Note: This story originally appeared Sunday, December 4, 2005</p><p>Bio: She's 27, lives downtown and works at KU Med while attending Penn Valley Community College.</p><p>Challenge: Making single friends and attracting guys who have their stuff together.</p><p>Advice: Dating coach Betty Stander said Parks should approach dating the same as she does her schoolwork: strategically.</p><p>She needs to expand her friend circle. Married friends are good for setups, but they've been out of the game so long, they might lack sympathy for singles' woes.</p><p>Stander said Parks should up her target: "You are a wonderful person and you are bringing a lot to a relationship, but the guys are jerking you around. And I hate that."</p><p>A bad experience with one guy keeps Parks from trusting others. Stander said, "Keep reminding yourself that he's a new and fresh person."</p><p>Parks left positive. "This is the most aggressive I've been toward my dating life in a long time."</p><p>Assignments: Join organizations where she will meet like-minded, ambitious people. Choose a select group she's comfortable with and let them know the kind of guy she wants. And tell well-connected acquaintances who might not know she's searching.</p><p>What happened: We sent Parks and "guy's guy" Rob Thompson to salsa night at the Westport Beach Club. (See video from the night at www.Kansascity.Com.)</p><p>Thompson coached her through the art of picking up a man - without actually approaching him.</p><p>"Make eye contact," he said. "Smile. Don't look away. Keep eye contact. Smile."</p><p>Parks noticed someone looking her way. Thompson told her to stand near the guy at the bar while waiting for the bartender to bring over a lemon or water.</p><p>It worked. He approached Parks, the two danced, and then he asked for her number.</p><p>"I had to come out of my shell," Parks said. "It's not as hard as some people think it is."</p><p>What's next: The guy from the salsa bar called her, but they've yet to set up a date.</p><p>"I haven't actually been out since then," she says. She did attend a wine-tasting event - by herself. "Just small talk, everybody knows each other. After I've been there a couple times, it'll be a little bit easier."</p><p>Her online dating profile has been more active than ever, and she signed up for the Young Friends of Union Station.</p><p>She's also enlisted a team of friends to scour Kansas City for compatible men.</p><p>"It takes time."