No more excuses: Dating resources for you to steal!

11/18/2015 The Charmer 5 Comments

How is the BYU dating scene these days?

I have a very single and very eligible brother at BYU who refuses to date. In fact, I've been battling with him and his dateless dating life for years now. I even wrote him a book to help him become a dating pro, but still nothing. If he ever goes on a date it's because the girl asked him out. [Go gutsy girls!]

When I ask him why he's not dating, he tells me "I don't have any money" or "I don't have any date ideas." Excuses, excuses! Still, I suppose that his reasons do have some merit.
So, for him and for you, I've decided to address what I think may be two of the main culprits keeping you from going on dates.

  1. "I don't have any money."
I know that dating can become an expensive endeavor. Sure, you can take a date to the duck pond, but you can only feed ducks so many times before you've got to buy some more bread. The truth is that when it comes to dating, eventually you're going to need to spend a little money. As a discount-lover myself, I think it's perfectly acceptable to use a coupon or some other form of discount on dates. After all, I think there's a difference between being "cheap" and "resourceful."
So,  I suggested to my brother that he check out Groupon, since they used to always be my go to resource when I was in charge of planning dates. (Yes, believe it or not, I would occasionally be the one to do the asking…)The fantastic news is that Groupon actually just launched a new website for those of you who are really thrifty called Groupon Coupons. Groupon Coupons is a huge collection of coupons, discount codes, and deals in one place and you don't have to pay anything to use them like you do with traditional Groupons. They've got deals on groceries, travel, and clothes...but more importantly, you can use them for your dating purposes! I looked around and found some great restaurant deals, like free appetizers at Olive Garden. (Please, non-daters of Provo, tell me you're okay with free?) Also, I found a ton of coupons for Charming Charlie, which is dangerous! This just happens to be one of my favorite stores, and not only because it has the word "charming" in it. ;)

  1. "I don't have any date ideas."
Actually, when coming from my brother this is a lame excuse because I wrote him a whole freakin' book that had an entire chapter on date ideas!! However, if you don't have your own personalized dating book to consult, luckily for you the author of the "Date Ben" blog has recently put together a list of 31 inexpensive and creative date ideas. These date ideas were all tested by her brother in a 31-day period and they proved to be successful. Some of them, like going on an escape adventure at The Escape Key, sound absolutely fabulous and I must confess that a part of me wishes I was in Provo to give them a try.

Let me know what you think of the ideas or if you find any sweet deals on the Groupon coupons website! I have amassed quite a collection of creative (and often quirky) date ideas and would be willing to share them if you find yourself still at a loss.

And remember ladies…if the boys aren't asking you, don't be afraid to step up and ask them for a change. Women like you may be the only things keeping people like my brother socially afloat. 

xoxo,

The Charmer

5 comments:

The Charmer's New Writing Adventure

11/03/2015 The Charmer 4 Comments

I'm curious: If you could assign each one of the Austens a name (just a regular, ordinary English name), what would it be?

Actually, it's not just mere curiosity. I do have a purpose for my random inquiry.

You may have heard of National Novel Writing Month, more commonly known as NaNoWriMo. Basically, every November, a whole bunch of ambitious writers commit to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in a month. Sounds crazy, right? Crazy...but also fantastic! I think I first heard about NaNoWriMo 10 years ago and thought, Wow, I should give that a try! But at the time, I was an overscheduled high school student, busy with exams and piano lessons and running hurdles and whatever the heck I occupied my time with back then. Every year I thought about giving it a shot. Unfortunately, as time went on the Novembers only get busier. Soon those AP classes turned into college courses, and on top of that I had both a part-time job and a part-time dating life.

Long story short...10 years of potential novels never happened.

Until now.

I decided to suck it up and signed up for NaNoWriMo a few weeks ago. Crazy? Maybe. Exciting? Surprisingly so. I decided to go for it, and the one novel idea (hahaha...did you catch my pun) that has attached itself to my brain is the story of the Anti-Austen blog. Mind you, what I'm working on is a fictional account, which means in the end the characters and their storylines may have little resemblance to real life. But...really,who knows. Right now, this novel is still lying around in fragmented chunks and ideas.

Before this novel can take on a life of its own, however, my characters need names. Something besides "Charmer" and "Lady", which is really the only way I can think of them in my head.

So, tell me...when you think of each of the Anti-Austens, what do you imagine their real names might be?

-The Charmer

PS- I'd also love to know which of the Austen's "storylines" have been your favorite. Was there a particular boy you adored? A boy you loved to hate? Maybe they'll make it into the final product. ;)

4 comments: