Life's Not Fair

Every time I meet a girl that I'm attracted to and feel compatible with, that girl is guaranteed to be in a relationship already. The worst part is that they always seem to have fundamental complaints about their current relationship, but they stay in them anyways. Does this mean that the approach most people are using is to just date whoever and go from relationship to relationship in some sort of upgrade fashion?

I ask this, because I have always thought that it's not right to flirt with a girl who is in a relationship or is getting over a relationship. However, if people are just going relationship to relationship, isn't that the only way to ever end up with one of these girls?

I guess logic would dictate that every girl must be considered fair game to optimize for quality. Yes, I know, that was spoken like an engineer. It may seem obvious to most people, but for us idealists, it's something we're reluctant to accept.

This Sounds Familiar...

Every "nice guy" like me has heard this "I can't date you because it would ruin our friendship" crap from at least one girl we know. Sure, it's "The Onion," so it's meant to be funny, but it's also pretty true.

Bad Guys Do Get The Girls

Apparently, scientists have found evidence clearly showing what we've suspected all along: the bad boys get the girls. Sucks for guys like me. There are simply not enough girls out there who look for good guys. Maybe I should just pretend to be an asshole....

Being Friends With A Former Love Interest

Is it possible to be friends with a person that you have had a strong romantic interest in or a person that you had a relationship with? I've been forced to wonder about this a lot lately. I don't know if I can do it.

For me, there are so many mixed up emotions and blurred lines that shouldn't be crossed that it's a pretty difficult scenario. I want to remain friends, but I don't know if I can handle it and retain what's left of my sanity.

In my experience, I find that my expectations never quite seem to match up with her expectations. I mean, the obvious solution is that the boundaries of the friendship are determined by intersection of the sets of expectations (sadly, math terminology is the most clear to me in describing this). However, that means that neither person's expectations will ever be fulfilled.

This is a pretty painful prospect for two people who once shared something far more. The only real question is if it's more painful to not be friends or to be friends.