Dating 101 based upon my experience:
Call too soon = desperate
Call too late = irritating and disinterested
Thus, the “Two-Day Rule”. It all depends when you get the number.
Saturday Number = Call Monday
Friday Number = Call Sunday night
Thursday Number = Call Sunday night. The extra day is allowed because you don’t want to call people on Saturday to set up dates. Never call on a Friday or Saturday. It just looks bad.
When calling, I usually ask what she likes to do for fun. Then, I ask for a date on the following Friday or Saturday night. It’s her choice unless I already have plans for one of those nights. If she can’t do that, then I might opt for a weeknight, lunch, coffee, or the following weekend.
If you get voice mail when you call, leave a SHORT message WITH YOUR NUMBER in the message. “Hi, this is Bearflag70, and I’m calling to see if you’d like to go out sometime. Give me a call if you want. My number is 555-1212. Bye.” If she doesn’t call back within three to five days, call back with the same message prefaced with “I don’t know if you got my last message…” If she doesn’t call after that, drop it.
When coversing, if I don’t have a preconcieved idea of what to do on the date, I tell her the entertainment portion of the newspaper comes out on Thursday and that I’ll call her Thursday afternoon or evening with a plan and to get directions to her place to pick her up.
On Thursday, I look at the paper and come up with one or two fun things to do. Picking one is better because it shows you’re decisive. If you really don’t know much about her and find two possible activities, then let her pick from the two. Don’t give more than two choices because you then look too indecisive.
Avoid movies on the first two or three dates. They are a waste of time. Typically, the goal is to get to know someone and whether you want to continue dating. You can’t do this while sitting silently in a movie for 50% of your date.
Remember, the other person has lived a life before the date, has varied interests (hoperfully), has goals, works or goes to school, has a family, friends, maybe roommates, has beliefs, pets, hobbies, experiences, maybe travels, etc., and so do you. There should be enough to talk about for a couple dates without running too dry.
After the first date, ask if she wants to go out again. If yes, a brief hug should do, with a statement that you had fun, thanks for coming out, and a statement that you will call her.
If your first date was a Friday or Saturday date, call Sunday and thank her for going out. Ask her out again. Repeat.
