The truth about 'hanging out'

I woke up about 30 minutes ago for who knows why and unfortunately, I can't go back to sleep. I'm still hoping that after I've done this blog post, I'll be able to go back to sleep.

Hmm... So what can I blog about? My brain is still in a very sleepy condition so bear with me if I'm not making sense in this post. I truly am sorry if at this rate, I am wasting your time with nonsense.

Oh! Ok, now I have a topic. It's not really something I would really want to blog about but hey, it's better than nothing, I guess.

So yesterday, I had an interesting conversation with a good friend of mine. Interesting because it's a conversation that had me trying to convince her that I know what I'm saying and I know what I'm actually doing.

She asked me: "What's the difference between hanging out and going on a date?"

I admit, it was a little hard to answer the question only because I didn't really know how to explain it properly. But whenever I get asked if I'm dating somebody, I always say no. It's true, I'm not dating anybody. I haven't been dating for the past two years. BUT -- yes, there is a but -- I do hang out.

People these days, they think that just because a guy and a girl go out, it automatically means they're dating. Well, folks, sorry to burst your bubble. But there is a big difference between "hanging out" and "dating."

When my friends ask me if I'm dating this guy, I immediately say no. Because we're really not dating. We're simply hanging out. We hang out because our meet ups are usually spontaneous, unstructured, even. We invite each other to doing things that don't necessarily involve romantic feelings whatsoever. That, in my opinion, is hanging out.

A date, on the other, well -- call me old fashioned, but for me, a date begins with a formal invitation, like "Would you like to go out on a date with me?" It's planned, it's structured.

When dating, it usually means that two people have this ongoing, exclusive relationship. Hanging out is more ambiguous; it doesn't connote exclusivity.

I say I hang out with a guy because we share time together. I'm not saying that when I'm hanging out with someone, it won't lead to dating. I'm just saying that at this point, this is what we do... We hang out. I mean, who knows, maybe in the future, after spending much time together, an attraction builds up between two people and ultimately, that will lead to dating.

What can I say, I'm really a very old fashioned person. Is there anything else I should be explaining?

That, my friends, is the truth about "hanging out."

Ok, time to hit the sack again.