I really love singing out loud to that cutesy duet from the 70's by Elton John and Kiki Dee. How tough would it be to find someone else who likes to do the same? Should be as easy as getting Lindsay Lohan in and out of rehab, I would think. But if I do find that someone and if that someone happens to be a guy, should I get romantically involved with him?

I have often wondered why we spend the better part of our lives looking for someone we have "something in common with". And that something in common is usually books and movies and music and hobbies and favourite cuisines and sports and holiday spots and such.

Why is it so important for us to want a prospective partner who reads Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance at least once a year or listens to Stairway to Heaven in a loop or quotes dialogues from The Matrix at every single party?

If all of these are our own favourites then we have already seen/heard/read them enough and the chances of us wanting to borrow the same would be pretty slim. But there we all wind up, sifting through lists and nosediving into questions and analysing and over analysing when it's really pointless. You learn the hard way.

Because honey, when push comes to shove, it doesn't matter one lousy bit which song your man/woman sings out loud in the shower. No one gives a rat's ass about which is his/her best holiday spot or favourite cuisine or even colour. You could be facing a severe crisis at work and really need a strong arm around you, the last thing on your mind is going to be "Do you think he/she has read the latest Murakami?"

You could be grieving over the loss of a loved one and you sure as hell would not be smiling at the fact that two of you picked that shade of eggshell for the kitchen cabinets together. Or it could be something as seemingly trivial as the way he/she eats at the table. Do you think you would really care that your wonderful spouse is able to understand the magical realism of a Marquez novel when you really want to scream out loud just to drown out the sound of him/her chewing?

I know it helps to make time spent together more enjoyable when two people share the same interests or have similar tastes. Hell, it even makes sense where planning and logistics are concerned. But when the cow has long jumped over the moon and there isn't a drop of honey left in that jar, you sometimes realise that it didn't really matter much to begin with.

Maybe we should stop to think about how much in common we now have with ourselves from the future. Maybe it makes more sense to figure out whether we're going to like the exact same things in the exact same order for 30-40 years in a row. And if, in fact, the partners we choose are going to be consistent in their tastes and interests for years to come, then maybe it's a good idea to think about the sheer enormity of having to live with someone who is never going to change, for better or for worse. "Forever" doesn't quite have the same ring to it now, does it?

What happens a few years down the line, when the two of you are sitting in your living room entertaining Mr. Ennui and his girlfriend Ms. Monotony? And what happens, when a few more months down the line you find someone else who likes the exact same music and movies and books and has the same hobbies?

Trust me, in a world filled with so many billions, the odds against that not happening are very slim. And trust me again when I say that since that new person is well...new, there is going to be an even stronger attraction and a weaker fight against temptation. Contributing, in turn, to the rise in sales of plush convertible cars and botox.

I'm not called a cynic for nothing!