[update: podcast link fixed]

You’ve known her for a while.

She’s that friend of yours that always seem to be happy and smiling.  You don’t know why but you guys never dated.

Sure, you hang out.  You always laugh a lot together.  You know each other like the back of your hand.

And when it comes to romance, she’s always had a boyfriend or some guy she’s dating.  Or when she was actually available, you were involved with someone else.

Funny thing is… it feels so comfortable to be around her.  You can catch her looking at you that way sometimes.  Sometimes, you flirt back with her.  But she’s your friend, isn’t she?

In this podcast, Evan and I discusses all the signs that a woman may give to show you romantic interest.  If you’ve ever struggled in understanding women’s intentions towards you, this is a must-listen!

• What I learned from watching “The Science of Lust” on YouTube
• How the feeling behind the type of physical touching you have with someone could indicate romantic interest
• How women who like you will always use verbal flirting hints to show interest in you
• Why women who like you may be initiating and supportive of the things that are important to you in your life
• The only mindset trick you need to live by to avoid having to ever wonder if a woman likes you
• Why you need to view attraction as a process instead of a feeling
• Why being the initiator is your biggest advantage in dating

Kiss N' Tale - Is She Into You or Is She Just Being Friendly [ 25:31 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

So if you are in a situation where you don’t know if someone likes you or not, instead of waiting, ask them out.  If you are afraid to ask, I need to ask you:  why wouldn’t they want to be with you?  Aren’t you the best there is?

Whether you and your sweetie bicker like an old married couple or you are still lovey dovey eyes for each other, you’ve all felt the pressure of cooking up memorable and romantic Valentine’s Day plans.

When everyone is out trying the same recycled ideas you have done and read for years, how do you plan something original, sweet and not necessarily and extravagantly expensive?

If you’ve been a long time reader of this blog, you know that the best dates are the ones that:

1. Keep a little element of surprise or at least allows him/her to experience the feeling of something unexpected or “new”
2. Keep the energy going and the body moving (this is why I always recommend interactive activity dates and having more than one location/environment to go to in one date)
3. Shows thoughtfulness, meaning or relevance because you remembered something about them

Dates are about stories. How would your sweetie retell the story of what you guys did together to his or her friends.

Today, Thuy shares her 7 Valentine’s Day date ideas if you live in Los Angeles or Orange County.

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Valentine’s Day is here!!! What to do, what to do, what to do?

Should you stick to the safe bet and make reservations at a fancy restaurant and buy her a bouquet of flowers?

No… impossible. Every other guy is doing the same thing!

Planning dates in LA on Valentine’s Day must be the worse.  Traffic on that day alone can take up to two hours to get anywhere. That surely will kill any romantic vibes you were trying to set.

You can’t order off the regular menu and the prix fixe menu is completely overpriced. There are hundreds of other couples to wait on so service is bad. You can’t talk intimately to your sweetheart because you’re elbow to elbow with the table next you. I’m cringing at the thought already.

Personally, I don’t like to go out on Valentine’s Day. If you have a gift, exchanging them to each other on that day is great but reserve the outing for a less crowded day.

One year, my sweetheart and I chose to go out the Monday after Valentine’s Day, President’s Day.

I gave him a big hint on where I wanted to go for dinner and like the good guy that he was, he made the reservations.

“Perfect,” I said.  “Meet me at the parking structure two hours before dinner.”

He seemed skeptical but I claimed I wanted to walk and catch the sunset before dinner. It made sense. The restaurant was near the pier.

We met in front of the parking structure as planned. I led the way. Unbeknownst to him, I made a couple’s massage appointment for us. After the relaxing massage, we laid out on their rooftop deck in our robes. We were the only couple up there, which made it even more special when we gave each other personal massages as we watched the sun set over the ocean.

After we cleaned ourselves up, we walked to our restaurant. Being Monday, wine bottles were half off and we had the whole patio area to ourselves!

We sat in the booth with a bunch of pillows, caressing and kissing each other. There was no crowd, no rush, no chaos. It was like we had our own private oasis.

None of that could have happened if we had planned our outing on Valentine’s Day.

While I love a decadent dinner and a nice stroll on the beach as much as anyone, I understand that the basic romantic dinner may have gotten stale for you.  So let me start out with some twists on the same old, standard ideas and continue with more arousing date ideas:

1.  Give Her the Moon and Stars

Free public star parties are held monthly at the Griffith Observatory from 2pm to 9:45pm. They give patrons the opportunity to look at the sun, moon, visible planets, and other objects, to try out a variety of telescopes, and to talk to knowledgeable amateur astronomers about the sky and their equipment.

Take her on Saturday, February 16th, and give her a kiss underneath the stars

2.  Serenade Her

You’ve lost that loving feeling? Get it back by singing to her! Get a NRB (Noraebang), aka “private song room”, at one of the many Karaoke bars in Koreatown. Many serve alcohol. Some are BYOB. Prices usually start from $20 an hour for a small room.

Enjoy some Korean bbq beforehand or if you don’t want to be stinky to your sweetie, go to the popular gastropub Beer Belly.

Private dance optional.

3.  Dinner and a Movie

Bring a little nostalgia to the night by taking her to a drive-in. Electric Dusk Drive-In in downtown LA has a special showing of “When Harry Met Sally” on Valentine’s Day at 8pm.Get the Valentine’s package, which includes two tickets, a dozen roses, and a box of candy of your choice.

Or enjoy some cocktails and entrees as you watch that latest rom-com with your honey.

AMC recently opened its very first dine-in theatre in Marina del Rey. Right now, you can enjoy a free entrée with the purchase of an entrée and two drinks.

4.  Take Her on a Heart-Pumping Adventure

Your palms sweat. Your heart pounds so fast you can feel it in your mouth. Is this fear-induced arousal or sexual attraction? Many times, the brain can’t even tell the difference.There was a scientific research experiment in which many of the candidates who walked across a shaky bridge, then accidentally attributed their fear-based arousal to attraction.So if you want to induce a girl to feel the hots for you, take her on a wild ride!

• When Tarzan meet Jane:  Take her zip-lining at Navitat Canopy Adventures
• Make Her the Star of her Own Acrobatic Show:  Learn how to swing on the trapeze at the Los Angeles Trapeze School, then go on the ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier

5.  Give her the world

Or at least a sweeping view of Orange County…The Great Park Balloon holds up to 25 to 30 passengers and soars up to 400 feet. The rides are free. They are open during the day and in the evening too, if you want to have a view of the city lights.

If you go on Sunday, you can make a day out of it by going to the Farmers Market and have a picnic at the park.

6.  Baby, it’s cold outside

Weather is bad so you two don’t want to venture outside? Instead of take out and a movie rental, why not make it an indoor picnic? Clear out your living room floor. Place a blanket and have some wine and cheese with your honey. Then, play a game of Twister or some other contact-sport. 😉

Nice, warm bubble bath are always a hit. Get some hand made bath bombs at Lush. They have one specifically called “Sex Bomb” to get you in the mood.

There are some waterproof sex toys from Jimmy Jane you can add into the mix too. If you don’t want it to get too sappy and romantic, bring out the rubber duckies and squirt guns!

7.  Give the gift that keeps on giving

Getting a couple’s massage is great but it’s an indulgence that you can only have every once in awhile. Why not indulge each other more often by learning how to give one to each other? Living Social currently has a deal for a two-hour couple’s massage class. Get it before it’s gone!

• Living Social Couple’s Massage Class Deal

Here are some other locations that offer massage classed for two:

• Couple’s Massage Class
• Trilogy Spa

Lastly, if you want your Valentine’s Day to feel special and original, make it personal!

How quickly we forget this fact.

What did you two do on your first date? Was it just a coffee date? Be her Starbucks barista and bring her a latte and a scone for breakfast in bed.

Met her around Halloween? Instead of giving her a heart-shaped box of chocolates, give her a jack-o-lantern filled with chocolates.

What was the dessert that you both had on one date that made her swoon? It doesn’t matter if it seems cheesy to you. What matters is that it brings a smile on her face. You remembered the little things. You are flooding her with fond memories that you’ve built together.

If you can do that along with introducing her to a new experience on Valentine’s, I can bet that whatever happens after will be even better.

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Whatever you end up doing for Valentine’s Day, share your stories and tell us how your sweetie reacted! 

I’m catching up on my HBO Girls schedule.  I’ve watched all the episodes so far this season; I just haven’t had the time to make a podcast for each yet!

So far, season 2 of HBO Girls feels like a total roller coaster to me.  Every episode brings such sweeping surprises that I don’t know what to expect anymore.  If Lena Dunham was trying to get us constantly wondering about what’s going to happen next, well… she’s succeeding.

The first scene sets the tone for this episode:   when’s the last time you did something for the first time?

If you can’t remember, it’s time to get yourself out of your comfort zone.

And this is usually the very reason why some are better than others at life, not even just dating.  If you aren’t pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, you aren’t growing.  If you aren’t allowing yourself to be open to new experiences, you becoming boring.  And if there’s nothing exciting for you to share, then why would anyone want to date you?

I went out last night with Evan and a couple other friends.  We tried a brand new restaurant.  The food was great, the crackling of the fire in the patio turned the mood into a warm cozy vibe… and I believe it was our ability to smile, be open to new people that allowed us to meet two great girls!  Hopefully, we will get to enjoy their company again soon.

One of my clients, who still happens to be a virgin, was texting me last night too!  He has finally gotten himself to go out and enjoy life in the last few months with no prejudice and with no restraints.  And what I was most happy about was to hear how he has been making out with her heavily for the past few days.  He was so excited!

But none of that would have happened if he didn’t push himself out of his comfort zone.

In this podcast, Evan and I share with you:

• What “Be Yourself” really means and why it is still good advice for most people
• How getting out of your comfort zone is a must for you to grow into a more attractive person
• How you can become a better storyteller by having excitement in your voice because you’ve been trying something new
• Why being well-rounded is attractive
• How nice guys should not be afraid of breaking rapport with a woman
• Why Jonathan Booth’s handling of Marnie’s initial resistance to his charm was irresistibly seductive
• Why you need to try starfish sex tonight and report back
• Why you need to stop judging people on the amount of sexual partners they’ve had

Kiss N' Tale - HBO Girls S02E03 Review [ 45:59 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download