Emergency repair kit

To be ready for any eventuality, keep a shoe box full of the following stuff handy:

• Safety pins (small, medium & large)
• Needle & thread (white, black & brown)
• Styptic pencil (men & women)
• Extra pair of pantyhose (women)
• Antacid tablets (optional)
• Band-Aids
• Clear nail polish
• Hem tape
• Tweezers
  

Affirmations

To calm yourself and quell any surges of anxiety, try an affirmation. Repeat after me:

• I'm a fun, interesting, worthy person.
• I deserve success & happiness.
• A date is only a date - it's not do-or-die time.
• I'm calm & fearless.
• I will enjoy myself tonight, and my date will, too.
  

Flirting Guidelines

Here's a quick list of what to do (and not do) when flirting with your date:

• Use your whole body
  Lean forward, make eye contact, smile, bend your knees a bit, and relax your hands and arms.
• Make eye contact
  Looking someone in the eyes is very alluring. And it makes them feel like they've got your undivided attention, which they should.
• Smile, don't smirk
  Smile openly and sincerely - it's irresistible.
• Pay attention
  No looking like you're trying to remember if you fed the cat.
• Lighten up, don't bulldoze
  Telling your date they're incredibly hot isn't flirting; it's steering your dating experience directly into a mountain.
• Focus on your partner, not yourself
  Make your date feel as though every word is a pearl of wisdom.
• Enjoy yourself
  Fun is the flirter's playground. And once you're having fun, it's easy to get others to play.
  

How to ask for a First Date

• Ask for a Wednesday or Thursday night.
  Never ask for a first date for a Friday or Saturday night (too big as date nights) or Monday (everyone hates Mondays).
• Offer a specific opportunity (as well as alternative days).
  If you say, "Would you like to go out sometime?" you leave yourself absolutely no out if they say no, and if they say yes, you still have to ask them out.
• Offer options.
  Options can include the day, time, activity and transportation. Options make you sound organized without being rigid.
• Ask for a first date a week to ten days in advance
  (but you can break this rule with impunity as the need arises).
• Go for it if you're having a good day.
  You're cuter when you're happy and self-confidence is sexy.
• Think KISS (Keep It Simple, Sweetie)
  All you want to do here is send a clear, gentle, but important message: I'd like to spend some time getting to know you better. Are you interested?