The Runaround

Another symptom of men's inability to acknowledge romantic possibility is their tendency to avoid meaningful transitions.  Milestones like moving in together or getting engaged and what not are signifiers of great change in the male mind.  First you're moving into a 3-room condo with a view of the river and next thing you know it's a baby, a mortgage and a disgusting family vacation to Disneyworld.  We've got two toes in the grave already and every major decision that makes us feel like a grownup is just one inch closer to a casket.

This is why men put off important things.  Why they hesitate so much to propose a move or a marriage, because it's one more step in the loss of freedom.  It doesn't even matter if we intend to ever exercise that freedom.  Most men have no intention to step out and are perfectly happy to remain in their relationship, but that possibility is always around, spinning in the back of their minds, causing trouble.  Really, it's a loss of independence that frightens us, a loss of personal identity.  We're afraid to step into a new arrangement because it limits the personal freedoms that we're used to.

Don’t Hate The Player

Men are scoundrels of the highest degree.  We all seem to fancy ourselves puppet masters who are in control of our universe, but we're astonishingly bad at it.  We're clumsy, ignorant and poorly coordinated, which could be why our little games always fall away into ruin.