Not dating, but "hanging out"

Question…What’s your definition of “hanging out”? I pose this question as it’s become glaringly clear to me that my definition of hanging out and guy’s definition of hanging out are two completely different things. To be more specific, my idea of hanging out means, not necessarily dating, but doing things with another person and getting to know them. I also think of “hanging out” in more of a platonic sense. However, I’m starting to feel like most guys consider hanging out as having sex with no strings attached and maybe going out from time to time. Now there is nothing wrong with the latter option, but I feel like “hanging out” isn’t the best term for that situation. If I knew up front that a guy was moreso just interested in having sex with me, I would at least know what I was getting into. Let’s be honest if I’m trying to get to know a person there is a certain level of effort I’ll put into doing that. However, if you just want to have sex and then go out from time to time, I would approach that situation differently. I probably wouldn’t put forth as much effort, I’d just call when I’m horny or when I don’t have any other plans. I feel like being forthcoming with your intentions is so much easier to deal with. There is no confusion that way. So now if a guy tells me he just wants to “hang out” I automatically assume he wants to have sex and treat the situation accordingly. Is that wrong? Could it simply be the guys I’ve met are just d-bags? What’s your definition of “hang out?

Dollars and Dating

Question...Do guys always have to pay for dates? I've actually had this conversation a few times in the past couple weeks with both men and women. One guy in particular felt very strong about the fact that it drives him crazy that women always expect the guy to pay for everything even when they are just "hanging out" (SN: I’ve also discovered that hanging out means completely different things to men and women, but that's another blog). Anyway, up until now I had never really given it much thought. A man paying for activities wasn't necessarily an expectation for me, but the overwhelming majority of guys I’ve dated/ "hung out" with paid for everything. Since I guess I’ve been spoiled, I always assume the guy is going to pay. I will admit that if I were on a first (or even second) date and a guy didn't/wouldn't pay or wanted to go dutch, it would be a turn off. However, if we were just friends I wouldn't mind picking up the bill from time to time or at least paying for myself. But generally I guess I do expect a guy to pay for whatever.

Many would attribute this whole thing to tradition. Typically when courting a woman a guy would take her out or buy her flowers, things like that. It’s safe to say that dating today is far from traditional. Some men would argue that if women can be "all independent and such" then they can pay for dates too. Now since I love ya'll I’m going to be all the way honest. I'm as independent as they come, but I will give you the side eye if we're out and you start acting crazy when the check comes. I know this sucks for guys b/c potentially that's a lot of money to kick out when you don't even know what's going to happen between you and said woman. But heck that's just the way it is right? If I were a guy I'd be a total jerk and feel like after a certain amount of dates and money spent you would have to give me some or I would stop talking to you...but this is why I'm a woman and also why I don't date much. However, if I’ve been seeing someone for a while I will gladly start offering to pay from time to time, but still I think I typically assume the guy taking me out will pay...Is that wrong? What do you think?

Sweetheart or stalker?

Question…is it flattering or scary if a potential researches you before the first date? Let’s say you meet a guy, have a bit of conversation, then exchange numbers. You chat with the fellow a few times and make plans for a date. By the time you go on the date you realize the person has done some extensive research on you. He’s googled you, checked out all your info on FB or myspace, or whatever form of social media you use. So on the date he begins asking you questions about things you know you didn’t tell him about. When you ask him how he knows all this stuff he tells you he looked you up to 1)get to know you better and 2) have more topics for conversation. Would you consider this flattering or a bit stalkerish?

Rules of Quitting...

Question…if you are early on in dating a person and for whatever reason you decide to quit them, do you need to officially let them know they’ve been quit or is it ok to just disappear? Now understand with this I’m not talking about a serious relationship b/c clearly that deserves an actual ending. But let’s say you’ve only gone out on two or three dates and you realize they just aren’t it. Can you just slowly stop returning their calls or stop accepting dates and try to end them into the friend zone? Is that rude? What if you’ve given them some lovin and then you realize it’s just not going to work…does the introduction of lovin warrant a face to face quitting? What’s appropriate?