A View Of Looking For Love In All Sorts Of Places

Do you know the history of fairy tales? Click on the picture for the background.

The search for love is never easy. It's awkward, full of false starts and dashed hopes - Prince Charming one minute, just another toad the next. What is a girl to do?

Some enterprising women in Japan have found an interesting solution, according to a story published by Reuters. For the low, low price of 1 million yen ($8,700 US), they buy their happily ever after - at least for a night - at "host clubs" where the man of their dreams pampers and caters their every whim until the meter runs out. According to the article, there are roughly 150 of these clubs in Toyko's Kabukicho entertainment district, and all are doing a brisk business. Guess this means that, contrary to that famous song, money can buy you love - but only at hourly rates.

If you do try to buy love, be prepared to pay taxes. Like I mentioned yesterday in one of my posts, there's a thrust (for lack of a better word) in governments around the world to make sure prostitutes and their johns give their municipalities a cut of their earnings. According to this story, if a prostitute offers love for sale in Budapest, she'll need a tax identification number. I wonder what the tax audit would be like?

Sometimes ladies, we have to pull out all the stops in order to attract a quality man. We diet, primp, wriggle into push-up bras and "foundation garments" with the grip of a boa constrictor, and all other sorts of nonsense to make ourselves attractive to potential suitors. A woman in Berlin decided to skip the underwire and go straight for overdrive. She has decided to auction herself off to win the man of her dreams. The lucky winner wins her hand and her red Ferrari Enzo. Fellas, you still have a chance - as of this afternoon, there were no bids placed. We all know Cupid is a romantic at heart, let's just hope he's not cheap.

In our search for love, sometimes we come across those who are a bit zealous in their need to hold on to a suitor. My mom calls it "Graveyard Love," and I call it "Lifetime Movie Love." the stalkers and crazies who get very attached and don't have enough of a grasp on reality to let go when love is gone or never existed in the first place. Like the gentleman in this story who, in an attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend, cut off his finger and mailed it to her as a token of his love. "It's my last chance to touch you," he said in the note that accompanied his digit. He even went so far as to wash it off before mailing it, but there's no word as to whether or not it was his ring finger. She responded to his warped romantic gesture by wisely filing for a restraining order.

Then there are those who will go to the ends of the earth to find true love, letting no obstacle deter their search. By now, you've no doubt heard the story of Katherine Lester, the teenager who managed to fly to the Middle East to be with My Space suitor. She was detained by officials in Jordan before making to the West Bank and her rendevous with the man who was intending to marry her. When she arrived back in the States, her passport was revoked and there was talk of prosecuting her as a runaway. Cooler heads have prevailed - she's in counseling, living with her father (who still allows her to correspond with the man because he says there's no point in trying to stop them - she could always run away again), and the state has decided not to press charges. Her passport has not been returned, however. Chances are she won't get that back until next year when she turns 18. She's been quoted as saying that as soon as she's able, she wants to go back and marry her suitor. Who knows if her prince will come (or should I say if she'll get the chance to come to her prince), but she'll have one hell of a story to tell one way or the other. I imagine Lifetime TV is salivating at the prospect, too.

As for my search, there's a prospect on the horizon. So far, things are good. We've talked quite a bit and we'll be spending next weekend together. I'm not going to go into details right now because I'm a bit superstitious and don't want to jinx things, but there's some promise with this one. Will the TEM find her prince or another toad? Will it be the love of a lifetime or a Lifetime TV love? Will Cupid be kind or cruel?

Keep clicking by to find out. More to come later.