Why I Need A Man

I must say that I am an independent woman. I can buy my own, take care of my own, and make it in a lot of things on my own. But when it comes to certain things in life ... the fact of the matter is I still need a man.

To make a long story short, my car just decided to act up and I of course I had no idea what to do. I called my first line of defense immediately - my mom, my dad, and my sister. But they were no help at all. At the end of the day I just had to make a decision on my own.

But I really needed a man to make a good mechanical decision because when it comes to cars I am completely clueless. I call my dad for help, but with him being so far away it would really help to have someone closer who could give me advice. I am pretty good about staying calm in stressful situations like this, but my biggest concern is that I will make the wrong choice as the mechanics spit out all of this information with their technical auto jargon of things that "have to be done". Are they just trying to get over on me because I'm a woman? Are they really looking out for my best interest?

I guess I'll never really know. And I'll never really know or understand why there are certain things in life that women still need men for, but in the meantime I will just try to utilize Google! I will make every effort to research and learn more about cars to educate myself so I won't end up in this situation again. As nice as it is to be dependent on men to do the masculine things, I must move beyond the stereotype and teach myself how to help myself. I am going to stay on top of my regular maintinance and services, get an auto emergency kit, and start saving to have emergency funds. I will be prepared for those times when there's just not a man around!


What I Need A Man For
1. Procreation
2. Companionship
3. Kill A Spider
4. Open Jars
5. Not-so-honest opinion
6. Meaningless Facts
7. Comfy Sleep Clothes
8. Lawn Work
9. Take out the Trash
10. Car Repair

Is it wise to give advice???

"I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes."
- Edna St. Vincent Millay

As someone who writes a relationship advice column you may find it hard to believe, but I do not like giving advice. Well at least not to my friends. I end up attempting to do so anyway, but it is not exactly my favorite thing to do. Don't get me wrong, I love talking about relationships and having discussions about life and love. The issue with advice is it never really works to your advantage when you weigh in on a friend's love life.

I figured I can't be the only one with this problem, so for this post I've come up with a few guidelines for giving your friend advice on the matters of the heart. You've got to take a LAP!

Listen to them. Sometimes they just need to talk.
Accept the fact that they may not take your advice.
Provide options and alternatives for them.

When people come to you with issues or problems with their significant other it's easy to want to tell them what you think, but the truth of the matter is THEY JUST DON'T CARE! They want to vent and get something off their chest, but they do not want to hear your opinion. So to avoid giving out unwanted or unsolicited advice, the first thing you should say to your friend is "Do you want my opinion or do you just want to talk?" That way you know what to do up front and can better help your friend. If they want advice, give it! But if they just want a listening ear, you have got to do just that. Listen. Don't get emotionally involved. And don't be surprised when she stays with him after he did that horrible thing that made her so upset.

Another fact is, when people are having problems, they don't want to DO anything. True friends and family members always want to fix things. But you can't always fix things, especially if the friend doesn't want to do anything to change the situation they're in. You can offer advice and solutions and have charts and graphs and it won't matter one bit! At the end of the day, people do what they want to do and are with who they want to be with. So stop stressing yourself with their love life and just be there for your family member or friend.

"Advice is what we [friends] ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."
— Erica Jong

Here's what you said on Facebook!
Should you give your friends relationship advice?
Marie Scearce: "No cause then they never take it when they ask u"