But what is expected from a date? Travis was a bit shocked the other day because I went on a date one day and another one the next day. Well, how is this supposed to work then?

Online Dating: High expectations

So you agree to talk to this one guy, and you are going to communicate for a while until you meet. But it does not mean he is going to be the one. I mean, it is good to chat and all that, but one date is not going to tell me that he is the one! So I haven to hold my breath until I get to know the guy enough to decide whether there is something there or not…..

I have high expectations and this year -as I have previously mentioned- I am not going to settle for less than I want. Anyway, bad news, it turns out I already did that: I gave more credit to just one man who I thought was the one. I got hurt when he is probably laughing about the whole situation. So been there, done that, not going to happen again! I want to meet men, and I mean lots of them!

Why online dating?

Basically, because my career has a priority and it won’t let me leave my desk that often. Right now I don’t have anything better than to work on my computer, and when I take a break, it is to play a video game to release the stress, or I go for a walk on the beach so that I can get a dose a fresh air as well as a bit of exercise since I sit all day… and yes, I realize it is not really good, but I do use my treadmill while I watch a TV show.

Online Dating: Guys with wrong ideas I bumped into

But I am under the impression that if a guy wants to go on a date, he thinks that I am going to give up everything, and he is the only one getting my attention… wrong! Think it again.
Then, there are the ones who start emailing and I am fine. But I tend to get busy and I will usually email back apologizing for not having time to write back long emails, then I don’t hear from the guy ever… WTF.

Another case: I had one who chose to send me a text. It started with a question: why are you single? When I told HotFish, she said “I hate people who ask stupid questions”. Anyway, I decided to answer the best I could. And you know, I apparently did not do a good job because I never heard from the guy after that.

What I don’t understand: we are talking about guys who actually had to spend money to be able to email me… because this is how most dating sites work: you can express your interest for one person for free but to be able to actually contact them you have to pay. There are, of course, totally free dating sites but I don’t really go for free sites… though I am trying one I was just told about…

So why am I single anyway?

Anyway let’s go back to that text guy. I don’t think that kind of question should have been asked with a text message anyway. I love receiving text messages, but if we are going to have a deep meaningful conversation, please call me or let’s have coffee or even email me, but a text message??? How do you expect to know someone from a text message???

For your information, some of the reasons I can come up with as to why I am single: my boyfriend and I broke up a few years ago. We are still very good mates and talk to each other on a regular basis. After the breakup I have been traveling, went on a few dates as well and now I am back in Australia. I spend a lot of time in front of my computer because this is what I do for a living, so I do not go out much. Besides, there is not much to do on the Sunshine Coast unfortunately. So online dating and social networking for me is perfect at the moment.

Picture perfect

There are still people that are hiding their pictures, or not putting up any pictures and coming up with an excuse such as they don’t have one (I really do not buy that one excuse), or they go on with the fact that it is not about how a person looks… well, I will have to disagree on that. We are all attracted to the opposite sex for different reasons. It might be the way a guy smiles; it might be the color of the eyes or whatever else. Personally I like TALL and athletic guys. It is not that I like muscles; I just would like to be with someone that is exercising so that he can push me to exercise more. I would love to have a fitness buddy, even better if he plays tennis, someone who will go on a daily walk at the beach with me, that would be awesome. I do not want a couch potato who would rather watch TV, drink beer or just go fishing all the time! But there also has to be something else that I can pick up in a picture that will make me tick somehow…

So the quest for finding my perfect other half is going to be tough… And once again, it is not this year I will have a Valentine’s Day either LOL. But I am happy for the ones who will have a good one. Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody!

Well, believe it or not it is already February 2013! One whole month already gone, wow, time just flies when you are having fun… but am I having fun really?

2012 was hard to swallow…

End of year for me was dramatic. Now that I think about it, I guess the whole year was a bit dramatic. One minute I was a receptionist in a hotel in London and was dating this guy; the next minute, I was jobless (I quit) and out of the blue the guy I was dating ended up behind bars. I was just like: WTF?! I was literally in the street in the middle of London with a suitcase because we were supposed to go to Manchester when I got the text saying that it would not happen. Within 24 hours I was all packed and on my way back to Australia! As my good friend Strawberry – oops sorry I meant Andy said: ‘Pris, you never have a dull moment in your life!’

2013 looks promising instead

End of year is not really a big deal for me and as for each past year I am hoping the next will be better. But I guess hoping for better is not really good enough, and does not really mean much. So this year I am aiming for bigger and better. After all this year I am getting older, but not just older, it is the big 40 and not particularly happy about that. I know you are as old as you feel and I still feel in my early 30s, and sometimes I feel like I am still in my teens -especially when hanging out with my daughter and her friends. But in all seriousness, I really have to do something with myself.

Last year I decided to give up blogging for several reasons. Instead I have started my own consultancy: social media & reputation management, dynamic QR code marketing, web development and mobile marketing. It is all the things I really enjoy doing and been doing for years. Besides, I see so many people getting ripped off by those big companies that think that you are that stupid enough to pay $100s for something you are not even sure what it is all about (but, apparently, it is the best). Plus, I love looking after people, so I know I offer a top customer service. With me, you are not contacting a huge company, you are getting in touch with a real person who understands your needs and will do anything to fulfill them. A friendly and personal approach, plus very reasonable prices, those are my main strengths!

Back to blogging

Anyway, quite a few things happened last year. Some of them I did not want to talk about, and some others I am not sure I wanna talk about, and some of them I will definitely talk about and this going to be the funny and interesting part – well at least I hope it will be!
I have also met new people through my new venture and that is how I was dragged back in to blogging!!!! At this stage we are still talking about it, and it will be a work in progress as we have loads of ideas. But if it goes as planned it should be lots of fun.
It will mainly be about relationships and female versus male: The battle of the sexes is back on, and my opponent is actually my new business partner: Travis.

My profile sucks, really?

We will start by the infamous online dating because seriously, I do have to wonder what men are doing on dating sites! And knowing a few people on online dating sites, I hear quite a few funny and interesting stories. Anyway, I decided to re-open my online dating profile which I did back in 2008. I only added one picture -and did not touch anything, no Photoshop or strange business! I have another friend, the HotFish who just joined an online dating site and did an amazing job with her site: simple but straight to the point. And she told me my profile sucked and needed to be changed.

Meanwhile, I was talking about it with Travis and I realized all the challenges of men apparently not reading my profile. My profile started and ended by: looking for tall men only, 180 cm minimum, and aged between 38-45. And I still get the midgets, the teenagers and granddads sending me their interest! If they can’t read, please do not even bother me. Oh and guy with no pictures, not interested!

And Travis said to me that his ex-girlfriend ended up doing a check list, and she said that she would only consider someone if they would qualify for all the points on the list. He emailed me a copy of the list and I thought what a fantastic idea, it would be absolutely awesome as a profile. So I changed a few things and I came out with 34 points –I know, I sound high-maintenance LOL.
But it actually WORKED! The week I changed my profile, I got a lot of interest and actually two guys took the time to comment on all the points which I thought was amazing. And the moral of the story is… if you are not sure what you are looking for, you can keep looking, but you won’t find it, or at least you won’t realize you have found it already! Being specific, when it comes to dating, is a good thing, although there’s such a thing as TOO specific…

What to look forward

In case you are wondering, yes, I will post the list but I want to keep it in suspense for now and then there will be the outcome of it which so far is no good…

So I told Travis to do the same so we can see how women would react to a male’s list, and then we will be discussing it back and forth basically. But in all honesty, I think women are as bad as men… at least, when it comes to online dating!

We have more surprises for this year: we plan to do video blogging, but that will come later, so hold your breath… For now we are just going to start by blogging about the male species and the women species. I promise it will be funny and controversial, and from my side, I’ll do everything possible to prove that women are better than men, although I’m not sure if I’ll succeed!

Who is the most beautiful Woman: Bar Refaeli or Angelina Jolie

Bar Refaeli is considered by many the most beautiful woman on earth. Or is it just because she has boobs???

‘Women hate me because I’m beautiful’ says Samantha Brick

First of all, before going into my topic, let me share with you something that horrified me because I simply need to get it out of my system. I started to watch ‘60 minutes’ on TV last night, because I was horrified at what I was hearing.

Apparently, there was this boyfriend or husband, who kills his wife/girlfriend in a fit of rage, and then he blames the victim -who is dead- to wiggle out of justice. That is called the Provocation Defense.

By saying that his wife/girlfriend was looking for it by nagging or cheating etc., that is all the excuse he needs to get his murder charge reduced to manslaughter and to receive a much lighter sentence instead of spending the rest of his life in prison. One guy who killed his wife got out of prison after only 3 years and eleven months! I can’t begin to understand how a jury can even think it is right. Nothing a woman does could possibly justify these abuses!

Ok, so the TV was on, I was feeling empathy for these poor women, and all of a sudden, I was feeling something different. Because then came on the story about “trophy wives”, which in fact was about Samantha Brick –for those of you who are unfamiliar with her, she is a writer, producer, and journalist. I remembered her name because she made it to the newspaper when I was in London, and back then I thought it was funny how she thought of herself as a beautiful woman.

Granted, beauty is most likely on the inside. But Samantha Brick seems to think she is beautiful on the inside and outside! And so she goes on and on that other women are jealous of her good looks.

Catherine Zeta Jones or Samantha Brick?

Sorry, but I had to laugh! Gosh, I wish I had that much confidence to say “I’m beautiful”, and even though I seemed to have quite some success with the male species, I would not dare think I am the most beautiful woman on this Earth. Nope, sorry, I still think that title goes to Angelina Jolie, followed by Megan Fox and countless of other women I think are really beautiful.

I like to peer on women and admire them occasionally when one deserves to be admired. There is nothing to be jealous of… OK, maybe just a little envy… I wish I could have Madonna’s arms! I wish I had Mylene Farmer’s cute butt… But Samantha Brick… she does not even have nice teeth, and I am not sure what curves she was talking about as she is as flat as an iron board! I could show her what curves are…

Alyssa Milano or Samantha Brick?

And she is happily married -or so she says- with a French man who records her weight! If she gains weight she loses her clothes allowance: WTF! All she does is cook his meals, a five course meal for lunch. For a minute I thought “wow, she must be a chef, at least I can admire something in her” but she did not elaborate on what the five course meal consisted of. But what I did picked up from the show was that one was a plate of cheese and ham, and another was a plate of charcuterie, and there was a salad… so it does not look like a much elaborated meal to cook. I wonder what kind of arrangements they have with sex…

To me, Samantha Brick’s marriage sounded more like those old people that marry young Philippine’s women.

I mean, yes, we women often get judged by how we look, and of course the better you look you might get better chances for some things, but it can also be a curse. Good on Samantha Brick to feel so good about herself and brag about it, but I think this is what others would hate: the arrogance. Just don’t say you are beautiful, Sam, because I don’t think you are!

MyleneFarmer or Samantha Brick?

And if I could give Samantha Brick the credit for the confidence to show what she believes, after listening to her I think she is just a plain dumb blond. But on the other hand, I’m pretty sure there are plenty of men who are looking for trophy wives. And I don’t think it has to do with beauty though. It is about power, and owning someone. And suddenly, it all seemed pretty clear to me that abused women have more in common with trophy wives than I had thought before.

In both cases, they stand next to men that don’t appreciate them for what they are truly worth. One kind of man hits and physically hurts women. The other kind of man exhibits them as if they were a personal property. They are treating their women as if they were not people, just ornaments. They dress them up, they wine and dine them only for people to notice how powerful a man can be if he is next to such a gorgeous chick… From my point of view, a trophy wife is, in some way, being mentally abused.

Angelina Jolie or Samantha Brick?

Ok, so women like Samantha Brick seem so proud of themselves in that position. Of course, we can think that this is all a mechanism of defense because of low self-esteem. If you are nothing but a trophy wife, how much can you think you are worth? If you need to convince yourself that you are beautiful –when it is so damn obvious that you are not- and that other women envy you, it is probably because you are feeling miserable on the inside.

While physically abused women end up beaten, hurt bad or even dead, mentally abused women (and here I’d like to include trophy wives because of what I had previously established) end up dead on the inside. If you don’t love yourself for what you truly are, then you have nothing. No matter how much jewelry you have, no matter how expensive your clothes are. So in the end, I’m feeling sympathy for poor ugly Samantha Brick…

What do you think? Are trophy wives mistreated in some way? Is it true that arrogance hides a low self-esteem?

With over 30 million copies sold in more than 30 countries, what started as an independent publication on a small Australian editorial has turned into a sales record which has even outnumbered Harry Potter. E. L. James, the British author that created the passionate story between young innocent Ana Steele and handsome rich Christian Grey, is now one of the most influential people in the world, according to Time Magazine.

This won’t be an article about the money the book is moving, though, but about the book itself.

• Is Fifty Shades of Grey really that good?

• Why does Fifty Shades of Grey attract so many readers (especially female readers)?

They are two very different questions and thus they deserve two different answers. One at the time, let’s see…

Is Fifty Shades of Grey ‘fifty shades of great’?

 The reviews the books have received have been black or white –surprisingly, no grays! Either you love the novel, or you hate it. Of course, Fifty Shades of Grey is not meant to be read by someone with a close mind, or too prude so as to feel intimidated by an explicit description of sex between two consenting adults. In fact, when I read the book, I was wondering if I would read something stronger (or more shocking) than I had already read in Bukowski or Marquis de Sade. In case you are wondering, no, I didn’t. The limits are quite unambiguous, so as to relieve those readers who are not quite sure if they should go on…

Ok, it’s a book that has lots of sex, without being pornographic. After all, it remains a love story. And may I say, a classic one: girl falls in love with the wrong kind of guy, she wonders if she can change so as not to loose him, she tries her best and in the meantime, she explores physical pleasure until she eventually realizes she can’t go further and she can’t change him either… This is only the first book of a trilogy (so far), but I don’t think it will get any more original.

Sex scenes aside, is the book actually worth reading? I found the prose quite simple, and even annoying. E. L. James repeats herself several times –sometimes word by word, if I have to read once more “Don’t bite your lip” I swear… The descriptions of yummy handsome Christian reminded me of those in Twilight –saga that the author admits played a big influence on her writing style and her decision to publish. The election of wasted metaphors, the poor choice of comparisons, the constant references to Ana’s Inner Goddess and the invariable use of the word ‘cock’ as a verb (is this supposed to be suggestive for Heavens sake?) got me really tired pretty quickly.

On the other hand, there are some readers who claim they could not put the book down. I must agree with Prisqua’s review here when she says she lingered on the book for several weeks –and by the time she finished her review, she wasn’t done with it yet. I made a real effort to finish it. It took me about ten days or so.

I am with Prisqua one more time: the book is not meant to be literature, but a light entertainment. It didn’t do that for me either, as I was quite bored and I really wanted to punch Anastasia hard in the face sometimes, not to give her pleasure but to shut her up! Well, at this point I must admit I didn’t like the book. I think we started with the wrong foot, because Fifty Shades of Grey explores what it’s supposed to be an all girl fantasy: seducing a rich, powerful man and the truth is, in my particular case, money intimidates me more than it drags me. I would have never fallen for Grey in the first time, not even before reading the contract, so I never really felt any sympathy for the main character, who exposes herself so much only for being with such an asshole (an asshole with a dark, sad childhood is still an asshole!).

Fifty Shades Of Grey On iTunes

The why so many readers love Fifty Shades Of Grey?

 If you base yourself on my first answer, you couldn’t understand why so many readers are responsible for the amazing word to mouth advertising campaign Fifty Shades of Grey got. If you hear so many people talking about the book, you have to see it for yourself! I mean, this is how I got to pay for a book I didn’t like in the first time. Who am I to judge anyone else who has read it?

Without being a good writer, E. L. James is a great salesperson! She discovered an unexplored market niche, and she made a fortune by doing what she likes. She’s not the first to do so, she won’t be the last. Good for her, then! She’s not harming anyone, and she doesn’t pretend to win a Nobel Prize.

The main target audience is housewives between 35 and 55 years of age. Some of these women have probably never dared to open an erotic book before, but now they were able to discreetly download this one in their ereaders. Some say the book has spiced up their love lives –good for them, then! Again, I’m not against people reading Fifty Shades of Grey, I only advice them to read other books which are better –even kinkier if that’s what you dig!

How I got hooked on Fifty Shades Of Grey

One morning I decided to work in the dining room while my roommate was watching the TV. I was kinda half listening when I heard people talking and raving about a book called Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James. Maybe it was for the purpose of that show, but all I heard were good comments about it. My New iPad handy by my side, I decided to check out the book on iTunes. It was probably the first time I had opened iBooks on my New iPad, I found the title right away and I downloaded the sample, which lets me read the first 98 pages of the book which is way enough to get me into the story.

Not only am I happy about founding that awesome feature on my New iPad, I also found the pleasure of reading again, and that has been on my to-do list for ever and therefore it is part of my “What Next” plan. I often browse iTunes to check out the new titles and for weeks now I have seen Fifty Shades of Grey being number one in the “Top Paid Books” category. There might be a lot of bad critics about the book, but the numbers speak for themselves!

Here I am reading and getting acquainted with the main character, with a smile on my face because her name is Anastasia and my step-daughter’s name is Anastasia too and both happens to be clumsy. The heroine falls in love with Mr. Christian Grey. My step-daughter’s boyfriend name is… you guessed it: Christian! How freaky is that?

But the resemblance stops there (and may I add, thanks God, because there would be too much information about my step-daughter I wouldn’t really know how to handle…). In fact, as I carried on reading Fifty Shades Of Grey and figured what it is all about, my face dropped and I try to completely wipe the image of my step-daughter and her boyfriend, especially at a time where her mother and her father are having reservation about the boyfriend because they don’t know him really and planning to go and work overseas for a while!

Fifty Shades Of Grey: First impressions

Some readers say the book is “unputdownable”. I would not push it that far, after all, I started quite a few weeks ago and I still have not finished the first book. Of course, the subject of the book (sex, especially if it’s kinky) attracts readers. Fifty Shades Of Grey is not porn, although it is specific and very sexual. And nothing to do with the fact that I am once again in a long distance relationship and the fact the book is extremely sexual, nope! It was more like curiosity.

Being on Second Life, where you can be whoever or whatever you want, the Dominant and Submissive behavior is not a phenomenon; it is a thing that people do all the time because they can’t do it in real life for whatever reasons. The book shows you nothing as bad as what I have seen on Second Life, such as women walking on a leash like dogs. The submissive has to ask her master, the Dominant, if she can speak. I always thought it was strange, and really not my cup of tea. But then again I have never met a Dominant for a boyfriend and I am not sure how I would take it either. Seriously, this is not something that ever crossed my mind. Until Fifty Shades Of Grey…

Is THIS what Christian Grey looks like? Photofit reveals the face of Fifty Shades of Grey’s fantasy man (and he has Patrick Dempsey’s eyes and Brad Pitt’s jaw) Click on picture to go to article.

Fifty Shades Of Grey: Refuting the critics

As I said before, Fifty Shades Of Grey has received some nasty reviews, and now I’d like to refute some of them. It may not be the perfect book, but I think some people may get unfair prejudices just by reading some reviews. First of all, I am not an expert writer but like everybody else I noticed the repetitions and some forced comparisons and metaphors, but that was not enough for me not to read the book. Fifty Shades of Grey is definitely not a literature book, and that’s probably why I don’t feel like reading it in the morning while having my coffee. Hey, I’d much rather read the 4-hour work week book! LOL

On a different note, I have seen Twilight, my daughter absolutely loves the movies and although I have not read the books and I’m basing my opinion only on seeing the movies, let me just say I don’t understand why is it being compared to Fifty Shades of Grey. Or is it just the love part? One is about Werewolves and Vampires and the other is about Dominants and their submissive?

And, by the way, why is it so hard to believe that a woman in her early 20s can still be a virgin? Believe it or not I have met quite a few, and I think good for them.

Fifty Shades of Grey Pros and Cons

To sum up, and to help you decide whether you wish to read Fifty Shades of Grey or should you skip it despite all the fuss, here is a list of pros and cons I find on this novel.

Fifty Shades Of Grey Pros:

• It is a fun, easily readable story which will keep you entertained.
• If you are a woman, you’ll probably like the main character: who wouldn’t? He’s sexy, rich, exotic, and full of dark secrets.
• If you are a man, you may learn a few tricks you can take into the bedroom and your girlfriend may appreciate.
• It’s long enough to last several days, but not to make you bored.
• It has some suspense, some humor, and lots of sex.
• Everyone’s talking about it, so you may have a nice piece of conversation.

Fifty Shades Of Grey Cons:

• Sometimes the female character can be irritating, as she’s so naïve!
• The prose is not the best: E. L. James repeats herself quite a bit.
• Despite featuring kinky sex, there’s really nothing absolutely new in the book.

I have read books before that I just could not put down. This wasn’t my case with Fifty Shades of Grey in particular. People are saying so though, and when I stopped to watch the TV the women were saying too they could not put it down, that’s why it sparked my curiosity on top of needing something to read. Well, so Fifty Shades Of Grey is not one of them, but I still would recommend it (for open minded people, of course, as the sexual reference might not be for everyone’s taste).

How about you? Have you read Fifty Shades of Grey? Would you like to read it?

Shop for Fifty Shades of Grey on Amazon

Fifty Shades Of Grey on iTunes