Wednesday, January 30, 2008

standards, revisited

i posted a few years ago about the stupidity of setting "standards" for the men you date.  it occured to me recently when a friend tried to introduce me to someone, that maybe i have standards too; they're just not of the 6'2", income greater than $200,000, top ten school-type of standards. 

here things that i note in my head.  they're not deal-breakers at all, just things that i form judgements about.  though, i have a hard time sticking to my often very mean judgements over time because i like most everyone, eventually.  it's a cool trick to see beautiful things in people :)  a list:
  • was he in a fraternity?  was he in a business fraternity?  is he a banker?  this is a proxy for do you have a soul?  are you a tool?  just kidding, but not really.
  • how much does he tip?  how does he treat service people?  i grew up with generous tippers.  we should always treat people who do things for us well.  actually, we should always treat everyone well, regardless of how they act toward you.
  • does he have many close friends?  does this person form lasting, meaningful relationships with people?  is he empathetic?
  • is he close to his family?  (too dependent?  does not care at all?)  how does he talk about them?  (appreciative?  annoyed?  too obedient?)  is he friends with his siblings? 
  • how does he interact with my friends?  is he geniune?

3 comments:

Pete said...

what about how he looks in tight jeans?

Brian Chu said...

That's a good list...but why the hating on business fraternities?!?

carol said...

how about how does he look naked? but more importantly, is he fun in bed?

yah i shouldn't hate on business fraternities or anyone. it just seemed silly for people to be so focused on getting a job and networking as an undergrad. i think about business fraternity people: you'll look for the right job for the rest of your life, why don't you enjoy all the other cool stuff going on at the university? i would hope college (business school excluded and that's just fine) is about more than a prereq for gaining employment.