First I want to apologize to all of my fans (yes, both of you) regarding my lack of posts to this blog. I am hoping to be back on track and entertain all those requiring guidance and humor in their lives on the dating circuit.

The best way to get to know someone is by the passage of time. Over the long haul each of us acts more like our real-selves as various defenses and cover-ups go by the way side.

Having to go through a year or more of dating to find out more about the true person you are deciding upon spending the rest of your life with, or until the next divorce, may be an unnecessary burden. You can learn faster by dating more regularly in an exclusive relationship, but there is an even speedier process that takes the relationship to a new level and it’s called the vacation.

The sleep away can really speed up the getting to know you process. Going away with someone allows you the time to see behaviors that may be more difficult to hide on a dating, hourly basis.

Even beyond the mere sleeping at their house, a vacation to a faraway place gives one the opportunity to see beyond the surface behaviors and get a glimpse into the heart of the beast.

It is hard to hide neuroses, psychotic behavior, OCD, and general maladjustment for too many days of intimate contact. This makes the road trip an important part of getting to know your new partner. And while vacations are usually based in relaxation and bliss, the mere activity of packing and traveling and unpacking and deciding what to do each day has enough stress built in to cut through all the layers of civility allowing you to meet your new mate – the ogre or the witch depending upon which gender you are taking this vacation with.

If you have the opportunity to see this person pack, you get a good idea of how practical and efficient they are along with their ability to handle stress.

Generally speaking, men pack in a most efficient, albeit ridiculous manner. Watching a man pack, or at least looking in his suitcase, reveals much about him. Usually the clothing is thrown into the abyss in a haphazard manner, unless your guy just so happens to be a neat freak, in which case he will have everything folded to perfection, neatly placed in a well thought out pattern. Right off the bat, you can tell more about this guy by a mere glimpse into his packing traits.

The same applies for the ladies, only they tend to be the more organized and fastidious packers. The thing you don’t see in just looking at the opened suitcase, unless you look carefully, with a magnifying glass, is how many hairs she pulled out of her head in creating this neatly organized baggage.

The truth is that women usually have more clothing than men and that means many more options when it comes time to go away. Think about it; you men have one pair of black shoes they go into the suitcase. It doesn’t involve a discussion or a debate with your inner self. It’s that easy. While the dirty soles of these black shoes may be strategically placed on top of that nice white dress shirt, it was probably not intentional.

Now look at the average woman’s closet. There are eighty to a hundred pairs of shoes in all the shades found in the premium Crayola crayon box set.

Deciding on which shade of purple shoe goes best with the dark purple bag could be difficult and actually require putting the six purple shoes on the floor in various lighting situations to best determine which ones to take. And if they some look good in the fluorescent lighting but not the natural lighting, she may have to take several of the purple shoes and bags so she won’t appear out of the appropriate color scheme when on the town. While there is much exaggeration here, there is truth lurking too.

Deciding where to go and where to eat gives you a look at many of the qualities and nature of your partner. Be on the lookout for bossy always wanting his/her way, being unable to make a decision about going anywhere, and stressing over every little thing that happens.

Be prepared for at least one argument and maybe more depending upon how good a judge of character you are that got you to be with this person in the first place. The argument can be decisive and result in never seeing this person again. If you see an argument brewing and you think it could lead to the demise of the relationship, stop it at all cost if you aren’t the one in procession of the car keys or plane tickets, or you may just find yourself on the street begging for fare on a Greyhound.

Some of the traits you may discover include pushy, controlling, indecisive, complaining, set in their ways, stressed and how they handle it, oblivious, overbearing and all sorts of negative traits. On the other hand, you may see great qualities like being in control, being able to make decisions, handling stress well, spirituality, and just about any of the many human qualities and skill sets known. It is your job to weigh the good and the bad and see if this person could be a match for you.

The vacation could help you to determine whether it is time to pass on a relationship or move it forward towards a union of eternal bliss.

Regarding vacations, I hope my loyal fan Lynne will respond with contact information in case you want to take a vacation. She's the best at finding and setting up a great vacation!