Life is Short. Have an Affair.

Yesterday, Jeff told me about a website called Ashley Madison, a dating service for married people who want to have affairs. It was a funny conversation that started with my saying that since I can't find Doug anywhere online, I had started looking for his mom. She's a really fun, pretty, outgoing woman. I told Jeff she was the "swinging single" sort. If anyone in his family were on Facebook it would be her.

Jeff said, "Maybe she would be on that cheating site... Madison something? Dolly Madison? Umm... Ashley Madison!"

Ahahahahaaaaaaaaa!! Oh reeeeeeally now.

"I've never heard of it," I said.

"It's advertised on Howard Stern all the time."

Okay, I'll buy that. Jeff's off the hook.

We pulled it up on my computer. 6.5 million members! This website's tag line is- no joke- "Life is Short. Have an Affair." It's almost $300 to sign up, so only serious cheaters, tired of the traditional buy-a-girl-a-$7-drink-at-a-bar method, need apply. There is a free part, but it's limited, like at most other dating services. Once I got to their blog, I was really intrigued.

Not intrigued like I wanna join. That stuff shows up on credit card receipts.

I was surprised by the plethora of incidental data they can collect on human behavior. The blog has all sorts of interesting infidelity stats from website activity. According to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, there are an abundance of Texans on the site, and lots of them are newlywed females. Hmm.

Single people who want to meet married people are on the website, but in the FAQ it indicates that they have trouble finding matches, because they aren't risking anything. Never thought of that.

I was just amused by the unapologetic tone of it all. Jeff found it a sad commentary on society. Usually I'm the deep one.

Anyhoo... Doug's mom's name is, like his, very common. I had no luck finding her either. Bah.


Saturday 9: Go Your Own Way

1. When was the last time you were told to go your own way?
Lauren told us last night to go out without her, because she was going to the movies with her friends. (They loved Despicable Me.)

2. What one experience has strengthened your character the most so far?
Becoming a parent.

3. What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
Play in the rain. If that's not practical, I like to watch from a cozy spot, maybe read a magazine.

4. How long can you go without your cell phone?
from recent experience... about a week. Then the tremors and palpitations begin.

5. Do you wish you were somewhere else right now?
Nope. I'm enjoying being at home after being away for a while.

6. Of all the people you've ever known, who have you most feared?
There were two guys in my department at A&M who were good friends with each other. They called me one night and addressed me by name, but didn't say who they were. I totally recognized them from their thick New York accents. There weren't too many of those in College Station. They started out flirtatious and silly, but when they wouldn't tell me what they were doing or admit who they were, I kept hanging up. They got angry and more vulgar, and eventually said they were coming to my apartment. It really freaked me out. I confronted them with a friend of mine the next day, and they very unconvincingly denied it. I steered clear of them from then on. Luckily they turned out to be harmless.

7. Do people tell you that you look your age?
I usually look my age, but if I do the ponytail and the right clothing, people tell me I look younger. Most of the time I get comments about not looking old enough to have a 16-year-old, which is strictly a reflection of how young I was when I had her, compared to the average moms of 16-year-olds, who are about ten years older than me.

8. Your ex shows up randomly at your house, what do you say?
Which ex is it? Eh, it doesn't really matter. I would be very surprised, but I would love to see any of them. I would probably give him a huge hug and say, "What the heck are you doing here?!"

9. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?
Nope. It totally depends on the circumstances. Many people don't deserve second chances.