It was a line in "Sex and the City"...then it was a best-selling book...then it was the movie we all loved. Sadly, it's still the story of our lives. Here's how to get it, get used to it, and get over it.

1. Who calls who?
I'm personally a bit of a traditionalist. The guy should call and make most of the effort until you're Facebook official. Dropping a text to him is fine-everyone texts like it's their job, anyway-and initiating a date or two is fine, but don't let him get lazy.

2. How long do you wait to call, go on another date, etc?
I've always thought this was stupid. You go on another date when you're both available. You call the next day because you should have good manners.

3. When does it become an exclusive relationship?
In other words, when does it say "in a relationship with" on Facebook? This is tricky. Some people view dating as a dating pool and date more than one person at a time (this is what I do, simply out of boredom). Once you begin dating only one of the people in your original pool, you have to make sure he's doing the same. Otherwise, you look like a clingy idiot. Don't invest more than he's willing to invest. If you're spending a good chunk of your time together, it might be time to say "are we together, or what?"

4. How do you gracefully call it off with the other people you're dating?
I'm particularly bad at this part. I tend to just let the other guys find out via Facebook or word-of-mouth that I'm with someone else, and this is not how you make friends. The best thing to do? Text. That way there's no face-to-face contact and you can choose your words wisely. "I just wanted to let you know that I don't think things are going to work out between us. I think I've found someone else, and I really hope you do, too." A message like this expresses hope for both your futures-your separate futures.

5. How do you read the signs, or recognize that the signs even exist?
My signs are generally pretty blatant and require no thought to understand. If I like someone, I make myself available to them. I make an effort to talk to them. The signs guys send are generally far more tricky. For being our intellectual inferiors, men sure can mess with our minds.

6. How do you play the necessary games?
You know what games I'm talking about-playing hard to get, etc. I feel like that's the most common game. Women's magazines advise us to do just that all the time. Don't call him back right away, don't always be available, don't be too interested. To some extent, this works...but can't we get past that? The days of "I like you, you like me, let's do this" are apparently gone. I've come to believe that when men play games like this, they are insecure. They need women (literally, more than one woman) fawning over them constantly to feel important. If there aren't a few girls texting them nightly, their self-worth diminishes greatly.

What's to make of all this? If he's playing games, he's probably not worth your time-guys, the same goes for you. Be honest about what you want from the other person. If it's just a hookup, if you're dating six other people, or if you're looking for a relationship-you need to let the other person know. Otherwise, everyone's wasting their time.