by Lynette Alice

Created on: August 20, 2008

Very few people really enjoy being set up with a stranger, I sure never liked it, but there is some good advice I can give for women going on a blind date. Thankfully I haven't been in the dating pool for a long time, but like everyone else I had to go through the process and had a few blind dates that introduced me to great people and several that made me scratch my head wondering how anyone thought that person was a good match for me. Like anything else going on blind dates was a learning process and boy did I learn plenty!

The first thing I learned was to keep my expectations realistic. Chances are I was not going to be set up with the person of my dreams on a date that ended with me being whisked away to Paris on the Concord jet. More than likely I was going to meet someone that was a decent person just as nervous as I was who knew just as little about me as I did them. You're probably not going to be set up with a runway model or someone from the J Crew catalog. Keep your expectations realistic and you are less likely to be dissapointed.

Be willing to initiate conversation. It can be awkward finding topics to talk about and some people are genuinely shy or a little reticent to bring topics up as they have no idea how you are going to react. Certainly not everyone will be this way, some will talk you to death and get into topics you would be hesitant to discuss with your best friend, but shyness is natural. Have a few non controversial topics to talk about in your mind. Get your date talking about them self if nothing else. Any date void of conversation is tedious at best, tedious, boring, and aggravating at worst. Since you're there try to make the best of it.

Keep your cellphone on vibrate. Don't turn it off, just from a saftey standpoint you should have your cell on, but it doesn't need to ring during the middle of dinner or whatever you may be engaged in. It's just good manners. Ask yourself how you would feel if your date was constantly taking taking calls. I don't know about you but it would make me feel pretty neglected and a bit ticked off. Also be sure you let a couple people know where you will be going and when you expect to be home. Be sure to have enough cash with you just in case you wind up in an unforseen situation. Follow the regular saftey rules of dating always. Also don't drink too much, I know a particularly boring date can drive you to numb the experience out, and a good one can make you forget to stay within your limits, but overindulging

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