Before you get on with this, perhaps you'd like to check the original version, titled Girls' Night Out... With Your Guy? This is one amusing writing that managed to trigger my creative side to picture myself in it... with several, er, adjustments. I also found this inside-the-wedlock tip useful for most unmarried (yet) couples.
Anyway, the writer suggests some ideas on how to get your guy to enjoy chick things (or so to speak. On a second thought: could this be read 'how to FORCE your guy to enjoy things that vibe you?'). Or in her words: slowly introduce him to the things that may initially freak him out. How right!
1. Watch a chick flick.
This comes from the very stereotypical thought that guys go for full-action movies, while gals prefer romantic comedies. The writer advises that the girl asks the guy to watch a movie sporting a man (finally) winning his dreamwoman's heart (usually the man in movies like these is a looser, and the woman is model-type, who was once involved with way better looking guys but ends up with this so-called ordinary guy).
Real case test:
No. 1, real-life models date hot dudes, or rich dudes, or hot and rich dudes. Ordinary people are stuck with ordinary people.
No. 2, my guy happens not to be that stereotypical. Some movies on his watchlist: Autumn in New York and You've Got M@il, both of which I never see. I also once dated a guy who watched Titanic five times! (I had enough seeing it once, and that was only for Leonardo di Caprio). Though I can still enjoy romantic or romantic comedy movies, I don't really look for them. In my case, I'll have to find a way to drag him to an.. er.. animated movie *blushes*. Madagascar and Lilo and Stitch are more my things, hehehe.. But I guess both of us can rely on suspense-thrillers.
2. Share a nosh.
Or cook together. Sometimes, pretend that you cook together (though his contribution goes as far as drizzle on some liquor on top of a cup of vanilla ice cream).
Real test case:
Me? Cooking? He can tell spices from their smell way better than I do! Everytime my niece busies herself in the kitchen, I'll take a peek behind her back, grab a can from the fridge or shelf, pour the content down to a bowl and turn on the microwave. Voila! My meal is ready. Let me imagine how our cooking romance will set off:
hm...
hm..
hm...
(thinking really hard)
... I give up. I can only think of the more fun and kinkier "undertakings" that we will be more than happy to commit in the kitchen (or on the kitchen floor?), hehehee...
3. Grab a drink and gab at home.
Lure him into conversation with a glass or two of cocktails, and perhaps after he gets relaxed he'll spill out his sillier side. Or to put it in another way: get him drunk and find out his secrets!
Real test case:
Never tried this before in purpose. And not sure if I ever will. I don't really like the idea. Chatting is chatting, talking is talking, drinking is drinking. Who wants to end up having to bring that limp, big body to the bathroom and seeing he vomits before your very eyes? (Well, unless you have to, but not because you initiate it!). And you might hear what you don't want to hear. Sometimes not knowing means less heartache.
4. Catch a craft fair
This is supposed to introduce your guy to the bliss of shopping, by taking him to a craft exhibition or other shopping venues where he can find things of his interests. It is expected that once he gets used to associating "shopping" with "having fun", he'll have the pleasure to escort you to the malls.
Real case test:
If I go shopping, I'd rather go myself. Or with my girlfriends. Not because he will fuss over it, but I'd prefer other occassions and places I can still share with him. Like having a chat over coffee and tea in his or my fave spots.
And I think guys do like shopping. They just do it differently. I know many guys who could spend hours picking things up, observing new gadgets in Mangga Dua. Those living in the US, try Advance Auto Parts or Best Buys or Home Depot -- you might be surprised on the amount of time they're willing to spare.
So, girlfriends, the next time he criticizes your shopping habbit ("it really is a waste of money for that plain skirt", or "I thought you've already had 100 pairs of black shoes!") remind him that sometimes he brings home not-so-useful devices ("OMG! Another set of bolts? And why should we still have to call the handyman everytime there's a leak in the bathroom?", or "It never occured to me that there are several kinds of fishing hats. The fishes won't notice it anyway, and nor will the boots.")
5. Mosey through a museum
This says that guys typically hate outside brain-exercising activities. And that some men's typical weekends involve sitting in front of the TV or catching the game.
Real case test:
Funny, because I bump into many men in Smithsonian, though. Of course, one can suspect that their girlfriends or wives tug them along, hehehe... And in Indonesia, during weekends men tend to go to -- you guessed -- garages! Somehow they always manage to find something about the car that needs fixing.
If I may suggest, bring them to museums that will entertain both of you, like sex museums. (You'll find them interesting. I did. A porn movie in black and white, produced circa '20? Believe me, the actors were really naked and they actually did the deed!) Unfortunately, museums like these don't exist in Indonesia.
On the other hand, if your guy doesnt like going to museum, I don't see the reason why he should be forced to. But of course, you can tell him that you'd like to bring another male company if he couldn't make it. And mention casually the name of the guy who has a crush on you (and he's well aware of that).
6. Paw over old pics
This means trying to strengthen your bond by sharing and reliving your beautiful moments. According to the writer, these are going to bring back memories of your connection and bring on that warm, fuzzy feeling. It could be just the thing to remind you of what brought you together -- which should come in handy the next time you hit a rough patch in your relationship.
Real Case Test:
I would love to share everything with my guy. I'd even let him see pictures from my teenage period... the selected ones! The ones that I can stand to see myself, hehehe... There are many that I don't have the heart to look through again, they are so sad looking, yucks! But tossing them away feels like trying to erase some parts of my life, and it's not that traumatic that I want to completely forget it!
Final Note
Despite my comments, these may actually work for you! So don't be afraid to try them out.
Bringing Your Guy to Your Chick Sessions -- My Version
God is always In-Timely On Time!
I don't know whether this posting's title is grammatically correct, and I certainly don't care, hehehe... I'd just like to share my heartful thanks to the Divine One, whose watchful eyes guard me wherever I go and constant presence enables me to solve my problems! To try to make a list of all of them would be completely foolish; there are way too many, since the day I was born!
During a Friday session at our Embassy a few weeks ago, a colleague who is informally mandated to deliver sermons every time a preacher or evangelist is not present gave the Embassy's "congregation" the above theme to deliberate. It started with another collague's witnessing on how she suddenly fainted out of nothing at the office. She was so scared at that time, thinking that was probably due to hypertension, something that runs in her family. (And that was the day after Thanksgiving, so you can imagine the kind and amount of food filling up her gastric organs!) Praise the Lord, she was brought to the hospital in time, and after a thorough examination the doctors told her that she was alright.
Although this may not seem extraordinary, in such a condition you will feel that God is there when you are at your lowest point. Who knows, what happened to that friend of mine could actually be something more serious?
Anyway, my friend's testimonial was followed by a series of similar incidents befalling the others. Another colleague was driving when she suddenly felt the urge to... put on her make up. As the traffic light had turned red, she pushed the brake pedal and started to paint her face. Her face halfway done, she realized that she was quite far behind the car preceding hers. She did come to think that she had to move closer, yet she didn't do anything. To her shock, before she knew it a trailer passed in front of her and hit the fence of the house on her right side! Had she been several feet advanced, she could've been rempeyek.
These past several months I experienced many things, and each one showed me the unconditional love He showered on me. I planned to put some in this posting to complete stories I have submitted above, but since the most important ones are related to my dearest car -- which I'm going to make a new posting about -- I dropped the idea.
Aside from those big moments (you know, when it's a matter of life and death -- as in YOUR life and death), we usually didn't pay attention to the petty occurances, which -- if we think of them carefully -- demonstrates God's love: the security guard who gives you a free bus ticket after he saw your confusion with the foreign country's transportation system; a grandma who offers to share with you her umbrella at the first sign of snow; tukang warung who without thinking hands you a glass of hot tea the second you enters the warung to shelter you from the heavy rain outside... When was the last time we look back to these things and feel grateful for His presence, through the people around us?