Thursday, October 27, 2005

Evil Thought for the Day

Some people are like slinkies:
They don't really have a use,
But they can still make you smile
When you push them down the stairs.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Good Enough

I just got back from another wedding. I have been to four weddings this summer and fall. I guess I am just at that age. But, it's made me think a lot about commitment and the nature of relationships.

This latest wedding was really beautiful. The bride was gorgeous, the food was great, the decorations divine. And all the same, there were people, including the groomsmen, who were making bets on how long it would last. Why? Well, perhaps a short history of the (happy?) couple is in order.

The best man introduced S to L. They started dating, then got pretty serious. S wanted to have sex, even though L is catholic and had never even had a boyfriend before. But L said okay, as long as S was sure he loved her and was going to marry her someday. So then they moved in together. But, then it seemed like S got sick of L. He was annoyed with her, and was thinking of breaking up with her. In fact, S even told L he wanted to break up. But, L had nowhere to go, and so they continued to live together. Then, like two months later, they're engaged.

So, did S suddenly have a change of heart and realize that he loved L? Or are other factors at work? When a friend asked S if he loved L, S replied to the effect that she was a good cook and housekeeper (which she is, she takes care of everything). Now, was S just joking, or was there a little kernel of truth to that statement? Instead of suddenly realizing how much he loved L, it seems to me more likely that S: 1) Felt bad that he was about to dump a nice, good catholic girl that he'd pressured into having sex, and going to break his promise to her that he'd marry her someday. 2) Realized that L is basically a nice person, and a great cook and housekeeper. What's not to like?

Basically, I'm wondering if S really loves L, or if he just settled for "good enough"?

And really, what's the difference? I'm not one of those people who believes in soulmates. I think there's more than one person out there that we could end up with. You basically gotta find someone that you're mostly compatible with, and then work hard at the relationship. None of this "meet your soulmate and live happily ever after just cuz you're meant for eachother" stuff. But now I'm wondering, if you're like me, and believe that no relationship is ever perfect, then how do you know that you've found someone to share your life with, or if you're just settling for "good enough"?

Monday, October 17, 2005

The Great Escape

I am feeling somewhat murderous toward my kitty tonight. She managed to open the screen door and leap off of my balcony to the ground below, all while I wasn't looking. And my other kitty, George, was surprisingly oblivious to it all and missed his chance to escape with her. I then spent the next half hour tramping through the trees, bushes and parking lot looking for my cat. How embarrassing. I must have looked like an idiot tramping around, looking under cars, and calling "Kitty, Kitty, Food Time". The worst thing is that I caught sight of her a few times and she ran away. Now Avery is my kitty and she loves me as much as I love her, but something happens when she goes outside: she becomes a feral thing that won't even come at the promise of food. I finally snagged her, puffy tail and all, as she dashed around a corner and brought her back to the apartment where I'm sure she told George all about it. George is now in a very crummy mood, and I suspect that he is cursing his own inattention to the screen door. Escape was within his grasp, and he let it slip away.

Ah well, Georgie, better luck next time. Although there won't be a next time if I can help it. As of now, all balcony privileges have been suspended.

As a side note, isn't it interesting about librarians and cats? Almost all of my co-workers have cats. JS has two kitties (she had three, but one died last year at the age of 22), and CG has five cats and one dog. It would be interesting to do a survey and see just what percentage of librarians actually have cats.

Friday, October 14, 2005

What have I been up to?

Well. I've been at my new job all of 2 weeks. So what do I think? Actually, I think I might be enjoying myself. All of the people are really nice, and I'm enjoying what I'm doing. And yes, it's a fairly small town, quite a change from Edmonton, but really, still very nice. I could probably stay here and be quite happy.

On the home front, my cats are perhaps not quite so happy. I should not have let them out of the house while they were staying at the farm, but I couldn't resist their longing looks at the door. And now that they are back in a city apartment, they are not happy that am not letting them out. So, I thought I would try George with a leash. I know, I know. A cat on a leash? But Georgie has so many other doggie traits that I thought perhaps he would walk on a leash as well. And? Nope. Definitely not. Hates the leash. Tries to eat the leash, rolls on the floor until he's all wrapped up in the leash, and basically makes a general disply of displeasure. I have also realized that I'm probably in the worst apartment for owning two cats. I'm the middle apartment on the second floor, so I have people above, below, and to either side. My cats sometimes get up to a game of tag in the middle of the night. When I was in the basement suite and my only neightbour was the utility room, this was not a big deal, except for when it made me lose sleep. But now I have to worry about the people below me. I don't know how loud two cats running around on your ceiling sounds like, but I'm terrified of getting kicked out like the piano-playing freak who lives above me.

Oh yes, did I mention him? First night I'm here, he starts banging on the piano at one in the morning. And when I say banging, I'm speaking literally. He was not playing a song. It sounded like a 2 year old was on the piano. And I'm thinking, "I better not go up there and tell him to shut up, because anybody who plays nonsense on a piano at one in the morning in an apartment building is either very drunk or very crazy or perhaps both." I talked to the landlords in the morning, and they indicated to me that they'd had problems with this guy before. He's apparently going to be kicked out. Hasn't happened yet, although there have been no more late night serenades.

And now, a word from Avery:

,de\\\n
She thinks my laptop makes a great butt warmer.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

She's Baaaa-aaaaack

Heh, heh. I know I've been a bad little blogger, but I'm hoping to resurrect my blog again in the coming months. I am starting my new job tomorrow, and I just finished unloading the moving truck at 9pm last night. Nothing's unpacked, nothing's put away, and I can't believe I have to be at work tomorrow morning at 9am. I am currently TV-less, Internet-less (I'm at my parents using their computer right now), and I don't even have a good book to read. Stress levels are high. I will probably end up ordering pizza every night this week to make up for it.

Anyway, my job is an internship at a regional library. I am supposed to be in charge to marketing their online services. I have never been in charge of anything, or marketed anything, so this should prove interesting. I'll probably have a bunch of "violette-stuffed-up-again-at-work" stories to tell.