The Announcement

I am learning that the engaged are an interesting lot. Sometimes frustrating, mostly unintelligible, them seem like they’ve somehow departed from this world and landed on planet Romance, making friends with the ever-popular Brad and Amanda Huginkiss. They trot around connected at various body parts – hands, hips and lips -- oblivious to outsiders, waving swatches of sateen fabrics and programming caterers into cell phones and palm pilots. Their lives are all encompassed with details; colors, correct name usage, photos and ribbons.

The engaged can be a loathsome bunch -- I know -- for those who are engagement-less or otherwise absent of some other infamous ‘better half.’ They run around reliving their beginnings by holding hands, spouting sentences dripping with terms of endearment and copping a feel in the middle of movie theatres in hopes to revive their overly romantic beginnings. The married perhaps, look on with cynicism, quite aware of the daily ho-hum that the engaged will eventually fall into, while the not-yet-betrothed, wish-to-be-betrothed and recently broken-up may shoot equally scalding glances, laced with envy and repulsion. I should know. I have been there multiple times while the engaged invaded my life with flowers and pink taffeta and endless conversation, which no matter what turn the subject may take can always be directed back to impending nuptials.

Yes, the engaged are a separate species in themselves; overly giddy and romantic and reminiscent. And I should know, because we’ve recently become part of the engaged.
And I must say that it’s a much better view from this side of the fence.

posted by paula 9:14 PM

Speechless

I’ll admit (and without apology) that I have been a bit speechless as of late. I can’t explain it really. It’s not a case of writer’s block. In fact, I have plenty of subjects close at hand that I’ve thought of discussing on occasion, however, there’s only one of real importance.
On occasion, I’ve thought of delving into the deep, brightly colored chasm that is my psyche to pull out any number of topics that have skittering about my brain for the past couple of weeks, the very least of my ponderings being:
1. Whether it’s quite possible to be only partly obsessive compulsive. Like being driven to a point of insanity over a disorganized apartment, but being to lazy to do anything about it. And on that note
2. whether my habit of cleaning the apartment on a weekly basis is actually unhealthy and socially disruptive. While I never meant for it to be a solidly scheduled thing and more of a ‘when-I-get-around-to-it’ I’m finding that as time goes on it’s becoming more of the former and less of the latter. My friends are no longer calling me for lavish outings and happy hours on Thursday evenings because they now know it as my ‘cleaning day.’
3. My mother plays solitaire on her computer while we talk on the phone. I think this might be giving me a complex that I’m not interesting enough to talk to.
4. Salsa is perhaps the most versatile and delicious of foods in my book. Not to mention that bottled salsa has a shelf life longer than that of Dick Clark’s. Yes, we’re talking post-nuclear-war shelf life.
Perhaps it’s that everything I write as of late is not publish-worthy and having safely secured the type A traits of my father’s gene pool, I delete before I publish. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll pass.

posted by paula 9:42 PM