Could I Live With You???

Don't panic, I'm not asking if I may live with you. Just wondering how difficult it would be for both of us. This post is about how difficult it can be at times to share living space--especially when you're struggling to avoid acting badly at home as a result of craziness at work (that'll be a separate post) that leaves you out of patience, very tired, and almost looking for a fight.

We all have our little habits, preferences and beliefs that can be annoying to others and leave us wondering why they go out of their way to annoy us. Right? Here's a short quiz to see if we could share space without driving each other crazy (like Neil Simon's "Odd Couple").

1. It's too hot, too cold or too something to cook, so you offer to buy me dinner. When the bill arrives, do you:
a. pay with my credit card? (If yes, well played!!!)
b. inform me you brought no cash or credit cards?
c. ask if I'd like coffee or dessert before you pay?

2. I make well-drained tuna for our lunch. There are leftovers in the bowl and you agree to cover it and put it away. Would you:
a. cover the bowl with the wrap of your choice, but leave 30% of the opening uncovered?
b. tear off a 12 foot section of the wrap, wadding it up on the bottom so the bowl wobbles like a weeble?
c. use an appropriate length of the wrap, centered over the bowl so that it is completely covered?
3. You rinse unused ketchup off your plate and pieces of your uneaten dinner (maybe a few shreds of lettuce, bread crumbs, whatever) fall into the sink. Do you:
a. set your plate on the counter and walk away?
b. put your plate in the dishwasher and walk away?
c. rinse the ketchup and food out the sink?

4. You decide to have a snack that includes peanut butter. As you begin to stick a knife into an essentially full jar of PB, do you:
a. drive the knife to the bottom of the jar, getting PB all over the handle?
b. put the PB encrusted knife in the dishwasher (where the PB will harden and still be there after the wash cycle)?
c. clean any excess PB off the knife?

5. Since it's again too whatever to cook, we order pizza for dinner. Do you leave the empty pizza box:
a. on the electric stove top burners?
b. balanced on top of an over-flowing trash can?
c. inside the trash bag (crushed and folded) or in the recycling bin?

6. As you get out of the shower you notice hair accumulated in the drain. Do you:
a. ignore it, since you're done?
b. feel glad you're leaving a part of yourself behind to share with others?
c. take 2 seconds to clear the drain with a tissue (or whatever, just clear the drain!)?

7. Do you squeeze the toothpaste tube at the:
a. top?
b. middle?
c. bottom?

8. When you get home, do you put your keys:
a. wherever?
b. someplace?
c. where they belong?

9. It's 110F outside. Is that your cue to:
a. throw open the curtains on the sunny side of the house?
b. boil potatoes to make pototo salad?
c. keep the curtains closed and the stove/oven off?

10. Do you replace the soap or TP in the bathroom if you're the one who finished it off? Are newspapers at the end of the driveway invisable to you? If you needed new socks, would you buy them or permanently "borrow" mine?

So, would we drive each other crazy? Or maybe I'd drive you crazy about driving me crazy??? LOL, okay, most of these things are goofy, meaningless, little nothings. But little things like this and even little things you normally think are cute, can suddenly become very, very annoying when you are exhausted and in a bad mood...and I have been this week.


Has that made me a jerk at home? Not yet. When I get home from work I take a deep breath before going in the house and remind myself that the aggravation I feel belongs at work. So far, it has stayed there...and mostly so have I. I've worked way too many hours over the past week or so and I haven't been on-line much. I'm sorry I've missed so many of your posts, but hopefully I can catch up soon.

Getting back to the point of this post, so, could I live with you??? Be careful how you answer because if I quit my job, the next question might be, "May I live with you???" LOL!