Are cooking classes really a good place to meet a new lover?

Imagine you are single. You want to meet someone kewl and exciting (and marriage material).

So you say hey, where do these kewl, exciting and marriage material people hang out?

Art galleries? No. Kind of a crapshoot. Artists come in two classes: Flakey amateur wannabes and serious professionals. Only the serious artist is marriage material and the flakey amateur is, frankly, completely unreliable. (Stereotypes galore!)

Bars? Nope, more likely to be alcoholics who just like to fool around and aren't serious about their relationships.

The ballet? Maybe. But you're supposed to be quiet and watch while the ballerinas are dancing. No talking or flirting with the people you find attractive... unless its after or before the performance. Or during intermission.

Really what you want is an event where you can talk to other single people, who aren't drunks, in a semi-casual setting.

Enter the cooking classes. You can also get private cooking lessons and then invite all your single friends. $25 + the cost of food per person.

After all you could just arrange a catered event for a whole bunch of singles... but per person that will be more expensive. It is less expensive to organize such an event and get cooking lessons in Toronto instead of catering.

If you want to learn a particular type of cooking you can also get Italian cooking lessons in Toronto. Or Indian food. Or Vegan food. Just find someone who teaches a variety of recipes on the topics you want to learn and ask how much they would charge to teach it.

Of course to do this you will need a big kitchen to do this. And some good organizational skills to find equal numbers of single women and men, and not bother to tell them this event is just for singles...

That is right. Tell them its just a bunch of friends. Keep it informal. That way they don't know that the social activity has underlying romantic intentions.

Or sign up for cooking classes at other places... but there will be no guarantee the people will be single.

Worst Dating Gifts Ideas

Gifts really makes a woman’s day special when you take her out on a date - but only if you put thought into the gift. Pampering your potential partner with quality gifts is something that works miracles in a relationship!

Before you haunt yourself with what is a perfect gift for your companion make sure you analyze her likes and dislikes... and make sure you don't just buy her gifts to gain her affection. Some women get really annoyed if its too obvious that you are treating her like an escort.

There are some things that are just a BIG NO NO where gifts for women are concerned. It can TOTALLY offend them and even ruin your relationship chances permanently.

WORST DATING GIFT IDEAS

#1. Wrong sized clothes. Please keep this in mind that girls generally tend to lie about their sizes to save themselves from embarrassment. They try to make you realize that they are perfect for your love scene. A wrong size of clothes can turn out to be a total catastrophe. So make sure you never buy clothes for her until you are sure about the size.

#2. Inexpensive and easy on the pocket jewelry. A majority of women find cheap jewelry quite cliché as a gift on a date. Never consider jewelry as a gift for a date until and unless you are ready to spend quite a bit of amount. The same rule applies to cheap cosmetics. This will leave a wrong impression on your girl.

#3. Membership to a gym. It might be possible that your girlfriend is a heath freak and crazily talks about treadmills and power yoga. But this doesn’t mean that you offer her a gym membership on your date. This might make her feel you want her to loose weight and workout more often.

#4. A pet. Do not consider this as a gifting idea until and unless your date has asked you for one. It might sound quite romantic to gift her, a puppy or a kitten but it’ll call for a lot of her time and care. She might later think it to be the worst date gift.

#5. Something that you are craving for. It’s a date gift for her and not yourself. So avoid buying tickets for a cricket or a football match that you wanted from so long.

#6. Books. To give this as a perfect gift make sure the topic you pick up interests her and not anything like “How to learn cooking” and topics that could be insulting.

#7. Re-gifting should be avoided. If you don’t want to risk your relationship with your woman then don’t even try gifting them things from your last relationship.

#8. Cash as a gift. Cash gift is the worst insult you can do of someone who is so precious in your life. It even gives her the wrong idea that you don’t even have time to buy something nice for the love of your life.

#9. Getting nothing. This is another worst situation you can create on your date. Some women (especially gold-diggers) expect men to shower them with gifts. So going empty handed on a date where they are expecting a gift (like Valentines, they are expecting a gift!) is something you have to watch out for! Put in some effort to show how much you care.

10 Things You Should Never Say To Your Boyfriend

We all like to pride ourselves on having an honest and truthful relationship with no secrets or lies.

But some things really are just best left in the closet. It’s not lying. It’s not even twisting the truth, technically. It’s just being careful.

Below is a list of ten vital things that you should NEVER say to your boyfriend…. (If you want your relationship to work that is!)

1. “No, you were good. It’s just that….”

Men love believing that no other man can compare to them in the bedroom. If your man does need a bit of guidance in the right direction (possibly quite literally), find a less heart-breaking way of phrasing this. Something along the lines of “You know what’s nice?...” or “You know what might be an idea?....” may be a better way of getting exactly what you want from your man in the bedroom and yet not destroying his ego completely!

10 Things You Should Never Say To Your Boyfriend

2. “I like your mum. But…”

Even if your boyfriend moans about his mum non-stop, don’t. He can. You can’t. Try to work on your relationship with her if possible, but if that’s not an option, just grin and bear it. It may be hard, but at the end of the day, you’re going out with her son, not her, so who really cares? Slagging her off to your man will only ruin your relationship, meaning (obviously) no boyfriend and that she wins, and we don’t want that now do we? Talk to your friends in confidence instead. It’s a high possibility that they know exactly what you mean too!

3. “When we’re married/old/have kids….”

Until you’re both seriously thinking about these things, don’t bring them up, ever. We all dream of being happily married with two kids, a big house and a dog, but bringing these things up too early on in the relationship will only scare your man away, meaning none of the above, anytime soon. Enjoy the relationship for what it is then eventually these subjects will come up naturally, when the time is right.

4. “There’s this great guy at work…..”

There may well be a great guy at work. Or at university, or at your fitness class or that you met at a party on Saturday night. However, in most cases your boyfriend doesn’t need to know this. Don’t not talk about other people and so on, but if you’re going to phrase it in a way that makes your man feel inadequate, refrain. If this guy is that fantastic, surely you want to be with him, not your boyfriend, anyway?

10 Things You Should Never Say To Your Boyfriend

5. “Do you think she’s hot?”

This is always a lose-lose situation. If your boyfriend says yes, you’ll want to kill him. Men will (most often) say no thinking that that is what you want to hear, but then you’ll wonder why he doesn’t think she’s hot (you must have thought she was to ask the question in the first place) and then you’ll question your man’s bad taste in women, leading you to wonder: “Well, if he’s got bad taste, what am I then?” Never a good idea.

6. “You’ve put a bit of weight on since we’ve been together.”

No matter what anyone says, men do care about these things too ladies. Imagine how you’d feel if your boyfriend said this to you. Not impressed, I imagine. If it is true that your man has put on a few pounds since you’ve been together, try suggesting joining the gym or taking up a more active hobby together. This way, you get to spend more time with your man and improve your fitness – A double winner!

7. “Your friends are a bit annoying though, aren’t they?”

The last thing you want to do is to put down his friends. Imagine how you’d feel if he started slagging off your friends. A little bit like slapping him I imagine. It’s a bit like the boyfriend’s evil mother situation. Even if your boyfriend’s friends are a bit geeky/boring/rude/incredibly stupid, just deal with it. Again, try to get on with them, but if that’s just not do-able, at the end of the day, who cares? You’ve got your friends and he’s got his. Your relationship with your boyfriend is totally separate from that that he has with his friends.

8. “I’ll try anything once!”

Unless this is very true girls, don’t say it. You’ll only get his hopes up then let him down. And that’s just cruel isn’t it? It’s like him saying: “Yeah, I love shopping. Let’s go every Saturday!” when we all know that in actual fact, he’s lying and will only take all the fun out of the weekly Saturday daytime shopping trip. Enjoy your sex life and have as much fun, as you both want, whilst respecting each other’s boundaries. If you are actually a little bit kinky though, go for it!

9. “Your mate/dad/brother/hamster is really fit……”

Even if they are, don’t bother. He’ll only get paranoid. Just admire from afar ladies. A bit of eye candy on nights out/at family parties is never going to be a problem really is it? No one needs to know!

And for the biggy……..

10. “Aww… My ex……”

Whether you’re referring to your ex in a good or bad way, this is never the smartest of ideas. Your man will just wonder why you felt the need to bring your ex up and why you’re still thinking about him. If you must, think it in your head. Focus on your current relationship. Not the ghosts of the past. That way, eventually, you won’t even want to bring up your ex. It’ll be all about you and your current other half, and no one else – The way it should be.

Like I said, it’s not lying ladies. It’s just being careful and respecting your man and his feelings. Treat others as you wish to be treated, as they say.

Follow these ten rules, and you’ll soon be well on your way to the blissful, make-other-people-jealous relationship that we all deserve!

What to Wear on your First Date

People always like to be fashionable and appealing when first meeting someone new - which these days means you probably met them through online personals.

Dressing makes a you attractive or breaks you. Mostly during your Date, Improper dressing while meeting your date will surely break your future opportunities. You will always be in a dilemma on what dress you would like to wear for our First Date.

Lot of times you might have ran into problem with your date because you are over dressed. This is because you did not know what to wear for which venue. Yes, First Date Venue is one of the most critical factors that decide what to wear for your first Date. Let me walk-through on how you need to be dressed during your First date

Dinner Date

Most of us go for Dinner date with our beloved. Your dressing should depend on type of meal, whether lunch or dinner and the restaurant. You cannot wear casuals for a nice classy restaurant. You need to be dressed with a nice and clean suit. However if you are going for a fast food restaurant, you cannot be in a suit which will show you as over dressed. This will kill your date because no one likes your opposite to be overdressed.

Now let’s think about nice decent restaurant where we mostly schedule our first date. Wear a elegant shoes with a classy pants with a matching shirt. During your date Women tend to get first impression about their man by looking at their shoes. So make sure you have a nice pair of shoes.Keep it simple but classy. A classy shoe with clean pant with matching shirt is generally a safe choice for a Date.

Movie Date

If you had planned to go for a movie date, we men tend to over dress, this may be we are surrounded by a huge amount of women that go to movies, but remember you are already with someone, so there is no point to get over dressed just to impress other ladies. If you are a jeans, t-shirt guy, that is all you require for your first date. You can also wear a causal shirt and a matching pant is more acceptable. If you overdress for a movie, then there is a high expectation set in next dates. To see how much fashionable you are, a movie date will be best. So be honest in your clothing.

Night Club Date

If you want to have an unconventional first date, try out a Night club or a bar. It is an easy to choose a dress and it is unconventional place for the first date. Try to choose a trendy outfit or a nice suit that will impress your date. If you had planned to go to a bar, then you should avoid wearing awkward suits, just go in a casual shirt and jeans.

These are general ways of having great date and general guidelines on how can we be aware of certain fashion mistakes we do in first date. But everyone is different and they follow their won guidelines so be prepared for a successful first date.

Love, Dating and Long Distance Relationships

I hate long distance relationships.

They are almost always doomed from the beginning. The ones that do last are only because the couple makes a deliberate effort to see each other whenever possible and stay in daily communication.

Here is some handy tips / info when having a long distance relationship.

#1. You have to sincerely like / love the person. If you're not sure about them then you're just wasting your time and theirs.

#2. You have to trust them. This means no checking up on them, no being suspicious all the time, just let them be and trust that they are doing the same.

#3. You have to know yourself. Can you wait for love? Are you patient enough? If you're not the patient type then you are just fooling yourself.

#4. Are there any other barriers to the relationship apart from just distance? Watch for dealbreakers but also look to make compromises if you feel the relationship is worth it.

#5. When you are together focus on doing fun activities you both enjoy.

#6. Be virtuous. Don't be selfish, greedy or lazy. Let your lover bring out the best in you.

#7. Set a date time to call on the phone, use Skype, Google Phone or chat online. This is effectively the long distance version of dating.

#8. Write and send letters via snail mail. Send along small gifts and personal momentos.

#9. Don't try to buy the other person's affection by send them outrageously expensive gifts. They won't be impressed. A wooden locket you carved yourself is more meaningful than a gold one.

#10. Eventually you will want to make the trip to visit each other. Let it be a mutual decision.

#11. Offer to stay in a hotel upon visiting.

#12. Don't expect sex if its your very first meeting.

#13. Don't be pushy or overly dramatic. That is creepy. Avoid anything remotely creepy. Stick to being patient with a dose of humour and wit.

#14. Always leave the other person wanting more.

If you rush things in any relationship don't be surprised if it blows up in your face.

In the beginning...

This new blog, titled True Love Bites, will be dedicated towards dispensing relationship advice, often with some of my own past experiences used as examples.

In part this blog is also a sequel to my other blog The Male Brain at Work which focused both on relationships and also on the different / similar roles played by men and women in society and even dipped into topics surrounding sexuality, advertising and male dominated culture.

As a result I will be cutting back on how often I post on my old blog because any time I run into a relationship topic in my writing it will be posted here instead and the old blog will become more dedicated towards studying the social interactions / roles played by the warring / loving sexes.

True Love Bites will be focusing solely on relationships. Nothing else. I might mention sex in passing, but we won't go into great detail about it. It won't be censored out, but it will be left a bit blurry and vague. Got it?

As part of my first tasks for this blog I am going to write a fresh relationship article to get the ball rolling.

:)