So you've decided to invite your date over to your appartment

There gets to be a time in a dating situation where someone goes to someone's house (apartment, dorm.) This may be because you're cooking, you want to watch a movie or..you know. This is a serious part in dating affairs and doesn't have to lead to sex, particularly the first time they come to your house.

The first time your dating interest comes to your house you want them to feel comfortable.
So take care.

1. Clean the damn place.
How your mom would clean it...FOR REAL. Dirty houses are really awful (clean couch, clean floor, clean sheets). Apparently candles are a sexy way to get rid of that smell (you know what I'm talking about).

2a. Warn your roommates (be they your best friends or your parents).
You want to let them know you're having company and set boundaries with them if you need. For instance, if you want to watch Anaconda with your beau you do not want your flouncy (often drunk) room-mate Lisa crawling all over your man. Give her 10 bucks for a movie or another cosmo. Tell her you need the living room. Tell her you need her to be scarce.
or
2b. Prepare for your beau to meet your roommates (be they best friends or parents).
If you're younger, it's appropriate for them to all meet. It's sort of a big step but it's never as weird as you think it's going to be (unless Lisa's your mom, eek).
3. Going into your room
If you live in a dorm it gets difficult. Often the only place to sit is the bed. This can feel really uncomfortable. Make an effort to get a couch that fits at least 2 people. Oh and I better not find out you didn't clean your room.

4. Clean your sheets
Doesn't matter if they're getting into them or not. Sheets smell up a room no matter what. Clean em for good measure (and good luck).

Date By Kate #1: Proper Hollywood Bowl Date

The other night I saw a presentation of the music of Bernstein at the Hollywood Bowl! For those of you who dont know, the HB is a classic pain but its really evolved in terms of want-to-go-and-we-actually-can-go-ed-ness. For instance, instead of parking in the fire hazard of a maze they call the staggered parking lot, you can meet up a shuttle at a location near you. Another option is you can metro or drive for and park for $3 into the Hollywood and highland stop. As for the ungodly tickets, I just found out that you can get tix between $1 and $8. So
youre far from the bowl, but the acoustics aren't any better than the 10th row, you dont have to sit near snobs, you can cupcake like crazy, see the landscape above the bowl and move down when no one is looking. Over enormous sandwiches, diet cokes and milano cookies on a silver platter (were not heathens) we delighted in the sounds of Candide and On the waterfront. Be aware that it gets Hella cold but it's a wonderful Los Angeles delight that's more convenient and accessible than ever.

Dating and Contagious Diseases: No More French Kissing

"Swine flu has put an end to a beloved French custom, at least for now," said Sherryl Connelly in the New York Daily News. The French health ministry has issued a warning that the air kiss, or "la bise," could spread the swine flu, or H1N1 virus. The "bise ban" got its start when the mayor of the town of Guilvenec in Brittany told school teachers and students to drop the traditional greeting.The kissing ban has not become a national law, yet, said Henry Samuel in Britain's Daily Telegraph, but big companies such as insurer AXA have told workers to abandon the bise and the handshake, and some offices are even demanding a one-yard person-to-person buffer zone. And an outright national ban could be one of the emergency measures France takes in the winter flu season to fight a possible H1N1 pandemic.With what shall we replace the kiss on the cheek and the handshake? asked Sandrine Blanchard in France's Le Monde. A slap on the back? If that's the way you go, be gentle. If you slap too hard you might make your friend cough or spit—and that's been banned, too.

FROM: http://www.theweek.com/article/index/100271/Swine_flu_and_Frances_kissing_ban

DC DECISIONS: Should I get with a cast member of the Real World DC?

Before you read this post:
Ugh, before you read this post, you need to understand that the biggest recommendation I can give you is: DO NOT TRY AND GET WITH THE GUYS FROM THE REAL WORLD

Why you shouldn't
(1) DISEASE: They've made out with every intern this side of the Mississippi.
(2) IVY LEAGUE FUTURE: Inevitably you're going to try to go to Harvard, and Harvard does not think that's okay. Mainly because Harvard had big plans with the cute blonde one and you ruined everything.
(3) REINFORCING BAD BEHAVIOR: Look, they're running around DC chewing on anything in seersucker panties. Pull it together and pull 'em up ladies. Just say no.
(4) YOU ARE NOT ALONE: You call it love, they call it Episode 2. It's a manipulation of people just trying to be happy in this city, and it's not fair.

Why You Should
Well, free air time and promotion for your blog