bachelor forever

last night i watched an episode of "palaban" and was getting increasingly irritated by how Solita Monsod seem to make it appear that her guests have some sort of problem for remaining bachelors despite their age (31-33) and financial capability. an audience member even asked "wala bang kulang sa buhay ninyo?" (do you find anything missing in your lives?) and monsod added if they missed any of the love and company. marc tupaz (shamrock) answered that he finds all of the love and company from his family and friends. monsod asked the in-house psychologist if there is anything "wrong" with these guys and continued to ask pointed questions when these guys plan to get married. the psychologist had more sense when she answered that it is much better that they don't get married until they feel that they are ready for it rather than get married because of social pressure. towards the end of the show, monsod casually mentioned that she has a 33 year old son (lawyer, successful and so darned single) that she has been "pressuring" to get married despite the single, biggest obstacle - the guy doesn't have a girlfriend. unfortunately, the catholic church does not allow getting married to "Mariang Palad", otherwise known as your hand. i felt that the whole show was simply an attempt to rationalize her actions and answer questions she is obviously so clueless about. the answer why men don't want to marry is because of mothers like her. duh. no wonder he wants to leave for the US. just to make matters simple for everyone: a guy is never ready until he is. it is as simple as that. if you're the girl asking him when he plans to get married, you get vague answers that are non-committal or half-hearted plans to satisfy your need for a reassurance. believe me, guys who want to settle down for a lifetime with the woman he loves will be the first to ask the question; or at the very least give out signals that he wants to make that commitment. what are the signals? - he wants to meet your parents - - he wants to be with you most of the week - - he talks about common funds - - he asks you how you want your house to look like - - he shares his dreams and how many kids he wants - - he wants to spend more time with you than his car - - same as the previous line, replace car with friends - - replace with cell-phone - - forego his love affair with san miguel - - he wants to get into your pants, and i don't mean to wear them. oh wait, most men want to do the last one whether you end up in the altar or in a motel room. that common bullshit about preparing to get married and saving for that big day is bull. marriage is a financial risk no matter how much you save for it, it is just a matter of how soon a person wants to face that risk. nowadays, guys are not expected to shoulder it by himself as most households are double income earners because of the economic crunch. the reality is, it makes more sense to get married because a man can rely on his partner to share in the household cost. so when a man hee-haws when asked about marriage, it simply means he doesn't want to get married at that stage. don't push it. YOU have the same right and power to decide whether you want to stay in the relationship or not. the guys in the show were obviously not ready to make the plunge. when asked how often they see their girlfriends, the mayor of valenzuela said that at most, once a week. take note, he qualified his statement with "at most" - looks like he finds it "inconvenient" to meet with his girl friend. the band singer said he rarely sees his girlfriend but manages to send text messages every day, he quickly added "twice probably". good morning, good night. he probably had this message saved in his template. the model quickly added he sees his girlfriend about three to four times a week. finally, a line that's longer than three words. it was irritating to watch him smile his way through the show. if he was wearing a blond wig he'd be perfect for the stereotype: dumb blond. the tv host chattered endlessly and i somehow imagined the chipmunks going on and on. kulang sa pansin (desperate for attention). oh wait, walang pumapansin (no one is taking notice) because his career is nowhere to be found. no one even bothered to ask the question that may account for some men not wanting to get married. "is there a possibility that you may not want to get married at all?" the show should have selected better guests, fanny serrano, jun encarnacion, rene salud, and ricky reyes talking about bachelorhood would have been more enlightening. like a bad movie, i stuck it out to the end to somehow hear words of redemption uttered by the host or some of the guests. tough luck. cast: mayor - sherwin gatchallian singer - marc tupaz tv host - bobby yan model - who dat?