Creative Success Depends on Long View
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In this podcast, we feature author Taylor Marsh, who [read more]
Am I Flirting or Just Being Friendly?
A little while ago while I was in my self-imposed no-dating hiatus, I was chatting with a guy named Brent whom I’ve known casually for several years.
I’ve always liked him as a person, but never, not once, looked at or thought about [...]
Top 40 Codependent Love Songs
Everyone loves a good love song.
A particular tune comes on the radio, your heart thumps and you start daydreaming of that special guy or gal.
But wait a second, what exactly are those lyrics saying?
Take away the deep, crooning voice, the swelling [...]
The 3 Stages Of Dating
Most people have the whole dating thing wrong.
In this day and age of ADD, fiber optic downloading, express lanes and overnight delivery, people seem to be in such a rush to get to the destination that they overlook the importance of the journey [...]
Romantically Challenged
Hi, my name is Selena, and I am romantically challenged.
I am one of those people who has a heavy tome of relationship stories and yet I remain sans boyfriend. My story of romance reads like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure where I keep coming to [...]
Relationships, Inc.
I’ve often thought how strange it is that you need lessons, tests, and a license to drive a car, but all you need to get into a relationship is a sense of loneliness and a healthy libido (and even that’s not essential).
What kind of training [...]
The Paradox of Dating a Healthy Person
Two of my friends are dating guys who are, as far as I can tell, healthy individuals.
And by healthy I mean attentive, communicative, and available. For both of these women, dating a healthy guy is a 180-degree change from their previous relationships. [...]
What Does It Mean To Be An Adult?
Most people think they know exactly what it means to be an adult:
Pay all your bills on time, do your own laundry, and don’t get fired from your job. Or if you’re a little more rebellious, it may be something like: hire someone to [...]
Relationship Advice From The Movies
I just realized I’ve been doing the relationship thing all wrong.
You see, lately I’ve been watching a lot of movies—good, bad and, quite frankly, ugly—and to quote Oscar Wilde, “Paradoxically though it may seem, it is none the less [...]
How To Know Whether You’re On a Date Or Not
Recently I had drinks with a male friend.
We met at a local bar, he bought the first round and I bought the second, we chatted for a couple of hours, and then I left. When I recounted this to another male friend, he said, “So it was a date!”
What??
This [...]
Online Dating: 6 Easy Ways to Look Like a Moron
Ever the adventurer, I recently stepped out of my comfort zone and signed up for a few online dating sites and apps.
Over the last few years, I’ve found that it’s become harder and harder to connect with people in the real world. Walk into [...]
The Dating Switch
Never before has the title of this blog been so fitting: Romantically Challenged.
What started as an amusing blog title has turned into an eerily accurate fortunetelling tool. I can’t get a date to save my life, but on the brighter side, I [...]
All Talk And No Action
Last night a friend and I went to the quintessential Hollywood party: it was at a fabulous house in the Hollywood Hills with a pool and a view that was just begging to be on a postcard.
It was attended by attractive men and women in cocktail [...]
Does The Name Make The Man?
What’s in a name, you may ask?
Well, Juliet (as in Romeo and) believes “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” because names are a meaningless convention and it’s the person behind the name that counts.
I [...]
Drive-By Dating
This is a scenario that has happened to me many times:
A male acquaintance casually mentions that he has, say, an extra ticket to some show and wonders if I’d like to check it out with him. I go, we have fun, I drive myself home. The next [...]
Why George Clooney Should Date Me
George Clooney has a lot of things going for him.
He is a successful actor, a handsome man, and a charismatic philanthropist. What he doesn’t have going for him is his choice of suitable girlfriends. For someone who claims to not want marriage [...]
The Hero’s Journey In Relationships
Every good story, from ancient oral storytelling to modern movies to personal anecdotes of watching someone’s pants fall off on the bus, follows a basic template.
You start with an unhappy Hero in her Ordinary World, you pique her interest [...]
6 Reasons I Don’t Miss Dating
A little over a year ago I took a self-imposed exile from dating.
After years of binging on men, flirting, and relationships, I finally had an emotional hangover that just wouldn’t go away. At first I thought I would implode from loneliness [...]
Christmas: Party of One
As Woody Allen once said, “Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don’t have a good partner, you’d better have a good hand.”
That pretty much sums up Christmas for me. If I don’t have a good partner (and I don’t [...]
How Do You Define Being Grown Up?
I recently talked to a guy I hadn’t seen in almost two years who told me that he had gotten married in that time and was now expecting a baby.
Well, his wife was actually the one carrying the fetus; this isn’t Junior after all. What got [...]
Happily Ever After…With Myself
The official close of my year-long hiatus from dating was on October 5.
I raised a glass of bubbly and gave a toast on self-respect, changing one’s pattern, and the history of masturbation. I redecorated my apartment—between dinner parties [...]
What Is Love?
Besides being a catchy techno song by Haddaway, that is.
I’ve recently been going through my old diary entries from high school and the first couple of years post-graduation, and boy, what an eye-opener.
It’s been long enough since these [...]
A Love Letter To My Grandparents
I just returned from a trip to my hometown where I attended my grandfather’s funeral.
My incredibly beloved grandpa of ninety died quite suddenly of cancer only two weeks after the diagnosis, leaving behind his soulmate (and I don’t use [...]
5 Gifts NOT To Buy For Your Man
The mistake that most people make is that they assume other people like and want the same things that they do.
Hence the high rate of marriage. And then when they realize the other person has interests quite different from theirs and they [...]
Does Your Boyfriend’s Name Matter?
As Juliet once said (via Shakespeare’s quill), “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.”
The Romeo and Juliet heroine is suggesting that it’s not the names of things that matter, [...]
Dancing On The Stage Of Perfection
My whole adult life I’ve been dancing on the stage of perfection, trying to get that 5-star review and a packed house every single night.
God forbid I should forget a line, miss my cue, have a wardrobe malfunction, drop a prop, or simply lose [...]
Podcast: Romantically Challenged
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Selena Templeton, who after a long string of failed relationships, began to recognize a pattern. She was always dating men who were unavailable, either physically or emotionally.
In her JenningsWire blog, Romantically Challenged, [...]
I Love Me, I Love Me Not
The popular adage ‘how can you love another if you can’t love yourself’ used to annoy the crap out of me.
It sounded like something only a New Age/hemp-dress-wearing/Stuart Smalley impersonator would say, and not too convincingly, either.
But [...]
How To Have The Perfect Relationship
The other day I was talking with a friend about the long string of boyfriends I’ve had, and how I keep going back to the same guy.
Not literally, of course. I’m not that addicted to pain. What I mean is, when one relationship fails, I go [...]
Dating Rules Are Meant To Be Broken
I recently read an article about a book for women on dating.
I have just one thing to say: the 1950’s called; it wants its dating protocol back.
I have to say that I am immediately suspicious, skeptical and sarcastic when it comes to books [...]
5 Reasons Why Nice Guys Finish Last
Here’s a tip for all you gentlemen who resent the Bad Boy that rides off into the sunset on a Harley with the girl of your dreams: nice guys don’t finish last.
Indecisive, spineless, and colorless guys finish last. Nice guys are revered, [...]
21 Things I Want In A Lover
When I’m single I have no problem waxing poetically on my ideal boyfriend.
I am easily able to list the qualities in a man and the elements of a relationship that are important to me. For example: he must earn a comfortable living doing what [...]
Dating Red Flags
Recently my friend Ava went on a date that quickly went sideways.
And not Sideways like the fun movie about wine tasting. Later, she couldn’t help but ask herself, “Where were the red flags? Or were they there and I just chose to ignore [...]
Days Of The Week Underpants
Yesterday I bought a 6-pack of new underwear in lieu of doing laundry.
Me and laundry are like opposing political parties: we steer clear of each other unless we’re soiling the other’s reputation. By last count I was up to 49 pairs. But [...]
10 Things You Should Do On A First Date
Ah, the first date.
So full of promise, excitement and hope—not to mention a brand-new outfit and an eye-watering bikini wax. The painful grooming, the newly acquired debt, the canceling of all plans at least ten hours prior to the date—this [...]
Valentines Day For Singles
Valentines Day is the most romantic day of the year.
Or is it merely the most romantic day of the year for Hallmark? I imagine the CEO of Hallmark dancing around the office, singing love songs, and floating on cloud nine—as the cash rolls [...]
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