When I asked Chris what I should write about in my blog today, he said "taxes." As you can see, he's a bit distracted by other things. I suppose I need to do my taxes too. I've done some but not all. Blech. At least I'm getting money back. But it's really not a very exciting topic. A while back, I asked people what I should be writing about. One friend sent me a box of books in reply. They were all the "Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus" books. No seriously, it was the whole set. So last week while Chris was gone and I was waiting for people to comment with book suggestions, I picked a couple of them up. When my friend first suggested sending the books, it seemed like a good idea. I'll admit, I was curious. When they arrived, I looked at the box and wondered what I had gotten myself into. It's not the kind of book I read, exactly. And possibly the kind I mildly mock on occasion. It's definitely not the kind of book I would read openly in public. And yet, I was curious. What did I have to lose? So I gave it a shot.
I was surprised. There's a reason it sold so many copies. It's actually quite insightful. Now, I'm not exactly buying into the idea that I should pretend men are from a different planet. That's just a bit obsurd. But it always helps to point out that we can tackle problems differently. So if a guy doesn't want to "talk about it" it doesn't mean he doesn't value your opinion. Or that complaining about your problems doesn't mean that you want someone to tell you how to solve them. It's true. Women tend to try to "help" by offering suggestions any time someone complains. Sometimes you just want someone to listen to you whine. I'm sure I do it to other people and recently I've noticed that that is one of the things that bugs me in conversations that I couldn't pinpoint before. I would just not feel like talking anymore and not really know why I was so upset. Apparently that's how guys are supposed to respond. But I guess it works with everyone. Overall, I found that a good deal of it didn't really apply to me as far as I could see, but the basic premise was worth considering. I highly recommend reading the introduction at any rate. I'll have to read the rest of the books and see how the idea develops.
Anyway, I do hope my next entry will be more entertaining. Perhaps I'll have more stories after I go on a short vacation next week.
