Vive les differences always

I like the fact that boys and girls are very different. Aside from the obvious -- not to mention 'fun' disparities -- I am invariably fascinated by the subtle nuances in makeup that are more far-reaching than the fact girls sit down to pee.

By the way, in considering such gender-driven traits, I am not looking at any consideration that either males or females do things better than their opposite numbers -- just differently.

For example, yesterday, due to the fact that time, tide and technology had taken a brutal toll on my very aged computer equipment (my poor old Mac was practically steam-driven, so venerable was it), it behooved me to upgrade right into the 21st Century. So, here I am, writing my drivel on my 'over to the darkside PC laptop' (we Mac people are inexplicably loyal) and so far it seems to be very nice and unspeakably modern. But, I am digressing here.

Wendy and I went into a favorite little computer joint with which we do a fair amount of business. I mean, we could have gone to Staples, but I like giving local merchants a break whenever I can. So, we went in, and I asked the guy about a laptop I had looked at a few months earlier. He brought it down off the shelf, fired the puppy up, and that was it.

"I'll take it," I said.

"Wait a minute," said Wendy, "You haven't even asked him about the features."

"I assume it has the usual ones, considering the competitive nature of the marketplace," I replied. I am assuredly not a geek, and techno-talk bores me senseless.

Anyway, to cut to the chase. I took it. Wendy said she was amazed at how impulsively males buy things. And I know she would have made 19 trips to that shop alone, and would have also checked out every other computer business in this town and the town down the road, before she made anything resembling a decision.

"I understand perfectly," said the guy who was ringing up my purchase. "Ian was in her a few months ago, asked about this, and has probably been thinking about it since then."

"Men," Wendy muttered.

But, it is true. Men do, for the most part, buy impulsively. They believe life is too short to do otherwise. Furthermore, men hate shopping. They like having shopped. I have bought cars the same day and been perfectly content with my purchases. I have bought houses the same day. Why waste time. Neighborhood looks decent, the joint seems to be intact, and the gardens are nice. Good -- let's buy it. I was going to say that I have even gotten married or moved in with somebody based on a couple of dates. I confess, not always such a good idea.

But women; for them shopping is a process. She just recently bought a jacket; a simple windbreaker, after having 'looked' for more than a year. I mean, it was just a damn jacket, for heaven's sake. If she is looking for something complicated, in which fit is of the essence, like a bra, for example, I don't want to be with her. Not because lady undies render me uncomfortable (as I already indicated in an earlier blog), but because she virtually gets homicidal about the matter after she has tried 8 or 10 on and finds that they "just don't feel right." I mean, who am I to judge? I am more inclined to look at a bra in terms of esthetic appeal (of course), so I don't really understand the 'fit' issue. "Holds them in place and makes them look perky -- isn't that what you want?" No, I'm not really dumb enough to say that. But, I do know that this is not a shopping venture I choose to be part of.

Of course, the trying on of bras is another realm in which the sexes differ profoundly. Men never, ever want to try anything on. It's like dental surgery for them. I know my size. I'll trust the manufacturer is being honest when he says a pair of slacks has a 34 waist. Usually it works.

Women, on the other hand, love trying stuff on. They'll enter changerooms with 40 or 50 garments over their arms. Truly, this amazes me.

At the same time, it enchants me just enough that I am prepared to stay around for the ride, even after all these years.