Summer Dating

It's summertime, that time of the year when many people lust for a little hot weather fling and someone to share the beautiful days with. This got me thinking about what activities normally constitute a first date. As I was browsing the interwebs for some fabulous date ideas, I came across the website AskMen.com which I quickly identified to be an exact masculine replica of Cosmopolitan. They have little tidbits like "What your Watch Says About You," "Hairstyles Women Love," "Man Up Your Girl's Favorite Drink," and an article titled "Drinking in Saudi Arabia" about the measures one must undergo in order to get sloshed in the mostly dry country.

AskMen.com has list of "Top 10: First Date Ideas" and the list is surprisingly good. Well, I think it's good. This list is a compilation of first date ideas to get around the typical 'dinner and a movie' date which has garnered a reputation for being cliché and boring. Some of the ideas the site includes are visiting an aquarium (which I would like to do even by myself), attending a low-key music show (music definitely brings people together), golfing it up at a driving range (teaching or learning something new is a definite bonding agent), and hiking (which is my personal favorite).

Personally speaking, I think the dinner and a movie thing is WAY overrated, boring, and honestly pretty nerve-racking. I believe that spending quality time together doing something like an outdoorsy activity, visiting a new restaurant/bar, or exploring a new city creates more of a union between two people than an expensive dinner and sitting in the dark looking at a screen. I believe that experiencing something new together makes both of you vulnerable and with vulnerability comes reliance and with reliance comes trust and so on.

I do have a bone to pick with this list though (did you really think I found nothing to criticize?). When they talk about hiking, they say:

Exploring the great outdoors and getting some physical activity is a terrific first date idea, provided your date is up to the task. You need to check first to ensure that she's the outdoorsy type. A high-maintenance woman does not want to go on a hike (you know, that martini-sipping girl with the perfectly manicured nails probably isn't up for it) but for the cute surfer girl you met at the pub, it's perfect.

ATTENTION PLEASE. I love martinis and having my nails done. I am very girly, though I am not high maintenance and I love outdoorsy activities. In fact, my ideal date would be meeting for a light lunch somewhere, going on a hike or kayaking, finish up with another quick meal if the activity went well, then taking my butt home and passing out. Then maybe for the next date I'd like to get dressed up with my Louboutins on for a wine tasting. And I bet that "cute surfer girl" would not appreciate only being seen as masculine.

If I wrote a posting similar to his and said something like: A great date idea would be to visit a garden for a walk and talk. But be sure that your guy is not a huge fan of football and manly things because he wouldn't like to be around flowers. A sensitive looking guy you meet at a coffee shop would be a great pick for this date the author of the AskMen.com article sure would have something to say to me. I guess you can't take a website too seriously that has 'related links' under the article with the top suggestion being "How to get farther on the first date." I suppose this is the reaction when many men get a hold of our Cosmo.

I already told you my ideal first date (along with my lengthy rant). Tell me about yours!

Summer lovin'ly yours,

Pants

Images Via Google Images