I was talking to someone yesterday and mentioned apropos of nothing, that I thought that I had one of the big markers of gender determined behaviour. When I talk to people on the phone for more than a minute or two, I just love – leerrvve – to wander around. In and out of rooms of the house I’ll go pontificating away.
And my wife doesn’t go for that kind of thing. I asked the guy who I was talking to yesterday whether the same was true for him – and it was. He loves ambulatory pontification and his wife does not. Now the confidence with which I made the prediction suggests to me that I must have noticed this in others.
Now I’m sure that there must be plenty of men who don’t feel the need for ambulatory pontification, but I wonder how many women feel the need?
Feedback from the field will be rewarded with a massive giveaway of as yet unspecified items.
I’ll verify that my better half doesn’t walk around nearly as much when on the phone.
The big issue with ambulation in the household is when it comes to toothbrushing time. In our cramped bathroom she often jokes about ‘setting me free’ by stepping out of the way so that I can wander up and down the hallway as I attend to my teeth. I never realised I wandered like this until she pointed it out.
Ah – well now we’re talking. Because my wife is an abulatory dental cleanser – and I’m not really, though she takes maybe five minutes, and me? About one or two (max) with a (cordless) electric toothbrush.
Curiouser and curiouser.
My husband is a chronic ambulatory talker.
He CANNOT stand or sit still while on the phone. Even with the landline (not cordless), he paces back and forth for the one and half meters that the cord will stretch. On the mobile, he will happily pace five meters in each direction.
Drives me utterly insane!!
I’ve theorised that there is some sort of foot-brain processing link… but he seems to do okay at his deskjob at work…?
I roam around.
I also posit that it’s got alot to do with a foot-brain processing link. I ramble both when on the phone and when I’m pondering something (I go on short journeys between paragraphs of blog posts/comments that I’m reading/writing).
Maybe this means Mp3 audiobooks are extra suitable for me!
I am also told that it was common throughout the male members of my father’s family, including one whom had a specially made standing desk to avoid the bondage of a chair.
I sometimes ambulate whilst on the phone but I have also found telly watching, net surfing or newspaper perusing to be equal to ambulating while communicating. Although I do occasionally wonder whether this behavior is somewhat disrespectful, I am fortunate in that that I don’t wonder for very long.
I certainly pace around while on the phone, also I pace while thinking and when programming I pace around for a while then sit and type a bit then pace around again then sit and type again.
The sitting at a desk posture encourages shallow breathing, slow metabolism and blood pooling in one’s legs (or sitting in a lounge is even worse). Desk thinkers are running their brains on limited oxygen and weak bloodflow. Pacing thinkers are keeping metabolically active and encouraging deep breathing and good blood circulation, pacing is also essential for the lymph system, everyone should do it.
That’s interesting. I too have a predilection to wander into and out of the house while chatting on the phone. Not that I do it that often. Being a slave to the phone at work makes me avoid it like the proverbial at home, but even here at work, I’ll tend to wander around the office with it.
As to the other half…..she’s always seated from what I see.
My wife would visit pretty much every room in the house while on the phone, but getting in my way while I cook dinner is a favourite destination. I like speaker phone so I can wave my arms. Don’t walk around much though.