My Deal Breakers- Julianne Eckhardt

Every woman, regardless of where’s she from or what she does, has deal breakers in dating. Individually, woman to woman, they vary, but there are some in particular for me that will get me running into stealth/do-not-anwser-his-phone-call mode. So men, listen up, these are a few of the cardinal sins of dating.

-Over talking: That is to say, interrupting the girl constantly. This is one of the worst crimes a man can commit. It may be that you felt only the exact moment when she was speaking could be utilized to blurt out something only you care about, but stop interrupting the girl! I always take this as a sign that a man is not only impatient, but he’s basically spelling out in clear black and white letters that he doesn’t care about my ideas. It doesn’t matter if she’s talking about which pair of manolo blahniks Carrie was wearing on a “Sex and the City” re-run, let her talk. If she’s that hard to not talk over, either you’re a jerk or you just aren’t interested. In either case, leave her and try to avoid talking to me.

-The self absorbed man: This is the guy who on your first date doesn’t have a single question to ask you about your life. Most likely, he didn’t hold the door open or compliment your calculatedly casual look either(so rude!). However, he seems to have more then enough energy to tell you about how his boss is crazy about him, how he loves his car but thinks he “just might upgrade that baby soon”, which sandwich he preferred for lunch, the list goes on forever. At first, it seems plausible to a woman’s reasoning that he’s nervous and wants to open up to you. You may, naively, try to be sensitive, but this will get very old, very fast. Ever heard the old Greek myth about Narcissus? It’s a bit like that, and this guy is perpetually falling into the proverbial pond.

-“Adjusting” himself in public/on a date: Alright, I admit that it is slightly possible there’s some kind of comfort issue that we women are not aware of, but how bad can it be? You’ve had them your whole life, surely you’ve become used to them by now, so stop touching them already. In fact, why don’t women start “adjusting” themselves in public? Even better, get your date in on it. Next time, say “Hey baby, do me a favor and pull up my bra strap won’t you? I just can’t reach that little adjuster thing-y in the back.” On second thought, guys probably would like that, but the point is, it’s gross and you aren’t Ron Jeremy, so knock it off.

I don’t mean to be overly harsh on men, but what’s the deal guys? Between the game playing and the machismo cover you all put up, a girl’s got to have some standards to stick to. So my advice to women out there is keep your standards up and keep your deal breakers intact.