The fourth? No thanks…

I was proposed to over the weekend. I was proposed to by a man whose name I don’t know, whose intentions I’m unsure of, and whose truths are yet untold.

“Are you married?” It’s a question you have to ask when you meet someone new here.

“To three.”

“You’re joking, right?” The guy can’t be serious. How in the world would he have time to chat with me?

“Nope. And I’m looking for the forth.” He paused before saying, “But number four seems to be the hardest. You interested?”

“Ummm, no thanks. In fact, if you’re not joking you shouldn’t be talking to me at all. But I have a feeling you are. How in the world would you find the time?”

“I told you, I’m a fantastic time manager.”

I’m still not sure if he was bullshitting or not. I’m not sure how sincere he was about the proposal either. But it’s not strange to other proposals, which I know were serious, made in the past.

Anyway, that was one of the more interesting conversations I had over the weekend. Another was with my Indonesian maid; God bless her soul, she’s great. I tend NOT to treat the people who take care of my personal business, laundry, food, even my child; even if I am paying them, like shit. She’s more like a member of my family and I love her terribly.

She was upset because all of her younger sisters were getting married before her. She couldn’t accept that they could do this to her; what would people think? What would people say? How could she allow them to do this? It turns out all of her friends had been insisting that she make her sisters postpone and wait until she found a fiancée and married herself. She was actually torn, as if it was really horrible for her to be 23 or 24 years old; and have her younger sister marry before her.

I talked with her for a long while and she came to realize how bizarre what she was thinking really was. You see, the same maid sends all of her money back home so that her sister can be educated beyond her own experience because she wants better for those she loves than what she herself has. She was recently torn when she thought her sister would have to quit school because of a few family problems in combination with financial issues that wouldn’t accommodate a new schooling arrangement for her. She was only able to rest once this situation was sorted out.

The irony in this all was concealed to her. Her sister’s happiness & contentment only mattered when it didn’t have to do with love; or men.

Why is it women react to men so differently than any other aspect in their lives? Why are the emotions so screwed up, so blurry that even our own hearts will deceive us? She feels a lot better now and decided that since she loves her sisters she will only offer blessings and prayers for happiness even in a situation that floods her heart with jealousy. She admitted to still feeling hurt by the whole situation; but agrees it’s the right thing to do.

I don’t particularly like women much these days. There’s a lot more to that thought, but I suppose I’ll save it for another entry.

For now, I’m wondering what my ‘friendly anonymous’ will have to say about all of this.