Tuesday, May 13, 2014

My Guy's Making Time



My Guy and I set off on Friday for a fun filled weekend in NYC with Frick. She was performing her "final exam" project Saturday night (which was amazing). I was excited to spend a great Mother's Day weekend in the city with my favorite daughter. All week My Guy and I talked about the time of departure on Friday. We were set to leave around 11AM, so around 10:15AM that morning My Guy started stressing about "making good time" and beating the afternoon traffic.

It's a funny thing. Why is it that men worry about "making good time?"

The ride, door to door from my MA home to NYC is usually about 4 or 4.5 hours. In the 2 years that Frick has been in college in the city, My Guy found this easy, non-traffic-ed way that usually takes about 3 hours. Amazing right? But one can never predict the traffic, road patterns and obstructions. Here's my take: What does it matter what time we get there? We didn't have an appointment. We wouldn't be seeing Frick until about 4PM that day and leaving at 11 gave us more than enough time to make it with some to spare. Yet My Guy poured furiously over his GPS trying to calculate his route and predict what we would find along the way.

"It's all about making good time," I teased My Guy. "It's about proper road management," he replied. The ride took us about 4 and a half hours total, with a 20-30 min stop for lunch. And yes...we hit traffic. Lots of it in some areas, but not enough to make for a major delay, so I'm not sure that would qualify in My Guy's top ten "making good time" rides. I say who cares? It's adorable and strange at the same time but I'm left to wonder is this a man vs woman thing?

"Making good time" for a guy is like scoring bragging rights. It's a male equivalent to "sticking it to the man" and somewhat like a mobile version of a free lunch. Why is that boys? If I had to venture to guess, I would say women worry more about what to pack for the trip than getting there in record time. Guys? It would seem to be all about getting there quick and navigating a Houdini route that will ensure less time traveled. Don't get me wrong, I like getting to my final destination in record time, but my stress is much more about whether or not I need the black Louboutin strappy pumps or whether I really need the two different face bronzers that I cannot seem to part with. If we were traveling under a time constraint of some sort, I could justify the stress and the strategy, but we weren't.

What do you got to say for your yourself fellas? Be honest.



3 comments:

Verdant Earl said...

It's the opposite way in my relationship. I don't give a crap about making good time and traffic doesn't really bother me. I put some tunes on the Sirius/XM and I'll get there when I get there. Gia, on the other hand, HATES traffic with a capital HATE. It literally ruins her (and my) day. She also drives like a maniac to the point that I'm in fear for my life in the passenger seat. And when I'm driving, she gets all stressed because I don't drive like a maniac. Lose/Lose. So we just try to avoid drives of anything over an hour or so. Safer for the both of us.

the walking man said...

Some would stress over routes, cost of gas and the lack of enforced traffic delays...others of us simply get in point the car in the direction and drive. The sun dictates the course and the road the trip. I can drive 55 and wonder along the way if my destination is waiting for me.

Scope said...

Maybe this will explain it in a very stereotypical way:

"Making good time" is like men getting time on sale. You know the thrill of finding something on a really good sale?

He's thinking of the making good time like that. Getting time on sale. Paying less than those other saps.