DOES HE HAVE LONG-TERM POTENTIAL?

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Dating advice for chicks:

Even if things all add up on paper that doesn't mean you have marriage-material on your hands; things could get very different the longer you're with him (and the more you learn about the weird tick he assures you is 'nothing'). How can you be sure it's gonna work? What you need is a test-bed; a microcosm of what your life will be like with him after the thrill wears off. A controlled, laboratory environment where all of his best and worst traits will be laid bare for you to assess (and, most likely, recoil in horror.)

Face it, Love isn't gonna find you. Try Matchmaker. What the hell, it's free.

Luckily that microcosm exists—it's called travel. But, we don't mean luxury travel-hell, anyone can survive a week at the Maui Four Seasons without revealing any unpleasant personality quirks. We're talking about 'budget travel'. The kind of travel that taps deeply into the psychological and physical differences between men and women. The kind of travel that pits man against woman in some very primal, conflict-charged situations; such as getting lost and having to ask for directions, among others.

To start the experiment, load your lab rat...er, boyfriend into an economy compact rental car and hit the road for at least an 8-hour road-trip. The destination doesn't matter; it's the trip itself that tells you all you need to know. Just get your potential love-mate into a cramped moving vehicle for several long, boring hours and you'll really find out how much you like him. And how much he really likes you.

Trust us, after 500 miles in a hot, odd-smelling shit box, he'll reveal tons of specific information about himself that will allow you to peer into the future of your lives together. When people are outside their normal comfort zone and bored to tears, their real personality shows up. You'll know whether he makes the experience more tolerable, or more miserable. Because, if you can't get along for 8-hours without screaming and lunging for each other's jugular, how long do you think you'd last in a marriage? Not damn much longer.

Budget travel lets you experience each other's problem-solving skills (or lack thereof). Plus, it gives you an idea of how your different approaches mix, or don't. If he's the advance-planner type and you're the seat-of-your-pants spontaneous type, you'll find out if they work well together, and fast.

It's like compressing time; you'll quickly reach each other's limits and discover if his adorable little quirks will still be adorable later when you're married and borderline suicidal.