Getting in touch with my other side...

There was a baby shower in our office yesterday for one of our agents who recently had a beautiful baby girl. It was a pot luck luncheon affair. I decided to attend as a sign of respect for the mom and because I didn't have lunch plans anyway. I was the only male agent from our office to show up! I guess that's not unusual. Baby showers aren't a guy thing.

I was reminded of an earlier time, when I used to work in a large corporate structure. About every month or so the women in the office would invite me out to lunch with them to, as they put it, "get in touch with my feminine side." They always had great sport with that, but I didn't mind. We always had a good time and a good lunch at Olga's Kitchen. I think it's important to take time to get in touch with, or at lease appreciate, the different point of view that people different from oneself can have - whether the differences be gender or race or any other aspect that differentiates.

Last year I wrote here about the gender thing and how differently I saw things from what my female partner saw, when we visited a house. I would see the electrical panel and the mechanicals and the garage and things like that and she would see the kitchen layout and colors and how the house was decorated. I don't have a partner any more, but I try now to remember to look for the things that she used to see, when I visit a house on a listing appointment.

I also try to be cognizant of the differences when I take a couple out to look at houses, making sure that I don't focus too much with the man on just the man stuff - hey, what a great garage - and miss the things that the woman might be looking for in a home. That's harder for me and I have to try very hard to pick up on the things that she might like vs. what he likes. I've often said that as long as it has a couch, a TV and a fridge full of beer, it's good to go with most men; however, women look at lots of things that must be right about the house like the kitchen and laundry, because they might end up spending a lot of time there.

Guys also seem to tire of shopping much quicker than the ladies - whether it be for clothes or houses. A guy will look at 3-4 houses and say, "OK let;s buy that 2nd one"; whereas the woman will say "Let's look at a few more, I just know that the perfect house is out there somewhere." I've had guys love every house that we went into; and yet, 20-30 houses later we still had not found "the perfect house" for the wife. Maybe it was all of the time that I spent in the basement looking at the electrical panel with the guys.

So, I nibbled on fruit and salad and cookies and listened to the chatter as the women of the office talked about this new baby and all of the babies that any of them ever had and how cute they were. Finally, I had to leave and go get a burger, before the urge to take a bubble bath and have a pedicure overwhelmed me. I may be losing touch with my feminine side; so, I'll have to figure out another way to regain that insight. Maybe I'll get a beer, sit on the couch and watch Opra.