Men vs Women: Shopping

Men and women are different. That should be clear to all people. But it's really interesting to see how both genders take a very different approach to the same thing. Shopping is one example. Generally speaking, women seems to spend more time on shopping than men. Men basically see it as just another thing that needs to be done. To be done as quickly as possible, without a whole lot of fuss, and continue with something else.

Men often already have in mind what they want. Whereas men will pick the first thing that looks acceptable to their needs, women first need to check out everything that's available, even if that means going to different stores. Women will shop around to get the best value at the lowest price. Women will compare prices and check what's on sale. The have to check the fabric, the color, the texture and so on. What they ultimately buy depends on the circumstances at that time. A guy could get a pair of shoes in less than 2 minutes. Most women could not. 

Women place more importance on sales associates. Perhaps it's because asking for help is not seen as very "manly", men will try to find a solution on their own. Asking for help is to be done as a last resort. If they do ask, men want short, direct answers. Such as what aisle can a certain product be found. Men want to be left alone afterwards. Women want sales associates to elaborate and be as talkative as possible. Make some recommendations and show that she has your attention.

Unlike men, women also attach a social aspect to shopping. It can be used to as a way to connect to one another. Whereas women prefer to go out shopping with at least one other person, men really don't care. It is not unusual to see a group of three, four or even more women shop together. The reverse is far less likely. Men don't see it as a way to hang out together.

The amount of time can be flabbergasting and even annoying to men. Unlike men, spending almost the whole day shopping, even if it's just window shopping, can be exciting to women. Perhaps as a way to accommodate women, some of the larger department stores or malls have sections, perhaps at the entrance, with chairs available where the guys can sit and wait, while their spouses go shopping. The opposite is rare. Seldom will you see a guy drop his spouse or girlfriend behind to wait, while he goes shopping.

What men and women are shopping for can also greatly affect their behavior. For example, men are more likely to express interest in power tools than women. So even if women in general tend to spent more time to complete their shopping, in some cases it's the men that would need more time.

All this is speaking in general. Every individual is different. Some women may hate shopping or act more like men when shopping. But as a whole, significant differences can be observed that warrant the conclusion that men and women really are different. Period.

Atlantis 1

Jack had every reason to be worried. For the last couple of hours, he had been praying that the waters would calm down. He had been praying that his fears would prove ungrounded and that there would be no storm. But alas, judging from the dark gray clouds that had gathered, there was no doubt about it now. A terrible storm was on the horizon.    At first, he tried to outrun the inevitable. He changed course drastically out of sheer desperation, hoping that he would still be able to avoid the upcoming storm. But all his efforts were in vain. On this day, nature’s violent side simply would not be denied. Jack and his trusty, old ship would have to endure the storm and just hope that everything would work out.

A true menace had descended upon Jack and his ship. Jack felt powerless as he watched the thick, gray clouds roll over his little ship. It was very dark now, although it was still only one o’clock in the afternoon. Lightning began to strike down from the skies. The deafening sound of thunder echoed over him. It was all a very gloomy sight for Jack. Then, all of a sudden, he realized it. There was something terribly different about this storm. In his 20 years of experience at sea, he had seen many strange things before and survived countless storms. But this was something else. This was going to be something he had never experienced before in his life. He could feel it in his bones. Something bad was going to happen..........

Jack regretted for not listening to his wife back in the Virgin Islands. Before he had left port, his wife Janet told him about the bad feelings she had about the trip that simply would not go away. “A few days ago, I had this awful nightmare,”  she said. “I was standing over your grave, crying desperately.”  She pleaded to him not to leave and to stay at home because of the bad omen. But that was easier said than done. Jack had a lot of bills to pay. His wife had fallen ill a few weeks before and had to stay in the hospital. The prolonged stay had virtually drained their financial resources. As a result, he needed money in the worse possible way.

There had been many storms as of late and captains were hesitant to put their ships on the line. A local merchant called Mr. Taylor was appalled by this because he had a cargo that had to be shipped as soon as possible. The company that usually transported goods for him said that it was too dangerous and that he had to wait until it was safer. Then he heard that Jack was desperate for some work. He approached Jack and requested to charter his ship. In return, Mr. Taylor offered to pay him a very handsome amount of money to compensate for the risk that he had to take. So despite Janet’s pleas not to go, this was one offer Jack just could not refuse.

Jack did not have to wait long for nature to unleash its vicious frenzy. Never before had he experienced such colossal waves that rocked his ship to its core. His ship quickly became a puppet in the hands of mother nature and was left to its mercy. There was nothing Jack could do behind his steering wheel to prevent his ship from gradually being pushed off course. Desperately, he tried to radio for help, but all he heard was static. The electrical storm interfered with the radiowaves and made all communications as good as impossible.

There was no reason anylonger to control the steering wheel, since his ship was now controlled by the sea. His ship was thrown around like a rubber duck in a bathtub. Jack fears grew by the minute. He doubted if his ship could take this very long. After all, it was but a small ship and not designed to take such a beating. But there was something that worried him even more. If the tales were to be believed, these waters were the supposed realm of the dreaded Bermuda Triangle. Legend has it that countless ships and their crews have disappeared without a single trace in these waters for ages.

A half an hour had gone by, although it felt more like an eternity. Surprisingly, Jack’s ship was still afloat. “Perhaps I am going to survive this terrible ordeal after all,” Jack thought. He became relieved at the mere thought. “I’d better check on the goods in the cargo room to make sure that they are not damaged,” Jack said to himself. “Mr. Taylor will not accept cargo that is useless to him. I took a great risk and I can’t afford to screw it up.”

Unfortunately, the second Jack had set foot in the cargo room, he was in for a horrible surprise. Jack had celebrated too soon. There was water dripping from the sides. The constant banging of the waves on the ship’s hull had been too much to handle for the old, wooden planks. Jack did his best to salvage the situation, but there were too many cracks. The ship was slowly, but steadily, sinking. It would only be a matter of time before she went down. Jack had no choice but to abandon his ship that had served him so well for all these years.

There he was now, all alone in his little rubber lifeboat. Jack desperately held on to his boat with all of his strength, while the ferocious ocean pushed it up and down. “Will I ever see land again?”  Jack thought anxiously. “And what about Janet? What will happen to her, if I do not return?”  He started praying that someone would come and rescue him. “Please God, help me survive..........”  Just as he was praying, a huge, almost Tsunami-like tidal wave, rose up from the ocean like a Cobra ready to strike at its prey, and splashed down on Jack and his pathetic little boat.

Back on the Virgin Islands, Janet was absolutely terrified. She stared out of the window at the ocean. Outside, the storm was still raging in all its fury. “Oh, Jack, why didn’t you listen to me?”  Janet whispered. “I knew something bad was going to happen.” She looked at the waves and wondered if there was anything out there that could survive such a storm. Janet was born in a family of fishers and therefore knew the sea very well. The chances of surviving such a storm were very, very thin, to say the least. She kneeled down in front of a statue of Jesus Christ. “Oh God, please stand by my husband,”  Janet said. “Sent someone to bring him back home safely.” It was all too much for her. She could not control her emotions anylonger and burst into tears.

--o--

 Click on Part 2 for what happens next in this series.

Atlantis 2

Jack opened his eyes and noticed that he was on land. “Thank you, Lord,”  he said gratefully. He was overjoyed to feel solid ground under his feet after what he had gone through. He looked at his surroundings and realized that he was in a room with walls made up of large, stone blocks. He could not see any windows. Instead large banners with the sign of the trident decorated the walls. Despite the absence of windows, the room was clearly lit. Jack concluded that the phosphor on the ceiling was responsible. Its glowing characteristics more than made up for the lack of sunlight. Suddenly he heard the footsteps of someone approaching him from behind. He turned around and saw an old man with long, white hair hanging over his shoulders. He had a blue trident on his chest.    

“Greeting,”  the stranger said to Jack. “I see that all is well with you. You are lucky I found you or else you would have surely perished.”

“I do not know how I should thank you,”  Jack said honestly. “I am forever in your debt.”

“You do not have to thank me,”  the stranger responded. “I am sure you would have done the same for me. I am called Olaf.”

“Pleased to meet you, Olaf,”  Jack replied. “My name is Jack.”

“Come with me, Jack,”  Olaf told him and they both left the room.

They entered a room with a table in the middle. Again, there were no windows to be seen, only banners that acted like curtains. The table was covered with food. “Please, make yourself feel at home,”  Olaf said. “I have prepared these meals especially for you.”  Jack was starving and he graciously accepted the kind invitation.

“I have not noticed anyone else around here,”  Jack said, while chewing on some seafood. “Can I assume that you live alone?”

“You could say that,”  his host responded, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table.

“Have you lived here very long?”  Jack said to keep the conversation going.    

“Longer than you think.”  Olaf said mysteriously.

“By the way, how did you find me and where are we?”  Jack asked.

 Olaf stared right into Jack’s eyes and said bluntly: “We are in my palace, deep under water, on the bottom of the ocean.”  Jack was perplexed and hesitated for a while, not quite sure what to say. Then he burst into laughter.

“Oh, now I get it,”  Jack said. “It’s a joke right?”  But Olaf was not laughing. His face had the same, calm expression.

“It’s the truth,”  Olaf said deadserious. Jack stopped laughing.

“Oh, c’mon,”  Jack said. “How can anybody live on the bottom of the ocean?” Olaf just stood up and walked towards the wall to pull the curtains.

“Damn!” Jack shouted, when Olaf had pulled the curtains. “We really are under water!”  Jack could see the fish swimming around.

“Still think I am joking,”  Olaf asked. Jack just sat there on his chair like a sack of potatoes with his mouth wide open. He clearly did not know what to say, so Olaf continued. “Listen carefully to the story I am about to tell you. It is about a great civilization and how greed, jealousy and lust for power caused its downfall and with it, brought an end to the world.”

--o--

 Click on Part 3 for what happens next in this series.

Atlantis 3

It was a time, when the earth was wild and cruel. Civilization had not yet advanced beyond its primal stages and most people still lived in caves. The few primitive villages around had to live in constant fear of being attacked by wild animals or barbarians. There was no rule of law. The only law that counted was the law of the strongest. In these dark ages, tribes were constantly competing with each other for food and land. As a result, war became part of everyday life and people did not expect to live very long. Indeed, life was very hard and dangerous for everyone.

Then one day, out of nowhere, they came from the skies in their flying ships. The visitors told the people that they had come from far away to bring peace and prosperity to their world, just like they had done many times before. They went to every corner of the earth and everywhere they went, they brought knowledge that would make things better for all. They taught the people how to build stronger houses so that they would have better shelter against wild animals and the forces of nature that threatened them. Soon the first cities began to form, primarily along the coastline. The people were also shown how to cultivate the land and eradicate famine that devastated the land. The people quickly embraced the visitors from the heavens and out of gratitude and in awe of what they were able to accomplish, began to refer to them as the “Gods”.

These same Gods created the continent of Atlantis. One tale tells how the mighty Gods lifted the ocean floor and thus created the huge continent of Atlantis, located between the continents of Europe, Africa and North and South America. Its soil was extremely fertile and well adapted at growing a vast array of crops. The ground also possessed in abundance every single mineral resource needed to sustain a large economy. This rich continent would eventually become populated by a race of people called the Atlanteans.

The origin of the Atlanteans is shrouded in mystery. Nobody really knows where they came from. Some say that they are the descendants of a lost tribe of pirates and mercenaries. It is also whispered that they too were created by the Gods because they were first seen only after the Gods had created Atlantis. There are rumors that the Gods created the Atlanteans from the large apes that were living in the forests of Atlantis. Those who believe these rumors point to the extraordinary size of the people of Atlantis. Every single one of them stood over seven feet tall. Most people tend to believe this theory. However, this story has never been confirmed.

Whatever their origins may have been, the Atlanteans were, without a doubt, a great race that successfully transformed the once undeveloped island of Atlantis into the most powerful and technologically advanced nation in the world. There were other achievements as well. The people were governed by the rule of law. Unlike other nations at the time, Atlantis was democratic and the people had the right to elect their own rulers. Every four year, the Atlanteans would vote to determine who would represent them in their congress, the Council, as it was called.

The rest of the world had developed into four separate gothic kingdoms or “the four outer realms”. The Western Kingdom was located to the west of Atlantis in what is now North and South America. Their ruler was called Klamath. To the northeast of Atlantis in present-day Europe was the Northern Kingdom. Its leader was Akula. To the east and southeast of Atlantis in ancient Africa was the Southern Kingdom and it was led by Kano. Finally to the far east in Asia was the Eastern Kingdom. The power was in the hands of Liu Tzu.

For many years, these four kingdoms and Atlantis lived in peace and harmony with one another. It was a great age of prosperity, a period, unlike the world had ever known before. Unfortunately, as time went by, things gradually began to change. Tensions rose between the various regions. Ethnic groups that had once lived peacefully side by side, now began to fight each other for farmland and mining regions. There was unrest everywhere, even in Atlantis itself. There were widespread allegations of corruption in Atlantis by government officials. Members of the Council were accused of accepting bribes in return for all kinds of favors. Civil war soon began to erupt in the various realms and violence reached an all-time peak.

--o--

 Click on Part 4 for what happens next in this series.