The difference between men and women, part infinity
Now that I've been here for close to a year and have decided to stick around for at least a little while, I made it one of my new years resolutions to put some love back into my apartment. You may remember that I spent my first two months in LA obsessing over decor, but by the time Memorial Day rolled around and I had the basics (as well as a day job), I decided to put home decorating on the back burner.
Which partly explains why I have no matching plates, glasses, or silverware.
When I moved in, Ted was (too lazy to pack) kind enough to leave me with a number of items for the home, including odd plates, cups, silverware, and pots and pans. Being Ted, there were no more than two of matching anythings, but frankly, without a dishwasher or a dining room large enough for dinner parties, flatware just did not seem a priority for me. Plastic everything suited me just fine - at least until I had friends over a few weeks ago and was mortified by my mismatched presentation.
So tonight I stopped by World Market to browse their dinnerware section. Overwhelmed by my options, I left with only a bottle of wine but possibly more disdain for the minds of men.
In front of me on line (in line?) was a man. A grown man, at least ten years my senior. A grown man with the foresight of a man ten years my junior getting ready for his first second date with an actual woman. Why the sarcasm? Because, as I am guessing Ted did, this man was purchasing everything - the plates, the wine glasses, the silverware - in sets of TWO.
World Market is like the poor man's Pier 1: if you can afford two, you can afford four. I say, go for eight and pray for friends. Of course, if you're anything like me, something might break and you'll need backup. But this is apparently how men think: in the moment, for immediate gratification. Us women, on the other hand, us Venus-dwelling domestic divas who worship goddesses Oprah, Martha, Nigella, we PLAN. Sometimes too much. But that's what we do.
When I was 21 and moving into my first college apartment, the first thing I bought was a set of 10 white china plates from Macy's Cellar. On the same day I bought four juice glasses, followed by four tall glasses, followed by a set of four matching coffee mugs, and capped them all off with a 25 piece silverware set. Not because I was having dinner parties in college or even having people over for coffee, but because when we weren't hosting keggers in the apartment I got off on the idea of having matching place settings.
Nearly nine years later my standards remain (although I did pass the keg-as-coffee-table phase a long time ago). Back in the spring, I bought a 12-pack of wine glasses from Bed, Bath and Beyond, as well as two sets of coasters - the purchase of which was predicated by a considerable amount of thought. Four seemed too few, and eight possibly too many, but better to have more than less. Or worse, mismatched coasters. So I bought two sets, for 8 total coasters, and even though I - to this day - have still never hosted more than three people at once, I am secure in that I never need worry about coasters (or wine glasses) again.
Given that men are the ones who turn boxers inside out for another wear rather than do the laundry, you'd think they'd have caught onto the idea that more dishes equals less dishwashing. Then again, that was probably a woman's idea also - some wife too fed up with her husband's dirty dishes to also deal with his laundry. "No really, honey, it's only dirty on one side." Now, THAT'S planning.
Which partly explains why I have no matching plates, glasses, or silverware.
When I moved in, Ted was (too lazy to pack) kind enough to leave me with a number of items for the home, including odd plates, cups, silverware, and pots and pans. Being Ted, there were no more than two of matching anythings, but frankly, without a dishwasher or a dining room large enough for dinner parties, flatware just did not seem a priority for me. Plastic everything suited me just fine - at least until I had friends over a few weeks ago and was mortified by my mismatched presentation.
So tonight I stopped by World Market to browse their dinnerware section. Overwhelmed by my options, I left with only a bottle of wine but possibly more disdain for the minds of men.
In front of me on line (in line?) was a man. A grown man, at least ten years my senior. A grown man with the foresight of a man ten years my junior getting ready for his first second date with an actual woman. Why the sarcasm? Because, as I am guessing Ted did, this man was purchasing everything - the plates, the wine glasses, the silverware - in sets of TWO.
World Market is like the poor man's Pier 1: if you can afford two, you can afford four. I say, go for eight and pray for friends. Of course, if you're anything like me, something might break and you'll need backup. But this is apparently how men think: in the moment, for immediate gratification. Us women, on the other hand, us Venus-dwelling domestic divas who worship goddesses Oprah, Martha, Nigella, we PLAN. Sometimes too much. But that's what we do.
When I was 21 and moving into my first college apartment, the first thing I bought was a set of 10 white china plates from Macy's Cellar. On the same day I bought four juice glasses, followed by four tall glasses, followed by a set of four matching coffee mugs, and capped them all off with a 25 piece silverware set. Not because I was having dinner parties in college or even having people over for coffee, but because when we weren't hosting keggers in the apartment I got off on the idea of having matching place settings.
Nearly nine years later my standards remain (although I did pass the keg-as-coffee-table phase a long time ago). Back in the spring, I bought a 12-pack of wine glasses from Bed, Bath and Beyond, as well as two sets of coasters - the purchase of which was predicated by a considerable amount of thought. Four seemed too few, and eight possibly too many, but better to have more than less. Or worse, mismatched coasters. So I bought two sets, for 8 total coasters, and even though I - to this day - have still never hosted more than three people at once, I am secure in that I never need worry about coasters (or wine glasses) again.
Given that men are the ones who turn boxers inside out for another wear rather than do the laundry, you'd think they'd have caught onto the idea that more dishes equals less dishwashing. Then again, that was probably a woman's idea also - some wife too fed up with her husband's dirty dishes to also deal with his laundry. "No really, honey, it's only dirty on one side." Now, THAT'S planning.
Labels: boys
posted by Lori @ 8:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home