| While on the whole,
relationships are universally recognized as a good thing, and strived for,
there are certain drawbacks that must be equally recognized. The fact is
that men literally live two different lives; there’s the single man, and
then there is the committed man. Men are usually forced to go through both
stages several times before finally settling into one or the other, but the
two lifestyles are distinct. These 15 freedoms make up the basic framework
of those things we lose when transitioning between the single life, and
finally committing to that long sought-after relationship. |
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| Games and Toys |
| This one is especially painful, so much so that
many men start weaning themselves off random gadgetry while still single in
an attempt to minimize future losses. You like motorcycles? They’re too
dangerous. You want six different gaming consoles? You’ll be lucky if she
lets you keep just one. Toys are for boys, men spend their money on more
sensible things, like Volvo’s and kitchen appliances. |
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| Hanging Out With the Guys |
| It can be heard echoing around the halls of
many a tap-room: “Another good man gone.” When men are with women, they’re
completely with them. There’s just no way out of it, in order to really
cement a committed relationship, a man must spend time with his woman, and
that time is generally the same time his friends want to hang out. When he
does finally have time to hang out, his friends are either at work or
sleeping for once. This is a sad fact of life. Get used to being the third
wheel while your girl chats it up with her bff from work. Oh, and all the
cosmo’s are on you too, so bring your wallet. |
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| Your Work Focus |
| One of the nice things about being single that
gets noticed is success at work. If you’ve got no significant other to
preoccupy yourself with, then you are able to completely pour yourself into
your work, entirely without any negative consequences. Your bank account
will swell and your boss will love you; your family and friends all see what
a success you are, you’re the go-to guy at the company. Enter your love
interest. Oh how quickly things change… |
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| Keeping Your Own Schedule |
| You haven’t had to follow somebody else’s
schedule since you were in grade school, but that changes when you get
yourself a girlfriend. It’s just not kosher to run around until three in the
morning when she’s at home waiting for you, and skipping dinner won’t work
either. Get used to a bit more structured schedule than what you’re used to |
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| No Drama, No Arguments |
| The only arguments you might have single are
probably with your best friend over which movie Monica Bellucci hottest in,
or what beer tastes better. That’s not how life in a relationship is. There
are fights all the time, and they’re usually over nothing. |
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| Having Money |
| This is a no-brainer. We may live in a modern
society, but let’s face it, some things just don’t change. Men have more
money when they’re single, it’s a fact, that’s all there is too it. Get a
girlfriend, spend more money, a lot more. It’s up to you to decide how much
is too much, but if you’re like most of us, that line gets crossed pretty
regularly, and with a smile on your face. |
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| Getting Lucky |
| Even if you do manage to get some time out on
the town with the guys every now and then, it just won’t be like it used to
be. There will be text messages or phone calls, and you’ll have to return
them. You won’t be anxious about the possibilities, because you already know
how the night will end. You may not even be out that long, since keeping it
responsible means keeping it down to just a couple of beers. Things just
aren’t like they used to be anymore. |
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| Random Travel on a Whim |
| Feel like taking a few well-earned sick days
this week and grabbing the cheapest discount round-trip flight out of here?
That kind of spontaneity gets girls to notice you, but it doesn’t fly
anymore when one of them becomes a permanent fixture in your life. The
random road-trips, the hosteling in Europe, the weekends on your buddy’s
couch in Denver, it all comes to an end when you share a bed. |
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| Eating Whatever You Want |
| Cold pizza for breakfast, three energy drinks
by lunch, and a double cheese before you hit the bar may be an average
Wednesday now, but that’s going to change. You’ll be lucky to keep coffee in
your morning agenda, as you’ll be submitted to every form of tofu-laden,
green tea enhanced torture that your new squeeze can come up with. The only
burgers you may be seeing will be tofurkey. You could keep the good stuff if
you rope a chick who appreciates the food men love, but she’s probably not
going to fit in the size zero panties you want on your floor. |
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| Decorating Your Own Place |
| It’s become a goal of every woman to someday
conquer and renovate a man cave, a phrase they’ve proliferated in their
merciless quest to further Ikea’s dominance across the globe. The countless
man-hours you’ve spent collecting the perfect eclectic mix of nonsense
materials to give your place that touch of you will be stripped of all
character and whitewashed into art deco oblivion the moment her toothbrush
hits your sink. |
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| Sleeping Whenever, and Wherever You Want |
| You won’t have the luxury of passing out on any
flat surface within sight anymore once a woman enters your life. You will be
all but required to sleep with her, where she sleeps, when she sleeps, for
as long as she sleeps. No more sleeping in, unless she wants to, and no more
night-owling either. Nocturnal gamers rue the day they finally acquire a
girlfriend, as those kinds of hours aren’t for respectable couples. |
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| Interest in Physical Fitness |
| You probably keep yourself in pretty good shape
while single and on the prowl, since you kind of need to. Since being
physically attractive is probably about 90% responsible for success in the
dating game, it’s only natural that you attempt to keep yourself in check.
Unfortunately, the first thing to go when you’ve got a girl is your
physique. It’s tough to keep that will-power when she’s telling you that
you’re cute with that double bacon cheeseburger and chocolate malt. |
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| Drinking All Day |
| Waking up at seven in the morning to a shot of
bourbon is no longer an option when in a relationship.You can still drink,
but the purpose behind that drinking is different now — it used to be in an
overall attempt to get laid, and now it’s just part of socializing, and has
a very low cap placed on it. Your drinking days are effectively over, unless
you scored a lush, in which case you’re both going to end up in rehab. |
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| Dressing Any Way You Want, and Still Getting
Chicks to Flirt With You |
| Mismatched argyle socks and ironic t-shirts
with blazer combinations may get you results now, while you wander in and
out of bars freely, but you’re in for a surprise if you think your new
girlfriend is going to let you get away with that for long. Sure, she
thought it was cute at first, but she’s not about to let you meet her
parents dressed like that. |
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| Picking Your Own Music, TV Shows, and Movies |
| It’s one of those things that most men just
don’t think about — until it’s too late. The music we listen to while
driving those long trips out of town, the TV shows we watch every week, our
favorite movies, they all fall victim. Your girlfriend will quickly gain
control of the remote control, and she will always have her favorite song of
the moment playing in the car. When the newest movie based on a comic you
loved as a kid comes out this summer, you can wave to its poster while
you’re dragged into the new Twilight installment by your loving other half. |
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