Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got. -Janis Joplin

What with all the recent proposals, weddings and break-ups eating up all the coveted space on my Twitter timeline (... have you heard that Snooki had her baby?! And what's this noise about Holly Madison being pregnant?) and only slightly less coveted personal life, I got to thinking about things like relationships, chivalry and love. I have two questions: how far would you go for love? And is chivalry dead?

Is it wise to stay with someone who won't make the same commitments to you as you have for them? How do you determine whether or not you've settled for a seemingly comfortable life? I've accumulated just a few of my own opinions for this far from finished list:

1. Are you a moped? A moped is fun but you don't want your friends to see you riding one. If he only takes you on clandestine dates, he either has a girlfriend that he refuses to come clean about or he's embarrassed to be seen in public with you. Either way, he's an insolent tool and chance are that you're way too pretty for him anyway.

2. Does he refuse to at least work towards a future and/or living arrangement? You have to regularly assess how far is he willing to go for this relationship. If he won't move north a few hours, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you aren't his number one priority.

3. Does he respect your family and friends? Now to me, this is by far one of the most important things. All other degrees of chivalry fall a distant second to how he treats the ones you hold most dear. My favorite story about my husband is the one where he asked my dad permission to propose to me. My 6'2" seemingly scary Italian father stayed silent for a few seconds (Wez mentioned that it felt like actual hours...) and then turned to him and said, "Thank you for giving me the chance to say no..." Now that friends, THAT is some legitimate chivalry.

See personally, I am absurdly passionate. I do things with my whole heart most probably because I'm a Leo. I am in love with being in love. So much so in fact, that I let all of my emotions consume me. And those of you who befriended me despite that dreadful fireman's tryst have an excellent understanding of that....

And because I am aforementioned absurdly passionate, I want to get celebratory ink to honor the day of my marriage. I was discussing this with a clean slated friend of mine and when I asked them if they would ever get inked for their love (or just in general...), they looked at me like I was crazy (standard) and said very sweetly, "Now Kate, why would I put a bumper sticker on a Ferrari?"

Touche.

However I am the spawn of two hot blooded individuals. Cut me some slack.

What draws the line between crazy and passionate? Are they synonymous?

"For you, I know I'd even try to turn the tide." -Johnny Cash