Lets face at times dating is not fun, you really do have to kiss a slew frogs to find your prince or at the very least a decent jester. As you travel the fast-paced world of internet dating, you will come to realize it is a jungle out there.
The problem is, what if you cannot get rid of Mr. Frog, he keeps calling, emailing, text messaging you on your cell. Next, you are doing some food shopping, which can be an intimate act if you know what I mean, mysteriously the frogman is walking towards you and he is staring at your melons - in the basket. He offers some lame story about meeting a friend, the alarm goes off - stalker. What do you do now?
Do not find yourself in that position, you need to be preemptive in your frog kissing. So, before you jump on the Lilly pad of internet dating, prepare yourself for war. If you are going to place, an ad on one of the many dating sites like Eharmony or Match be wise young tadpole.
When you are filling out the online profile, put up one picture - remember photos can be copied and manipulated. Do not put down your real zip code, put a zip code a few towns over, no one has to know your exact town.
The frogs are all in tow, they are emailing you and you are ready to respond, do NOT answer with your regular email, go to Yahoo or Hush Mail and get one with no identifiers. I tell my clients, use one email for each response you want to answer, this way if you want to stop communicating with Mr. Frog you delete the email.
You and the frog have been emailing and now it is time to chat, set up a Yahoo messenger in a matter of moments and you are chatting away. A little internet advice some people are not what they claim to be, even in the dating world, buyer beware. Be cautious of questions you answer, do not share information quickly, do not tell them where you work, or names of your children. Internet relationships are as quick to end, as they were to start, why give all the info now, save some chatter for dinner, if it gets that far.
The frog does not seem half-bad and you want to hear his voice, do not give out your home phone number or call him from your home or cell phone. Go to CVS or Rite Aid and pick up a cheap prepaid cell phone, for under twenty-five dollars you can have a phone with any area code you want, registered to Minnie Mouse. If he turns out to be a lunatic, freak or commie, change the cell number in a matter of five minutes. By using the cell phone, you avoid an unnecessary headaches with the frog calling you back.
It’s the big day and you are heading out to Starbucks or miniature golf with the frog. Be smart meet him there, if you are cautious don’t let him see you getting out of your car. Don’t let him walk you back to the car, he could get your license plate number and find where you live. Is this cautious, sure, but what do you really know about this person? The truth is you are one in many as he is to you, so why show your poker hand.
The first date went really well, frogman let you win at golf and he picked up the lunch tab at Subway’s - big spender, however, you enjoyed yourself and that is what matters. Your not safe yet, just because he poured on the Romeo act, you know nothing about him, there is more to learn.
The warning signs of frog love, if he does not tell you where he lives, he is not being cautious, he is probably married. If he only meets you at particular times in particular places, he is most likely married. If his emails and text messages are at the same times everyday, he is perhaps married. If you think or feel that he s married, guess what he probably is married.
Some tips on frog love.
He gives you a phone number, the first thing you want to do is determine if it is a landline or cell, go to localcallingguide.com pop in the area code and exchange, the site will tell you if it is Tmobile, Verizon, ATT and so on. If he told you it was his home number, however, it is a cell or if the number comes up as a prepaid phone - danger, red lights, alarm, he either is a broke ass or does not want to be traced.
Email, there is no one-way of identifying an email, most are free, Yahoo, Google, Hush, and on. One way of getting information is dropping the last part of the address @yahoo or @google. Run the first part of the name through AltaVista, Google, Yahoo, Webcrawler and other search engines. You will be surprised at what can come up.
Another great tool is Zabasearch; put Fred Frog in to the search line and his address will come up, unless he has been living under a rock for the past five years. Some times dates of birth show up, what he’s not 35, he is 45 - lousy SOB! What’s great about Zaba is phone numbers come up, if you find one give it a ringy dingy.
Online you also have the free phone number and address reversals; you can find that at Superpages.com. You can check to see if the frogman gave you a home address, bar or mail drop. You also might find a phone, dial away, I say.
Another great site for information is Melissadata.com, on the top of the page click lookups. This site has amazing tools; just check it out, too much for me to list.
There are many real-estate sites popping up, Trulia.com and Zilo.com to name a few. Sometimes it has photo of the house, list values, last sold, etc. definitely worth your while to check out.
Last tip, however, important, check the sex registry in your area and see if the frog is listed.
Good luck,
Frank M. Ahearn
