Questionnaire

The other day, Engineer sent me this picture of a greeting card he found and "immediately thought of me." Isn't that sweet? He knows me so well.

I suppose some might take this as an insult. I mean, this sorta paints a picture of Princess Shallow-and-Picky, no?

I disagree. I think it paints a picture of Princess Knows-What-She-Wants, who has run into far too many Prince I'm-a-Total-Losers.

In fact, it gives me an excellent idea. Why couldn't there be a questionnaire that we hand out at the beginning of each date (just keep it to the point....they only get an hour to answer, tops)? Honest, written responses to four or five well-crafted questions might be all any of us really need to figure out if our date even has potential.

The trick is, you really need to know what it is you want. Your deal-breakers. If her number of exes, or his last tax return, is really what matters to you - you need to fess up, and put it on the questionnaire. Otherwise, there's no real point.

Here's a bonus, too: According to some studies, people are less likely to lie in writing. Think about it.... Who's going to lie in a format that can be ripped from a file cabinet and used against them in five years?! Not to mention, as we all well know, it is far less awkward to tell the truth in a letter (or email, or text) than while looking someone in the eye. Everyone is braver in writing.

So, after careful consideration, I've crafted my five questions*.

~ Do you have any crazy exes?
~ Do you support same-sex marriage?
~ Are you a morning person?
~ How long have you been single?
~ Do you like cats?

*This isn't a comprehensive list of everything that matters to me. Many other things matter, too - but if a guy gave me the "wrong" answer to any of these questions, I'd probably file him under friends-only, and move on.