1000 web dates an in-the-trenches view of dating and relationships today

7Dec/080

Talking Sex with an Ex

I'll admit it: I talked at length about sex with an ex, namely Behinder (the guy my friends say I am still in love with). I usually cringe when calling him an ex, because we only really dated for a couple of weeks, but whatever. Right? We dated. It was hot and heavy and surprisingly serious. He's an ex.

It started when I shared the comments of, interestingly enough, one of the same people who has been jeering me about still having feelings for the guy. "You need the sense fucked into you," he said. I might as well come up with a name for the guy, since I've mentioned him twice now. Er... yes. The Goblin, because it suits his personality well.

Goblin was harassing me about having hot and heavy sex talks with behinder on a semi-regular basis. Prompted by me? No, no, definitely not. Behinder would go out of his way to try and bring up past shared sexual experiences to gauge my reaction, or tease me with things he knew I found arousing. His coup de gras was getting me to masturbate after getting so excited that I couldn't help myself. Not in his presence mind you. Just online via chat. Of course, he was doing the same thing.

Was it wrong? It felt wrong, but oh-so-right at the same time. Later, much later, I found out that he was dating the STD nurse during this whole eight month long fiasco. She had no idea at the time what her boyfriend was doing with me, nor did she know of the overlap between us when they first met. Eventually she 'forgave him' his transgressions, because "nothing physical ever happened". Whatever helps you sleep at night, right?

When I found out about him having a girlfriend while seducing me yet again, I blew up. Wasn't pretty, but was drawn out. I felt betrayed in ways I couldn't describe - even more so than if we'd done the deed (again). Why? Because to me, the seduction was more intimate than any sexual encounter Behinder and I had shared - and we'd shared some intensely personal sessions. And so now, I won't talk sex with an ex - because I know now that (a) he's probably got someone else I don't know about, and (b) its so much more intimate for me to get in my head than get in my pants.

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6Jul/084

Moping

I haven't posted anything of late because there isn't anything to tell. I'm moping, miserable, and heartbroken, even if I was more delusional than anything to have thought that My Great Romance ended up being not much more than a notch on Behinder's ever-widening belt.

But as Goblin said to me the other day, Behinder is partially delusional too. He purposely led me on and deceived me, so really, its time to accept Behinder chose a sex doll over substance -- and move on.

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29Jun/083

Heartbroken

I hate using the word heartbroken, because it reminds me of some sort of emo-filled teen angst song. But right now, that's about how I feel.

Behinder has finally come clean with me. He's sorry for leading me on and acting seductively, he says because of his "emotional idiocy", he didn't think what it would do to me. But yes, he's been dating STD Nurse for eight months now, and he has no intention of changing that anytime soon.

So he not only purposefully hid this tidbit from me, but he went out of his way to tell me he was only casually dating instead of the "not casual" relationship he's having. She's even visited him here (they live three hours apart), and, lucky me, he decided to tell me that she "wears him out" when she visits. Tactless, yes, but I was blown away that he'd tolerate once-a-month sex, considering he's ended relationships in the past because he didn't get once-a-day sex.

Interestingly, he also shared that if they were not dating, its possible he'd pursue something with me again. Because there isn't any of sort incompatibility between us; just his own dumbass mistakes.

Supposedly he's telling STD Nurse his transgressions with me - namely, not telling her he was with me when he started fooling around with her, as well as his repeated attempts to get me to masturbate, because he "loved" getting me to that place so often. Also supposedly, STD Nurse doesn't care, because its "not physical".

Is anyone else buying the bullshit? I'm sure as hell not.

So I told Behinder today that he'd pulled one too many stunts with me. He leveraged both our relationship and our friendship so he could date this woman, a deceitful, manipulative "sweet" girl. I said I hoped the charade was all worth it, because he'd utterly humiliated me. He didn't deserve my love or friendship, even though he had both, unconditionally.

If anyone has some good 'purge-the-ex' ideas, I'm all ears. I've run into Behinder now twice in two days, and it sucks. Hugely. Although it might be fun to run into him when he's with the STD Nurse... I can think of a lot of things I'd love to tell her.

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28Jun/081

Updates on My Dates

Lots to share in a short time frame. Let's see how much I can cover!

The Farmer decided that he had to tell me he was going on a non-date with a woman he'd made out with before last Saturday night. The non-date (his words) were to occur at a pool with her in her bikini, which he assured me was a very good thing. Before I could ask why this was important information for him to share, he was gone. The next day, he tells me he was too sick from some sort of food poisoning to "do her again" in the morning, aka morning sex. He still was adamant it wasn't a date. Suddenly, he seemed to realize how inappropriate his rantings were, and mentioned he was doing a pretty good job of putting his foot in his mouth. I haven't bothered talking to him since.

A series of strange events with Better than Sex Guy has had me calling him at his request, and him not picking up or returning my calls, although when I ran into him on the street the other day (completely unawares it was him at first - he looks quite a bit older than his pics in person), he made me promise to call him again. So, I did, one last time, to invite him to the farmer's market. He ignored me, I went anyway, and lo and behold who do I run into as I'm leaving? Him, his son, and a very attractive young redhead, who waved and said hello to me while I tried to get Better than Sex Guy's attention. Somehow he never saw me, so I chatted briefly with the woman at his side. When I got home, I had an email from him stating his son's mom was in town, so this weekend was bad for him - but what's going on on Canada Day? Yeah, no.

Behinder and I have chatted a bit since the big fallout the other day, but nothing has been resolved. We even ran into each other on the street the next day; for some reason I'd chosen to get all dolled up before leaving the house, so as soon as he spotted me, he plastered a shit-eating grin all over his face. Still, I have to wonder about a man who extolls my virtues and amazingness, knows I've wanted him by my side for almost two years, yet pulls a little emo side story as an excuse why he can't date me anymore, and finds the fastest, quickest gal to casually start dating. *sigh*

So that's the sad state of my dating life right now: no dates with which to speak of. Just weird coincidences and behavior from a bunch of motley fools.

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26Jun/080

The Plot Thickens

Behinder finally admitted to me yesterday that he's been dating the woman I've dubbed the STD Nurse: the nurse-in-training he unceremoniously left me for, who in turn gave him a (luckily) innocuous STD.

I started the conversation with eight points I wanted to make:

  • I feel ashamed and foolish because of how you chose to interact with me.
  • You took the easy way out with this entire situation, the whole time (and continue to), and I am very angry with you for that.
  • I find this cycle of "sweet" yet manipulative/deceitful women to be abhorrent, and I am furious with you for continuing to make excuses for these women's behaviors.
  • You completely disregarded me as a supposed good friend.
  • We've been having intimate conversations/interactions, which, although not technically cheating are COMPLETELY inappropriate between two people where one is dating someone else.
  • Because of the last point, I'm now the kind of woman I never wanted to be - again - because of your poor judgment. I may not seem to be the most moral of women, but I do have a strict moral code that I refuse to break. I may not like STD Nurse's actions or behavior, but I would have NEVER encouraged or initiated anything had I known.
  • I feel you've placed higher value (based on your actions) for a relative stranger rather than one of your supposed closest friends, and being that you've said several times you'd never be friends with STD Nurse if you weren't having sex with her, this devalues our interactions.
  • Your excuse that "she was always around" when you were visiting your friends as an excuse to continue dating STD Nurse is ridiculous, and sounds like something more appropriate coming from a 14-year-old.

So he counters with, "you keep going back to it, yet you still never answer my question, which is , If you hadn't forgiven me for it, why still talk to me?" and I answered, yelling, "Because you told me to wait." (He did. Specifically, he'd assured me things would get better in a couple of months, and that I was worth the wait. A couple of hours later, he was bopping the STD Nurse).

And then I explain my definition of love, which is essentially to see the nasty in someone, and STILL care about them. I said that I realized I did, realized my errors, knew damn well that I was fucked up at the time, and was being patient, working on my own stuff. He counters with, "that is love to me too," to which I reply, "aha, so that's why you're running to poor STD Nurse's maligned side." He said nothing.

He then said that STD Nurse knew he flirts with me, and thinks its harmless. I explained that what we'd been doing was well beyond flirting, and he bloody well knows it. He agreed.

Then he tells me he obviously can't change my mind, to which I am puzzled. I ask, "I didn't realize changing my mind was the goal. What does that mean?" Him: "Well, you are pretty effectively negating everything I say. Which still doesn't account for the fact that I think differently than you do, and so events played out the way I thought they could best be done. I never claimed they were the right and true way, but the best I could do, with my inexperience dealing with emotional issues."

And THEN we get to the good stuff.

Him: And I don't want to hurt anyone. Which is why I thought it was over, that I hurt you too much to go back. it was something I couldn't bear. It was welcome to again interact with you, but I would never let myself go any farther.

Me: well duh, you are with someone else

Him: talking about right after the shit, but yes it carries to the present. I guess I am thanking you for allowing me back in your life, at least a little.

Me: But I still don't understand. What couldn't you bear?

Him: being with you with the fuck up I've been

Me: what, and I had no say in the matter?

Him: Over how I feel? No. But I didn't know you would be embarrassed, but I did detect some hostility there, so I let it lie. It didn't change our interactions.

Me: Had I known, it would have. I would have NEVER shared what I had.

Him: but I would have still, obviously

Me: would have, obviously.. but dammit, that's really not fair. Its not like you share that with your other friends. Its a level of intimacy usually shared between partners, and yet you're too guilty to go there, so you're essentially getting the best of both worlds. Its not fair to the person you are with, and its not fair to me.

Him: ...

Me: but its all moot, I guess. you obviously love this woman, and I'm obviously shit out of luck. so....

Him: and once again I must leave you to sleep, on that excellent note.

Me: That was excellent?

Him: that was sarcasm

*****
I'm so confused its not funny anymore.

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21Jun/084

Addicted to Chat

I've realized the past few nights that I don't really have much of a social life; most of my 'social' time is spent chatting with potential dates and/or friends online. So when everyone - very suddenly! - becomes unavailable to chat, I get a bit antsy. Not that I don't have a bajillion other things to do with my time. But I think perhaps I am addicted to chat.

And what isn't there to like? If a particular chat buddy is in any way literate, the instant gratification is hard to beat. Sure, online its pretty much impossible to create that heady chemistry that makes you swim with desire, but it can get pretty damn close. Ok, so the Ex from Hell was able to do it with me, but that relationship wasn't the healthiest of passions.

So when, two nights in a row, I found myself sans chat buddy, I felt a bit empty and unsure of what to do with myself. Yes I have a stack of fascinating books I've been meaning to devour, and I could quite easily play an hour or two of Final Fantasy 8, my new obsession. But I want to feel attractive, desired and intelligent right NOW! At midnight on a weeknight.

Usually Goblin and I feed our compulsive chat addictions nightly with either a debate about the merits and drawbacks of jumping the Behinder or a circular argument about why him and I aren't dating each other (answer: because I'm still stuck on the Behinder, obviously, and I know Goblin too well to put him in the potential rebound position).

Then there is the Farmer, where up until two days ago we'd been chatting for hours every morning and night about taboo topics such as ex's, diseases of the colon, friends with benefits, and the acceptability of being a carnivore. I've never even met the guy and I realize I miss our unpredictable sittings.

Of course there is the Behinder, with whom I usually shoot the shit with at least once a day depending on his work schedule. Yes, yes. We live mere meters from one another. And when we see each other, invariably one of us has a book or game to share with the other; me some literary smut like Nancy Friday's My Secret Garden, and him Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan. Behinder however is out of town visiting friends for six days, and although he's occasionally been online, I've chosen the route of space-giver due to our last conversation (And You Say Women Are Confusing?), as well as the fact that I have a sneaky suspicion that part of his visit is to meet up with one of the gals he left me for eight or so months ago. Still, as my sister informed and reminded me just yesterday, I love the guy. Truly, completely, unconditionally - and its obvious. I'm missing him more than the rest combined.

There's also an ex-gf who I'll just refer to as S; we talk once in a while late-night too, but she's now a single mom with a 2-year-old, so I don't see her online as often as I used to. S always gives me perspective while openly sharing her affection for me . S is great for the ego - and yet another reason why I'm so addicted to chat.

I think I'll take a chat break this weekend. More hiking, less computer. Yeah.

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18Jun/080

Emotionally Distant Men

Alright. I've dated my fair share. Behinder is probably the worst of the bunch, although he was the opposite when I first met him. *sigh* Anyone getting tired of my moping about this guy yet?

So anyway... when I was looking for reprint permission for the quote from yesterday about men not wanting what they have (Just What I Needed To Hear), I found another Q&A from Christian Carter about emotionally distant men.

Hm. I don't think I gave this guy enough credit the first time around. Here's the Q&A, also in its entirety; I'll comment further in another post later on today when I have a chance.



How To Communicate With
“Emotionally Distant” Men

I realized something important this week
about how men think and act.

It's that men who pay attention and think
about the feelings they have, why they
have them, what they mean and how to talk
about them are RARE.

And it's even more unique and special
for a man to pay attention to his feelings
in relationships with women and to be able
to talk openly about them.

So like everyone else, I like to think
that I'm special.

But am I really different than other men?

Ok, I'm hoggin the newsletter for myself,
my ego is getting carried away...

Here's what I want to talk to you about-

Why can't men talk about their feelings?

It's like they're helpless morons when
it comes to knowing and sharing how they
feel with you.

And why do men react so weird when you
want to talk about things like issues,
emotions, relationships, commitment, marriage?

The answer is pretty fascinating but has
more than one simple dimension to it.

Let me ask you...

Have you ever asked a man how he feels
about you or your situation and then he
starts acting all freaked out?

He turns into a deer in headlights.

Or even worse, he starts getting angry
and frustrated and turns the conversation
back on you with unrelated problems or issues.

Well, you've run into the BRICK WALL guys
have with relationship communication.

And guess what?

It's YOUR fault!

Yep, I'm not letting you shift the
blame to someone else for what matters
in your life.

As some of my more enlightened friends
like to say:

“Don't go to victim”

If you know someone can't communicate
a certain way, it's up to you to find a
better way.

Then once you can reach them you can
help them improve.

As the saying goes,

“Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice and shame on me.”

So are you continuing to bang your head
against the brick wall?

Shame on you!

Lots of women do - all their lives over
and over in relationships until they've
become convinced that men are idiots and
you can't ever make things work.

Quit it for cryin' out loud!

There's a better way, but you'll never
figure things out just trying what makes
sense to YOU.

Don't be RIDICULOUS!

(here's where I get all up in your face!)

Planning and approaching issues in your
life just by what “makes sense” is not only
naive, it's honestly pretty stupid.

That's why people go to school, they go
to college, they study and read, they go
through job training and THEN they go out
and make a go of it.

So how much thinking, planning, reading
and learning have you done around the things
that effect your relationships and your love
life?

Maybe you picked up the latest best-seller
by some publishers daughter on something dumb
like how swans mate and are monogamous and you
and your guy can be beautiful and happy like
swans in love too...

Hey, not a bad idea. Maybe I'll write a
book about that.

Not!

Seriously though...

Are you banging your head against the wall?

Or are you looking to learn?

Here something fascinating to learn...

Men have a “SECRET BUTTON” you can push
that will make communicating with them almost
effortless.

And if you learn what it is and how to use
it you'll be able to get at what he really
thinks and feels... and teach him how to talk
to and understand you.

So let me take you through a situation
I guarantee you've either been in before or
you'll be in with a man...

HELLO!

That means pay attention because this is
one of those “universal situations” that can
mean priceless knowledge for you.

Let's say your talking with a man you're
interested in and you want to take things to
“the next level” but you don't know how.

And you've been waiting on him to talk to
you or express his interest or love for a while.

But he hasn't done that, and you get a little
disappointed and frustrated with things.

You've tried being patient and talking
with your friends but you've got to know how
he feels and you need things to move forward.

So what do you do?

Well, most women build up everything they're
thinking inside until they have to let it out
in one big emotional release.

And guess what men see when this happens?

No, they don't see how much you care or love
them and how amazing it is that you want to be
with them.

Somehow instead of seeing the good and the
positive intentions you have, they see intense
negative emotions that they can't understand.

And men get scared of emotions that are
really intense or that they don't understand.

Most of all, they just aren't used to them.

So when you share your feelings and want to
know his feelings for you, he freaks out.

He either becomes the “deer-in-headlights” guy
or the “angry-frustrated-scared” guy.

Most women do what makes sense in this
situation - they push and encourage the man
to talk, to get in touch with his feelings
and to share HER feelings.

But men don't see it as positive encouragement.

They see it as you being “over-emotional”
and pushy about the issue.

(Yeah, I know... Men are freakish emotional creatures!)

When you resist or react negatively in any
conversation, everything becomes more difficult.

And the WORST mistakes you can make here with
a man I call the 4 Deadly Sins:

- Assuming - that he knows what you want or expect
- Begging - for him to “give you” what you want
- Convincing - trying to make him feel the way you do
- Bullying - bullying him into your way of thinking or
feeling.

You will never have any long term success with
a man if you keep doing these.

You'll be beating yourself against the “BRICK
WALL”.

So what's the “SECRET BUTTON”?

Well, remember that there's a catch to all
improvements in your life, right?

So the same goes for this button thing.

You’ve got to make it happen by changing
YOUR communication first in order to push his
communication button.

It’s up to you to get a man’s fears and defenses
out of the way so you can get to the bottom of things.

And getting past the masks men can wear with
women out of fear is the essence of “pushing the button”.

Here's the 5 basic steps I've recognized that you
can use to push his “secret button”. And I'll give you
some examples to give you a general idea of what these
are as best I can in a short newsletter:

Step 1) The Primer

This is a the “starter” for the conversation that will
build an entirely positive context - and it might seem
like something you could skip, but it's actually the
most important step. It might be something like starting
off talking with positive comments about the time you've
been spending together and some of the great times you've
had. The idea is ALL about setting the right context so
a guy becomes positive, comfortable and opens up.

Step 2) Casual Introduction

This is the first step into “where things are going”.
Instead of springing “the talk” on him, keep talking
about positives, the good things, the things you want
to continue that are WORKING. If you don't have too
many of these things, think harder. You're interested
in a future with this guy for some reason, right? But
don't just compliment him. Make sure it's about BOTH
of you, and how you are together, not just about him.

Step 3) Applying With Positive Strokes

So now you're tuning into each other a bit in the
conversation and sharing thoughts about the good
things you have together.

Then tell him, “Hey, you know what's great? I bet you
and I see things differently, which is OK, but I love
spending time with you and we have such a great time
together”.

Again, you’re getting into a conversation about
relationships that will eventually turn to your situation,
but you’re doing it in a way that doesn’t trigger any
resistance or fear from the man - and this is what
you’re aiming for.

Step 4) Non-situational Honesty

Step 5) Active Listening

Step 4 and 5 are a bit more complex so I'll save them
for another time.

But steps 1, 2 and 3 are a lot to work with and
get you thinking.

If you follow these it will blow a man away

AND even better... it will create massive ATTRACTION!

Yeah, imagine that.

By talking about serious relationship “stuff” you
won't scare a guy off.

No, you'll actually make his attraction for you
STRONGER.

How?

Well, men secretly wish that they had women that
they felt completely open and comfortable with to share
their feelings, thoughts and desires on subjects they
usually have a hard time with.

It feels REALLY good to talk about things,
especially if they've been bottled up!

I bet you've felt that too.

When you push the button for a man, he experiences
a kind of open and honest communication “release”.

And the more intense the topic or issue is, the
more amazing and “freeing” the experience is.

For men, there's nothing tougher and more foreign
than getting really in touch with their emotions
and sharing them with someone.

When you're then one to do this, men almost can’t
believe it.

They instantly see you as someone unique, rare,
and “cool”.

And when you can talk about tough issues in a
way that makes them easy and fun and you have the
right amount or “detachment” from the outcome, it
makes men EXTREMELY attracted to you.

So what exactly are these 5 detailed steps to push
a man's communication button?

I talk about each step in detail, exactly what to do,
and the common mistakes to avoid in my eBook: “Catch Him And Keep Him”

You can check out all the details here:

Thanks for reading and best of luck in life and love.

Your Friend,

Christian Carter




©Copyright 2008, Catch Him Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright materials used by permission.
“Catch Him And Keep Him” and “Christian Carter”
are trademarks of Catch Him Inc.

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18Jun/080

Contextually…

So I had two people ask me to email them or post here the Christian Carter/Date.com newsletter clip I spoke of yesterday. Fair enough. I checked with Carter's folks, and they have no issue with me reprinting it, so here it is in its entirety.

Yes, I'll readily admit this is a much longer post than what I'd normally put up in this blog. Ok, I'm impatient too. But it helped me to clarify a few things I'd conveniently wiped from my memory to avoid the truth, as well as gave me some more questions to think about in relation to the Behinder's recent admission (And You Say Women Are Confusing?)




Q&A: How Do I Get Him Back?

This time I'm sharing a great question from a reader.

It's a question I get all the time from women that points out a common misunderstanding women have about men.

Reader:

Dear Christian,

I'm sorry but I need to ask you a question. I need advice and help. Me and my ex have been together off and on many times, recently we just broke up and now he's dating someone else. (he doesn't know what he wants). But I know he still has very big feelings for me and I want advice and help on getting him back. Even though he's dating someone right now, he still has feelings for me, and I need help on getting him back with me and not with her.

Please help!

Sincerely,
Needy and Hopeless

My Answer:

Thanks for writing, your email has about 147 great things here.

Let's look at a few of them...

The first important issue is that you're ignoring all the important signs your ex is giving you.

Men send a ton of silent “signals” that are out there waiting for women to tune into and pick up on.

And to learn from.

Some of these signals that men send are indirect and unintentional - but others men know they're sending out.

Please don't be naive.

Wake up!

Realize what's going on here.

If he's dating someone else, you've got to start moving on.

That's a direct and intentional signal.

He doesn't share your feelings of wanting to get back together in a committed relationship with you.

If you challenge this idea, you need to recognize something important...

That he's not in the right place in his life to share what you want with him.

What you really need for yourself is to find a healthy way to take some of the focus off of him and put it back on you and your life.

This doesn't mean you have to go out and date right now, but you need to take your mind off him.

I know it's hard to do this when you still have intense feelings for him.

But the simple truth is that you're setting yourself up for ALL KINDS of pain and disappointment...

Yeah, I've seen couples get back together like this - but the odds are things don't look good for this old relationship.

The more you can distance yourself from your ex whose dating another woman, the happier you'll be.

Trust me.

And I know doing this is tough, but you've got to do it if you're going to find your way to a new and improved situation - with or without him.

Here's something else critical going on for you...

You're making a lot of assumptions about HIS feelings when you say “he has very strong feelings for me.”

Do the math.

You know he's dating someone else.

By thinking about how you believe he FEELS inside is only keeping you stuck on him and your beliefs about the good person he can be and how great things COULD be together.

Let me put it another way-

What are his actions and behaviors saying?

If you listen to the signals your ex is sending you, you'll see that his “feelings” he shares are just his way of holding onto you for his own comfort and benefit.

Why wouldn't he want to keep you around if he's “unavailable” to really commit - because being with the other woman and still being connected to you keeps him from being fully involved in any real situation with either of you.

He's already dating another woman.

That should give you a clear idea of where his mind is at (not focused on getting back with you) and what his “feelings” TRULY are.

Here's what I want you to do first and foremost...

Think about making some decisions for YOURSELF.

Right now it sounds like your waiting for him to make all the decisions.

Think about what YOU WANT to be happy, and remember all the things your ex has done and said to let you
know he's not committed to sharing his love with you.

If you give him and yourself some space, a funny thing might happen you won't expect...

Your ex-boyfriend won't have the comfort of two women who both want his affection.

He won't know that you're still there waiting for him - and this will trigger thoughts and actions in him that will ultimately help resolve your situation.

Until then...

For your own well-being, it's important you let him know he can't keep sharing his intimate feelings with you while he's dating another woman.

HERE'S A RULE YOU NEED TO REMEMEBER:

****
Never allow men who have “someone else” in their life to keep sharing and expressing their feelings for you.
****


It's wrong on several levels... for you most of all.

When a man can have the affection of two women, and he's in a place where he's emotionally non-committed to either, odds are he will try to keep this situation going for as long as possible!

Not all men would do this, but men who are “unavailable”, as it sounds your ex is, can continue multiple intimate situations at once.

You don't want to date a man that's in this place in his life... and I know because I've been this guy in my past!

NO AMOUNT of talking, experience or reasoning with him can get him to feel the way you want him to feel.

You can't change a man's emotional depth and where he's at in his life.

“Getting him back” is a bad idea.

Rarely does this give you what you think you want.

It's a losing battle, and you're going to end up being hurt or upset again as you undoubtedly keep moving farther and farther away from what YOU ideally want and closer and closer to whatever strange and unhealthy situation he's creating.

If you feel like you HAVE to see this through, then be careful. You're going against the odds.

Don't be “that girl”.

And I promise that you'll ruin your chances if you think you can “convince” him to come back to you
through shows of affection, appeals to his desires or other “gifts” to bribe him.

I've watched this EXACT thing unfold so many times.

IT DOESN'T WORK!

Instead, you should think about the times you've broken up and the times you've seen that he wasn't personally ready for a relationship.

Those things are as real as the strong feelings and emotions you feel that keeps you coming back.

Use the issues and challenges you had together as a guide or a reminder of what's keeping you two apart now.

And once you start doing this, I think you're going to be strangely surprised at what starts to happen for you...

Once your guy notices that he doesn't have you waiting around for him like a puppy dog to figure it out, while he's off doing god knows what with other women, there's going to be a big change in his attitude and behavior.

It doesn't make “sense”, but that's how it WORKS.

****
THE CRITICAL SKILLS OF UNDERSTANDING MEN'S SIGNALS AND IDENTIFYING GOOD MEN FROM “UNAVAILABLE TOADS”...
****

You've got to learn to understand and identify “EMOTIONALLY UNAVAILABLE” men.

If a man doesn't know what he wants, he generally doesn't want what he's got.

This may sound harsh, but it's the truth of the situation. And even when it isn't completely true, it's a good rule to go by.

A good man who is the right person and wants to be with you will find his own way to his “Emotional Truth”.

If his truth is that he wants to be with you, or not be with you, you have to respect that.

But I see women do it all the time.

The guy will be sending all kinds of subtle (or even direct) signs that he's not “available” or interested in something “serious”, but the woman ignores them and just pays attention to the fact that he likes being with her when they're together.

In other words, she substitutes the physical connection, or even the occasional emotional connection, for the real relationship she wants to be in.

WRONG!

Men have a different “love equation” from women:

A strong connection does NOT necessarily equal any interest in a relationship.

That's why it's CRITICAL that women learn to read the signals that a man sends about where he's at.

Because he's surely not going to just lay it all out there for you.

I promise.

If he does, write me an email, tell me all about it, and give me his mailing address so I can send him his prize.

When a guy isn't interested in a relationship, and he's doing something like seeing other women, here's
what most women start doing that makes things go from bad to worse...

They start trying to “fix” things, and “fix” the guy.

And then comes the “convincing” behavior, trying to convince the man that they are the right one for him, and that because they have such a great connection, a loving “relationship” is the only right way to go.

I know, it sounds bizarre.

Why would a man have a great woman and a great connection with her that felt amazing when they were together, and not want a relationship?

I'll get to that later...

The thing I'm worried about here for you is that in trying to get your guy back, you're making these mistakes that are like “man-repellent”.

So I'll say it again.

You can't convince a man to want to be with you.

I don't know the specifics surrounding your off-and-on with the ex, but it speaks volumes.

Especially when it's combined with him not “knowing what he wants”.

This is CLASSIC man-speak for “I'm not emotionally available and I'm not ready for a real relationship”.

When he can't get in touch with his feelings and isn't open to exploring them, it's a text-book case of unavailability.

I don't mean that he can't share feelings or some level of intimacy with you...

In fact, I'm sure he still likes to connect with you when things are easy-going and he's not feeling “pressure” around you.

But your ex sharing his feelings with you can easily confuse you into thinking that he is potentially the right guy and ready for a long term relationship.

I'm sure you've seen this since you've been back and forth with him. But when a guy is unavailable, he has a fear of getting deeper into a relationship that he knows he's not ready for.

In his own way he's tried to tell you this several times.

Here's what he's saying:

Yes, I have “feelings” for you.

And no... that doesn't mean I want to be in a relationship with you and be faithful.

Take some time to think about the past with your ex, and then compare that to what will honestly make YOU happy, and what kind of relationship you want in your future.

If you're honest about it with yourself, I don't think he'll fit well into that based on his actions and behavior.

Put more value on his actions, not his words.

Get back to the things that you enjoy, the places you like to go and avoid places or things you used to do or see with your ex.

Spend some time with your friends and give yourself the space you deserve.

The less you talk about your ex and this situation for now, the better off you'll be.

And I think you'll be amazed at the results.

First, I think you'll just plain old feel better.

But even better than that, you'll be breaking the old connection that you had with your “x”.

And as counterintuitive as it sounds, breaking out of your old connection is actually the thing that's going to change the situation for you the most and help get you the results you want.

Right now, your convincing him and your wanting him back, even when he's with another woman, is making you come off in all kinds of ways that men just don't respond well to.

I know it seems like the best idea to keep trying to stay in touch with him and keep the connection alive.

But the truth is that you're just keeping this same old situation alive by pumping your time and attention into it.

If instead, you step back and stop chasing him or trying to convince him you're the right woman, you'll have an opportunity to do something that can honestly be ATTRACTIVE to him-

You first leave a space that he'll not recognize and not understand, which will first get him thinking about you and then wondering why you aren't acting the way you used to.

Men love “new” things and curiosities.

Plus, you'll also be able to give him the space he's tried asking you for in his retarded emotionally unavailable “man-speak”.

Something funny happens when a man gets the space he asked for-

If you do it in the right way, he's forced to deal with himself and his own feelings to figure out that all the things he is worried about, afraid of, fearful of “committing to”, etc.

And being by himself, he'll see that these things are really just in his own mind - and not bad things about YOU.

In other words - he won't keep taking all the old “stuff” from the past that wasn't working and keep identifying it with YOU.

But you've to go know the way to “re-wire” the connection once you've broken the old one.

And if you can do this, I guarantee he'll come calling wondering about you.

In my ebook, “Catch Him And Keep Him”, I spell out specific ways to communicate with men that will help you build that new connection.

There are several psychological and behavioral “keys” that will help to open a man up.

And just as important, they will make him feel that electric spark of ATTRACTION with you again.

I'm talking about the kind of attraction that gets a guy feeling, at a deep level, that he wants to
be with you right now AND far into the future.

This goes for the “unavailable” guys too that seem to keep withdrawing and don't communicate much about their feelings or what they want.

These guys are the toughest ones.

If there's just ONE PIECE OF ADVICE that holds more power for women than any other when it comes to men, it's this concept of only dating emotionally available men.

In my ebook, I also talk about how to identify good men from the “unavailable” ones.

If you're dating, wouldn't it be great to know what kind of guy you're dealing with FROM THE START?

And if think you're already got an unavailable guy on your hands, and you're wondering what you can do after all the frustrating disappointments that have gone on...

There's AN ENTIRE SECTION of the book dedicated to helping you both understand the emotional world of a
man (yikes, right!) and how to lead him to a better way of being with and understanding you.

So make the choice to do something about your love- life and create the situation you want in your life.

Go check out my ebook now.

You can download it and be reading it in just a couple of minutes.

Check it out here:

Thanks for reading and best of luck in life and love.

Your Friend,

Christian Carter




©Copyright 2008, Catch Him Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright materials used by permission.
“Catch Him And Keep Him” and “Christian Carter”
are trademarks of Catch Him Inc.

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17Jun/080

Pre-Date #1

Oh my goodness, I may just be going on a date tomorrow. #1 of the year, and the first in... gosh. Eight months? Ew.

My last date was with the Behinder, and its negligible if we are still dating/dating again. Is sex the only way to tell you're dating someone? If so, then ok, we're not dating.

Anyway...

Better than Sex Guy has settled into his new place, and says he's starting to make a life of his own. 40 years old, retired military, with a 2-year-old son. Yup, he's living the life! (and seems very grateful for his good fortune) His last five-word email asked me when we'd be meeting up at the park so the kidlets could play. Oddly (strangely? fatefully?) he lives around the corner from my place. So it looks like tomorrow we may just be finally meeting up, after a month or two of long distance chat. Is it a date? Not sure, but I'll say it is just to stroke my ego a bit.

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17Jun/080

Time To Start Dating Again

I think I've been in hiding long enough. So far no dates, but I am chatting with a couple of gents.

  • Better Than Sex Guy: He's finally moved to town and his Internet connection is hooked up. Still, his emails are brief - his last one three words long, extolling the virtues of having a park across the street from his house.
  • Favorite Date Guy, aka the Behinder: Ok, so I doubt we'll date again, but dammit, I want to. Add to his confusing as hell chat the other night, and I've confirmed my torch-holding days aren't over yet. *sigh*
  • The Farmer: This guy is a New Kid on the Block; I've just started chatting with him. I think he may be more of a fisherman than a farmer, but all he's shared so far is that he just finished a BSc, and he's currently working on his parents farm. He lives (by his estimation) about 1.5hrs North of me, so I doubt I'll be meeting him anytime soon. He's got me a bit worried, too, since he's said several times he's very picky about the women he dates. I have a feeling I've already been picked out of his dating patch. Still, he instigates conversation several times a day, and seems intelligent, sexy, witty and a bit dark. Just how I like 'em.
  • Homesteader: Also a newbie, this gent just messaged me today. He lives remotely, homesteading and raising cattle, and rarely gets Internet access. His photos and personality are exceptionally intriguing to me - but he lives more than four hours away. His profile also says he's got kids who live with their Mom but "that shouldn't matter because I'm not looking for my soulmate or anything". Uh, yeah. At least he's honest, but based on that comment alone I doubt we'll connect. I'll still keep the communications open, for now.

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