Polls: Relationships

I’m asking as I never had a partner , I have no guy to plan a vacay & he fast say yes he’ll go with me. No guy ever has wanted live life together with me.

so I’m going on vacay alone. I’m used to being alone anyways. But I see people travel alone all the time it must be normal too. For single woman travel alone.

My girlfriend and I have been dating for 5 years and recently we celebrated my birthday. There was one thing I specifically asked for that she got me and I appreciate it. But everything else just seemed a little thoughtless.

One thing, she got me a personalized ice cream spoon. On the surface, it seems cute but I practically only eat ice cream with a tiny spoon when I’m home and the spoon she got me was a normal size. I probably won’t really use it. She also got me pimple patches from a brand I like other products from but I really don’t have pimples and the few times I’ve used patches in the past, they don’t work or sometimes make my face scab. I've told her this before since she uses patches and sometimes asks if I want to use any. Then finally, I’ve been wanting a kiddie pool to just be able to sit/ put my feet in, like the $15 kind. She ordered me one but it’s not supposed to come in for another week. Which is fine and all but this week I have off of work and I would have used it now. To me, I would have preferred to just go get one myself at the store so I could actually use it when I have time off. Or even just ordering me one that would have came in time for my birthday.

Everything she got me is sorta thoughtful but also not that useful to me. Part of me feels like she didn’t really try but the other part of me feels like I’m just being ungrateful. Gifts from her have always been like this but in the past I just let it go since I thought she was actively trying and maybe just not hitting the mark. But now that we’ve been dating longer, I feel like she should know a little better.

Okay so last week I was supposed to meet my boyfriend at the pub to watch a band, but instead he texted me saying he was swimming which I thought okay, wish you’d have told me earlier but have fun. And then tonight I didn’t mean to but over heard a conversation and found out he took his best friend and stood me up for her.
I don't know what to do. If I should say something cuz I wasn’t supposed to know.

While book-smarts or street-smarts help a person in specific ways, Emotional Intelligence is what we use most in the real world -- it's the mindfulness, awareness and processing ability we have for both our feelings and the feelings of others.

Current research indicates that those with higher levels of EI draw others towards them... They're people who others genuinely want to be around for the long haul -- at work/school/relationships. Their kindness and compassion towards others shine through their EI, as does their ability to own up to their own decisions (instead of blaming them on others) and to treat others with respect and dignity.

Here 's a quick 20-point quiz for you guys and gals -- the most common signs of EI

(+1 for each point you "sort of understand" and +2 for each point you're really good at):

• Being able to know and accept yourself for who you are (with all your quirks and experiences)...
• Being able to accept responsibility for your actions and decisions...
• Being able to accept change as a standard part of life...
• Being able to control emotions rather than raging and lashing out and flying off the handle with verbal/physical outbursts...
• Being able to forgive yourself -- to show yourself some grace -- by leaving past mistakes in the past...
• Being able to talk through problems and challenges with others...
• Being aware of your own strengths -- and being able to admit to them...
• Being aware of your own weaknesses -- and being able to admit to them...
• Being modestly confident and poised -- and keeping your cool in challenging situations...
• Showing empathy and compassion -- putting yourself in another person’s shoes and seeing things from their perspective...

The scoring goes by 5s (see the poll, which keeps answers anonymous). Don't share your score in comments if you don't want to.

(Those with a low score wondering how to raise EI can search Google for free materials that are very helpful.)

Are there certain conditions under which a man and a woman can be friends successfully? Can it be done without one being hurt?

Why or why not? What do you think?