It does feel like a big sign of relief to be able to write my first post on this blog. Truth be told, I am not much of a blog person and the rate at which every Dick, Tom and Ali is going about with a blog (whether it's needed or not; interesting or not; or even visited) has  actually put me off starting one. Then again, my laptop has been on the "treatment table" for God knows how long and the thought of using my phone to make daily posts has just not taken my fancy.


So, why am I starting one when the Dicks, Toms and Ali s haven't stopped writing and my laptop is still in the "hospital"? Well, let's just say something tipped me off. I was thinking of a friend and decided to tweet about it. My tweet read thus:


"Do Ladies actually date by trials? As in give a guy a try for a few months without committing fully? Need answers please. #HonestQuestion."


Thanks to the new Blackberry application, the same tweet instantly became my BBM status update. I have to admit, the replies that followed were way beyond what I imagined. My dear friend Betty on twitter was the first to throw a jab at me by asking rhetorically,  "na me dey date you on trial? "  Well, I did burst out laughing. Now while I am going to admit that, yes, a friend did put me on trial so to speak, I ain't going into any details about it. Bottom line, I wanted to get a cross-section of views about IF women do so and WHY.


My friend Chaucer's wife Ese (she's so beautiful, I've imagined stealing her not once, not twice)  provided me with an answer to the first question stating that the concept of ladies  putting guys on trials wasn't something new as it does exist. According to her, some ladies do, others don't. As more replies on twitter and BBM poured in, almost everyone seemed to reach a consensus on the fact that: LADIES DO PUT GUYS ON TRIAL!


And then the curious cat in me (never mind that phrase that it kills) wanted to know why ladies who do take that route. Another friend of mine Ibiba blurted out (rather like someone who's been a victim) that "men cannot be trusted so easily and we don't want our hearts heartbroken." Wow! Strong words but probably true. But I had to ask her, "How about you've been friends with this person for years and you both know a lot about yourselves?" Ibiba did not mince words when she put it back at me, "It's the same process, she knows you as a friend. But as a mate, she really doesn't know." Contradictory don't you think? Cos I feel the essence of a good relationship is that you both are best friends. Oh wait, is that why the very moment friends take the next step and become lovers, most times, things ain't the same again? Okay, I digress....


Another respondent gave me a rather different view. According to him, most ladies who put guys on trial are probably those in that age when settling down is now a priority. He also notes that these ladies do have other options and so are possibly looking out for who the BEST HUSBAND would be. (Thinking aloud: am I facing this particular situation? Errrrr.... no comment!). He adds: "maybe the girl doesn't really trust him as a lover and she's scared of loosing his friendship. It's also possible she feels insecure cos maybe the guy knows too much about her." Betty seems to support this last notion of insecurity. She insists that "if a lady is dating a guy on trial, that tells you one thing: she's been there~~Heartbreak(s).com~~ hence the trial.


It wasn't an all women affair though as some guys did add their voice to the debate. Ebube on twitter admitted that his present girlfriend did make him go through the "trial ordeal." According to him, the girl did it to know if their relationship would work. Well, fortunately for him, it is still working. However, My dear friend Emeka shares a contrary opinion. For him, dating guys by trial doesn't exist. He says the ladies who say they do so are just "always on the defensive." Hmmmmmmm! Food for thought I guess.


I have to admit, I never imagined I'd get as much reaction as I did when I posted that tweet earlier today. Neither did I believe it would be the basis for my first blog post. Nonetheless, despite all the eye-opening responses, I guess like my friend Ese (no, not my friend's wife that I'm planning to steal, another one), it is still hard for me to fathom why LADIES PUT GUYS ON TRIAL DATES.