Then, comes an important deciding point: do you let your friend set it up or do you go ahead and arrange it yourself? Here's what you do: you tell your friend to talk to this woman about you. Tell your friend to make sure that the woman would be interested in going on this blind date. Then, once your friend has received confirmation from the woman, have your friend give you her number. At this point, thank your friend for his hard work and tell him that you will be taking it from there. The fact that you will be calling this woman yourself will be a big plus. It will show the woman that you have guts and initiative and aren't simply relying on your friend to arrange everything. In the back of her mind, your taking the initiative and calling her will translate into, "If we ever end up together, this guy will be willing to make an effort for me."

Once you have the phone number, give yourself a day or two before calling the date. That's right, the two-day rule does apply even for a blind date. If your friend talks to this woman one day and gives you her number either that very day or the following day, and then you immediately call up, you will seem to eager. Make sure a good two or three days is separated between the time your friend talked to the woman and the day you call her. However, if you wait much longer, you risk her forgetting about you. You want them to know exactly who you are when you call. You want to be able to call, say, "Hi Susan, this is Jon Parks," and she'll know immediately that you are the blind date. So remember, wait two or three days from the time your friend got the approval to arrange the date before actually making the phone call.

Now, you have called her up, so what do you say then? Well, focus entirely on setting up the date during the phone conversation. Do not try to make chitchat and find out too much about her on the phone. It will be much easier to talk to her face to face, but on the phone it can be awkward to try to talk too much. Say hello, ask her how she is, and launch right into, "Let's set up a time and meet."

Important question: do you want to meet her for dinner or for lunch? You need to give yourself a minimum of an hour and a half at whatever you do decide. If you meet her for lunch during the week and you both are working a tight schedule, you will be worried about getting back to work and won't allow yourself the opportunity to get to know her. But if you both have a flexible schedule and can meet for a long lunch, then you should consider it. Lunch is often a good blind date because it gives you both an opportunity to get a general idea about a person without wasting valuable evenings. If you do not like her (or vice versa), then you will be thankful all you wasted was a lunch, but if you liked her, you can then move ahead and set up a dinner.

Dinner is definitely an acceptable blind date as well, but it MUST be a mid-week affair. Tuesday is the perfect night for a blind date dinner, since it is often a wasted night in front of a TV anyway. Wednesday is acceptable as well, but that's about it. Monday is too early in the week, and Thursday night should be a happy-hour night anyway.

Whatever you decide, tell her you will either meet her at the restaurant or pick her up, depending on what's convenient. I live in New York City, which of course means I get around by foot or by public transportation, so meeting a date at the restaurant is perfectly acceptable. If you are in a driving town, ask her if she would like to be picked up, but if she would rather drive herself, let her go. Either way, try to pick a restaurant near her home. Ask her if she has a favorite place to eat in her neighborhood, but if she doesn't immediately respond, have a couple good choices ready to go. Again, it shows initiative on your part, which is always important to the woman.

When you meet her, do not try to impress her with flowers or anything extravagant. Just keep it simple. When you meet her, shake her hand or give her a kiss on the cheek. Then during the meal, allow her to order anything she wants. If she orders just an entree, ask her if she's sure she wouldn't like an appetizer. Or something to drink. Or wine. Or desert. You get the idea. Appear generous (actually being generous wouldn't hurt either). At the end of the meal, grab the check, and if she asks is she can help, decline and says something along the lines of, "I called you for this date, didn't I?"

Another important point to remember involves the conversation during the meal. Always ask her questions so she talks about herself first. Ask about her background, her family, her job, etc. Be inquisitive and interested in what she has to say (if she's uninteresting, fake it). You should have the opportunity during the meal to give her your background, and if all goes well, she too will be inquisitive and ask you questions. Just make sure you ask her first and give her the first chance to talk. Note: if she's only interested in talking about herself and does not ask any questions about you, that's a bad sign. Sure she could be nervous, but you shouldn't have to make excuses for your behavior, so why should she have to make excuses for hers?

After the meal, drive her or walk her home if you can, or at least walk her to her car. Thank her for coming out on this date, give her a kiss on the cheek and say goodbye. Now, here's comes an important point. If you did enjoy the date and would like to go out with her again, say, "We should do this again sometime." Don't worry too much about judging her reaction, you can do so once you give her another call. But, if you don't ever want to see her again, say, "I'll give you a call sometime." This hints at getting together again without explicitly saying it. Also, it ensures that YOU are the one to make the decision whether or not to call her. And guess what, you won't have to ever call her again. There are no obligations.

Those are the basics. If there is anything else you feel should be included in the proper blind-date etiquette, please post it on the message boards. Otherwise, if you follow these simple rules, you will ensure that only your personality and her personality are at question, as it should be in a blind date situation. But your etiquette is removed as a variable.