can quickly weed people out with your index finger. There are obviously negatives about online dating (like the creepos) but if you treat it right it can be a successful and exciting activity.
A couple ground rules that I have developed:
Everyone assumes you're chatting with multiple people at once - the guy you're chatting with is, and you should be too.
You don't have to share your life story with everyone you chat with. Keep things light and keep track who you tell what to. Maintain a list if you need to, or better yet, maintain a standard 'story' that you share with everyone, maybe the basic details of your life, and don't move past that until the relationship progresses.
Let the guy lead the way. Sure it's cool to contact someone you find attractive or interesting, but let them send the majority of messages and initiate the conversation. I know I sound like an advice columnist from 1962, but this again will keep it easier to remember who is who while you're talking to a few guys, and makes sure you know who is really interested.
Don't get too involved after a few conversations - meet up, get to know them, have many many phone conversations before moving forward.
Cast your net wide - this is your chance to meet people you wouldn't encounter in 'normal' life, or you might not normally be attracted to. Spending 5 minutes on a conversation with someone who doesn't work out is a lot different than suffering through dinner and a movie.
I'm obviously no expert, but we have many options for dating, especially when we compare to the methods our moms and grandmas were forced to use. With the increase of technology we also have to deal with the negatives - sketchy guys, increased competition, reliance on technology and 'fake' relationships. But if you know how to play the game, I'm confident you'll have a full calendar and an over-flowing inbox.

Jealousy

As women we're supposed to be happy for one another - 100% supportive, happy for our friends when something great comes their way. We always say we're there through everything - thick and thin - but are we really there during the good times? Like really there?
It's always easier to be supportive when our friends are down about something. If we're really honest with ourselves, we're better listeners when they're complaining or crying than when they're gloating or telling us about their great new promotion. If we're really happy with ourselves we can be happy for our friends though.
I finally feel like I'm satisfied enough with my life (and the parts I'm not happy with are my responsibility to change) that I can be genuinely happy for my friends. Sure they might make more money than me, be in better shape, get married years ahead of me or live in nicer homes, but I've consciously chosen my lifestyle and it's my job to be happy and supportive for them. It's also my job to look at myself and figure out why I'm feeling so envious - what is missing in MY life?

What Changed?

How come a guy will totally disappear from the scene after a few seemingly successful dates? So many times I have watched friends spend significant time with a guy, where they'll hang out two, three or even four days in one week, and things seem to be going amazingly well. I've witnessed this situation both with fast-paced sexual activity and none at all. All of a sudden, the guy is so hard to reach we're questioning whether he moved to Antarctica.
I think sometimes guys get scared off. Perhaps they have started to develop feelings for the girl and it is unnerving within such a short period. More likely though, I think the reason behind the cold feet is the girl suddenly seems to easily obtainable. We think the guys are really into us and want to hang out all the time, but maybe their "Sure, you can come over if you want" is not really an invitation. If girls jump at the last-minute ask or off-hand mention of meeting up somewhere a few times, it makes them seem desperate and the challenge is gone. What we mistaken for a true connection and the beginning of a relationship might also be a guy getting annoyed with our quirks or simply wanting some alone time.

A Revelation

I had a revelation last night - it doesn't matter if some people don't like me. My parents tried to teach me this lesson as a child, but I have continued to get sucked into worrying about other peoples' opinions of me. I do care that my family and close friends, people who I respect and love, like me and think highly of me. But others, people who I may or may not meet again, why should I stress out over their feelings? I know I'm a good person; I care about others, volunteer my time, buy good Christmas presents and work hard at my relationships. If people I meet don't appreciate that, my life will go on. I guess I have to come to terms with the idea that not everyone is destined to be a member of the I Heart Dani club.

One-sided

When you start dating someone, it's important to be honest with yourself about how you feel, if you're happy and most importantly, are you ALWAYS initiating things? This is especially true today where technology plays such a huge part in dating. Are you the one sending all the texts? If you have something like an iPhone that shows the entire text history every time you send a message, it's easy to see who sends the majority of texts. Are there 4 of yours for every one of his two-word texts? Are his texts always responses to your questions and nothing else? Who suggests getting together, or sends the 'thank you' message after the date?
It's always hard to admit to yourself that your guy is not showing much enthusiasm. But it's so much better to admit this to yourself early on, than have someone else tell you, or worse, your guy show you, three months down the line.

How to Meet a Boy

Today on the subway I was reading a new dating book, Screw Cupid, and an attractive 20-something-year-old sat down beside me midway through my trip. He interrupted my reading to ask me if the book had been useful so far. Obviously this was a bit embarrassing (I was trying to hide the cover but he must have read one of the chapter titles). I explained that I was reading it for research rather than actual use as I'm currently in a relationship, but we both knew how weak that sounded.
He confessed that he'd read part of (so probably the entire) The Game by Neil Strauss, a cult-classic about pickup artists. He proceeded to brag about his set-up techniques and claimed credit for one marriage to date.We chatted until I got off about 8 stops later, and he was kind enough to participate in some ad-hoc market research.

• When approaching a guy, girls should focus the conversation on something they're passionate and excited about. Not only will she have more to talk about, but being excited about something makes you stand taller, smile bigger and your eyes will sparkle.
• Girls should go places that reflect their interests. My subway friend explained that he likes indie music and would love to meet a girl at a concert who was into the same scene as him.
• I realized that reading a dating book on the subway puts a bit of a target on you. You'll either attract men because you're most likely single and looking, or scare them away with what they'll assume is an intense desire to wed.

My Work BF is Cheating

These days we work long hours and are connected to the office even when we're at home, on a date or vacationing. Because of this our generation is ultra familiar with the phenomenon of 'work relationships'. Most girls I know have a work BF that they are really close to - they develop a tight relationship eerily similar to that of a real BF, minus the obviously important sexual side of things. My latest work BF hasn't been around as much lately, what with busy schedules, other co-workers and different project assignments. It actually hurts a bit, almost the same as if my real BF was interested in another girl or couldn't find the time to hang out with me. Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is not in fact my BF, my future husband or even that close of a friend, when work is removed from the equation. He can spend his time with whomever he chooses, and it's probably for the best if our work relationship is halted - the best for our jobs, our real relationships and my sanity.