I love you, you cute inanimate object, you!

Is it possible to fall in love not with a person, but with an object? Apparently so, according to a British documentary called "The Woman Who Married the Eiffel Tower," which is about "objectum sexual" -- women who fall in love and have intimate relationships with buildings, bridges, and other objects. These women say they find their love affairs with these objects just as rewarding as other people find their relationships with human beings. I'm sure none of these objects leave the toilet seat up, but other than that I don't see how a relationship with an inanimate object could be satisfying! Sadly, most of the women have histories of abuse, which explains why objects are "safe" for them to have relationships with. And about half of them have Asperger Syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism characterized by above-average intelligence and verbal ability, but low social skills.

One woman is so in love with a stereo system she calls Jake that she communicates with "him" by making love to him twice a day (!). Another woman fell in love with the Berlin Wall (it had to hurt when that came down). And the woman who inspired the documentary's title is so in love with the Eiffel Tower that she married it last year. Yes. She married it. It's not a legally recognized marriage, of course, but she had a ceremony and everything. She even changed her last name to Eiffel.

Here's an article: http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/sunday-review/living/i-married-the-eiffel-tower-832519.html

Here's a blog post about it: http://www.strangeharvest.com/mt/archive/blog/married_to_the_eiffe.php

And P.S. over the weekend I received my very first check from Google for this blog, for $123.62! So, thank you to everyone who has ever clicked on an ad!! :)

Meeting people in the physical (not on-line) world

Want to go back to meeting people the old-fashioned way? Um...what IS the old-fashioned way? Lisa Steadman's article, "Dating 101: Debunking the Scarcity Myth," (http://dating.personals.yahoo.com/singles/datingtips/86374/dating-101-debunking-the-scarcity-myth) is a great read if you've been feeling trapped behind a keyboard lately, or if you cannot bear to read one more on-line profile. Steadman gives you a plan on how to meet people who are physically all around you, as opposed to (or in addition to) on-line. During the first week, she advises you to make eye contact with one stranger you find attractive, every day, whether it's on the subway, waiting on line at the supermarket, wherever. For the second week, both make eye contact and smile. In the third week, make eye contact, smile, AND make small talk. She also suggests activities to do once a week that will allow you to shake things up and possibly meet new people. It does sound kind of nerve-wracking, but also a good change of pace from the on-line dating routine.

As always, for non-dating related posts feel free to visit my other blog at http://HerArtichokeHeart.blogspot.com !

Five Traits a Guy Should Have Before You Get Serious

Just spotted an interesting article on Yahoo Personals by Mina Azodi called "Dating 101: Five Traits A Guy Should Have Before You Get Serious" (http://dating.personals.yahoo.com/singles/relationships/24236/dating-101-five-traits-a-guy-should-have-before-you-get-serious).
According to Azodi, the traits are:

1) He knows what he wants (so you can tell early on if your long-term plans and goals are compatible).
2) He has a sunny outlook (one study found that how optimistic a man was determined the relationship's "staying power") and can make you laugh.
3) He's open to changing for you.
4) He's still a little mysterious.
5) He's responsible with money.

The third one surprised me because, as people always say, you can't change someone. But the rest of that statement really should be, you can't change someone unless THEY want to change. Azodi writes, "Studies have found that successful married couples change each other quite a bit over time...A man needs to have the capacity to transform and grow with you."