Returned 21 results for 'Monthly Archives: August, 2016'
Navigating around New York city for your date
Wednesday, August 31st, 2016
If you have a date in New York, NY City or surrounding areas, then you will know that it is always a good idea to give yourself plenty of time for the commute to your dating location. If you are a native New Yorker, you probably will find some of this information redundant, however, you may find some uses for the new maps prepared for commuting easily on the subway of NY.
Travel in New York City
Driving:
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is driving to your dating location, be it late at night or even weekends on Sundays, be prepared to sit in idle traffic for a long time! If you are coming out of state, it is always best to park your car in the suburbs close to where you are going and then just hop on the train or bus for the rest of the journey. Avoid driving at all possible costs unless you know that your dating partner resides on the outskirts of the city and I mean, really in the outskirts.
New York has always been busy, even if you go back 50 or 100 years and of course with time it just got even busier. It is only a question of time when NY implements the same requirements as London for drivers entering and leaving the city.
Public Transport:
Most of us have gotten used to the subway and try to avoid buses altogether but you are at a miss if you do so. Restricting your commute to the subway will only lengthen your journey since you will have to do the remainder of your trip by foot. Many areas are several blocks or maybe 1-2 miles from the nearest subway. It is always best to know your bus routes. Ferdouse.com has conveniently put together maps for these exact benefits. Make sure you have it on the home page of your mobile phone. Here are the links…
http://www.ferdouse.com/2016/03/new-york-subway-map-image-form-better-than-pdf/
Uber:
Uber is a huge phenomena in NY with about 30,000 drivers signed up to the massive automated online system. Many of these drivers depend on their livelihood on this service. The cost is not usually much but can be expensive depending on what location you want to go to. Uber dynamically updates it’s price depending on the demand in particular areas and they provide this information as a color-coded map for the drivers. Some parts of Manhattan will light up in red during peak-times and you may end up paying twice the rate. However, generally the service is cheaper than the yellow or green cabs and the cars/drivers of Uber also need to be regulated by the NY Transport agency.
Bicycling:
Not the best way to meet up with your date, although you can put a label on the rear of your seat saying ‘my other big bike is a Land Rover’ etc. If you plan to meet up for just coffee or a bite to eat than this may allow you to weave through traffic and reach your destination faster than cabs. NY has done a good job of making roads compatible with bikes and even City Bank now offers bicycles that you can rent dotted around the city.
However, you get to your destination, make sure you are fresh, clean and with some energy to enjoy with your date!
Tags: Dating In New York, dating in NY, new york dating, transport in NY
Cultural differences can be major obstacles to surmount before finding suitable matches
Monday, August 29th, 2016
We know to a certain extent that culture can play a vital part in the way we have been brought up and our personalities can reflect this. In the early stages of a relationship we may overlook those differences but as soon as the couple gets to really know each other, those differences can become challenging. I can’t help but give you a blatant expression of cultural differences depicted in the movie ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ released in 2002. This pokes much fun at the differences in culture including the parents mindset but it does sum up quite well how cultural differences can impact relationships.
cultural differences depicted in movie
Many a people have given advice on this subject and it’s usually in these lines, ‘marry into the same culture’. There is much truth to this statement because being brought up in a particular culture embeds into us specific values, behavior, what is tolerant etc and a host of other things. This shapes the way we think, behave, respond and of course the future mindset when it comes to partnering and getting married. Many couples of differing cultures will tell you that it was only over time that they overcame their differences and were able to adjust to each other. For the starry-eyed couples, take note since cultural values should not be looked at lightly.
In the example of the movie mentioned earlier, it was quite funny to watch how the woman was in no mood to be intimate with her American partner after what seemed like forever for the poor young man. Although it would be too stereotypical to say that the West have a leander understanding of what is considered intimate, nevertheless the cultural differences do play a significant part in relationship building. You may also say that religious viewpoints play a vital part in the courting and dating game. The oddity of religion is that it is often fashioned by the culture itself and intermingled with the cultural values of the environment live in. This may bring about a different opinion of thinking and understanding but not necessarily bespoke of religion.
Generally, if you are meeting someone from different cultural backgrounds, it is always a good idea to give yourself time and understand the differences. Apart from the cultural differences you also have to weigh the unique personality of the person you are dating. One of the reasons why some Eastern marriages work over a long period of time is that they have been wired to think in some way with regards to marriage and children. The initial ‘unknown’ glitzy and romantic entanglement makes way for a much more pragmatic, rigorous, down-to-earth, plain common sense approach to marriage. Maybe it is a good thing and maybe it is a bad thing. The point being that a couple needs to go in it for the long haul and not just for the romance.
It is perhaps for this reason why we are now choosing to marry late and some not to marry at all. The unfortunate fact of this matter is that for those who remain single, they will not be able to experience the joy and often frustrations that come about from marriage and children. Maybe it could be different to what you have seen as ‘second-hand’ or maybe you think you can do a much better job than your parents. However, it is almost impossible to know what it is like unless you have actually experienced it itself. Take for example, the famous question, ‘is it better to have loved and lost and not to have loved at all’ or ‘What is it like to hold your first born child in your arms for the very first time’.
Tags: adjusting to culture, cultural differences, culture and religion, dating from other cultures
A further reaffirmation that self-improvement is very important
Saturday, August 27th, 2016
Many of our jumpdates members are well educated as can be see by the audience and visitors measured by well known statistics sites such as google trends and alexa ratings. Just visit these sites to see how jumpdates.com attracts the types of audience.
Improving one-self is as important to rearing children
Often, our members are looking for ways to self-improvement and self-development because they are aware of how important these are to attract the right partner in their lives. In that vein we have written hundreds of articles on this subject in our jumpdates blog. We have reaffirmed the importance of this quality from sources around the web.
Recently we have reviewed the popular book by Benjamin Spock on ‘Dr Spocks baby and Child Care’ - 9th edition. Although it talks about the birth of child and parents expectations etc. However, we could not help and marvel at some of the statements made early in the book which talks about how parent’s treat strictness and permissiveness in order to bring up a child. This section alone warrants a read by every adult as it has profound implications in the way we grow up as adults.
If you get a chance please read the section on page 48 ‘74. Parents who become confused with new theories’ which basically talks about how some parenting choose to bring up their children based on how they were brought up as a child. This is a must reading as it will provide you with insights to your thinking and help with self-improvement.
As mentioned before in our numerous blog posts, there are many reasons why we choose to behave the way we do and this largely stems from our upbringing. Dr Spock talks about how some of us can ‘change our theories’ from the ones we have been taught by our parents. How we do this has huge repercussions on the way we behave and how we expect to parent our own children. Just to give you an example, if we choose to give more permissiveness to the child based on our harsh and strict upbringing, we may be doing injustice to the child. The feelings of resentment my grow with time as you give in to the child on every whim which is not what you intended. What Spock indirectly says, is to bring a balance to the handling and upbringing of the child.
Dr Spock does not discourage strictness in bringing up a child but when it is done with overbearing harshness, chronically disapproving and make no allowance for the child’s age and individuality then it can be harmful. However, this line alone indirectly shows the personality of the adult and if we lean towards that kind of upbringing we really need to reach within ourselves and change.
Brought to you by the ThinkTank Labs of Jumpdates.com
Posted in Dating Help for All, Dating Help for Single Parents, Dating and Relationship Advice | No Comments »
Tags: improving oneself, self development, self-help, self-improvement
The different meanings of the word selfish explained through personality traits
Thursday, August 25th, 2016
We often use this word to justify someone’s character due to their behavior. However, the word has such a broad connotation and meaning that to label a person entirely as being selfish would not be justified or even qualified. To live in a society with that personality alone would be near impossible.. we would find ourselves deeply isolated from the real world.
Understanding selfishness with examples
So why do we consider other people are selfish?
Maybe when you have a need and the other person does not fulfill it, you immediately label the person as selfish. It could be that you are selfish to think so and expect the other person to happily go about doing what you ask. The point is, when you label someone ‘selfish’, try to put it into perspective and ask why they are being selfish.
Selfish is sometimes associated with arrogance.
We know that arrogant people (who think highly of themselves) are usually always making references to ‘me’ or ‘I’ and does not really pay attention to other folks. We may find these people selfish since their appearance and behavior is always pointing towards them. There are subtle differences here when we associate arrogance to folks who are very talkative and those who are not. You may make the mistake of a quiet person as less arrogant than the talkative part but this may not be true. The quiet person may be equally arrogant in their nature by not associating with other people or deliberately trying to keep away from interactions with other people. Their world will become topsy turvy if they don’t have control over their domain. As a result they can also appear selfish.
Assertiveness & selfishness.
Sometimes assertiveness is construed as selfish but the difference is that the assertive person is empathetic whereas the selfish person is not. A selfish person will normally never undertake a task that you ask them to do for whatever reasons whereas an assertive person will do the task whenever they can.
An assertive person does not have to forceful as the Oxford Dictionaries describe it, a better description is found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Oxford Dictionaries:
confident and forceful behavior
Merriam-Webster:
confident in behavior or style
Oddly enough the first is from the UK and the second from here in the US. This can explain some of the general stereotypical personality traits between these two nations ie. one taking a negative stance on responses to ‘no’, whereas the other nation encourages this kind of behavior. We have heard the negativity of being two faced, maybe it is a result of how we assert ourselves. Anyways, this is probably another discussion of topic for another time.
One of the biggest things we can learn about ourselves is the ability to take control of how we react to an unpleasant situation from say a selfish person. We may feel hurt but out of that comes resentment and to alleviate our stress we start blaming other people for the way we feel. The best course of action is simply to appreciate that these people exist and they may offend you one way or another but make it a point that they may be having a bad day. Also reflect afterwards if the negative reaction was caused by you.
Tags: arrogance, assertiveness, handle selfishness, selfish nature
How to say no without offending someone…
Wednesday, August 24th, 2016
We often have different viewpoints when someone suddenly says ‘no’ to us and as a result we might label them as selfish, arrogant or in some cases bold. On the opposite side, some cultures find it hard to say ‘yes’ as this can come across as offensive. For example when you are a guest and they ask you whether you want some ‘tea’ and you reply with a ‘yes’, this may come across as offensive in some cultures believe it or not.
Saying no takes some skill
Depending on what kind of relationships you are in, you may feel perfectly within your rights to ask your spouse to buy a gallon of milk on his way back after work. Receiving a ‘no’ response might elevate your emotions and lead to a fight. Again there are good and bad responses to this and is based on your perception of the event. For example, you might just curse your spouse and shout at him for thinking of giving that kind of response. You may feel ‘that was an odd reply, maybe you suddenly feel empathetic and ask ‘really, any reason’. Equally, the person who says ‘no’ can start off by giving good reasons first on why he should say ‘no’. For example, he could start with ‘I’m afraid I will be working late, you would need to pick it up or one of the kids can pick it up’.
The example above was a simple one but it shows how responses from both parties can be worded to avoid miscommunication or heated arguments. It is one of the reasons and and an often used tactic to test and provocate others by people who are skilled in this. Dare I say, it has been used effectively by the male gender to have more control over the opposite sex. It is always wise to listen and assimilate what is said to you before you respond. However, one is unable to stay in this mode of thinking when both parties known to each other are spontaneously engaged in a conversation. If you do most of the talking, you are most likely to be more vulnerable to criticisms as the person who says less.
There is the question of assertiveness that comes into play when saying no partly because you have been a yes person most of the time. Trying to be ‘nice’ and saying yes as opposed to a ‘no’ all the time labels you in the weak category by other people. In order to please others and forgo self-interest the person ends up agreeing to what others are saying. What has to be understood is that a ‘no’ is just an important part of the conversation and relationship as saying a ‘yes’ and is healthy. However, the way we say those are important.
Is there a singular solution to handling yourself in the best manner possible? Unfortunately, we humans are not alike, with some having much tolerance and becoming labeled as a ‘door mat’ whilst others with no patience are considered brash and selfish. Then it stands to reason that the middle ground is the best place to be.
Our machine algorithms developed by the ThinkTank Labs of Jumpdates has sifted through thousands of messages to find the word ‘no. We have learned some interesting tactics that members use to convey a ‘no’ to the other person. Stay tuned for more information on our findings.
Tags: being assertive, how to say no, saying no, saying yes
