Originally Posted by Chris L

To be totally blunt here, right now I wouldn't be terribly bothered if I DID end up alone forever. I've seen people experience far worse things, and indeed I've narrowly avoided far worse fates myself. I look at my life as it is now, and to be honest there's not a lot I'd change. Sure, none of us have a perfect life, but I'm quite happy overall with where I am, and spending my weekends riding, hiking or going to concerts or sporting events (with friends or alone if need be, not bothered either way here) seems a much better option than dealing with people flaking out on plans on five minutes notice or giving me the hot and cold treatment or any of the other crap I've dealt with. Who knows? Maybe I'll feel differently in the future, but right now the single life is treating me pretty well.



Since this thread is about to turn into a whinefest, I just have to say that the above is the reason that I absolutely refuse to take someone to dinner on a first or second date, or indeed, refuse to make any attempt to impress someone with a dinner. Why do people obsess over minute details such as who pays, or how did someone dress or did someone tell an inappropriate joke or whatever. Who wants to be sitting around like a stuffed shirt in a job interview, worrying about whether you said the wrong thing, or whether you should have offered to pay, or how you should have reacted to the other person's offer to pay or did you answer all the boring questions about what you do for a living correctly or whatever. I get the feeling you could have just won a Nobel Peace Prize, but that would mean nothing to your date if you said the wrong thing when they offered to chip in for the bill.

Personally, I'd rather do something fun. If not a bike ride, then perhaps a visit to a national park, or a museum, or a day at the beach or whatever, something you might actually enjoy. I realise that at this point someone will almost inevitably reply with the usual "that's why you're single" line, but even if that's true, it's still a million times better than dealing with all the stress or drama of a dinner date.