Gawker's Better State of Living Conversation series is brought to you with the support of State Farm^TM. Today, social life expert Chiara Atik is live in the comments to answer your questions about networking in the New Year.

Gawker's Better State of Living Conversation series is brought to you with the support of State Farm^TM. Today, dating expert Chiara Atik is live in the comments to answer your questions about holiday gift giving.

Gawker's Better State of Living Conversation series is brought to you with the support of State Farm^TM. Today, dating expert Chiara Atik is live in the comments to answer your questions about being the perfect date.

Say hello to Chiara Atik, everyone! Chiara is the current Dating Expert at HowAboutWe, has done stints as a nightlife reporter and Editor over at Guest of a Guest, and is about to publish a book called Modern Dating: a Field Guide — basically she's the go-to-girl for how to dive headfirst into the shark tank better known as the New York social scene.

Brunching with your best friends is supposed to be the best part of your sad and hopeless existence, but sometimes, doing Sunday brunch is hard work. You will surely have to wait in a very long line. After finally getting seated, you will be given terrible service because the restaurant is just way too busy. These two things make the meal very long and you might run out of things to talk about very quickly. Use this cheat sheet and your friends might start calling you queen bloody mary.

Everyone can use some good advice now and again. Whether it's tips on how to better manage your time, the best way to ask a girl out on a date, or who your fantasy football picks should be - having an outside opinion to help inform your decision never hurts. That's why — with the help of the experts at State Farm — we've asked a team of pros from various fields to host a series of live Conversations on Lifehacker, Gawker, Gizmodo and Deadspin.

Over the next few weeks, our experts will be live in the discussion sections of your favorite sites, fielding questions on a whole variety of topics to help get you to a better state of living.

Check back here for updates on the latest Conversations, more info on our Better State of Living Experts, and helpful editorial tips from across our network of sites.