I have reached the period in my life where engagement has started to spread like the swine flu.  I am not engaged and have never been married, so the idea that all of my friends happen to be receiving proposals of marriage from their boyfriends at the same time is a little bit of a mystery to me.  Some of the couples getting engaged have been dating since the beginning of college, and some have barely been dating for a year, but yet here they are now suddenly at the same stage in their relationship.  What changes occur in our …read more

WalletPop has a story on the 20 Most Worthles Pieces of Junk. I went through the list and some of the listed items are unnecessary, for example #20 Rice Cookers. Others, #18 Polaroid Camera, #10 Books (books??!!) and #8 Ice Cream Makers and Bread Machines are items that I use or have used on a regular basis.
I can see why some of the items are on the list. I have had three rice cookers, all three given to me by my dad, and I have rarely used them. I have a bread machine that I use constantly for pizza dough. …read more

I’m fascinated by the way different cultures approach dating and marriage. Traditions like arranged marriages used to sound crazy to me, but as I mature, I’ve developed a more open mind. I’ve realized that just because we believe we know best here in the West, that doesn’t mean that we actually do know best.  Where did we get that anyway?  That belief that our way of doing things is superior?  In the case of dating, it’s sure not backed up by measurable statistics like divorce rates.
Today I found something about using biodata to find a potential mate.  Biodata is essentially …read more

Is it a little like the kiss under the mistletoe? I’m not certain.
Hmmm.
I’ve heard it said that it’s best to go to that New Year’s Eve party with someone you’d want to kiss when the clock strikes twelve because word has it that he might just be “the one”. Does anybody know who started this tradition? In my country, it being a conservative one at that, we really don’t practice the kissing on the lips part when we welcome the new year. It’s unacceptable to kiss someone outside matrimony. But, of course, things are a bit lighter now. Some …read more

Have we been too involved with the available technology that we forget how it is to be romantic?
Courtship has been practiced in different countries, in various ways, for hundreds of years now. And one of the most romantic acts in my book is the old fashioned love letter on parchment.
People nowadays rely on getting hook ups in bars, clubs or wherever. The whole concept of “pursuit” has slowly becoming extinct. They call it “the chase” now and the goal isn’t really a commitment or a serious relationship but, er, something else. Faint are the traditions or practices, which usually accompanies …read more