Apr 17, 2006

Hello Square Two, my old friend

Once when I was little, I got it in my head to build a house of cards. I think I saw a really big one in a movie or TV show or something and I thought it would be cool to make one of my own. Hard as I tried, I never got higher than one story before the whole thing collapsed. I lacked the patience and the steady hand to build the house properly.

Then I had a brilliant idea: glue. I took a bottle of my trusty school glue and started gluing the cards in their place. I got through the first deck of cards and it looked great. Then, when I started to add on to it with a second deck and quickly built on about an extra foot and a half and left the room. As it turns out, I put on the second deck of cards too quickly, the new cards fell and the glue dried. I was left with a nicely stacked base and a huge pile of cards on top.

The reason I bring this up is that it's a metaphor for my life at this moment. I fucked things up-big time-with Libby.

You know that thing your brain does that filters the truth in such a way that it makes it sound a little better? Tact, I believe it's called. Yeah. I'm fresh out of that. Likewise, there's this thing normal people do where they stop talking before they say something really really stupid? Apparently, I can't do that.

I really like this girl, but whenever I'm around her, three thoughts are always floating around in my mind: 1) She lives at home with her folks. 2) I'm still living with my ex-girlfriend. 3) She will be moving away in a few months. At first, these felt like obstacles, but in being with her the past couple days, it's felt more like three strikes. No matter where I go with this girl, no matter what we're doing, I can't help but think about that day when I'm gonna have to say goodbye to her.

So, what do I do? Like a complete moron, I talk to her about it and suggest that she and I just be friends. It was a lot like locking your keys in the car...realizing you're doing it AS you're doing it, yet you can't stop the door from closing. All you can do is paw at the door and go "NOOOOOOO!"

I don't know what to say to her, or how long I should wait to say it. This girl was like a breath of fresh air, and my tactlessness went and opened up a vat of chlorine gas. And now, I'm left with a sunken feeling in my chest and the lyrics to John Mayer's "My Stupid Mouth" playing over and over again in my mind.

There's a this part of my brain that does this to me all the time. It makes certain things sound very logical and reasonable, but then sends a encrypted message to my mouth and promptly places me waist deep in shit. In this case, I was just pointing out what would be inevitable, and perhaps offer a get-out-of-jail-free card. Instead, I come off like Captain Asshole McPrickerslime.

I think that once I hit the "publish post" button, I'll do a little research about this part of my brain, try and locate it, then puncture it with an ice pick.

I guess you could say this is a return to form on the blog, so to speak. Instead of not posting for fear that I would jinx things, I'm back to whining about what's going wrong in my life. Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out.

6 comments:

CleverName said...

Fritschie, you are an idiot. I mean that in the nicest way that it's possible to call somone an idiot, but you are an idiot. If you were here now, I would give you one of those smacks on the forehead like they always do in those mafia movies.

Perhaps splitting up was inevitable, and perhaps you had admirable intentions, but why force the issue? Why not have fun 'til last call, then call a cab? Did you think it would hurt less when she left? It's still gonna hurt, and you will still have plenty of friends to buy you a shot of Jager. (I still don't know how you drink that stuff).

"get-out-of-jail-free card"?!? She already had one, she's leaving town. Only now she gets to pass Go and collect $200.

Also, stop referring to a relationship with you as "jail", it's not healthy.

Anonymous said...

Ugh... boys! This (Clever Name's) comment is the main reason that boys and girls so rarely agree on things - because we quite clearly see things from such entirely different perspectives.

Based on what I have read in this blog, I would say that you tend to see things more from a female perspective that most men - which is NOT a bad thing at all - you seem romantic and sensitive - some guys can carry that and the right girl will truly cherish that about you.

The problem as I see it, as a complete and total outsider, was that you WANT a relationship and what you had with this lady was NOT a "relationship". Based solely on your description of her, she appears to be an amazing lady and in a different time and place, she might have been EVERYTHING that you ever hoped to have from someone. But this relationship was never going to be what you wanted, it was - from the beginning - temporary. And you don't seem like the type of guy that is well versed in the idea of "keeping things casual". Casual relationships don't work for everyone - particularly someone who - by their very nature- is unable to "go with the flow". You are a planner, you thrive under stable conditions, and you like to look forward - that is who you ARE - that is not something you can change about yourself - and isn't something you SHOULD change about yourself, unless you find yourself unhappy with those qualities. MANY people are like that.

It certainly makes me sad, for you, that you got your emotions so wrapped up in something that didn't (and couldn't) turn out the way that you had hoped. But I don't think that you are an idiot for not holding out for "last call". In most relationships, you do feel more deeply committed to a person over time - the longer you were in that relationship, the more committed you feel, the deeper your feelings grow, and ultimately the deeper the hurt when it ends.

If you want a relationship, then THAT is what you should pursue - idly pursuing a relationship with an expiration date is guaranteeing an eventaul heartbreak. Perhaps your heart is breaking now, but I agree that it is considerably less than the pain you would feel a few months from now.

The one thing I do agree with in Clever Name's comments - you should stop referring to being in a relationship with you as being in "jail". I don't think you give yourself NEARLY enough credit.

Fritschie said...

Thanks, guys. Both of you bring up interesting points...albeit totally conflicting points that have little or no room for coexistence. I can only go one way or the other, not both.

And about that "get out of jail free card" thing: It's just a figure of speech! I don't see a relationship with me as "jail"...I just happen to be a big fan of Monopoly, and it was a handy expression for the "let's just be friends" speech.

Anonymous said...

Easy call... when you seek advice in regards to a woman, take the advice of a woman.

It is the nature of men to steer you in the wrong direction - hence their inability to EVER ask for directions. It is all connected in a very X-Files sort of way.

CleverName said...

Krista, I agree with your disagreement. If you ever need advice about power tools, I'm your man.
To clarify, I was not taking a "get it while you can" stance, I know Fritschie isn't that kind of guy. I simply meant that if he enjoys her company, why not just hang out together for a while. The relationship doesn't necessarily need to advance, but it shouldn't retreat. (Somewhere in here I should paraphrase Woody Allen, but somehow a dead shark metaphor doesn't seem appropriate.)

Anonymous said...

See! Your friend agrees with me! Now you need to get onboard with the Krista way of thinking. Krista... she will take the world by storm! Krista is the new black!