So I'm a long time 'blue piller'. I spent the better portion of my years as a beta type person and I still occasionally fall into those traps. But I've been coming around as I've climbed the socioeconomic ladder and watching the tides turn as (female) friends' lives come apart around them. Though I'm not sitting 100% pretty just yet I am well on my way to being a male of a decent status.

Here's the most recent story. A longtime female friend of mine (separated, 8yo kid, early 30s) invited me out to go on a nature hike with her and her son. It was a fun little excursion. I like the outdoors, I like hiking, and I like women. And I know that TRP generally frowns on this, but her son is pretty cool, too; and we get along well.

My friend lent her car to her ex husband (long story, too long for this, and before you say anything; yes...I'm aware) and didn't have a car. I also just happened to buy a 2014 Ford Fusion Hybrid last week. So she asked me to come pick her and her son up. This works out. I already agreed that I felt like going as it and sure, why not. She's not that far out of the way (I could walk there in 45 minutes if I was so inclined), and she paid for parking.

This is where TRP comes in...

She also invited another female friend of hers to come along. This female friend is also in her early 30s, has a 3 year old kid, is currently married, and would require a car seat.

So I very affirmatively stated no, I don't want a car seat and 3 year old in my car. She took EXTREME personal offense to this, as if somehow I was insulting her and her daughter in some major way. She ended up not going at all on the trip because of how much I pissed her off. She has a car, she could drive. In fact, she could have offered to drive our mutual friend and her son and we could have all met up. But no, she wanted to ride in my new car. I never hinted at her that I would drive her or her daughter.

When making the decision, I sat down and thought about how much of a chump I already am by driving a woman whom isn't giving me any and her son around. I weighed this carefully combined with the fact I did actually want to go, and I do genuinely like hanging around her and her son. Then I weighed how much of an even bigger chump I would look like by driving 2 women around with 2 kids who aren't my own. I took a step back and realized...No, this isn't going to happen. Drive your own damn kid around. This is my new car, and you don't get the benefits of riding around in my new car if I don't get the benefits of having you in my car.

It's a fairly simple thing to understand, and through experience I have learned women, including those involved in this post, play the same shit when it comes to men. No doubt, this was her attempting to play that game with me.

Her husband can't hold a career. He's a great guy, but he has job issues. Because of this, they have some pretty bad financial issues that they aren't quite admitting to everyone. She's the breadwinner in the family and absolutely hates it.

My attitude is simple: Not my problem. Your husband doesn't want to go out with you and your daughter somewhere? Not my problem. Your husband doesn't make enough money so you can sit at home and raise children? Not my problem.

Needless to say, she's completely and utterly pissed with me. But I'm sure it's not because I "insulted" her and her daughter, but more because when she thought I could be a stand-in provider to make up for her husband's deficiency, I stomped all over her dreams and ambitions. She didn't take to that too well.

Edit: So apparently this incident has $other_friend inviting me over tonight for a 'pajama party'? Oh, and after her son goes to bed.

I don't even...