Mr. Clean...ish?

In this crazy mixed up world of ours I have come to discover that like beauty, cleanliness is in the eye of the beholder.  I was raised in a house that was never the museum type-although I heard of them; these people that lived in homes that had rooms that were almost never used, plastic on the furniture, not a single footprint indentation in the carpet. The idea kind of creeps me out honestly.

 We cleaned our house religiously every Saturday-because what kid wants to go have fun on the weekend?  Not us apparently….. My brother and I had assigned jobs, although it seems to me that mine were really the only ones that got done.  I would dust, clean the small bathroom on the main level and of course clean my room.  I also helped with the vacuuming and occasionally the gardening or whatever else was in urgent need of doing including the yearly cleaning of the crystal glasses that for the most part were only touched during the cleaning process. I guess we had a mini museum of our own come to think of it.

In turn, I think this has given me the habits to keep the apartment my husband and I live in fairly well ordered.  I wouldn’t eat off the floor or anything, but for the most part it’s clean.  If things get too cluttered or if I see visible dirt, it gets cleaned and I feel pretty confident about the level of cleanliness I maintain in my home. That is until I visit some of our friends homes which range from condemnable to does anyone even live here?  Both however give me the same feeling-that I need to go home and clean asap. You would think a disastrous home would have the opposite effect but somehow seeing the grime just makes me more aware of my own. 

My husband’s take on cleaning is a little different than my own.  Although lately he’s been making a valiant effort to help out more, he claims (and I believe him) that he just doesn’t see it when things need cleaning.  I’ve read reports that men tend to look at the big picture and not see the details as much.  http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/07/31/2641922.htm 

He’s happy with things as long as they appear clean and neat-and while, like me, he doesn’t need things perfect, I tend to be a little fussier and get annoyed when he doesn’t see the mess that I see in front of me. I have to say though-he never really complains if I ask him to do something-unless it’s the dishes-but I’ve still been wishing that he’d take a more active role in helping out.

Well, imagine my surprise then when the other day he’s sitting on the netbook and I ask him what he’s looking up-and he says cleaning solution?!  I wondered if this was something to do with his recent efforts to help out more with chores without me having to ask him. I also wondered momentarily if my true husband had been abducted by aliens.  Alas, I was mistaken. (About his desire to help clean more, not about the alien thing….which would make me sad, not happy….but I digress…)  Apparently he needed a specific cleaning solution to remove the paint from some of his Warhammer miniatures which he wanted to paint in a different team colour. Apparently it really matters.  So now at home we have some new cleaning solution…of course not for regular household cleaning usage.   I guess I really shouldn’t have been that surprised.  This all comes with the being married to a geek territory.

I haven’t given up hope though-this morning he swept the front entrance way without so much as a glance from me.  Maybe I should count my blessings.   

A Man With A Plan-Or Not?

5 weeks…..5 long weeks to get through before my husband and I go on the vacation of our lives.  Of course 5 weeks is relatively short considering we booked this back in December.  Back in November I was the very lucky winner of an online contest that allowed me to book this amazing two week vacation with my husband to Mediterranean Europe-I’ve been planning ever since.

Some people are planners and some people aren’t.  It’s a fact of life.  I’m not just a planner though…I’m a hyper-organized, type A, fearful of the unknown type that prefers to know what’s on the menu a month in advance and what I’ll be doing two months from today.  I made colour coordinated schedules for our wedding to hand out to everyone involved which mapped out the best case scenario or everything going according to plan. It didn’t.  We actually ran a little early and had time for a break between taking pictures and the reception.  Our hour long scheduled meeting with the DJ turned into a 5 minute consultation because I’d already put together a list of everything we wanted and didn’t want played.  While my husband was involved with the main ideas and the big picture-I was the one who insisted that we have a bridal emergency kit in the car with everything from Band-Aids to static guard for all of those embarrassing cling type fiascos. And you know what? Even though I didn’t have a wedding planner everything went very well, and I was able to enjoy the day entirely relaxed knowing that if anything happened it was either something I could fix or it was out of my control.   

My husband is a procrastinator-but he’s made some progress since we’ve been together.  I don’t know how many all nighters he pulled trying to finish essays when he was in school.  At one point, before we were dating, I remember standing behind him as he wrote his essay making sure he stayed focused on the task at hand.  I didn’t know how he could work like that….(not with me standing behind him….but leaving everything to the last minute…) 

Getting ready for this vacation though it suddenly hit me; video games have been teaching him for years that he doesn’t need to plan ahead at all.  There are three main ideas behind my theory:

1.       The crazy and unexpected is the norm-how can you plan for it? Why bother!

2.       Everything you need will likely show up eventually-No need to worry.

3.       If things go terribly wrong you can always go back to your save point and try again

As early on as the late 1970’s with Space Invaders, video games have been tackling fantastical beliefs that the unexpected will happen.  Clearly, one cannot without looking at the very least tad eccentric remotely prepare for these circumstances.  I mean sure you could secretly dig a bunker and stockpile supplies in case of aliens or zombies or giant mutant bugs but people might be more inclined to think you’ve flipped your lid or are trying to cover up a despicable crime of sorts.  In video games, you’re rarely given time to prepare for the fact that a giant turtle like dictator with his bizarre minions could potentially be planning to steal the princess. And why would you? It’s so fantastical that it couldn’t possibly happen-until it does.  As a side note: Mario-you should probably be catching on now that the princess needs some kind of a security detail.

In video games, if you need an item, it will inevitably show up.  In games like King’s Quest, you go from person to person and place to place acquiring items either through finding them or doing tasks for people.  You will never be asked for something that isn’t available in the game-that would be absurd! In shoot ‘em up type games there usually seems to be an unending supply of guns and ammunition. And not to worry! If  you find yourself injured or fatigued you can usually find health in the form of food, first aid kits, pills, mushrooms and magical elixirs not too far by.  These items are just lying around for the taking in many cases, sometimes you have to find them or resort to criminal activity and steal them-sometimes described as danger pay.  Video game heroes need never be prepared!

Finally if the worst case scenario happens and you wind up succumbing to the virus when if you’d been prepared you could have been hiding in your bunker, or falling in the lava pit instead of having some rope available to tie yourself off in case of a fall or being shot through the heart when you could have had a bullet proof vest fear not! Simply return to your previous save point and try again! Rare is the video game that doesn’t allow for a second shot!

So, my dear husband, I understand why you might not feel the need to be buying rain ponchos in case it decides to rain while we take in the forum-I know you’ll appreciate them when I magically produce them from my purse.  I know you’d rather spend the time I spend putting together a first aid kit killing mutants on your console.  I can’t heal you in the game but I’ll be there to band-aid your blister.  I know not all gamers are anti-planning…but I do see why they might be.