Men to Avoid

Maybe your grandparents never warned you, but there are as many traits to avoid as there are men, a few of the most common are listed below:

Names

A bad experience with one guy named Mike may be an accident, but bad dates with multiple Mikes feels like fate. This is the logic behind avoiding men with particular first or last names (if you already know his middle name you're probably too far gone to get spooked). One friend of mine had an extensive list of names she avoids, many other women I know just avoid men with the same names as past serious boyfriends.

Places of Employment

I'm not talking about avoiding dating people that you work with (although it's probably a good idea to do so. Not only because your boss is bound to notice the sudden flurry of closed-door "meetings" but for when you break up. Facing work on a monday morning is enough of a struggle without having to add facing the possibility of seeing him in the elevator. Brrrrr.).

I personally prefer the more irrational route: avoiding people that work in someone else's office. For example, I no longer accept dates from men who work at the Patent and Trademark Office. It's not that they are bad people its just that I haven't had any luck with the three guys I've been out with who work there. I'm not sure what trait they all share, hey it could be in the water there. I'm just not one to ignore a possible sign.

Friends of Friends

There are a couple of schools of thought on this one. Sure they're easy to met and have reasurance that they're not psycho but Friends of Friends can be good to be wary of because your relationship can become a team sport. You talk to your mutual friend about things and so does he... all of a sudden you begin to feel like everyone knows more about the state of your relationship than you do. Occasionally things can veer into the truly creepy when the friend who fixed you up starts wanting "intimate" details (yes, that's really happened to me). And when you're breaking up it can be torture; not only do you still run into him (possibly with his new girlfriend on his arm) at parties, but the things you did that annoyed him - even if you don't know what they are your friends might. Hey... they're his friends too.

Men that have also hit on every other woman at the party/ club/ bar

Maybe he just didn't see you when he walked in. Yeah, right.

This guy is looking to get lucky and on his list of things to do you're somewhere below the first girl he talked to and better than sleeping alone. Unless you're looking for just a (maybe) fun time, don't.

This guy is also known for doing the 2:30 Paw. You know, you don't see hi all night then all of a sudden at last call when the lights go up and you're putting your jacket on he appears out of nowhere spewing compliments and serious bourbon breath. These guys can be amusing to talk to and even flattering if you hadn't see much action over the night but they are best left as an amusing story for your friends.