Image credit: D Sharon Pruitt

Each kid can be that week’s decision maker. The following week, the next kid plays decision maker. Each one gets his turn calling the shots, while helping teach the other kid patience.

Be there to guide them at first and explain how “It’s my turn, it’s my week!” works. It might get a bit ugly in the beginning — a week is a long time in a kid’s calendar! If the week turns out to be too long indeed, try a daily “It’s my turn” exercise. Hopefully, it works out and teaches kids cooperation, and saves you some headaches playing referee too!

Post from: Blisstree

It’s my turn, it’s my week!

There are lots of ways you can go about dating but going to the movies is one of the more popular ways. But how do you settle on which movie to watch? Let me enumerate some sample scenarios:

Guy wants to impress the girl, agrees to her pick.

Girl wants the guy to like her, agrees to his pick.

Guy and girl have similar tastes. No problem here.

Guy and girl have dissimilar tastes but agrees to watch ones they can settle on.

Guy and girl have dissimilar tastes but take turns in choosing the movie to watch.

I reckon these scenarios are pretty clear, yeah? (Insights after the fold)

The third scenario is the ideal but we all know that it’s a long shot. It’s a rare thing, though not impossible. The first two scenarios are common occurrences during the initial stage of dating. Putting the best foot forward, so to speak. However, I find it a bit unfair for the guy or the girl cuz they won’t be able to fully enjoy the date since they’re too pre-occupied with impressing the other person. The fourth scenario is a good compromise, however, both will miss out on watching the movie that they truly like to watch. Both will end up watching it with other people or alone.

And the fifth and last scenario is my own personal choice. I reckon this ought to be a great opportunity to widen one’s horizon. It opens up a multitude of chances to learn more about other things outside your own preferences and at the same time allows you to get to know your partner better. You’re allowing yourself to experience what he or she likes. It really won’t kill you if you do watch a movie you wouldn’t normally watch, right? It can be a learning experience, a good source of conversation — which can turn into a debate sometimes — and it can be fun. IMO, It adds onto my enjoyment to see my partner enjoy the movie we just watched even when I didn’t particularly like it. It sort of turns into an intangible gift or a show of affection. Know what I mean?

Anyway, I’d like to know what you guys think. Which scenario do you feel most inclined to be in? How do you pick the movie you’ll be watching? How do you compromise during movie dates?

Post from: Blisstree

Take Turns on Movie Dates

Yes, it’s a bit of a dilemma that some of you may have gone through.

Hmmm. That gives me an idea.

Why don’t you “experienced” people give out tips on how to handle this sort of situation. I’m sure your friends and/or family have asked you the same question. How did you go about it?

Personally, I reckon one of the keys is to learn how to prioritise and compromise. It’ll involve a lot of talking and a bucket load of arguments but I’m still certain that finding a stable ground that the couple can work on can be achieved. Once, they’re there, I think it’ll be easy to deal with problems since they’ve somehow established an agreement of sorts.

What do you think? I’d like to hear your thoughts on this issue.

Post from: Blisstree

Relationship vs Career: Isn’t it a bit of a dilemma?

For some, it’s an easy answer — you’ll see each other on the weekends. But what these people may have overlooked is the possibility of other couples having more than one job AND if one or both are still living with their parents [in the Philippines, it's quite common for single individuals to co-habit with immediate families and only separate when they marry].

I, for one, am holding two jobs right now. I have a somewhat regular 9-5 job and I, er, manage online content for three problogs. So, my work load is pretty heavy, to say the least. My typical work schedule on a weekday is go to work by 10am earliest then work for nine hours. After that, I have to allot a minimum of four hours for my work online. Just throw in a cumulative three hours of commute and time for lunch, dinner and toilet breaks in the mesh. AND, of course, there’s sleep.

On weekends, I grab the opportunity to sleep in and when I wake up I work online for 8-10 hours.

It’s a wonder how I can actually manage to keep a relationship because oftentimes I find myself wanting time to stand still so I can squeeze in more work so I can get more done. Gah.

Is proper time management the answer to this dilemma? Most probably. Or do you really have to sacrifice a portion of your time — either you leave off some of the work unfinished or you lose a bit of sleep?

I guess, I’m just thinking out loud and hoping to get some tips on how to resolve this.

Any thoughts?

Post from: Blisstree

The Deal About Work and Relationships