Livin it One Day at A Time

Every so often I run across a article that, well, makes me believe that all the wierd theories I have about women are not completely off track.

From Scotsman.com:

HALF of all women make their minds up within 30 seconds of meeting a man about whether he is potential boyfriend material, according to a study on speed-dating.

I’m guessing the other half take about 45 seconds? Moving from the boyfriend to “Just Friends”

“However, this evidence suggests that women may make up their minds much quicker than men. It suggests men have only a few seconds to impress a woman, thus emphasising the importance of their opening comments.”

The study also found that women were twice as picky as the men.

Yup.

I knew it.

And since it’s scientific research, it has to be fact, right?

I’ve been mulling over my life, and trying to figure out women (which I may never do).

So I present the analogy of If men and women were appliances.

Men: Men are like the Fridge you might buy at SAMS. It’s a nice looking fridge, all stainless steel. You get a box that’s the same size as the floor model you saw. Once the fridge is at home you plug it in. You have to put the shelves in, and put the food in, and it works.

Women: Women are like the BBQ sets you see at SAMS.
You look at it, and think “That’s a nice looking BBQ set”. You get taken to a box, but aren’t allowed to look in it.

You get home, open the box, and it’s in a hundred little pieces.

The manual is only written in Korean.

And there are no pictures of where to put what piece to what piece.

You finally get it put together, there are 2 bolts left over.

And there is a equal chance of when you try to light it up of getting a nice warm fire, or having it explode and killing everyone in a one block radius.

Now before anyone gets angry at me, I like girls, I am just trying to say I get confused by ya’ll, is all.

With the fact that I can get pay per views, I queued up a movie to watch.

Not going to say which one…

You’d think I’d know about these clips because I work at a TV place.

But no. It was one of the videos I  saw at a Movie Theater.

And no matter how much I  hate those commercials, I loved these.

TLC Life Lessons 

Amongst the most favorites #20 – If you want to get rid of a guy, tell him you love him and #22 Dating is akward – but so is  becoming the crazy cat lady.  (click on next figurines from the front page)

I went to a BNL concert with “the girl” this weekend. It was fun, it was a blast.

I’ll write up a review about it as soon as I can get the photos copied over.

I’m beat though. I’ve been running on fumes the last month or so.

I’m looking forward to my vacation much like a deer looks for the headlights of the oncoming truck.

Didn’t make sense? That’s like half the stuff that’s coming out my mouth.

I’m still trying to catch up on all the projects/work/callings/hobbies that I have. It’s not working. Hopefully a nice stretch of two weeks will get me a little less serious and a lot more goofy.

On the heels of the BYUi article, comes another one from Time Magazine.

Now before I start my rant, I’ve been told by *more* than one person, that they are suprised what I write.

Do any of you find that as well? Are there reasons why? Am I doctrinely wrong? Am I making the Female Gender upset with me?

Anyways, the Times article quotes Elder Oaks (of the Twelve) in a talk he gave.

A talk he gave around May 1st. In this talk, he said “Hanging Out is Not OK”, and listed the three P’s. I can’t help but feel that this article is a bit late though…..

The one part I remember is “Close the Pantries.”, in fact, I posted about my plight aftewards here.

I found the article interesting, especially since I also wrote about the other article about the growing singles population on in this article.

So.. Onto the article: Alone in the Pews

The church has tried to do some adjusting itself. Since the 1970s, it has ministered to single members through singles wards, congregations specifically for unmarried 18-to-30-year-olds. In the past five years the number of those congregations has jumped to more than 500, from 300.

That’s an addition of 200 units! That’s over 50 units a year! For me, that’s a huge number, especially if you figure 60 avg people attending x 200 units. Over 12000 additional Young Singles are Young Single Congregations.

Marie Wilson, who converted to the LDS faith 10 years ago, is the only never married member of the singles group in her Winston-Salem, N.C., ward and, at 35, the youngest by at least a decade. Her church friends, she says, “can’t relate because most of them have been married since they were in their early 20s. I’ve lived alone my entire life.”

I think this has been brought up in most of those other articles. There are the two groups. Those who are able to get married fast, and after the mission, and those who get married a big bit later.

I was recently at a SAMS club, eating my Saturday lunch (aka, walking up and down the samples isle) talking with one of the samples ladies (I’ve become good friends with, surprising. Really) when she was enquiring about my love life. Along came some people, looking to get some sample sugar cookies when they heard her and I talking. They managed to hear me and the samples lady discussing what we though, and the guy said something to the affect of “Don’t let her pressure you, it took me until I was 40 to find my wife *As he hugged her* and I wouldn’t give her up for anything”. The samples lady then shoooed them away with something like “No COOKIES for YOU!”.

Anyways, this is becoming a sociatal norm. Is it good? Is it right? I don’t know. I do see a widening gap between the world and the Church on this issue. I can see why it’s easier for people to slowly fade into in activity as they get older. The world just doesn’t have the expectations that the Church Culture does.

Even in Manhattan–with a vast support network of unmarried Mormons–Jeffrey Jackson, 27, says he and friends in his singles ward immediately put “more focus on one-on-one relationships,” proposing more dates and trying to consider their female friends as potential wives.

All I can say is yea.

Despite what I think a few girls think, there is no vast male consipiracy to not date or not get married. Most men do want to get married.

It’s just that ya’ll are smart and intimidating and stuff.

Actually, I don’t know. I don’t know what the root problem is, so I have no idea what the solution is.

Thus, I am not an advice columnist.

I’m just having fun on this journey called life.

In my copious amounts of spare time I was reading some of Redlaw’s blog when I saw a link to Miss Nemisis’s blog. Along with her blog, was her mans blog (how’s that for blog tag?). I took a gander, and found a very interesting article.

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Smart Women Intimidate Men

There are gems all over the place in this article..

In a preview entitled “What’s a modern girl to do,” Dowd cites a 2005 report by British researchers finding that the higher a woman’s IQ, the less chance she had of having a family. The reverse was true for men.

So the thing that bothers me the most, girls acting like they are ditzy (girls I *know* are smart) is a defense mechinism? A way to attract guys? Since us guys don’t want someone who can beat us at scrabble?

I’m fine with a girl beating me at scrabble. Now pop culture Trivial Pursuit. Well, I don’t have to worry about a girl beating me there…

Never to fear though, later on in the article it says.

While some BYU-Idaho women do experience problems with intimidated men, many Latter-day Saint men desire to marry intelligent women. Their support for educating women does not wane. Actually at BYU-I, it flourishes.

Alas, they never really interview a guy, they just talk to a dad who has a bunch of girls…

Hmmmmmm.

According to Looking Out, Looking In, a book that explores interpersonal communication, while humans like to be around talented people, there are differences between men and women. Studies suggest that women are impressed by people who seem completely competent, whereas men need to see some human flaws.

Anyone find this true?

And finally

He said that naturally men like females who are dependent. Men want to be needed. Women who don’t need them intimidate them.

So basically, us men like our damsels in distress.

Or our damsels who look like they are in distress.

Or act like it.