Living With The Boys

One thing for sure, we are not biologically related. Rrrr...hahaha kidding.

I was raised by a single mother. I don't have any older or younger brothers growing up. Just me, my sister and of course my mother. Boys and men were a foreign terms to me. I think that could be the reason why I tend to gravitate more towards these particular gender rather than my own my whole life. I'm curious.

When I was a kid, my mother used to tell me that if she wanted to look for me every time after I've been gone for so long playing Police and Thieves or Hide and Seek, she would usually look at where the boys are playing and not the other way around. It has been more or less the same up until now.

I graduated in 2007 and after that all my best girlfriends have either get married or scattered around the universe working in all sort of jobs you can imagine. Then of course my line of work has not been helping at all for me to keep my feminine side intact. I work in a mechanical area where I sometimes find myself the only girl in the room during meetings or lunches or breakfast. I am not saying that I have a problem with that. I don't, really. I was a bit of a tomboy growing up anyway.

So let me tell you how it was for me for the past few years.

First and foremost, boys, they are a very straight forward creature. Sometimes I think that if they learn to lie more, this world would be a better place to live. I remember asking my friend John (not a real name) on one of the tricky question we girls have for guys. I said this,

"I think I'm gaining weight."

It was more like a statement though. Of course I knew I was gaining weight but well we girls just need some reassurance. I was complaining that I was eating more and more everyday and it worries me. His response to that was,

'Oh yeah, no wonder I've been thinking that you are getting bigger every day too. Especially at this area.'

He was pointing at my tummy at this point. See? It's very different with us girls. We'll never say that to one another. At least not directly.

Secondly, you'll get a new amusing nick names. For my own sake and of course them, I have learn not to take it seriously and I'm still trying. Remember the 'gaining weight' topic? My friends have some very funny names for me for that. It seems like for guys, they have a strange notion of showing affection. Us girls, we'll hold hands or whisper to each others ears, gossiping, helping one another plucking eyebrows and having a sleepover talking through the night. We are quite physical.

With men, they don't go around holding each others hand. They hug only when necessary. We girls do it anytime we feel like it. So I guess this is their way of showing they love you. By calling you names. Affectionate names. Like 'Perempuan Gemuk' or whatever...you get the idea.

Last but not least, if you really have a close male buddies, you should know this. You'll tend to have the same hobby sooner or later. Gone were the days where I spent many times shopping and window shopping and also heart to heart sharing.

Now it's more like hiking in the jungle whenever we feel like bloated after too much eating or too much drinking. We have also make it a habit to go camping and fishing four or five times a year. If we are not doing all that, we'll be playing badminton every Saturday for two hours, jog for a few kilometers everyday or just drink and drink again. Omg.

So, here it goes. You will have to either bear with the name callings and the never-get-a-compliment-directly or keep your distance. I did warn you. Ha ha ha