Doesn’t matter. His MIL is sick. Give him time, he’ll get wood with twickster. The hug is an excellent sign. 
I’d be offended, but you’re right. 19, for the record.
Oh, good Og, tell me you’re kidding. No, wait, I know you’re not, because you’ve already said this. Well, given the responses in this thread, with any luck I’ll find a girl who feels the same way, because they obviously exist. Then again, given my luck in this area…
Well, I’m 52, and I think games are for assholes, but that’s just me. Obviously. :rolleyes:
I’m 30, and I’m squarely behind Captain Carrot on this one. Games can go hang.
Damn, I’m 45 and I’m just now getting it. I wish I knew about this stuff when I was 18. It would have saved me a lot of anguish.
Knowing that it’s a game that I can learn to play suddenly makes dating fun.
Well, hold on a second. Let’s define “games.” I think there exists a disconnect here.
I’m not talking about shit like telling someone to call you when you’re not going to answer. I’m not talking about dating multiple people while stringing everyone along. I’m also not talking about lying to someone for your benefit.
These types of games are “head games” and are played by dishonest assholes.
The games to which I’m referring are subtle things like not e-mailing the next day. Or not showing your hand prematurely. Keep feelings mysterious for a short while and let them naturally progress. Other guy things like knowing not to bring a woman a single red rose on the first date, knowing how to dress, being chivalrous, paying for the meal on the first date without discussing it. These are games; especially paying for the meal. You’ll find out a whole lot about a woman in that instant. If you don’t think that’s a volley, well…
It can be fun – I enjoyed dating different women, especially in my 20s. Got my heart broken a couple times, broke a couple hearts. Learned a lot.
I hate next morning thank you emails. Here’s the response I’d like to use:
Excellent point. Well played.
It’s not about how to hurt people. It’s about gaming the genetics to make two people very happy.
I suffered a lot of hurt in my past because I figured that my failures were some intangible and unfixable flaw in my being. I was wrong for dating. I was a bad person.
As it turns out, I was just unfamiliar with the terrain. I didn’t know the subtle clues that told me how I was doing. And I couldn’t flip the switches to build attraction. I was all about “Uh, hey, uh, you wanna, like, go out or something? No? Oh, bummer. Wow, I’m a loser.”
So much more useful to be educated about how things work.
So, you spend a lot of time dating Mrs. Palm and her five daughters? 
No, how does that follow?
I’m just busting your balls. Had you actually sent that e-mail, I’m betting you wouldn’t have gotten “dude ur hawt” as a response.
Social filters serve a purpose.
Since my last post I went and grabbed some lunch. I made six new friends, had a nice cheery hello with the very sexy Julia, and had a nice little conversation with the unattainably hot Nicole. Julia and Nicole never used to say hi. They wouldn’t even look my way.
Having Game doesn’t mean pulling the wool over people’s eyes so you can rip them off. It’s about how life is one big-ass party. I’m the host, and you’re all invited. Tell your friends.
I should add that in my old way of thinking, I would have spent last night holed up in my apartment wondering why I wasn’t meeting any women, and bemoaning the the fact the “Women should just like me for who I am.” Instead, evil Adolph Hitler me was out, and getting hit on by girls half my age and ten times my beauty. And in the end, I walked away from them. Like “Hey, talk to me when you bring your cute friends over.”
Game. It’s what’s for breakfast.
On one hand, I sorta understand what you are saying about pressure and whatnot.
But on the other hand, this smells of overanalyzing things to the point of ridiculousness.
So you have a date with someone. And it was a pleasant enough affair. I don’t see how a two or three sentence email the following day is supposed to mess your shit all up. First of all, if you have the attitude that this is just a casual meeting between two acquaintances (and not a prelude to marriage or anything major), then why should you even be flattering yourself by thinking this email means anything more than “thanks for the free meal, bub”? Almost as bad as the starry-eyed git who thinks that just because a guy has sex with her, that means he’s IN LOVE, OMG!!!. Um, no.
Secondly, I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t take very long for me to figure out my level of interest for a person. One date (plus the conversations and/or emails leading up to the date) is more than enough time for me to know if this person has potential or not. If I have to think long and hard about it, then it’s probably not to be. If I like them after the first date and they send me a next-day email, that’s not going to cause me to not like them. If I don’t like them or I’m indifferent and they email me the next day, it’s not going to change anything either.
Yes, in a true “I like you and want to see you again” hug— contrasted with the “I’m hugging you now, but in five minutes I’m going to totally trash you in the post-date wrap-up interview” hug— your corneas should actually peel apart as you separate.
Twickster, I wish you the best. I don’t think you sounded desperate at all. But I just have to ask who else is entirely over this thread? 
Who bothers with that? Next day email is a green light to move ahead and ask for a second date. Maybe Emily Post sends thank you cards for lame, sparkless dates but I’m pretty sure most of us don’t…at least not after you set off your first stalker who misinterprets your friendly gesture.
The followup email is a direct query: “I had fun…did you?!”
Sometimes I feel that way. Other times its just sort of a wait-and-see thing.
Oh, I’m pretty much there. This is one of the snarkiest, nastiest threads I’ve seen in MPSIMS. 
I’ve been feeling fairly picked on, but didn’t want to wuss out and ask for it to be closed. Maybe I should.
Sure, and unfairly picked on as well.