I believe I’ve spoken about maintaining individuality and spending time away from your partner, however, I can’t help but wonder that even when I’ve been in a relationship for half a year now, will I be able to pass the test of distance?
It’ll just be four days. I’ll be going off on a *political* road trip (part of media on a campaign caravan of a senatorial candidate), which means I’ll be on the road without my partner beside me and I’ll be doing my own thing. It’s a bit unsettling since, for the past few months, I’ve grown used to …read more

It got me thinking — having experienced being left to wonder on the whereabouts of a former partner, er, to say the least — just how much one person can keep personal affairs, er, private. Is it even a common practice? You, as the other half of a whole, are allowed to NOT disclose certain things you consider too personal to share — even to your partner.
I don’t want to sound like the clingy girlfriend here but hear me out on a theory.
I do sometimes prefer that I know where my man is. Two reasons: one, just to know …read more

I’m not referring to you going into a relationship with a co-worker, rather, I’m talking about dealing with work schedules that don’t seem to jive and how they affect relationships.
For some, it’s an easy answer — you’ll see each other on the weekends. But what these people may have overlooked is the possibility of other couples having more than one job AND if one or both are still living with their parents [in the Philippines, it's quite common for single individuals to co-habit with immediate families and only separate when they marry].
I, for one, am holding two jobs right now. …read more

In every relationship, I reckon one of the things you have to do as a couple is to find a common ground where you practice or apply leveled expectations. Arguments usually arise when one or both parties refuse to move to accommodate the other’s needs. Er, well — among other things.
Here’s what I think.
There are some key things that we need to concern ourselves to find a solution to any problem. One of them is to find a way to compromise.
Communicate. I’ve said it before. Communication between two people is important. You have to find a way to establish the …read more

So, tell me —
Are women master manipulators in relationships?
Curious thought, I must say.
I was talking to a co-worker of mine about this quote I shared when she told me that it’s true. She does believe that women, by nature, have the ability to manipulate a situation to turn in their favour. I have to admit, to hear a married woman say that, surprised me. Then I’m caused to ponder on the thought some more and I realised that I, too, was guilty of being a “manipulator” at some point in my past relationship — the bitchy kind at that. …read more

Personally, I admit that knowing the guy knows what I want without me saying it is sweet and romantic but I also know I have to, sometimes, be practical about setting my expectations. I have to accept the fact that he simply can’t know something that I haven’t told him and I can’t rely on innuedoes or fly-by comments.
I heard it said before that men do stress over knowing what their girlfriends want. Oftentimes, they’d assume certain expectations that could possibly harm the state of the relationship. They’d beat themselves up for being inadequate without the knowledge of their partner …read more

Fresh from watching Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey’s movie, Failure to Launch, I write about the topic of getting the approval of your partner’s friends. Parker’s character, Paula, called it “The Nod”, which basically is referring to the literal nodding of the friends. It can be interpreted to them saying that their friend whom she’s dating has made a good decision in going out with her, which then caused her to assume that he’s on the road to falling for her and the possibility for the relationship to grow serious is much higher.
Let me explain it further in …read more

There are situations in dating that I make use of Defence Mechanisms that sometimes it feels so normal. This thought prodded me to do a little research on the matter so I can better understand my attitude towards relationships, which I feel is one of the important things I should look at as I continue on my trek in the Dating Sphere.
Here’s what I’ve found. Ack. It’s Psych 101. Hehehe.
Freud’s Defence Mechanisms include:
Denial
claiming or believing that what is true to be actually false
Displacement
redirecting emotions to a substitute target
Intellectualization
taking an objective viewpoint
Projection
attributing uncomfortable feelings to others
Rationalization
creating false but credible justifications
Reaction Formation
overacting …read more