Generalisations
I’m beginning to believe that men really are from Mars. And that most of them are clueless when it comes to communication, that thing we women crave incessantly.
Unfair
Is it holding double standards to not want a man who spends money the way I spend money?
Entangled in language
“My friend… he’s not the straight type.”
“You mean he’s the crooked type?” I asked.
He grinned. “The curly type.” Pause. “You knew what I meant, right?”
“Of course I knew. I was just being difficult.”
“Well, you wouldn’t want to be easy, would you?”
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet?
And here I thought all cockroaches were the same. After all, isn’t a cockroach a cockroach?
Apparently not. The ones in homes are usually American cockroaches, while the ones in hotels and restaurants are German. This, of course, means that one species can speak and understand English, while the other can’t.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist!
Trivia of the day
Lichen is actually a combination of fungi and blue-green algae. When these two get together, the resulting organism “behaves as a single independent plant”, thus earning itself a name all its own.
As a child, I read Enid Blyton books and used to see lichen mentioned all the time, but I never knew exactly what it was. Now I do. I think I might be what they call “a slow learner”. After all, it’s taken me all these years to discover The True Meaning of Lichen.
* Source: The Encyclopedia of Malaysia
What’s his score?
If you’ve had an email address long enough, you’ve read the joke about the points system women use to rate men. When I commented I felt like I was starting develop a points system of my own with the latest man in my life, my friends and I sat down and made this list, for a lark:
Quick response time to emails and SMSes = +10pts
…Response is short and to-the-point, sounding abrupt or impatient = -15pts
…Only responds but never initiates such contact= -10pts
…Therefore, most communication only occurs on dates, with silence in between = -20pts
Able to chat on the phone about nothing in particular = +10pts
…The call was made by me = -7pts
Asks relevant personal questions (shows he wants to know me better) = +20pts
…Listens to answers attentively = +20pts
…Does not pursue line of questioning below surface answers = -15pts
…Does not remember answers and has to ask again later = -10pts
…Did not ask how my first day at work went after company restructuring placed me in a new department with a new boss and different responsibilities = -15pts
Has never complimented my dressing = -10pts
…Has never said anything negative about my dressing/appearance = +15pts
…Asked for my shoe size = ???pts (unsure whether negative or positive)
Always well-groomed and well-dressed = +10pts
Opens doors for me = +10pts
Pays for everything on dates = +10pts
Shares similar tastes in food (including the peculiar ones) = +5pts
Does not smoke = +20pts
Rarely drinks (social drinker only) = +15pts
Has own car = +15pts
Is a good and careful driver = +10pts
Offers to drive me to events and functions before I ask = +10pts
Does not have own house = -5pts
Does not like to read = -20pts
Disinterested in football (soccer) = +10pts
Did not know what a blog was = -15pts
Attends religious services regularly = +20pts
Is not otherwise involved in religious activities = -10pts
Solicits my opinion and takes my wishes into account when making decisions (where to go, what to eat, etc.) = +20pts
Has not expressed interest in meeting any of my friends = -20pts
Has not asked me to meet any of his friends = -20pts
Doesn’t play games, is clear about what he wants = +20pts
Ready and willing to commit to a relationship = +20pts
And before any of you who know my real identity begin jumping down my throat, let me reiterate that this list was made on a lark. Of course I don’t go around rating the poor man like this inside my head! It’s impossible to reduce a human being, and a relationship, to a bunch of numbers. I am not quite that unreasonable or demanding… yet.
On being unique
Found this, which I wrote in 2001:
It’s funny how people always say that nobody’s perfect, then act so perfectly shocked when they find out you aren’t, either.
However, to be imperfect is one thing; to be unique, another. I can’t decide whether uniqueness is a good or bad sign. After all, if you were so breathtakingly fantastic, surely you’d have prototype potential? If there’s only one of you walking around, mightn’t it signify the existence of some serious flaw that was never duplicated?
