Men - What's fetching and what's not ?

Turn on's :

• A potent combination of strength and vulnerability
• Spontaneity and Intelligence
• Generosity (both financially and otherwise)...Someone that is very giving
• A sparkling sense of humor/Wit
• Responsible and great with kids
• Treats his woman with respect
• Passion
• A tinge of jealousy and possessiveness
• Ability to play music
• Appreciation for finer things in life -art, music, theater, food

Turn offs:

• Lies, deceit and inability to step up and take a stand
• All talk and no action
• Treating women with disrespect (especially his woman)
• Double standards
• Vanity
• Being Cheap and/or money-minded
• Cowardice
• Short temper
• Insensitivity 
• Alpha male syndrome

Men are supposedly simple creatures or so they proclaim. From where she was looking there was nothing simple about a man. Maybe she was at a rare vista point :)

A Surreal Evening....

She could see the sea from miles away and hear the waves crashing against the shores. She felt the cool breeze on her face and the faint drizzle of the rain that was soon to come pouring down. She and Ryan were riding a tandem bike along the coast line. They didn't talk much which was very unlike her. Silence had never been her forte. But this compatible and peaceful silence -she was beginning to enjoy. The fact that she was with someone that placed her above everything else in life was a heart-warming realization and her sense of security and peace emerged from that knowledge.

As they rode down the winding roads and got to the final bend, she got a glimpse of the ocean -Infinite, blue and deep. It was turbulent and peaceful at the same time. What a paradox she thought. Ryan walked towards an abandoned boat by the shore. She followed him picking up some sea shells on her way. Bright, beautiful and colorful sea shells gleamed in her hand by the setting sun. While she sat on that boat her hands intertwined in his, waiting for the sun to set, she knew that this was the moment of truth. Everything she had ever wanted, everything she relentlessly sought but never found was right here in this boat. It left her skin glowing in the orange hues of the dusk. 

Once it started getting dark, Ryan asked her if they should head back and stop for dinner some place. She felt her tummy rumbling so she couldn't agree more. They rode back to what she called the "Quaint street". This street had tiny restaurants hidden within lush landscapes that served delectable food. Ryan loved the corn chowder they served in one of those restaurants. She loved the ambiance. They would dine by the alley with glass lanterns hanging over them in the dimly lit setting she loved. They played jazz music inside that got faded by the chatter outside. Ryan kept saying how delicious the food was and towards the end, looked into her eyes and said "If I had my way, I would make time stand still, so I could capture this surreal moment forever." She could barely conjure up a smile.  "Your eyes speak volumes and I can read you like a book" he said and then started humming "You say it best when you say nothing at all". 

He then slid a velvet box out of his pocket. Before she could react, he took out a toe ring and went down on his knee and slid it into her toe. She was speechless and ecstatic both at the same time. He then walked her down to their bike planting a kiss on her forehead. Life had paused for a moment and so had her heart. She was pretty sure it had skipped a couple of beats. But then it started beating so frantically that it made up for the skipped beats almost immediately. She was happy, truly happy !! What an evening it was and what a night it promised to be !!

M for Moolah

"A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart" - Jonathan Swift 

That was her all time favorite quote about money. She often looked at people's perspective on finances and wondered what governed their thought processes. After observing a few very close subjects, she concluded that the financial circumstances you were born and brought up under influenced how you handled "moolah" to a large extent. So, a person who grew up knowing economic difficulties and limitations would turn out to be one of the two below stated, if he's not the normal "middle of the road" kind.

1. A Splurger: This guy has always been limited and contained when it came to spending money. So, if he grew up to have enough money, his rationale is that he should spend it all. Since he couldn't spend any when he didnt have any, why follow the same, when you have enough or more? He believes that his kids should never have to know or live by the limitations that he did.
2. A Financial Conservanist: This guy grew up knowing the value of money since he didn't have enough either. So when he has enough or more, he wants to make sure he saves it or invests it and secures his kids future so he/she shall never face with the same challenges that he did. Additionally, since he's valued money so much for so many years, he does not have it in him to throw away or spend recklessly what he deems invaluable.

She did not have a chance to observe people that were born with a silver spoon in their mouth or what that translated to, as far as their financial outlook was concerned. Should make for an interesting sequel some day.

She personally was born and raised in an economically self-sufficient family. She had working parents at a time when that concept was uncommon in India. Yet when it came to money, her Dad was a traditionalist. He believed that the only money you had, was the money you earned and the money you saved. He taught her two valuable lessons growing up: The value of money and the need to splurge now and then. Her Dad had often quoted Benjamin Franklin and said "If you really want to know the value of money try borrowing some". A lesson that stayed with her all her life. She knew that she'd always plan enough so she wouldn't ever have to ask another in times of need. Additionally, she was just as careful with money. She didn't lend money easily or throw it away. Financial security for the future of her child was her top most priority. She wanted to make sure that her only child would have the best of everything and the dearth of nothing. Yet she would give her kid an upbringing that would help mold her into becoming a financially responsible adult. After all, if love is what makes the world go round; Money is what makes it bend over backwards :)

That being said she did splurge every once in a while. It was her way of paying tribute to the "good life". If you worked hard every single day, you've earned the right to spend some of it "just because". A pair of Jimmy Choo's, a Louis Vuitton hand bag, a Mercedes Benz car, a vacation to Puerto Rico -could be anything that does not fit into the paradigm of "rational spending". "Live it up" - after all like a wise man once said, "One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching".