When you first meet someone they often reveal their true selves in your early interaction. But they probably won't come right out and say 'I'm totally selfish and get bored easily'. However, if you listen carefully and pay attention to your intuition, you can often pick up signals about what your date is really like.

Trouble is, when you haven't had a date in months and you're sitting at the bar with that spunky babe/hunk, your rational mind is often overtaken with desire. Consequently you either don't receive or misinterpret these messages, or just rationalise them away.

For example, once, over a Japanese meal, my date told me how she had a bit of a chip on her shoulder about coming from a working class background. In the past she had taken great delight in flirting with middle class men and once they were interested, cruelly snubbing them.

Because I was smitten I told myself this was just a youthful prank and nothing to worry about. It wasn't till she suddenly dumped me three months later with no explanation that I realised her story was evidence of an obvious mean streak.

So after your first date it's not a bad idea to sit down and reflect on it and see if any alarm bells ring. Did they look the other way when the bill arrived, say 'You know, I think One Nation has some good ideas' or tell you about their history of three month relationships? If so, maybe you should spare yourself the second date.