How to Have an Affair

Technology Can Be Friend or Foe

Affairs have been going on exactly two minutes after the first couple existed - about the time Adam ran into a rough patch with Eve, then spied a cutie named Rita (or Rachel or Ruth or whoever she was) in the wilderness. But if you are having an affair - or contemplating one - you need to do so successfully.

By 'successfully', I mean getting out of it exactly what you want. Affairs, although highly personal, fall into one of two categories. The first is one that is purely or primarily sexual. You aren't looking to break up with your significant other, but just to get your freak on a little bit more often (or in more unusual ways) than you are currently getting. The other kind of affair is sort of testing the waters, with the goal of eventually leaving your current relationship altogether. (I'm not going to weigh in on the moral ramifications of either of these, nor of having an affair at all. There are already plenty of articles and web sites and daytime talk shows that do that.) You should have some idea of which kind of affair you are having.

Once you have decided which kind of affair you are having (or want to have), the next step is how to go about having one. If you haven't met someone, how do you go about doing so? Craigslist.org (www.craigslist.org) is one way to go. Craigslist has separate sites for each major metropolitan area in the US and Canada, so you'll generally be looking for people in your local area. Its "Casual Encounters" section of personal ads are probably the best bet if your affair is primarily sexual, with "Miscellaneous Romance," perhaps, a better bet if you are looking for something more. In either case, the ads are free to post. And if you are worried that you'll be the only married woman or married man looking for love in all the wrong places, simply scroll through the ads in your area. Chances are, there are a number of married men and women already posting ads.