Meth: a Ticking Timebomb Gone Viral

The Pros & Cons of Being in a Relationship

Being single for the past eight years, I must admit that adjusting to this new relationship has its ups and downs. Don't get me wrong, Nada is a beautiful soul, and I wouldn't change anything about her...well, maybe just a few little things. I'm not having second thoughts, it's just that I'm not used to certain things that are female in nature.

Before I met Nada, when I would go to the store, I'd put on my shoes, spray my underarms with deodorant and be gone in sixty seconds. Now, the time it takes to leave the house has stretched to an hour or more. Nada (and I'm sure many other women) won't go anywhere until she has showered.

When I arrived at the store, I'd be in and out in a flash. Now, it takes thirty to forty minutes. This is because my beautiful girlfriend NEEDS to examine every piece of fresh produce before she is satisfied and finds the perfect item to place in the bag. And don't get me started on the girly stuff. Creams, lotions, shampoos and conditioners are selected very carefully. Each bottle's smell is just as important as what the label reads. My opinion and approval is a requirement that cannot be overlooked.

Nada cooks the most delicious food, and last night, we had a salad with roast chicken which was, without doubt, one of the best meals I have ever eaten. When we began living together (two days after we met), we agreed that if Nada cooked, I would clean up afterwards. And given my lack of culinary skills, I am now doing a lot of dishes.

My girlfriend owns more clothes than you would see in a boutique. Because she has had to sort through them as she unpacks, this morning's load of washing was both my absolute delight and worst nightmare all rolled into one. We bought an 18kg washing machine, which is pretty large for a domestic unit and because Nada works, I think it only fair that I have taken on the responsibility of keeping our clothes clean. Before we met, I did a small load every second or third day. Nowadays, I'm doing much larger loads and more often. The workload isn't the issue, it's the technical side of things that has me stumped.

Nada owns clothes I'm having difficulty figuring out how to hang properly. There are extra bits of material and I don't know where to place the pegs so they hang evenly. Some of her tops have padding in places I don't believe Nada needs to accentuate. All that being said when it comes to Nada's underwear (OK...I have an underwear fetish), I admit I take longer than is necessary to hang them out. FYI...few people use clothes dryers in Thailand because the hot weather makes them redundant.

Nada is one of these people who enjoys feeding others. She told me when her son comes to stay, he always gains weight. Her sister told me about this phenomenon, but I didn't quite believe it until I tasted Nada's cooking, and after only a few weeks of living together, my pants no longer fit. She just this second came over to me and shoved a Macadamia nut into my mouth. You might say my mouth has to be open for this to occur, and that's true, but the last thing I want to do is offend my gorgeous Thai girlfriend.