I did some research and here are some Halloween events for singles around the U.S.  I hope you find something fun near you.

*Halloween Party Extravaganza for Singles (Couples welcome, too)
When: Friday, October 23, 2009 8pm-12am
Where: Hilton Concord Hotel, 1970 Diamond Blvd., Concord, CA
Click here to find ticket information

*Halloween 2009 Singles Party
When: Halloween, October 31, 2009 starts at 9pm
Where: The Watering Hole, 106 East 19th, New York, NY
Click here for more information

*Singles Halloween Dance
When: Halloween, October 31, 2009, starts at 8pm
Where: Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort, 5401 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ
Click here for more information

*40+ Singles Halloween Friday Happy Hour
When: October 30, 2009, 6-8pm
Where: Proof Nite Club, 7800 East Hampden Avenue, Denver, CO
Click here for more information

*Spooky Singles Halloween Party
When: Halloween, October 31, 2009, 7-10pm
For more information about this event, take a look at the Saint Louis Singles Meetup Group website.

Image credit: Sexy Costumes.com

Post from: Blisstree

Halloween Fun For Singles

Unfortunately, there are quite a few mistakes people unknowingly make that could be keeping them from true love….or at least a movie date.

Are you having trouble meeting someone?  Then, take a look at this list and see if you are making one or more of these mistakes. Many of them are things we’ve talked about here before. Basically the point is this – make an effort. Comb your hair, get out of your house, and make eye contact. 

*You expect true love to find it’s way to your door. It’s a wonderful idea, but it’s probably never going to happen. Get out of your house.  Go shopping. Join a club. Arrange to meet some friends. 

*When you do go out, don’t travel with a crowd. It’s easier to approach someone if there’s less chance of public embarrassment in front of a group. 

*You are shy. Get over it. I bet that if I took a poll I’d find that more than half the women I ask would identify themselves as shy. It’s not fun to approach a stranger. Taking a chance is terrifying, but what do you have to lose? 

*You favor comfort and the natural look…at all times. Make an effort. It’s so simple, but when you look your best, you actually feel better.

*You live by The Rules. Take a chance. Be bold. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.  Failure is a temporary thing. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in the game.

Meeting people, so much of it comes down to chance and circumstance. It’s up to you to allow yourself the opportunity to take advantage of both.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

Still Single?

The way it works is this – 1 night, 8 dates that last 8 minutes a piece.  You sit down, you chat for the allotted time, then you move to the next person. You do this 8 times. If both parties express an interest in each other, then 8MinuteDating provides contact information. They guarantee that you will meet someone that you’d like to date again or your next event is free.

Here’s a rundown of some of their dating odds:
*98% of the daters have fun at the event.
*90% say they’ve met someone that they’d like to see again.
*60% of the time it’s mutual and leads to a second date.

Think about your recent dating history. Those odds don’t sound too bad to me, plus you get practice, which makes this a great idea for the single who has been out of circulation for awhile.

What you get at an 8minuteDating event:

1. A fast, fun, safe and comfortable way to meet people.
2. A room full of eligible singles who want to meet someone like you.
3. An enjoyable evening of conversation.
4. 8 great dates in 1 fun night.
5. Time to meet anyone who catches your eye during the mix and mingle periods.
6. Complimentary appetizers and a chance to win extra prizes (at most events).
7. Our Guarantee: Meet someone you want to see again or your next event is free!
8. Maybe… the love of your life.

Take a look at the 8MinuteDating website for more information and event locations. Good luck!

Image credit: Sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

8MinuteDating – Speed Dating Service

Only one in three of the first messages sent by members of dating site OKCupid.com ever get a response (sorry guys, the rate is only 27 per cent for you).

According to dating experts, this is because people don’t realize that the same rules of engagement apply on the Internet. The team at OKCupid recently pored over 500,000 first messages sent by the site’s members and tracked response rates. If you’re striking out, it may be because you’re committing one of these sins.

The sins are as follows….

* Your first response focuses too much on how attractive you find a person’s photo. Instead of calling someone “sexy” or “beautiful,” mention how “cool” you find it that you share their interest in hiking.  Comments that are “personality-based” are shown to get a much higher response rate.

* Using “netspeak.” Communicate using full words, not any sort of chat-type shorthand. Make sure that your message is clear and free from typos or spelling errors. without knowing you personally, a lot of weight is put on your message and if you look careless in one area, it will be assumed that you are careless in others, as well.

* Your opening title simply says “hello.”  Responses such as “how’s it going” or “what’s up” get higher responses because they are written as a question, an invitation.  Give someone an opening and they will feel much more comfortable contacting you.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

Online Daters, Avoid These Mistakes

You know what you need to do if you want to fit a man into your life?  You fit him into your life. You decide that a relationship is what you want and you pursue it. You make time and you get over the idea that his success can’t measure up to your own. Honey, somebody somewhere is always going to more successful than you are. Get over it. It’s like that saying about putting your pants on one leg at a time – we are all only human. You do not rule The World, even though you may rule Your World.

But her seven-days-a-week workday begins at 7 a.m., and the e-mailing and problem-solving can go on until as late as 10 p.m., not to mention the evenings she’s out at business events or traveling to visit clients in Toronto, Washington and other cities…Not surprisingly, she adds, “I end up canceling dates a lot.” Once, when Ptacin had rescheduled a get-together for the fourth time via text message, the man picked up the phone and “really went off on me,” she says. “He asked if we were ever going to go out or if he should just move on.” She let him move on.

No kidding. He was wise to move on. If this woman has no time to date, how is she ever going to have time to carry on a long-term relationship, a marriage, or raise a family? She won’t. You can’t have it all. You can have a lot or enough, but something has to give somewhere.  Expecting the world the revolve around you and your schedule is selfish and ridiculous. 

I don’t care if you are male or female – what good is success if you have no one to share it with? 

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

Female Executives and Dating

At Events and Adventures we have a different philosophy – Create a naturally fun environment, where you can relax and be yourself along with 20 or 30 other singles who also are there to have fun.  When you are relaxed, having fun, and NOT comparing marriage resumes, it is WAY easier to find someone worth dating.  Sounds counter intuitive, but its true.  And you get to have a great time in the process.

Most former dating service members who join E&A say they meet more new friends at their first event than they met in all the time they belonged to a dating service.

New clubs are opening and there are events planned for the Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Long Island, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville,  Phoenix, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Seattle, Silicon Valley, South Bay, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, and Washington DC areas.

Events include cultural outings, comedy night, jet skiing, hiking, billiards, wine tasting, and world travel. Some of the adventure trips that members have taken include visits to places like Australia, Peru – Machu Picchu, Costa Rica, and China.

I wish that there was a club closer to me, because although I’m not single, I think this also sounds like a great way to make new friends and get out of the house. (I seriously need to get out of the house).

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

Events and Adventures For Singles

Leave your baggage at the door. Guys are happy to help out their girlfriends with emotional issues. But if the baggage becomes apparent too early in the relationship, then a guy will probably bail. Also, baggage causes people to put pressure on or damage a relationship, so it may be doomed from the outset.
 

Why is assumed that women are the only ones with baggage?  Nobody gets to adulthood without a bag or two.  I have issues, I admit it. It’s the people who say they don’t have issues that I worry about.

I knew someone who would question my motives and the things that I said, frequently seeing some other meaning in my words.  I’m not a perfect communicator, but I’m not a  double-talker either. When I say something, I mean what I say. I’m not using it as secret code for something altogether different. You know what I think was happening here?  I think that sometimes this person had that baggage up around his ears and it kept him from hearing me correctly.
 
Here’s a peek into my personal baggage – I worry all men will cheat on me. This baggage comes courtesy of a few cheaters. (Thanks, guys.)  In reality, I know that men are not all cheaters. I know that many of them have self control, but baggage is not about being smart or realistic. It’s about carting around something heavy that slows you down and possibly holds you back.
 
The trick is to recognize your personal baggage and refuse to pick it up. Start fresh. You might think that the baggage contains important lessons learned, but really it’s stuffed full of  prejudice.

Leave that bag of prejudice behind. Walk free, feel lighter. When you met someone new,  don’t  judge that new person based on the experiences you had with the last joker who wasted your time.

Image credit: Sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Leave the Nasty Baggage Behind

*Go forth with confidence. It’s the fake-it-till-you-make-it school of thought.

Santos says, “Men are taught that confidence solves just about anything. You can be making a total mistake, but as long as you’re confident, it will turn out okay. This may explain why we are so clueless at what we are doing in bed, but we act like we know.”

*A little self-control is not a bad thing. Have a glass of wine, but I don’t care how they are portrayed in romantic-comedies, a sloppy drunk girl is not cute.

Santos says, “Getting too tipsy on a date is a turnoff. Some people turn into a completely different person when they are drunk. Let the other person learn about you while you’re sober… Alcohol should be introduced into the relationship slowly…”

*He really does like the natural look. My daughter was telling me that her new boyfriend doens’t want her to wear makeup. They all say this and I think that they like the idea that their girl is a natural beauty, but we ladies can feel more confident with a little makeup. The trick is to keep it light and subtle.

Santos says, “Seems like as time goes by, makeup makes like the earth and erodes and changes with weathering. There is nothing more ghastly than makeup run amuck in the morning after spending the night together.”

*Men think women are crazy. I could take offense at this one, but I’m going to give men a break here. It’s not just women – humans are crazy. The trick is the find the crazy that you can stand to live with.

Santos says, “Once I accepted that women were ‘crazy’ (many older guys had insisted they were for years), it seemed to take a huge load of pressure off me. No longer was I trying to rationalize moves that women made that got me into crazy analysis cycles. When I just throw it all out the window and dismiss it as ‘crazy,’ it makes it easier to deal.”

*Yes, commitment does scare him. Here’s where I think women differ – we take a man and we make him somehow fit with our ideal. We stick him into a box where maybe he doesn’t fit so well. Men are the opposite, they wonder about the possibilities and question how they will recognize The One when she arrives.

Santos says, “Commitment means that I’ve decided that the woman I’m settling down with is perfect and there is no one else out there for me. Commitment means I’ve found my soul mate, that I am completely secure with myself, and that there should be no going back. I don’t know about you, but all of that is pretty heavy.”

Check out the rest of Rich Santo’s 20 Secrets Men Keep here.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

The Mystery That is Man, 5 Quick Insights

*They already have “Millions of members”

*They offer scientific compatibility testing

*They screen members for martial status

*They screen members for prior criminal activity (Felons need not apply. They are serious. They run members through a US Criminal Database before allowing them to contact other members).

We require that members provide their legal first and last name, as well as their date of birth (they must also certify that the information they provide is correct). We also resubmit a member for screening if he or she attempts to communicate with another member and it has been more than 90 days since the last screening.

We turn away tens of thousands of felons, sex offenders and marrieds who, despite our warnings, try to communicate with our TRUE members. At TRUE, we take our members’ safety seriously. We don’t want felons , sex offenders or marrieds on our website, period.

True has an online magazine called True U that offers advice on dating and romantic relationships. It’s staffed with “…internationally recognized psychologists, award-winning writers and experienced relationship experts.” 

It’s free to register at True. I think you have to pay at some point, because the bottom of the “home” page has a list of credit card icons, but it’s hard to find out for sure without setting up a membership account.   

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

Dating Service Endorsed by Psychology Today

There’s an article at More.com that tells you, “How Not To Act Old With a Younger Man.”  It was written by humorist Pamela Redmond Satran, author of the book, “How Not To Act Old.”  My man is older than me (by about 10 months), but I figure acting a bit younger can’t hurt, right? 

Here’s a rundown of Satran’s advice:

*You aren’t his mom, so cool it with the advice. This could be very challenging for women our age. We are used to throwing our 2 cents into……..well, everything. We are wise, what can we say? Still, skip it. Let him figure it out on his own, unless he asks for help. (Which he probably won’t – doesn’t matter the age, men are all stubborn).

*In addition to the no-advice rule, don’t mother him in any other way. No mothering. I mean it. He’s already got somebody for that.

*Don’t make joke-references to your age. I do this with my girlfriends sometimes. For example, today I told a girlfriend that my jawline has gone a bit “blurry.” This joke is girls only.

*Take care of business below the belt. Update your both your underwear and your bikini line habits.

*Relax. Be yourself. If he compliments you, say “thank you,” and move on. You deserve praise, accept it gracefully.

Image credit: Barnes and Noble.com

Post from: Blisstree

How To Act With A Younger Man