Templeton is an inexcusably nasty building
Bon Appetit is not just an obsession after all
Women need to learn how to take a compliment
Women need to learn how to take a compliment
by Colin RyonoWomen. They confuse me a lot of the time. As Doc Brown of Back to the Future trilogy fame once pointed out, they are one of the long-unanswerable mysteries of the universe. And don't try to tell me that you haven't wondered about the strange habits that many women share; you may have discussed them in whispered tones, only to be met with arched eyebrows when you confront them in particular.
Is it possible to compliment a girl without her feeling perhaps the slightest bit uncomfortable? I contend yes, and thus, I do compliment my female friends, and I do not expect them to take it any other way than what it is: a compliment directed toward them, under the conception that they will appreciate the gesture. It's in my nature to be complimentary at times. But it was pointed out recently by a friend of mine that this is potentially dangerous.
According to this idea, the occasional compliment is harmless. Additional compliments (at a constant rate of exchange) have the opportunity to encroach into what is virtually a mine field while wearing clown shoes. If even the slightest hint of suspicion about your character lies within the girl in question, your compliment is in danger of being interpreted in a way you may not have intended. Self-consciousness in women may be an element here; women may be convinced that the compliment is either a) a sarcastic lie, or b) of impure intention.
I cannot speak for the entire male gender (and I admit, by the way, that we are just as infuriating), but more often than not, my intentions are entirely...complimentary. Why can't women take compliments just as compliments, rather than letting it cross their mind that there is something beyond the words? Men are expected to compliment women. Take Casino Night for example. Do the women of Lewis & Clark dress up just for the approval of others of their own gender? No, they'd like to be complimented. As Mark Twain once said, "I can live for months on a good compliment." Guys can walk on air for years after a well-placed one.
But it is paranoia in women and a "damned if we do, damned if we don't" situation for us "unrequited" guys. Silence is awkward; compliments seem flattering. What are we supposed to do? Grunt?
So how do they sense it in the first place? My answer: radar and psychic abilities. Women have these senses beyond the power of modern men, meant only for the purpose of vanquishing any innocent intentions (leaving nothing behind). I have a working theory that they are instilled during the puberty years.
As an interlude here, I can't say I understand all that much either-I'm positive they skipped something in fifth grade. Shouldn't they have told us something about what the girls were talking about in the other room? Although, truthfully, sex ed. consisted mostly of one or two guys having to walk out to get a drink of water (Rusty & Abe), and the rest of us giggling over the word "pubic."
I know men have been caught looking at a girl from across a room while simply admiring her (not looking at her cleavage or anything). Face it, you're the pretty gender; deal. And the girl's head has shot up, the buzz of radar audible in different states, and her psychic abilities have sought out the peaceful offender. Even if a WalMart and a Civil War battle separate the two. The offender is greeted by some sort of look that makes him feel microscopic, wishing for the power to assume the color of the floor.
You threaten us. You scare us (me). We don't understand you; you've evolved unspoken languages and powers incomprehensible to us meatheads. You have a considerable degree of power over us. And occasionally, we fall in love with you. Deal with it. So, if I compliment you, it's because I admire you. Is that so wrong?
