Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with date

give me a sign! women and their ways to show they like you

sniperantics — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:29:15 -0800

i'm absolutely smitten by this girl. i find myself constantly thinking about her. but what are the signs of that she may an interest back? i've not been this attracted to someone since my last relationship. it's been almost a year since that break-up ... and lots has past. then along came this girl. we're members of the same church group but i actually met her at a church conference this past september. it was very civil, but it was an instance during a group dinner that drew me to her. we were discussing eyelashes (haha) and she added at the time that she thought hers were too short ... at that point i said, "hmmm, let me see ..." and she drew quite close to me while i 'examined' her eyes. what an ethereal experience! something so non-chalant, so inexpressive and simple just took my breathe away ... however I am not so certain she received the same type of experience.

since then it has been a series of playful conversations via mostly email and text, with select few phone convos ... i think she's making me jump hoops for her time and attention. and thru the method and nuances of my messages and the way I 'randomly' contact her, it must be obvious to her that I am attracted to her ... or is she? i need some thing concrete. I'm trying to be persistent but at the same not come out so needy. women, i need your insights. i really like this one.

What should we do for our anniversary?

jpdoane — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:12:59 -0800

Help me plan a romantic evening for my wife for our anniversary Our 6 year anniversary is on Sunday. I'd like to do something special for my wife. Most of the times we go out on a date we usually do the cliche dinner and a movie, or something super informal like shopping or coffee shop. I figure that the anniversary should probably be a few notches above that.

Things I'm already planning on:
nice flowers,
dinner at fancy restaurant,
drive to a park and ask her to dance under the moonlight (did this once when we were dating)

I need something else to flesh out the evening, but I'm drawing a blank. We are in a small city in the midwest with not much urban/nightlife activities available (and thats not really us anyway). Unique, fun things are great, and it doesn't need to be too formal, but it should be somewhat romantic. Budget is loosely ~$100 (although I'm all ears for more elaborate really awesome ideas)

Overnight options would be ok, but Ive done the hotel room or B&B thing the past few anniversaries, and thats nice, but it might be a little predictable.

Yes, I am aware that I should have planned this earlier. I do have most of the day tomorrow free to plan/coordinate whatever I need.

(I looked and didn't see many similar questions on AskMe, which kinda surprised me. Most were location specific. If theres onther threads with good ideas that I missed, I'd love to see them too)

The home-made jam expiration date mystery

Baud — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:45:57 -0800

I could sell some very small-scale home-made jam. How can I know what will be the expiration date be ? Since I discovered that jam is not exactly the most complicated recipe out there (one part fruit, one part sugar) I started doing some for my own usage.

Through a sell-your-garden-stuff website about to open I could sell some of my production to people in my area.

It looks like the jams sold in supermarket have an expiration date set two years after they are manufactured.

How can I know what in the cooking process will decide when the expiration date of my home-made jame will be ?

Right now I'm applying boiling water to the pots before putting the jam in it. I suspect there may be more radical way of ensuring an expiration as far away as possible.

standard disclaimer : english is not my mother tongue.

Tagged out before I get to third.

chrisfromthelc — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:30:14 -0800

I can't seem to ever get to the third date. I searched, and came across this post, and it pretty much sums up my exact experience these days. Except that I'm a guy and not a girl.

I've recently gone out with a few different girls. First dates always seem to go well, second dates seem to go (at least, in MY mind) a little better. I've always made sure to communicate (assuming that I do) that I would like to see her again, and soon. When it comes time for #3, well, #3 never comes. I call in an attempt to set something up, and never get a response. Not even the "let's be friends" schtick.

Some of these girls are ones I've met from various dating sites, but recently, they've been friends of friends who were highly recommended, so I'm not completely sure the out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing applies. Or, maybe it does. I just don't know.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Searching data within an Excel cell.

sperose — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:15:14 -0800

Excel2007Filter: I want to be able to search information between two things in a single cell in Excel. So a cell may have 4-9 typed in it, but I want that cell to be highlighted if a user searches for 7. Or 4. Or anything between 4 and 9 inclusively. (More details and a screenshot of the spreadsheet inside.) This is for running Excel 2007 on Windows XP, in case it matters.

I have a spreadsheet with 127 rows and 97 columns. Just about each cell has some sort of range of data in it.

Here's some examples of the data:
just numbers (1-26)
combinations (3263 #141-170)letters and numbers (A. A45 #1323-1349)
dates (E 203 Oct 16, 1991-Nov 30, 1992)
letters and numbers (E1411-E1415)
words and numbers (C. 2906 Units 59-64)

Ideally, what I want to have happen is that there will be a set of cells that will be used for searching. The user would type in the data they have (example: E 203 November 1, 1991), the cell with that information would light up.

I'm pretty sure that I'll have to have different search cells that will have to be filled in different ways in order to get all the information searchable. So there would be a cell for the category (E), a cell for the series (203), and a cell for the date (November 1, 1991).

The problem is, I'm not sure how to get Excel to recognize the information in the middle. I'm sure searching for Oct 16, 1991 will make the cell light up, but I want to get the information in between Oct 16, 1991-Nov 30, 1992 to be picked up by the searching as well.

Here's a screenshot of part of the spreadsheet for more detail.

I've got a passing familiarity with Excel and formulas, but I have zero knowledge of VBA.

Please help me Mefi!

ExcelFilter: Between Day 1 and Day 90, I had how many of which?

SansPoint — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:09:05 -0800

How can I count certain things in a range of cells in Excel that fall between two dates? I've got an Excel workbook that keeps track of every thing I produce at my job. (What the things are is irrelevant.) The date it's created in in Column A. In Column F there are criteria to determine which type of thing is is (two specific ones). I would like to count the number of each that fall between two dates, i.e. between, say 9/01/2009 and 11/30/2009.

For the life of me, I can't figger it out.

I've tried wrapping my head around dynamic ranges, but all I can see for doing that is OFFSET(), which would be great if all the date ranges had the same amount of rows, but they don't. Besides, I add new rows to this thing regularly, as each new thingie is generated. So, having, say, the last 30 of these counted does not help.

Google searching has given me info about how to count for the last x of a certain range, where x is days, weeks, months, etc. Doesn't help.

Oh, and I *really* would not like to have to go into VBA scripting for this.

So, uh, help?

Help me seal the deal in the GTA.

dawdle — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:18:03 -0800

Help me plan the PERFECT date with a cool vegan, hipster yoga teacher / fashion designer in TORONTO for tomorrow ? I've been chasing this girl for months and she's finally agreed to go out on a date with me. Only problem is the date is tomorrow and I haven't the faintest idea what to do with her.

She's very hip and independent and likes cute bistro type places. She's also a strict vegan which seriously limits the food choices.

I don't think she'd be into the biking on Toronto Island or other physical date activity, think more intellectual here. She's also a hopeless romantic

What should we do together ? Where can we go ? What would be fun and memorable date ?

I have a question about calendars

CollectiveMind — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:55:08 -0800

Can anyone see any benefit to a calendar that (1) identifies those months within a range of years that share the same days of the week and dates of the month, and (2) identifies those days of the week within a range of years that have less than 53 occurences in any particular year?

Making dinner for a girlfriend and I need your help!

OuttaHere — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:28:44 -0800

Making dinner tonight for a lady friend - Need suggestions! We'll be drinking lots of wine and I was thinking maybe something we could both do together.

She doesn't eat red meat, it's pretty hot outside and we may be grilling although it's not necessary.

I was thinking of something along the lines of chicken kabobs w/ veggies and a good summer salad. I'm pretty decent in the kitchen but don't want something I can screw up.

Thanks mefi!

Romance on a budget

Alpenglow — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:43:16 -0800

Dating on a budget. What are your fabulous, creative & romantic ideas for a 30-something couple to do that cost little or nothing? Newish couple. Very outdoorsy, active, love music & art. Also up for new experiences. Looking for things to do mostly in the evenings. Live in Atlanta. Suggestions? Would love to hear your favorite date night ideas!

Am I doomed to be a doormat forever?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:24:56 -0800

Are relationships a zero sum game? Is there such a thing as a happy compromise? I'm a 30 year old male. Last year, I got out of an engagement. I thought I loved this girl, and was willing to do what it took. The main issue we had was with religion. She's Catholic, and I'm not. I first agreed that our kids were going to be Catholic. I don't care much about religion, so I agreed because it was important to her. It was a slippery slope from there. I finally put my foot down when she tried to make me go to church with her and any future kids. When I told her that I felt like I was the one compromising, she said, "I'm not sure I'm ready to compromise."

Before that, I was in another long term relationship. My GF was very passive aggressive and manipulative. Whenever I disagreed with her view, she would pout or try to get me to go along with her way of doing things. Again, I felt like I was doing all the compromising to make our relationship a happy one.

I've recently been thinking that maybe relationships are zero sum, in that there has to be a winner and a loser in every interaction. That's what I've known, and being willing to work things out seems to have caused nothing but heartbreak and resentment on my part.

To all the MeFi'ers out there, I ask you this: What have I been doing wrong in my relationships? Are all my exes just crazy or is there something I'm not doing correctly?

I'd like this to remain anonymous because I'm interested in a girl who reads MeFi and I don't want her to get wind of this issue.

I've set up a throwaway e-mail at weirdrelations at gmail dot com for follow ups.

Grown-up love

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:09:16 -0800

Can cynical old me still find passionate love? Or should I readjust to some kind of grown-up relationship? I'm in my mid-30s and I've had quite a few relationships already. More than once, I thought I'd found The One, but after a few years, something hasn't worked and the relationship has ended. I find that with each relationship, I hold a bit more back, at least at first. I have less of the optimistic dreaminess as the years go on, and its hard to imagine ever re-experiencing the truly magical faith that I had with my first love. So, is there any hope for me? In your experienced opinion, is it OK to just accept a more mature form of falling in love, that is slower, more reserved, and more based on sensible choices? Or is it better to just wait and wait and hope to someday find someone who re-sparks a kind of youthful enthusiasm?

the DDD's of Love

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:19:56 -0800

Is there such a thing as a dating site for ONLY big breasted women? I think at this point, I know what it is, really, that I want in a woman. I want good conversation. I want a darker sense of humor. And I want someone who can be ready to leave the house in 10 minutes flat.

And physically, what I'm attracted to, for whatever reason, are really large natural breasts. And no amount of searching for specific body types has helped me find these women on traditional dating sites

So my question is: do LEGIT specific sites exist that cater to women with big breasts and the men who want to date them?

Low rent, yet smooth

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:02:24 -0800

How can I gracefully take the first date down a notch? I asked someone great out. She said yes! She suggested a place to meet. It's out of my price range*. From what I read online, it is also really loud, and features a menu made up primarily of things I can't eat! Along with this, it basically has the vibe that to me would feel like a special place to go with someone I had an established relationship with - not someone I'm jut getting to know.

Since I AM just getting to know this person, I want to put out an agreeable, positive, initial vibe, but I'm also anxious about trying to keep cool while taking her somewhere I can't afford, with food I can't eat, while I struggle to hear what she's saying.

Would the hive mind suggest I just go along with her suggestion, and work on a better (for me) venue for a second date - if a second date happens? Or is there some smooth way to make a counter-suggestion of a place that's a bit more low-key?

*I offered to take her out, so I'm planning to pay.

Just not that into me?

mdn31 — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:23:14 -0800

Hi, I met a man online about a year and a half ago...we have communicated via phone for all this time though some times more frequent than others. I am a 30 something and he is a 40 something. It took us a looooooong time to met (which I finally did this past weekend) for a variety of reasons. I was nervous, we both are shy, I was not sure if he would like me physically, etc., etc. In fact, there were two trips that were previously cancelled. This weekend, finally, I went. I stayed at a hotel, and he was a good host. I was there for 3 days. We did all kinds of touristy things in his town and he treated me like a lady, yet, there was no physical contact. Actually, 2 hugs, that was it. When I arrived, and when I left. No attempted hand holding, no subtle touches, no kiss...it took so long to meet and we are not exactly close in proximity so another meeting may not be anytime soon. I have to say, I expected that he might...so I gotta wonder, does this mean that he was "just not that into me?" I am not sure how to proceed. Hope you can help me figure this out?

Emergency date venue in London's South Bank

ajp — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:22:55 -0800

Emergency date venue in London's South Bank; any suggestions? Hi all :-)

Okay, so my plan for taking my date to the Tate tonight has been kyboshed by.... the Tate closing at 6pm. Oops.

Anyway, it's a grey day in London town, and the streets will be full of damp commuters all looking for a drink and food. Which is exactly what I'll be looking for too.

I am thinking of going to Gordon's Wine Bar, but there's the usual danger of it being packed.

So: where to take a first date on a Thursday night in London's South Bank?

We're meeting at Embankment, so it would have to be within walking distance or easy tube-travel. Bonus points for anywhere with suitably intimate suroundings, good food and wine, that sort of thing. It's a first date, so we'd need somewhere suitably intimate to get to know each other.

I shall be checking out the Oxo Tower, but any more suggestions will be most gratefully received.

We're both 30-something; it's a first date; money isn't exactly "no object" but let's just say restaurants are preferable to burger-bars.

Many thanks, Hive Mind, you just might save my skin.

a great unique 'experience' in Chicago for our anniversary?

chicagodoc — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:41:20 -0800

Any ideas for a unique Chicago date/experience for my wife and I on our anniversary? -- that is NOT a restaurant?? For the first time in a long time, we are both in town, free, and have babysitting available (overnight if necessary) -- and it happens to be our anniversary! I have a small trinket for my wife, but was looking more for a unique experience of some sort.

We have done most of the 'nice' restaurants in town (tru, trotter's, everest, etc) -- and she's not really a foodie....which is why I shy away from a restaurant. That said, if there is some really great unique restaurant experience I'm not aware of, I'm open to it.

But what I'd really like is something else. Not sure how to explain it. I imagine it being one of those things you need to 'know somebody' to make happen :) -- of course, I don't know what it is, and I don't know the right people~! But for some reason, I visualize somebody opening up a room with a secret key only they have access to :)

We are in our mid-30's, and live in the city. Money isn't really an issue (within reason)

sorry I'm not being more clear, but I guess I don't know exactly what I want. Oh great green, can you help me?

nycfilter: romantic night

knockoutking — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:40:57 -0800

nyc filter: need advice for a romantic night in the city (on Sat 4/11) first of all, i have been to NYC multiple times before so i can figure my way around the general area without a problem...

that said, gf is currently in nyc and i am coming up from DC to meet up with her/take her out

would like a suggestion for "simple" food -- maybe italian? -- and something else to do -- maybe broadway play? walk? desert? -- on Sat, April 11th.

things to know:
-her hotel is located on times square
-timeline is anywhere from ~6 o'clock-ish until ???
-dont want to break the bank unless i have to haha but if its worth it im all for spending the cash required
-alcohol/wine/drinks is not particularly important
-would prefer that its not TOO far of a walk from public transportation...

thoughts/ideas:
-dinner (obviously)
-broadway play/off-broadway play (but which one is the question)
-dessert (if not a play maybe dessert somewhere else?)

if it was in DC i would have a list of places to go/things to do a mile long -- but NYC is another story entirely...

Hey! Let's wear food service hairnets to an art gallery opening!

Stewriffic — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:00:38 -0800

Please help me compile a list of offbeat things to do with a friend or friends, to serve as a reference for when I'm sick of the same old plans. I've had some of the best times of my life doing harmless, silly activities with friends, but my creativity quotient is running low these days. I'm getting bored with the "go to a museum" "go to a book-signing" "volunteer" "get a beer" "take a walk" "shoot pool" "go bowling" outings and would like to get some ideas.

Apparently, xkcd had a list of date ideas that would serve as a good example of the kinds of things I'm looking for. I can't find it online, but check out this blog post, which references it.

Please don't limit your responses by geography--urban, suburban, rural scenarios are all good. I have access to all of these things. Also, though I'm approaching this as friend-level activities, feel free to list good stuff for dates, as well.

Can I get there whenever?

mcarthey — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:34:41 -0800

Can I search for the best price for an airline ticket to a specific destination for some random unknown future date? I'd like to fly to a location, but I don't care what the date is. I know I'd like to stay for X number of days, but other than that, I just want the best price. The problem is that all sites I've found require a window of time. Is there a good site for this?

When was my passport issued?

i love cheese — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:50:33 -0800

Could someone with a US Passport handy please help me with a quick question about the date of issue and expiration? I need to know when my passport was issued. I don't have it in front of me, but I do know when it expires. I believe the total length of time it is good for is 10 years.

My question is if my passport expires on, say June 15, 2009, was it issued on June 15, 1999 or June 14, 1999 or June 16, 1999?

So, how does your expiration date compare to your issue date?

Did I just go out on a date?

willie11 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:33:36 -0800

I’m concerned that I may have inadvertently gone out on a date recently. Please advise. On a business trip a few weeks back, I hit it off with a very charming colleague from my organization. We were both in town to work an event and had never met previously. We met right before the event and immediately hit it off. Since both of us were stuck in this boring town for the night, we agreed to get together for drinks or dinner that evening.

Well, I let her choose the spot and she of course chose a VERY expensive and kinda-romantic foodie joint downtown. We met up, had a great time, ate a fantastic meal, drank a few glasses of wine and really hit if off. We split the check. I had a mix-up with my hotel that night and was trying to find another place to stay, so she recommended where she was staying.

After dinner we left in separate cars for the hotel. I got lost trying to find the place and eventually found my way there to check-in when my colleague came down to see me in the lobby. We chatted some more and she suggested we eat breakfast together. She also told me her room number and said she will be up there all night working if I wanted some company. It was about 1 am at that point.

I, like a dumbass, didn’t think much of it and promptly went to sleep in my room. My colleague didn’t show for breakfast the next day and I didn’t give the encounter much thought until today when I realized I may have inadvertently led her on.

I never mentioned I was in a relationship and I’m kind of flirty by nature. But I don’t remember making overtly romantic gestures. I’m asking this because I’ve been in a relationship for over 4 years now and, prior to that, I didn’t date much. I was (still am?) kinda clueless about human relations in general.

So what do you think? Was that a date? Was I leading this nice girl along?

Why are middle eastern people categorized as "white"?

tumbleweedjack — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:14:26 -0800

Why do middle eastern people get lumped into the "white" category when asked to declare their ethnicity? Yes, technically, middle eastern people are "white," but so are most hispanic/latino people. And, with several million people of middle eastern origin, it seems like somebody would be interesting in counting them separately.

This question was inspired by the Daily Kos weekly poll's crosstabs. I was really curious to see Obama's ratings among middle eastern people, but there's no such information!

Cheap Chicago Valentine's Day

anthropomorphic — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:45:38 -0800

What's the nicest + cheapest Valentine's day date in Chicago we could have? Boyfriend and I have been off and on for more than a year, Super Serious Official for just two months. We're very, very poor grad students. We'd like to do dinner and something else special, but we don't know where to do either. We'd prefer to stay inside. What do you recommend?

"Hell no, you ain't getting my number..."

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 07:20:24 -0800

Help a below average looking guy get a date! So I'm trying to get a date, but the odds are stacked against me. What can the hive suggest? Here are some info that might help. Sorry, it's a bit long, but its anon (got a few friends that occasionally browse here and don't want to get ribbed about this), so gotta get all the facts in first.

+ I'm 21, male, and am a student at very good university in the UK. Not had a LTR (month+) before.

+ I'm not the greatest looking guy in the world - although being fit and in pretty good shape, I'm short (5'7"), and my face is by most standards, pretty ugly. Let's not argue this, it's pointless and I can't do anything about it. I've learnt to accept that a long time ago. Hence, I've lowered my own standards myself.

+ Although I'm naturally introverted, I'm comfortable with socializing and get along well with people. For example, one of my guys I worked with and hung out with during the summer was convinced I was an party animal/extrovert and didn't believe me when I told him I was an introvert. Not afraid of any occasion really, I debated in school a lot and got used to giving big speeches. I have a healthy number of good friends. It's more skewed towards guys, but I do have several good female friends as well.

+ Got a few hobbies, such as poker and I also play a competitive team sport. I'm involved with a couple of other university societies as well. Generally everyone is quite busy to get involved in a lot more because of the workload during term. Should I join a more social society?

+ I'm pretty intellectual. Up to date with current affairs and I have a pretty strong opinion of most things, and not afraid of being controversial. Not sure this is a good thing or not?

+ Meeting new people isn't a big deal anymore. I used to really bad at this, but I've worked on this a lot, partly from reading other threads here in HR. However, the problem is that I don't tend to meet that many new people in the first place - I know most people in my subject pretty well, and others in different subjects tend to be a bit cliquey at times.

+ First thing most of you will come up with is alcohol. Sure, I've tried that, doesn't work so far. Never get anywhere, no matter how drunk I'm am/ everyone else are. Perhaps I'm not doing it right?

I suspect the underlining problem is that at 21 and in university where everyone is at the same level socially, looks count for a lot more than later on. How do I make up on the looks department? I know that girls can sniff a desperate guy like a shark, so I've been quite laid back about being single, maybe a bit too laid back. Either way, it's pissing me off when my good looking buddy can hit on girls no problem, and it take me 10 times the effort for them to even look at me in the eye. What advice can you offer? Should I just accept it and think about this after I graduate?