The rest of the conversation went something like this...
Mike: "Maggie...why do you tease?"
Me: "Oh Mike I only aim to please!"
Mike: "First you're here, then in Utah, then you run off to New York! Why do you do this?"
(And this is when genius struck me)
Me: "To keep supply low and market price high for my dating stock dearest Folsom. I don't want to flood the market...so if I just leave town here and there, snag the occasional boyfriend here and there, and remain relatively unavailable...then every time I come back to town it's like re-entering the market. Every welcome home should be like an IPO!"
I was joking when I said this...but then I started thinking...THIS IS TRUE!
First let's discuss the supply and demand curve.....here it is.....
As you can see, the y axis is price and the x axis is the quantity. The supply curve explains that as price increases, suppliers are willing to supply a greater quantity...but the demand curve operates in the opposite, when the price decreases more people are willing to buy. An efficient market operates at the equilibrium point where suppliers and demanders agree upon price and quantity.So how does this apply to dating? Well first of all we need to adjust the supply curve...because there is only one of you...so you can really only provide one quantity...and to be honest the idea of supplying more of yourself with an increase in price is verging on prostitution (but maybe that's just my opinion...I am, in fact, watching Moulin Rouge at the moment).
So here we have the supply and demand curve of dating with a vertical supply curve...I have appropriately marked equilibrium as you can tell.
Here equilibrium is relatively low...Think of price as the quality of men in your life. So at this point the men in your life are less than impressive.That's ok! because thanks to modern economic theory...there IS such thing as a shift in the supply curve. Now there may be only one of you...but you can make yourself somewhat more 'elusive' as it were. This is what Mike was referring to when he asked me why i was always gone. By limiting supply you can sufficiently shift the supply curve to the left, raising the price at which equilibrium occurs!
The next shift is slightly harder to achieve, however, and requires a little more time and investment. A shift in the demand curve, in economic theory, raises the price at which a consumer would be willing to pay for a commodity at any given quantity. Or....in this case...luck you! you can now expect equilibrium (or Lamour) to occur at a higher price (aka with better quality of men).
So how do you make this happen? Easy, improve the quality of your offering. . .education, life experience, musical talent, what have you....The point is, you're in control of your dating equilibrium....Which is why I've currently decided to take time out of dating. . .decrease my face time (creating a supply shift) in the dating market...focus on school/my internship this summer in New York City (creating a shift in the demand curve)...and come back in August to a better dating market. . .aka better men.
Taking control of your love life is easy...which is why I'm encouraging every girl currently disappointed with her love life to say...
"Honey, I'm on Holiday!"
