How To Go On a First Date: A Tutorial

February 06, 2017 by Cazey Williams in Life In Your 20's, Humor, Dating, Cazey's Column, life lessons

Step one: download Tinder. Or it can be any app that our generation uses that allows you to meet young, attractive locals without ever leaving your bedroom.

Swipe right. Be sure not to swipe too far right and up or you might Super Like them, and how awkward is that to show someone you really, really think they’re attractive. It’s better not to give people the upper hand in these commitmentphobic times. Or worse, you might accidentally Super Like someone unattractive. Gasp. Undo! CTRL+Z!

Keep swiping right. It takes a few minutes/hours/days until you find a match. Well, hopefully not days.

Don't Miss the Missed Train

August 01, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, life lessons, Life In Your 20's, Dating

We matched exactly 20 days ago. I downloaded Bumble to further procrastinate during finals. Her name was Eva, and I immediately envisioned our love affair seven years into the future because I have a thing for unique names and also a crush on Eva Green from "Casino Royale" in 2006. Also, her profile read, "What is a first date between new friends?"

I don't know, but I want in.

She asked me about my bird because my profile mentions I own a bird. (My bird is the number one question I actually get about myself. People are fascinated by people who own pet avians.)

I'm Your Girlfriend's Best Friend and I'm Not a Threat (Unless I Want To Be)

May 18, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, life lessons, Dating, Life In Your 20's

Recently my best friend got engaged. They met overseas, so I didn't get to meet her fiancé until after he actually proposed - though I knew the ring was coming (because she believed it was coming) and I Facebook friended the guy before they were even official.

Upon meeting her betrothed, he asked how we knew each other. "From college?" he guessed. (I was slightly offended my friend hadn't briefed her beloved further.)

"No, no, we go all the way back to kindergarten," we relived our friendship. "In third grade we ran against each other for SCA secretary. Neither of us won."

Friendships Over Relationships . . . Right?

October 15, 2015 by Cazey Williams in Life In Your 20's, Cazey's Column, Humor, life lessons

My best friends tend not to overlap with each other. They all tend to belong to their own friendship circles. In each circle I am generally a recurring character, but rarely a season's regular. That is not to say my friends don't get along; we just don't hang out all together at the same time - unless I'm hosting a New Year's Eve party.

My college best friend happens to have membership in a friendship group based in the D.C. beltway. They maintain a sporadic GroupMe where they can group text about meeting up for drinks or road tripping to visit old college friends. Somehow I got inducted into this group. I really can't remember why; the majority of the friends live within 30 miles of each other, and I live 94 miles away in Richmond.

Save It For Tiffany's

May 27, 2015 by astoldoverbrunch in Life In Your 20's, Guest Post, Dating, life lessons, Social Media, Work, Young Professionalism

I had a college boyfriend. The kind you kiss behind the dorm room door while your roommate pretends not to be annoyed in the common room. The kind you Snapchat more than you talk to and fight with more than you love. The boy that you never knew you weren’t going to marry.

I’m not in college anymore. I don’t have that boyfriend anymore, either. I’m with someone I didn’t meet in bio lab or in the dining hall. He never want to a campus party with me. We talk way more than we text and if he doesn’t answer me for six or seven hours, I know it’s because he is busy. We don’t fight about iPhone drama the way my college boyfriend and I did. There are a lot of reasons for that, including my increased level of maturity, but the number one reason is this: I’m not in college anymore. I have a different life now, one that includes dress pants every day and business cards in my wallet. My new boyfriend has business cards too, not for the same company (thank goodness), but his life is like my life. We match in many ways.