the ability to compartmentalize and other masculine oddities

me: I really want to see The Runaways. It's about the first all-girl rock band.

bf: Is it in space? 

me: What? 

bf: Is the movie set in space? 

me: No, of course not. But they do make out. 

bf: If it's not at all about space, I don't think it's worth seeing in the theater. 

me: That's your logic?

bf: It could also be about the future. I would go see it if it's about the future. The future, or space. 

me: It's set on earth, in the past. 

bf: You're not selling it.

That was an actual conversation. With someone whose happiness I deeply care about. But he's coming to see that movie with me. I've sat through more episodes of Star Wars, Red Dwarf and Discovery Channel specials on the construction of things using robots than I'll ever be happy about. He owes me. 

Though I kind of owe him, too. (Which is why he's not regularly dragged to lady films) I'm the first to admit, I'm no peach sometimes. And in those moments when I'm being, we'll call it less-than-charming, a frequent thought that pops into my head is how lucky men are to be wired a bit differently. Sure, many of you have a propensity towards completely odd entertainment choices in my opinion, but the typical guy won't immediately dissolve into emotional regress because his friend is acting shitty or he saw pictures of his ex with her new man. (I said "typical." I know there are others of you that are bat-shit crazy. I've seen Jersey Shore.) What I wouldn't give to be able to tuck my feelings away until an appropriate time arises to deal with them. As in, not at 10am at the office. Or better yet, to recognize that some things aren't worth reacting to at all. That's a damn gift. One that I've been watching very closely to see if I can emulate any of this seemingly mature and controlled behavior.

But I can't wrap my head around it. You hear startling, potentially upsetting news right before going into a meeting, and you do not vomit or bail on said meeting. You put this nugget of information into a drawer in that very interesting brain of yours, where it neatly sits until you decide to open the drawer and investigate its contents. And until then, you've not thought about it, dealt with it, or assigned any kind of emotional weight to it? That can't be true. Something must be festering under the surface in the meantime, right? Yet, I've known guys to blow off dealing with some major events for ages. At least that's how it looks.

Is it that you're actually just maintaining a cool exterior? Is it the duck analogy--calm and collected above water and paddling like hell below? Of course I don't mean to imply that you're all members of one giant, unfeeling gender. It's just that this particular behavior is so foreign to me. I act how I feel, when I feel it. It's terribly inconvenient. So, if any of you can offer any insight, tips perhaps, on how to "acknowledge now, express later," or whatever it is you're doing, I'd really appreciate it. I wouldn't mind having better command of my tear ducts.