1-2-3-4 United States Marine Corps

Two quotes have come to mind while lying awake in bed:

"Sometimes theres bad days, and even bad years, when this happens, just go back to the basics".

"God was here before the Marine Corps, so you can give your heart to Jesus, but your ASS belongs to the Corps".

I remember from bootcamp when we first started PTing (Physical Training), they told us they had to break us down first, by doing insane amounts of physical exercises, so they can build us up.

My heart over the past year, bad year, has been destroyed. It has been completely broken, shattered in pieces. Ive been feeling sorry for myself as of late, allowing myself to be hurt because of this. But Im missing the blessing in disguise... Im being rebuilt, stronger, better, with more refined and wiser love to give. My heart has been given to Jesus this time, with the Marine Corps permission of course, my foundation is set in the Rock, not a human, not a woman.

It sucks to have to hurt like this, it sucks to be wronged and hurt by someone, and all you can do is get over it... But theres growth in this, though it is tough, I will be stronger in the end, for my next significant other, for my wife, for myself.

So, going back to the basics again, Im broken down, but the pieces are being assembled with a love that I cant even comprehend.

Dating 111 - The First Date Prep (Part 2)

Once again inspired by the world around me, I bring to you part two of my four part series on Dating.

So last time we talked, which was almost a year ago, we went over some basic approach and hygiene techniques when asking a girl out. This next portion focuses on what to do from here.

Ok, we've got the digits (and for you white people, that means "phone number") now what? Ok first you must abide by the "2-day rule". The 2-day rule simply states that upon receiving a girls (or guys) phone number you must wait a minimum of 2 full days before calling her. There are good reasons for this rule, which I will explain:

If you call in the same night you receive her number, you are basically saying "Hi, Im horny and just want sex, Oh, and I may stalk you!"

If you call within the first 2 days, you are showing signs of desperateness, which is completely unattractive.

Now you must be careful not to wait to long, interests will die down if you procrastinate on the phone call, also, you can come across as cocky or even playeresque, which is not good.

Ok, so now that we understand the 2-day rule, lets talk about the call. This is crucial. You must have the following things worked out Prior to the call.

1. What you are going to say.
2. Where you are going to go on your date.
3 Your exit strategy (how you plan on ending the conversation)
4. A message to leave in the event her voice mail picks up.

Ok, nothing is more creepy than a first date caller calling more than once to get a hold of you. If she does not answer the phone, you must leave a voicemail and leave it at that. Do NOT keep calling, once again, that is very creepy.

Now, dependant upon your interpersonal skills, you might not want to engage in a long conversation on the first phone call. First dates can be pretty stressful, so save some of the easy questions for the date (School/Job info, crap like that).

When deciding what to do on the first date, heres a few helpful tid-bits.

No dinner and a movie. How lame, you want to do something where you and your date can engage in good conversation. No point in spending money on a movie if your date sucks. I went on a date a year or two ago with this chick, lets call her Mary. Took her out for coffee, it was the worst date ever. She was so lame, and an athiest at that. Now, theres nothing wrong with athiests, there just not what I want in a significant other. So anywho, moral of the story is, for the price of one cup of coffee, I was able to determine that this date was going nowhere, not to bad.

So yeah, I reccomend a comphy little place where talking is easy, nothing loud like a concert. Once this is all hammered out, its time for the big date, which will be discussed at length, in the 3rd part of my 4 part series on dating. Good luck to all you new daters out there!