Is it Really So Strange?

Do you ever have things happen to you and think, "There is no way this happens to other people....seriously, its GOT to be just me and five other people that this has happened to...ever." No? Just me then..right. Let me explain:

-I came thisclose to being hit by a car whilst walking in the crosswalk (yes, the little man was blinking white), making EYE CONTACT with the driver, and yelling at him so he knew I was there. So close that my arm got caught up in his open window and I did a complete flip, landing unhurt and laughing on my bum. Note that prior to my friend and my' beginning to cross that particular street, there had been No Vehicles on the street, in either direction, for three blocks. No, there was no drinking (on our part, any rate) involved.

-The other night Fynn suddenly started going crazy to go outside, not cat-crazy, but just Plain Nuts. When he does this during the daytime, I generally put on his harness (shut up, I know, I walk my cat) and than he goes out and sits on the porch for five minutes. He's not so much for the actual WALKING. This time, he was going like a bloodhound after an escaped convict - I could barely keep up. We walked down the block to an apartment complex that is built around its parking lot, a sacred thing here in Santa Barbara. He walked/ran to about dead-center of the lot, than suddenly turned around and froze and started staring at something that was NOT there. There was nothing in the bushes, he wasn't stalking anything, and it was dead quiet. He wasn't growling/puffing up - all I can say is, animals are weird and this one is a weirdo...but who knows? They can sense earthquakes. What it was, I haven't a clue. Little nutjob, he is.

-Back in the days before caller ID and all that other fancy-schmancy stuff we take for granted nowadays, I used to know when my girlfriend, Nat was calling. She called at irregular times and hours, with no pattern at all - I just used to know I had a call from Oregon.

-Earlier this afternoon, I cleaned the toilet (I say that so you're not totally grossed out by the rest of this) but left the bathroom door open. A few hours later, I discovered three paw prints INSIDE the bowl. Now, before you go all, "Your cat is sooo thirsty he's forced to drink out of the toiiiilet bowl, I'm calling the ASPCA on you, evil one!" on me, please note: He has fresh water in his bowl every day, plus a glass of drinking water next to the bed. He just wanted to know... actually, I don't WANT to know what he wanted to know. Suffice it to say someone will have their feet washed before bed tonight. Unfortunately I was Not Allowed (wink) to photograph the toilet, or I'd show you.

-At our zoo, there is a giraffe with a radically crooked neck (the one on the right). She has a huge crush on S., it is the strangest thing - I've been going there all my life, and I get nary a flutter of her eyelashes. Au contrair, the only zoo-animal interaction I've ever had was circa 1984, riding on my dad's shoulders, when the male lion PEED IN MY FACE. Yummy! I remember it was like a big, hot firehose-type thing that just drenched me in wet stink.

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The following is not so much in the same vein, please feel free to stop reading as I have now Officially gone Off Topic.

Today I realized that when my mom was my age, she was pregnant with my sister - her second kid, and I was in kindergarten. I figured out that when my dad was S.'s age now, we were 13 (in high school) 8 and 6 years old. No wonder I sometimes feel like the oldest, least accomplished young person I know... Now I'm NOT saying, no, not at all, that being Just Us feels like some sort of a statement about our (my, since I'm the one who gets to field the nine million queries per week) success or failure as a couple.

Really, the opposite, in terms of cold, hard research. There are tons of Hard Facts and scads of anecdotal evidence about the increased creative outut, financial stability and marital happiness Dynamic Duos have, vs. what everyone who grew up in a family knows - Families are more or less Organized Chaos with breaks for hugs, snacks and yelling. So really, our future is bright, rich, yea verily, bursting with potential.

We talk about renting our part of the house out, packing a few bags and selling everything but a few precious peices of furniture and taking Fynn somewhere else...."Monterey, Hawaii... who knows? We could go anywhere!" we chorus. The realities are: S has a tiny family, one (out of two) of whom is old(er) and not in the best of health - we really can't suddenly be a long, expensive plane ride away as he grows ever older. We don't have options for alternate care for him. My business, while I *could* do it elsewhere, is really in its infancy - and if I'm going to make it work, I HAVE to stay here.

I've briefly championed the concept of getting a small apartment here in town, just for the sake of paring down, going as minimalist as possible for a pair of artistically inclined recovering (me, anyway!) packrats. Something with No Yard, Pet Allowed, Cheap (ha!) Rent and off-street parking. This truly does NOT exist here in Santa Barbara, or all our friends would live there. My objective here was: "Think, hon, we could save the rent money from our rentals and apply it towards the yard construction and/or any other large expensive projects we might want to do." S. was not so much on the enthusiam for this one, not even when I suggested we move to the house across the street (awesomely inexpensive for here) three bedrooms, one bathroom, a FIREPLACE and LANDSCAPED YARD ... and a garage/storage.

I've decided to be creative in my own space, my own head, if you will. Not in the tinfoil-on-the-head-to-keep-aliens-out way, but in reading, writing, inventing new fun wedding favors, what-have-you way. Suggestions? Anyone, Anyone?

Bueller?

Wipe up that drool.