Odessa 10/07 - The Taxi Scam and other interesting tidbits

[Shadow]

Knowledge is fine, but common sense is more important.
Some of the bes matches here met by pure luck and without any knowledge. There is a saying that goes like 'you will get what you look for'. And there is a lot of truth in it.
In one of my advanced driving courses I was taught how to get a spinning car under control. One thing was already natural to me, but a surprise to many people. The instructor told that when a car goes sliding, watch the point where you want it to land, and you reactions will make the car get there. If you watch the wrong point, that is where you will end up as well.

Basicly you are in a ride where the car is sliding and you are trying to get it back under control without damage. Focus on where you want to be at the end and you will get there. Anything that distracts you from this focus will cause spinning out of control and damage.
Of course having some experience in sliding cars and knowing how to avoid collisions will help you tremendously. 

[JohnMI]

I don't disagree with a thing you've typed, I/O, and I do 'get it'. My planned effort to further nvestigate the final AW girls and to change agencies does not mean that I will rest with those changes and then relly on others to do my vetting for me, but I do first need to be sure I am in contact with real women and not an agency employee. For that I will rely on a better agency and an independent verification of the 3 AW women. I do understand that once I verify I am in contact with a real person I still need to personally assess her sincerity and potential motives. You are also correct, however, that I am entirely too trusting of people, and that is something I will have to get a handle on before I progress beyond the internet and telephone introduction stage.

[JOR]

Some advice:

- You don't have to use an agency.  Some of the agencies may be decent, but there are also some that are not.  There are many free web sites for getting to know sincere friends all over the world.  Buying a plane ticket is best done through the Internet; then you see a wider choice of tickets than when using an agency.  Get a hotel room through the internet; then you see pictures, you can to a higher degree rely on the information about the services they are providing, and if the hotel has hundreds of rooms and is located in or close to a city, it can't be all that bad.

- Spend time getting to know your friend before traveling.  Make sure you have personal contact.  If she is seriously interested, she will love spending time to get to know you better.  If she only wants to scam you, this is a waste of time for her.  If she is not asking you things and then following up your answers, or if she does not reply to your questions, this is a sign that she is just copying pre-written messages.

- If she and you share a common language, this makes everything much easier.  Being charming through an interpreter is difficult. 

- Use common sense.