Running out of date ideas? Tania, of AmO Life, has a list of some interesting romantic date ideas.

Among them, rent a boat and paddle out on a lake (may be more of a Spring/Summer activity), bellydancing, and crossing the nearest state line for an adventure (be sure you have your date’s permission for this one, if not, it might constitute kidnapping. I’m just sayin’…).

Can you think of something new and creative?  How about……. visiting a pet store? Especially if there’s something cute and and soft to pet. Who knows, might lead to some hand-holding later on.

Ceramics. Do men like those paint your own ceramic studios?  It would give you the excuse to talk again because you’ve got to go back and pick your stuff up later, right?

How about a cooking class?  As I’ve mentioned a few times before, cooking together is very sexy, plus there’s eating. I’ve heard that men do enjoy eating.

A train ride or ferry ride can be romantic. Riding to a destination leaves time to talk, look out the window, daydream together a bit.

What have you got?  Leave your ideas in the comments and maybe we can come up with a pretty nifty list.

Image credit: All Posters.com

Post from: Blisstree

New Ideas For A Romantic Date

A good friend of mine tips us on certain *romantic* places you can take you date to — with emphasis on putting an element of surprise in the plan. Of course, this only applies to singles who are currently staying or living in Manila, Philippines.

Markku Seguerra is a programmer-slash-photographer who is currently single and, quite possibly, in love. That’s probably why he’s able to write a post on five special and romantic places you can take your date to. He’s most likely wishing that he could take his lady friend (someone he’s crushing on) on the said date venues — surprise dates nonetheless.

Without further ado, let me list his suggested places:

1. Moomba (Mother Ignacia St. corner Roces Ave.)
2. Dencio’s (Ayala Heights, Balara)
3. Chocolate Kiss (Bahay ng Alumni, University of the Philippines, Diliman)
4. Starbuck’s (Tagaytay)
5. Boracay (Boracay Island, Philippines)

I recommend that you hop on over Markku’s blog at rebelpixel.com and check out his personal thoughts on these places.

Ladies, don’t you find it adorable that there are actually single guys out there as romantic as this guy is? I do.

Post from: Blisstree

Surprise Date Spot Ideas for Manila-based Singles

We all have our ideals when it comes to choosing a partner. We come up with a list either by superficial standards or by principles. I guess it will be tested once we face that moment whether we are going to choose the person who matches all but one trait, physical or personality, which we think weighs a lot. We then face a dilemma that basically asks, will you settle for anything or anyone less than your ideal?

A friend of mine is going through such a dilemma right now. She has found a guy who treats her right and is offering the kind of relationship she has always wanted — yes, there’s a HUGE “but” in that statement.

The guy is a couple of inches shorter than she is.

Whoops! Before anyone goes judgmental on my friend over here, consider the situation, first.

Romantically, I’d say I agree with most people that it’s a bit unfair to take that against the guy. He is, after all, a good guy and I know he will love and treat my friend well. However, ideally, it would look a lot less awkward for my friend who’s gorgeously tall and pretty to be with a guy who looks and is shorter by comparison.

She’s not totally against the idea of getting involved with him since his good qualities seem to overshadow this physical, er, shortcoming (again! me and my puns! sorry.. gah.). She’s just in a bind cuz I know what kind of thoughts are rushing through her mind as she tries to make the decision (it’s a “been there, done that” kind of thing, well, sort of..).

Anyway, I left her with these thoughts, though. Mine. Heh.

“I don’t want to see you get cornered into going into a relationship with someone who’s not truly deserving of you but if he makes you happy and I mean TRULY happy, as in HAPPY, HAPPY.. then he has my vote.”

I always believe in never settling for anything less — well, at least, eversince my sister told me that piece of wisdom, that is. Heehee.

I know it really wouldn’t matter if I say the right things (or the wrong ones for that matter), she’s the one who has to make the decision. But, humour me on this, if she was your friend, what kind of advice would you give her?

For now, I’m keeping my distance. I will not meddle in her affairs. No one should. But I will be here to support whatever decision she makes!

Post from: Blisstree

Dating Dilemma: He Falls Short

I’ve always thought that making my partner feel extra special on his birthday is a good way of reinforcing how I feel about him or how special he is to me. I’d always find a way to make it stand out from the other birthdays.

I recently celebrated my birthday. For the past three or four years, I’ve been making this day a *special day* for me but this is the first birthday I’ll be celebrating with a man in my life. We couldn’t really plan something big cuz we both had work the whole day.

What made that day special was when he did something, which really surprised me. A simple trip on the flyover, which I’ve never been on, that led to the International Airport. We just passed it, you see and I was telling a friend that I haven’t been on it. he apparently heard it then he made it look like we were just taking a different route home but it was simply to go back so we can take that flyover. Boy, was I surprised when he did it. I loved it!

That simple gesture made my birthday special.

So, I reckon you should do it, too. Come back and let me know how it goes!

Post from: Blisstree

Make the Birthday Special

It’s actually not a bad idea if you think of it. What do you really need in a site to find someone you can date anyway? Isn’t it all about finding a person whom you can connect with?

I’ve got to admit that I have gone on dates with people I met through sites like these — social networking sites, I mean. I can’t say it’s 100% better than online dating sites, it’s just another alternative to finding Mr. Right.

What I like about the dates I’ve gone to are the idea that I’m not “forced” to be romantic with them right away because all of these dates are of platonic nature, er, at least, on my part and that they are guys I’ve actually interacted with and find something in common through the sites.

I guess when I tried the online dating sites, I’m pressured by the idea that the guys expect me to go into dating and the whole she-bang straight away. I’m under the impression that the expectations are solely directed toward creating a romantic relationship. I may be at fault here but, hey, these sites aren’t called online dating sites for nothing, right?

Bottomline is perhaps if you’re not comfortable with the idea of meeting dates online, social networking sites are a good option for you. At the very least you’ll be meeting new friends you can simply hang out with if you’re not in the mood for dating just yet.

What do you think?

Post from: Blisstree

Dating and Social Networking

Courtship has been practiced in different countries, in various ways, for hundreds of years now. And one of the most romantic acts in my book is the old fashioned love letter on parchment.

People nowadays rely on getting hook ups in bars, clubs or wherever. The whole concept of “pursuit” has slowly becoming extinct. They call it “the chase” now and the goal isn’t really a commitment or a serious relationship but, er, something else. Faint are the traditions or practices, which usually accompanies courtship and that includes, writing love letters on parchment back and forth.

I loved the feeling when I first received a love letter back in highschool. What made it extra special was the fact that the sender was a guy I was crushing on at that time. It was sent under an unusual circumstance, which I really don’t want to get into but to cut it short, it didn’t end good. Ah, well — kids. LOL.

What really brought this on, though, is the memory of the last time I got a letter from a guy [I'm not entirely certain if it really was a love letter].

Holding the paper and seeing the inked hand-writing, caused a lump in my throat. Yea. It has to do something about feelings and stuff. Heh. But I had to approach it with a lighthearted demeanor simply because, like how it is traditionally, women aren’t suppose to make their affections known until the man has proven himself. Call me old fashion. Teehee.

Bottomline, though technology presents a lot of avenues for communication, like mobile calls or sms messaging or instant messaging, nothing beats love letters on parchment. It’s a lot more personal. You can be sure that the guy put in a considerable effort in producing such a letter — picture the scene in the movie, Kate & Leopold, wherein Hugh Jackman’s character wrote a letter of apology to Meg Ryan’s character. He used a quill! Wasn’t it romantic?

I’m simply refusing to accept that we’ve reached the end of the age for love letters. The idea makes me sad.

Your turn. How do you feel about sending and receiving love letters? Or do you just prefer hitting the send/receive button of your Outlook? Or perhaps you prefer brevity or mobility — and are more inclined towards instant or SMS messaging, respectively?

Post from: Blisstree

Where have all the love letters gone?

Is this a common practice between men and women?

I understand the need for a certain amount of privacy in relationships but how can you judge which “thing” you have to keep a secret? Won’t hiding things from your partner create a rift between the two of you?

Is the saying, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” applies to all relationships, may it be platonic or romantic?

What ever happened to trust? Honesty?

I know no one’s perfect so that’s carried over to their respective relationships but striving to be and have one is not a crime. A little frustrating but the noble effort will be rewarded in the long run. Or am I being too naive?

Personally, working towards achieving the ideal is a good way to go.

What about you guys? Where do you stand regarding this matter? Is it a long shot or is it do-able?

Post from: Blisstree

Questions on Keeping Secrets