Higher Standards in 2009

I always tell girl friends that guys only treat you as well as you demand to be treated. If a guy is a jerk, that's on him. But if he continues to be a jerk, and you continue to stand for it, that's on you. You've given him no reason to treat you any differently. If I could do no work and still get paid, why would I change? What would my incentive be? It's the same with guys.

I need to start taking my own advice.

A couple of my other single ladies (cue Beyonce song) and I have adopted "Higher standards in 2009" as our motto.

2008 was not a good year for guys. There was the great break-up of March, followed by some first name only friends: Steve, the high school English teacher/wrestling coach (and his tall, blond friend, the border patrol agent); Francisco the Guatemalan bongo player. This summer I had not 1 but 2 Republicans (I know!). One was fiscally conservative, that I could handle, but the other turned out to actually be a non-voting Libertarian. That I couldn't handle. You don't vote? Seriously?

There was the white-water rafting guide who drove a limo in the off-season and the former crush (he worked in the snack shack where I used to life guard). Then there was the whole on-line dating thing. 1-2-3-done. (I'm restarting the counter, btw.)

The year didn't end/begin well, either. I flirted with some guy with a face like a camel for about an hour before his friend mentioned something about his wife and baby. Funny, camel-face failed to mention those aspects of his life when he was putting his wedding-ring-less arm around my waist.

So here we are now. Higher Standards in 2009!

(We fully accept the possibility that in a few years we'll be chanting "Lower Standards in 2012" or "Willing to Compromise in 2014".)