Inspired by one of my favorite Paula Abdul songs - just thought I'd ask if there's any "odd pairings" you can think of in your life? Could be a friend, family member or a significant other, just the type to where you get along great with them, despite being quite different on the surface. I honestly think there's a shred of truth in this. It can open your mind to things you otherwise might've not paid attention to or had a different view of. Even if you don't cross over to the other persons' mindset or tastes, it can make the relationship interesting.

Well..I had typed out a huge few paragraphs, and then my stinking' cat walked over and stepped near the keyboard...and made me press some button that deleted all of what I wrote. >:(

So, I will try it again.

My husband and I are completely different. Infact, sometimes I wonder how he and I even attracted one another. Don't get me wrong...I love him dearly...we are just so different.

The two major differences are the following:


Chris is a major fan of sports. He is literally like a walking/talking body of knowledge of sports. 9 times out of 10, if you ask him a question regarding sports...he will know the answer. If they graded someone merely on one subject, and it happened to be on sports...he would be genius status.  He played football in high school, and he golfs now.

On the other hand, you have me. Someone who has never been into sports, and knows nothing about sports.  In school I was the complete opposite, I was into the arts (drama, choir, art classes, language clubs, etc). I never played any sports.  My extent of "loving" sports is attending a Pirates baseball game once a year, or getting excited about the Steelers playing football ONLY because it confirms that fall has finally arrived (my favorite season) ;D.

Another complete difference is our taste in music. Chris is a big fan of country music. When I first met him, I had mentioned how much I hated country music...and it must have scared him or something....because he pretended that he didn't like it at all, and apparently got rid of a lot of his county Cd's, just to impress me.  However, I guess he couldn't keep up with it, because the country Cd's started trickling back into the scene...and now, he almost always listens to country music.  When he is in the car...he blasts country music. When I am in the car...I blast either: The Ramones, The Cars, some form of 70's classic rock....or newer music by bands like Weezer, Rooney, Jet, etc....oh, and my occasional doowop stuff.

I believe that people can get along, that have not too much in common.  It would be nice if we had more in common, I suppose...and I'm not saying that we don't have ANYTHING in common...that's not true....but in all honesty, we have more things that we don't have in common, than we do.

Oh, I hate losing posts - that's like progress in a video game, lol. Sorry the cat messed it up unintentionally, I know that's frustrating.

Anyway, do you feel like the differences bring out the best in each of you? I guess you're the Paula of your guys' relationship (fun yet conservative) and Chris is the Skat Kat (for some reason and maybe this is a generalization, I associate sports with partying). ;)

I'm not into sports too heavily, so I don't usually have much to say beyond a basic level when people are discussing it. I think I'm generally pretty similar to you, so I know where you're coming from on everything. The majority of people I know are pretty hardcore into some kind of sports. While I marginally enjoy golf and bowling is pretty cool too (I usually hit in the gutter the majority of the time, but it's the experience that counts), the "higher activity" ones don't hold my interest for too long. I can get into playing sometimes, but I could care less about watching it on TV.

You know something embarrassing, which I can sort of relate to Chris on? You said he pretended to dislike country when you were honest about not enjoying it yourself. I used to be sort of like that, but you can't really hide what you like for too long. I suppose the reason behind it is trying to cross over to the other person to gain more acceptance from them, or not wanting to feel embarrased or judged. Like, I'd probably be thinking "whoa what am I gonna say now?" if a girl I was dating had an aversion to '80s music, Full House, Weird Al Yankovic, the BTTF movies or something else I liked (which has happened before, lol). Yet the way I generally deal with these things now is to be honest, yet poke gentle fun at myself and not take it too seriously. That solves the awkwardness of it, yet it's not really lying either, and it makes the other person feel more easygoing too.

Robin And I are different.She likes the 90's and today's music while I'm basically stuck in a time warp.Being different keeps us closer together. :)

In many ways Carlos and I are very different. He is tall, I'm short. I am Oscar Madison to his Felix Unger. He is a doer and I am very lazy.



Cat

I've actually heard before that sometimes couples who are "opposite" from eachother are actually a better match because they kind of "complete eachother" for having different traits than their partner.  Like their temperaments and things even out.  Though I think I'd still be more comfortable with someone who at least had a moderate amount of things in common with me.

In many ways Carlos and I are very different. He is tall, I'm short. I am Oscar Madison to his Felix Unger. He is a doer and I am very lazy.



Cat
Other than the tall/short thing, hubby & I are the same.  Add to that the fact that he's a registered Republican, he has a fairly short fuse and a total A-type personality while I'm not registered as anything (but tend to lean more Democrat), usually have a very LONG fuse (except where my kids are concerned) and am a TOTAL B-type. 

And, like Erin's Chris, he knows EVERYTHING about sports.  You can ask him how many touchdowns someone had in 1986 and he can probably tell you while I would ask "who's so-and-so?" ;D

Other than the tall/short thing, hubby & I are the same.  Add to that the fact that he's a registered Republican, he has a fairly short fuse and a total A-type personality while I'm not registered as anything (but tend to lean more Democrat), usually have a very LONG fuse (except where my kids are concerned) and am a TOTAL B-type. 

And, like Erin's Chris, he knows EVERYTHING about sports.  You can ask him how many touchdowns someone had in 1986 and he can probably tell you while I would ask "who's so-and-so?" ;D


hahaha..is he the type that will sit there and rattle off statistic after statistic...and in reality, you could care less and have no clue what he is talking about....yet, he just keeps rattling them off, as if I knew what he was saying? :D

hahaha..is he the type that will sit there and rattle off statistic after statistic...and in reality, you could care less and have no clue what he is talking about....yet, he just keeps rattling them off, as if I knew what he was saying? :D
Yep.  Especially after I make some stupid comment.  I know the rules of most sports, but when it comes to statistics and stuff like that, I'm hopeless :D  He does it with technology-stuff as well.  I usually just zone out when he starts talking "work-talk." 

Yep.  Especially after I make some stupid comment.  I know the rules of most sports, but when it comes to statistics and stuff like that, I'm hopeless :D  He does it with technology-stuff as well.  I usually just zone out when he starts talking "work-talk." 


hahahaa....Chris is the same way. I try to listen and act like I know what he is talking about...but in my mind i am usually totally thinking of something else. :D

hahaha..is he the type that will sit there and rattle off statistic after statistic...and in reality, you could care less and have no clue what he is talking about....yet, he just keeps rattling them off, as if I knew what he was saying? :D



I know a lot of trivia about pop culture and Carlos could care less. I will give him some kind of trivia info and he will ask me, "How do you remember that?" and then he will ask, "WHY do you remember that?".  :D ;D ;D



Cat

I know a lot of trivia about pop culture and Carlos could care less. I will give him some kind of trivia info and he will ask me, "How do you remember that?" and then he will ask, "WHY do you remember that?".  :D ;D ;D



Cat



that's how I am with Chris...sometimes I am shocked at how much he knows...and I also wonder...how and why he knows all of that info! :D

Chris is a major fan of sports. He is literally like a walking/talking body of knowledge of sports. 9 times out of 10, if you ask him a question regarding sports...he will know the answer. If they graded someone merely on one subject, and it happened to be on sports...he would be genius status.  He played football in high school, and he golfs now.

He sounds much like my husband.  Mike isn't really into sports trivia that much, but he'll watch any football or baseball game, live or on TV.  He's been into sports since he was young and even plays ice hockey and basketball...not to mention coaching our son's baseball team.  Oh, and he also does that fantasy sports stuff online.

On the other hand, you have me. Someone who has never been into sports, and knows nothing about sports.  In school I was the complete opposite, I was into the arts (drama, choir, art classes, language clubs, etc). I never played any sports.

You sound just like me, Erin.  I find sports to be very boring (either watching or playing).

Another complete difference is our taste in music. Chris is a big fan of country music. When I first met him, I had mentioned how much I hated country music...and it must have scared him or something....because he pretended that he didn't like it at all, and apparently got rid of a lot of his county Cd's, just to impress me.  However, I guess he couldn't keep up with it, because the country Cd's started trickling back into the scene...and now, he almost always listens to country music.  When he is in the car...he blasts country music. When I am in the car...I blast either: The Ramones, The Cars, some form of 70's classic rock....or newer music by bands like Weezer, Rooney, Jet, etc....oh, and my occasional doowop stuff.

Mike and I have similar taste in music, and though I'm the only one who plays music around the house (he prefers to watch TV or listen to talk radio ), he usually likes what I put on.

We've all got our geekiness somewhere - I guess mine is being analytical about pretty much everything, remembering exact details from certain things in my life, or pop culture stuff. I've had people ask me, "Whoa dude, how can you remember all these years of when stuff happened", but it's always been natural to me, lol.

P.S. Doesn't it seem like there's been alot of "uneven pairings" over the years? Like The Odd Couple or Hall and Oates (which they themselves have even pointed out, lol).

I know a lot of trivia about pop culture and Carlos could care less. I will give him some kind of trivia info and he will ask me, "How do you remember that?" and then he will ask, "WHY do you remember that?".  :D ;D ;D


Cat


My hubby wishes he could somehow turn my music knowledge into money!  ;D ;)

My hubby wishes he could somehow turn my music knowledge into money!  ;D ;)


Yeah, I tend to remember things from interviews with musicians, documentaries or stuff I've read that most people would've forgotten the next day or could care less about in the first place, lol. Then again, I did start watching MTV and VH1 when I was 9. I guess if something is interesting or important to us, it kinda sticks in our mind. That goes back to even 3 or 4 years old. My parents would be surprised when years later I could recall exactly where I was when I first heard a certain song.


I've actually heard before that sometimes couples who are "opposite" from eachother are actually a better match because they kind of "complete eachother" for having different traits than their partner.  Like their temperaments and things even out.  Though I think I'd still be more comfortable with someone who at least had a moderate amount of things in common with me.

That's exactly what I thought too. :) Yeah I guess the perfect balance is somewhere inbetween. Like different enough to be interesting and bring out another side in you, but similar enough to relate to them easily.

In a way Our libidos are different.For me,My libido(sex drive is very strong)But as for her she has a low sex drive and she's not much into it like I am.

Kamika and I are somewhat different,She likes Hot Chocolate all year round while I like Hot Chocolate only during cold weather.

My cousin/close friend and I are polar opposites.  She's religious, conservative, blond and has the bubbly personality of a cheerleader on a caffeine buzz.  I however am not religious or conservative, and I'm pretty ordinary and a bit standoffish.  However we seem to embrace each others characteristics and make this best of it.  She's still the only cheerleader I'd ever be willing to hang out with.

My cousin/close friend and I are polar opposites.  She's religious, conservative, blond and has the bubbly personality of a cheerleader on a caffeine buzz.  I however am not religious or conservative, and I'm pretty ordinary and a bit standoffish.  However we seem to embrace each others characteristics and make this best of it.  She's still the only cheerleader I'd ever be willing to hang out with.
I have a few friends like that, completely different characters and interests but we just clicked and get on great.

wow...I remember this thread. :D

My cousin/close friend and I are polar opposites.  She's religious, conservative, blond and has the bubbly personality of a cheerleader on a caffeine buzz.  I however am not religious or conservative, and I'm pretty ordinary and a bit standoffish.  However we seem to embrace each others characteristics and make this best of it.  She's still the only cheerleader I'd ever be willing to hang out with.


In a way, this is like me and the guy I was most recently going out with.  He was like almost the complete opposite of me in so many ways, but our chemistry was AMAZING.

wow...I remember this thread. :D


Yeah,I'm glad I dug up this thread. ;)