Happy Birthday, Kristin Cavalleri

Turns out Miss Cavalleri celebrated her 21st birthday at Stone Rose Lounge with Paris Hilton and Cisco Adler, which is the same spot I went to on a date with Zoolander (as mentioned in Rich Guys Pt II). Small world.

Check, Please!

Although I've had more than my fair share of dating experience at my tender age of 23, and may shell out a generous amount of wisdom and advice to my friends who may have a little less, I seek at least twice as much from other sources (can't learn EVERTHING from personal experience, you know).

So I've read lots of books. My favorites so far have been the Art of Seduction (thank you very much to Spencer for that spirited recommendation) and Superflirt (which is really just a thanks to Amazon, who suggested it when I was searching for the former, good work people).

And although I learned a great deal about the world of dating (and how to have anyone wrapped around your finger, by ignoring them and swinging your hips correctly, respectively), I still continue to feel that there is just oodles I don't know yet.

Which brings me to my new book. Hopefully you know by now that some of my favorite things are dating, talking about dating, thinking about dating, boys in general, and celebrity gossip. Now combine that all in a book written by the world's first supermodel, and we're in business.

Check, Please! Dating, Mating, and Extricating is written by the infamous Janice Dickinson, who has dated more celebrities than Paris Hilton (give the heiress some credit though, Janice has got a lot of years on her) and is filled with acerbic wit and tough love, plus TMI about way too many male celebrities.
I haven't finished yet, but so far, Janice has taught me that:

I'm an idiot for "going for my wallet" on a first date.

If a woman breaks out her wallet, she has a problem. Even for the 50/50 split. On a first date, I don't ever want you to say, "What's my share?" He brought the wallet. You brought the girl. Even trade.

I should stop meeting guys on the Internet.

You know how they used to say of ugly actors, "He has a face for radio?" Well, if a guy's out there hunting for women online, chances are he has a face and personality for the Web. Plus, some of those weirdos really could be hunting for women. And remember this: If the camera adds 10 pounds, the Web adds 40.

There are ideal places to meet guys (some of these I haven't even tried! Thanks Janice).

• Park Benches (not bums... the rich one's own the parks, not live in them)
• Men's Clothing Stores (ie: Turnbull & Asser, the nicer the better obvi)
• Bike Paths
• The Car Wash
• Dog Parks (at least you know the men can handle the responsibility of nurturing and interacting with living things.... and are used to dealing with some crap)
• The Gym
• The Bank (only the main branch of one of the most exclusive banks, as approved by Forbes)
• Delicatessens in Wealthy Neighborhoods (Janice is obsessed with Jewish men, more on that in a second)
• The Golf Course on Weekdays (only two types of men can golf on weekdays - rich men and retired men, who are often rich men too. And according to Janice, one of the three requirements of a perfect man is a flexible schedule [the other two being slim hips and a trust fund])
• Car Dealerships (of course, luxury car dealerships. This is Janice Dickinson we're learning from)

Jewish Men are God's Gift.

They make the absolute best husbands -- because they're loyal and because they have the largest units. Jewish men are used to women running things. [They] are also used to women taking charge of the household finances, so you'll control the purse strings -- which are always strings I want to control. They're also less likely to divorce you. They would rather put up with more of your crap than give you the keys to the second BMW and the vacation house in Boca.

All in all, I think Janice might be slightly out of her mind, a little too stereotypical, and overly impressed by a huge bank account... but her book is fun to read and there's no reason why an avid Dating Diva like myself can't try out a few of her theories.

....

Hi! Thanks for stumbling upon my blog.

I’m your average 23 year old girl living in Southern California. I like going to the beach, shopping, eating sushi, reading celebrity gossip magazines… and all that other nonsense girls my age tend to do with their time. I’m really outgoing and love to go out because I tend to meet people wherever I go. I love to people watch and analyze body language, and I’m probably the biggest flirt that I know.

I do have this one kind of embarrassing habit though…

Before I get into that, the backstory is that I’ve always been a little boycrazy. Well maybe a bit more than a little. From the time I was in 3rd grade, I’ve always had some major, all-consuming crush on some shy, unassuming boy. What started with running around the blacktop trying to kick Timmy Slevin (a not-so-stealthy attempt to get his attention) has blossomed over the past 15 years into what some might consider a total addiction to the entire male population. But I like to think it could be worse.

When it comes down to it though, what I’m really addicted to is dating.

I wasn’t always like this. I had a few serious boyfriends between my high school and college years. Nothing really serious ever evolved out of them… until one day when I met the boy of my dreams (I thought) and fell head over heels in love with him.

Two years later, after 24 straight months of the I-feel-like-I’m-floating-on-a-cloud kind of love, he dumped me. There are no words to express how upside down my life felt. He’d gone to the trouble of detailing romantic ideas about how we were going to get engaged in a year, married in two, settle down, start our family, and live happily ever after… he loved to talk about it, and I loved just as much to listen to it. I fell for every word and really believed that I’d found the love of my life.

As it turned out, he was lying out of his ass (as men often do…. Sorry guys, but its just statistics) and I was left in a crumpled pile of damp tissues and self pity. And it changed me.

Somehow, that event has led me to believe that there really is a Prince Charming out there somewhere, that is sitting on his white horse waiting patiently for me to find him so we can ride off into the sunset.

Here’s where that habit comes in: I’ve become kind of a serial dater.

My friends would all tell you that I date way more than any one person should. Because I’ve developed this constant need for a steady flow of dates, I’ve broadened my horizons on where to find them. Many of my dates come from posting personals ads online (gotta love http://www.craigslist.org/), some come from work, others are mutual friends, a few even come from the grocery store. Whatever it is that happened on that painful July afternoon last year has given me some heart-shaped glasses and 20/20 vision… and my eyes are always open.

I realized eventually, after spending countless hours on the phone recounting the details of my dates (and very often, disasters) to my ever-so-patient friends, I needed to start documenting this stuff. Who knows… maybe someone out there can learn from my mistakes (and victories… if I ever have one).

So here goes. I’ll try to give even the juiciest details, though to protect the innocent, I will never use full names (sorry Timmy Slevin… oops that’s twice!). But other than that, I’ll give you as much info as I can muster.

Feel free to comment and share your opinions, I know you got ‘em.

Stay tuned… there’s plenty to come!