Differences Between Men and Women: Life is like a Bowl of Pasta and Other Random Thoughts

Men think like waffles; women think like spaghetti, or so the saying goes. Though I am normally quite content and even ecstatic about my status as a woman, I have to say, there are days when I have to swallow my female pride and admit that it sure would be nice to think like a waffle.

Waffles and spaghetti, say what? The metaphor may not be clear to all at first glance, but after a little mulling it over, it should begin to make sense. Waffles are clean, neat and compartmentalized. You can pour syrup into each little square and it won't spill into the next one. As far as thinking like a waffle goes, the metaphor will take you as far as you want it to go - emotions stay contained and one subject doesn't have to touch the other - you can leave your garbage at the front door, so to speak, and pick it up on your way out.

Spaghetti? Not so much. Spaghetti is long and sloppy and gets everywhere. It's delicious but it's not so easy to control. Everything touches everything else, and so the metaphor continues. Women's thought processes are more affected by what happened this morning, what the hormones are doing at the moment, and if exciting plans await them this weekend. It's much like the Canon of Literature according to T.S. Elliot, to make it sound a little less condescending. In college I learned that according to Elliot, the Canon of Literature involves every page of literature ever written, and every new piece affects every old piece. It's a collection of work that is ever-changing and ever-evolving as one author responds to another, forever changing the canon in a timeless metamorphosis. You could say so it is with the thoughts of a woman.