Monday evening roundup

Surely, demeaning comments about one's anatomy become increasingly grating, but there must be a non-violent way to address the situation?

A friend sent me the link to Lori Gottlieb's article, and I read it in full, for the first time. And it only makes me want to settle less. Take this:

It sounds obvious now, but I didn’t fully appreciate back then that what makes for a good marriage isn’t necessarily what makes for a good romantic relationship. Once you’re married, it’s not about whom you want to go on vacation with; it’s about whom you want to run a household with. Marriage isn’t a passion-fest; it’s more like a partnership formed to run a very small, mundane, and often boring nonprofit business. And I mean this in a good way.

Evan Marc Katz has said the same thing: it's about the home remodeling and such, not the astrophysics. But I can bore the $hit out of myself with all that by myself. I can run my own household. I'm not saying I wouldn't be able to run it better with another person, if that person were helpful; I'm saying it wouldn't be worth putting up with the wrong person in order to better run the household. To me, marriage is absolutely about whom I want to go on vacation with: vacation is a major priority in my life; redecorating is not. And I know all of that changes with children, and that's largely her point, but those women she describes--and some that I know--don't sound all that enviable to me.

Did you all see the Settling Soul Mates episode(s) of 30 Rock?

While I'm waxing defensive about single people, Carolyn's right to slam these idiots. I can tell you about plenty of self-absorbed spouses and parents.