Single girl no more..

So here's an update for you all.... I am in a relationship... that sounds rather mature doesn't it. Basically, I am currently no longer the single girl about the city (well at least for now anyways)....

I, myself, am not even sure how this came about. I mean, yes, I was on Tinder. But as we all know, no one ever really expects to meet anyone they actually like on Tinder. Maybe a date here or there, or even a cheeky kiss... but never anything more than that. Well, ladies and gentleman.... surprise, surprise - the darn thing actually works. I am now a Tinder statistic. That's right.. I met the boyfriend on Tinder.

We had been messaging for about 2 weeks before deciding that a date was now clearly in order. So
pushing aside any ''Tinder'' assumptions that we may have already had, we bit the bullet and arranged said date....

The night started of quite promising with drinks at The Observatory Bar - (a sophisticated bar situated on 52nd floor of a Dubai Marina Hotel that showcases panoramic views of the Dubai Marina). However, at some point through the night (when we were both clearly influenced by the alcohol) we decided that our next stop should be the Tecom club-  Rock Bottoms (think dark club, pool tables, old school music and extremely drunken banter from whoever you bump into) .. and so we dived right in and took to playing drinking games whilst gulping down Rock Bottom's famous cocktail - Bullfrogs. Needless to say... I was well and truly drunk.

 

A drunken kiss was shared and we bid our goodnights (extremely drunken good nights), but we did leave the night at that. I woke the next day to feel like I was quite literally dying, the date had been my first drinking experience since completing my ''Dry January'' and now my body was definitely feeling the shock of alcohol running through its system again. It seems the same went for the boy. Therefore we agreed that a hangover day of movies and junk food was required. Obviously.

 

So that was the start of it. We met up later that week and there on continued with our weekly dates... until we made it to official ''relationship'' status. O yes, we all know that moment... the awkward ''are we boyfriend/ girlfriend?'' moment. Someone.... sooner or later will bring it up... and o my... doesn't it just make you feel like you're twelve years old all over again. Still super cute though when that moment comes.

 

That's about it in regards to the update of my new relationship status. I have a boyfriend. We are a few months in now and so I am  over the shock of giving up my single status so...yes, currently I am very much enjoying being with someone again. Aww.

 

Anyway. That's as far as I have to say on this for the moment. But.....on a slightly side note - how fun is it dating in Dubai?!! By the way....this is a rhetorical question, because I already know the answer and the answer is BAGS OF FUN.   I am literally already planning a blog post dedicated  to writing up a list of the top dates to try in Dubai as there is just so much to do.... so watch this space.

 

x o x o 

Tinder Loving

 

In case you don't know...  Tinder is a new ''dating'' app that seems to be taking the world by storm.

Yes. A dating app. Sounds dodgy... I know, BUT it is actually well worth a peek... and even more surprisingly Tinder is rather addictive

To those of you that haven't yet been ''Tindered''..... let me introduce you to the Tinder way...

Lets get straight to the point of it, Tinder is based purely on looks....  it literally lets you decide whether you fancy someone or not by just looking at a few of their piccies...

AND...more importantly, ALL likes are completely confidential, so no one will ever know if you have liked them UNLESS if you have both liked each other... which then makes you a MATCH

If you MATCH with someone, then CONGRATULATIONS.... you like the look of them and they like the look of you... and so Tinder now allows you both to message each other on the online app

The idea here is that you start chatting to your match...and hopefully begin to find out more about them as a person. Its then up to you if you arrange a meet.

...and that's it. That is Tinder.... it really is as simple as that.....

HOW TO SET UP TINDER.....

1. Download ''Tinder'' from your app store on your smart phone

 

2.Open up ''Tinder'' and sign in with your Facebook account details

(don't worry this DOES NOT show up on your Facebook... so thankfully all your family and friends will not be made aware that your having a perv on all the single people in your area!)

3.Click the options menu to find.....
a. Recommendations    
b. Matchmaker   
c .Profile    
d. Settings    
e. Invite Friends

  4. First things first... get your Profile set up...

 5. Now to establish your Settings options...

                   

6. Return to options menu.... you are set up and ready to start using Tinder!

         7. Click ''Recommendations''

This is where the fun begins.... You will now be shown a photo of a potential ''person of interest'' within your area, with this, you will also see their name and their age.


IF you think that you are interested in this person... then you can actually click on their photo.. which will then allow you to see their ''bit about me'', your shared interests on Facebook, if you have any shared friends on Facebook... and more importantly other photos that they may have added...

After you have had enough time to consider this persons pictures.... Return to the main page, by clicking DONE. Finally... it is time for the all important decision making moment... are they buff or are they rough?!

1. Buff... (I want you) = click the green heart
2. Rough... (Hell noooo) = click the red X


That person of interest has now been dealt with in whatever way you chose fit, and now your next potential's photo will appear.... This will continue on and on until you have had enough of looking for suitors at that particular time...


YOU HAVE A MATCH !
 

Just as you are searching through potential profiles.... people will also be searching through yours. So.... when you have liked someone, and they have also liked you.... then Tinder will notify you of your new match....

Now the question is simply... who will message who first?

O... and FYI.... you can have multiple matches... so go ahead.... have a peek... have a flirt... and get going on some dates... why the hell not?

....ps. If when you start chatting away... the potential in question appears to be a complete nutter... then simply all you have to do is BLOCK them

Also... lets remember this is an online app. You don't actually know the people. So if you do get to the point of meeting up... be sensible. Tell someone where your going and meet in a public place.

With all that said... go get yourselves Tindered

x o x o

Cheaters.

I am well aware that no matter where you live... there, unfortunately, will always be people who cheat on their partners... and Dubai is no different.

Lets face it... you would either have to be..... completely unsociable or ridiculously naïve to be living in Dubai and NOT notice how un- shamefully unfaithful people are here, and its not just the men... plenty of women are playing just as bad!

I am seriously starting to consider that the sun is quite possibly affecting people's brain waves.... Its like holiday vibes or something.... people just get a little loose don't they?

Anyway... after spending the past year and a half as a singleton in Dubai.... I have noticed/ realised and quite possibly stumbled upon some significant factors as to why so many people cheat here....

FYI people.. these are possible reasons but are certainly not excuses... ::

• Making Friends...  In efforts to make new friends, expats obviously have to, and also, want to go out a lot more..... quite simply because this increases their opportunities to meet like minded people in their new country! However, with the continuous meeting of new friends.... also comes the meeting of A LOT more... flirting temptations..

• Non stop party. Dubai offers an endless array of bars, pubs, nightclubs and even day time drinking..... and this isn't even just on weekends! EVERY day and night of the week, expats are tempted into unlimited offers available for them to party in venues that are packed out. The result? More partying... more mingling...and even more temptations thrown their way..

• Cashing in. Its fair to say that expats have said goodbye to non- drinking designated drivers and having to watch the pennies on nights out! It doesn't take a genius to understand why Dubai expats are drinking so much more... they pay next to nothing for taxis to and from venues, get free drinks and/or fantastic drinking offers when in the venues AND they have extra money to spend on even more drink from earning their tax free wages. To sum it up... its extremely easy for expats to get extremely wasted in Dubai, and lets be honest... we have all heard the  ''I was drunk'' excuse...

• Experiencing life. Most expats have a sense of independence...(hence the traveling and ultimately moving abroad). Wanting to experience as much as they can, some expats literally excuse themselves to do whatever they like and they genuinely take the approach of ''fuck it... I'm doing this... its a memory, a laugh, a story.. I only get one life'' etc etc. Basically they excuse their bad morals for life experiences. Which yes, I am sure plenty of people have made bad choices when wanting to branch out and experience new life opportunities (I being one of them), however I hardly agree that cheating is one of these moments...

• Loyalty.  With new found friends, some expats do not have the loyalty or even at times the courage.. to tell new friends that a partner has been caught cheating. And so... regrettably,  if people feel they can get away with it... sometimes that's the only excuse they need to go ahead and cheat..

So yeh... just a few points made there as to why I think so much cheating occurs in Dubai.

Ultimately though, I think if someone is a cheater.... then they will be cheater regardless of where they live or whatever opportunities they may or may not have.

Perhaps... its just some people may have found themselves cheating since moving to Dubai....  because they have always had it in them... but never had the opportunity... and now they literally have all the opportunity they need and just can't resist saying no anymore.

I don't know.... but I do think that all this nonsense of cheating and the amount it goes on Dubai is quite concerning .... HOWEVER,  just as I know that I could never cheat on someone, I have to believe that there are still good men about...

Put it this way.... in ANY relationship, people will always worry about someone not being faithful...  but that is the risk we all have to take when it comes to falling in love..... and I think its worth the risk - you never know, you may find that someone special

x o x o

Men. Sometimes a girl just needs one.

 

This ones for all the single ladies out there...   ''Men. Sometimes a girl just needs one.''

Honestly... being a single, self respecting woman now a days is just not as easy as it seems... and I am certainly being put to the test at the moment.

Admittedly... we have all had our ''casual'' flings and bit of  ''fun'' over the years....which is all fine and dandy...

....and then ''supposedly'' we all go on to meet the love of our lives and settle down, leaving our naughty single ways behind us.

But what happens to those of us who find ourselves single again after broken relationships... ? Do we take to our ''casual'' flings again? And if so, well... when does the ''fun'' become too much?

I am a little bit torn with this concept at the moment...

You see,  after being completely monogamous for 4 years... getting used to single life again definitely took some getting used to. Yes, I was the one who broke away, but I still needed my time...and so after an added good few months.. I was just coming round to the idea of being with other men again. Coincidentally this was about the time when I moved back to Dubai, last year in May 2012.

Needless to say... after emigrating to the warm temperatures of Dubai, moving into my own apartment and meeting lots of other singletons.... well... I was soon feeling very at ease with my new single life. In fact - I was darn right loving it.

However, as 2013 rolled in, I was ready for something more than just ''fun.''  I had enjoyed my ''single'' time.. and more importantly given myself time to be by myself and feel like ''me'' again. Therefore, I said goodbye to some gorgeous men in my life and promised myself no more ''casual'' flings or ''fun''' until I met someone who I actually had feelings for.. I wanted some romance again..

Problem with that great idea... is that... I currently find myself still single.... ultimately meaning that I have now been extremely well behaved for most of this year ...

And to top if off... these gorgeous men that I said goodbye to... are still trying to provoke me into some more single fun... which in all honesty has left me at the point of feeling that I cannot resist much longer....

In fact I haven't resisted. opps.

Actually, not ''opps''..... because I quite frankly do not feel bad about this in any way whatsoever! Basically... what happened is that after some rather unexpected but damn good bit of weekend fun... I have quickly been awoken to the realization that yes...I am single....I am 25 years old ......and  YES....of course I should be having fun...

 

.....Just everything has its boundaries!

I can still have my self respect, but there is absolutely no need for me to be acting like I am joining a nunnery while I am single.

So its got me thinking....

One of my good friends out here has a ''friend with benefits'' .... and rather superbly.... she has aptly named him....  ''Hero'' for reasons being obvious... he's the best sex that she has ever had....and therefore her ''Hero.''  (I know its brilliant.. it makes me laugh every time that she says ''I saw Hero last night'').  Anyhoo.... they have had the ''relationship'' talk and he doesn't want one. Yes, she would have liked more with him but she is perfectly fine with  them also just keeping things ''casual'' because she now knows where she stands with him and at the end of the day.. they are having an amazing time with each other.  In the mean time, she's not doing this with anyone else... but she is obviously single and still going on dates and when the time comes when she sees something happening romantically with another guy then of course she will stop her ''fun'' with ''Hero''.

Basically... the bonus of having a ''friend with benefits'' is of course.... you get your ''fun'' pretty much on call whenever you want it.

...BUT.... from a woman's point of view.... its more than that. We can, by all means go out to a bar and quite easily take someone home with us... however my problem with that... and most other self respecting women's problem with that is the sheer fact that as much as you may be wanting to fulfill certain needs..... at the end of the day doing this on a regular basis and ultimately sleeping with numerous strangers is just not respectful of ourselves. Yes, most people I know have had their random fun... as realistically ... we all have basic needs and wants and if your being safe then yes... the occasional wild night is nothing to be ashamed of in the great scheme of things....

HOWEVER... The truth of the matter is, that us ladies... see more sense in having one regular partner than a string of one night stands... and when we cant find that one regular partner in a committed relationship that we call our boyfriend... then yes...in simple terms...most of us single ladies do appreciate having a ''friend with benefits.''

So I guess I have come to the conclusion and what I am trying to say to all my single ladies is... stop worrying so much about having some ''fun'' and just do what sits right with you and your own self respect. At the end of the day,  what's wrong with two consenting adults getting it on? And when it is good.. then I really don't see the harm in that carrying on as long as you both know where your feelings lie.

So..be safe....and enjoy...

x o x o