...now imagine mine.

Hahaha...XD At first it was, well, odd. But with the help of two slices of watermelon that kept me from looking too attentive, I got by. ^__^

So, what were my father's relationship tips?

1. A relationship must be growth oriented. You must give each other enough space to grow and follow your goals. Once a relationship hinders growth, it is a relationship not worth taking.



2. When out on a date, the guy must pay for the expenses. At the worst, it has to be 50-50. If he can't afford anything fancy, dapat, magtiyaga ang girl, for as long as its something the guy can afford. Kasi daw, if the girl pays, either the guy will be insulted or he doesn't deserve to be her boyfriend at all.



3. Hatid sundo must be the guy's responsibility. If he's on a tight budget, tricycle. (Exag naman yun..) But he has to pay for it. (He even inserted an anecdote about him bringing mom to watch an orchestra riding a jeep -- but still, it's the orchestra!! T_T)
   
   
4. Sex (to him) is not a moral issue. At least not until there is a child. A child will make it very difficult of all parties to go for their goals. The worst (as in emphasized talaga ang WORST) decision for a couple, though, is to get married for that reason. It only compounds the difficulties. The decision to have sex, on the other hand, is completely and totally the couple's decision, for as long as they keep their goals and dreams in sight.



5. Respect is very important. You (let's just assume I -- or my dad -- is talking to a girl) must have enough respect for him to be able to introduce him to your friends, etc. (I got only a vague idea of how this works...the respect-introducing to friends thing, but that's how he said it..O_o)



6. Regarding being seloso/selosa: the reason why my father isn't (and I think it will be good to adapt this way of thinking--for those of us who are) is because for him, the value of his wife only increases if other men like her (or find her beautiful). That is, the more who like her, the more valuable she must be! XD Ang sabi nga niya, "kung ako lang ang may gusto sa asawa ko, I must be blind!" Hehehe..I dunno if that quote helps, but I was laughing for about a whole minute when he said that. lol...lalala~ XD

I wasn't very attentive, was I? =p

Anyway, yeah. ^__^v That was a really weird dinner table discussion we had tonight. Weird enough to merit a whole blog entry to itself.