On Working With Your Spouse

I was an optimist at first. "We can handle it" I said. "We can have fun, I love looking over and seeing you everyday. We can save gas by driving in together."

The driving thing ended pretty quickly. I think I'm kind of a freak because I don't get the "If I spend one more minute with you I'm gonna scream!" syndrome; but I certainly understand it happens, and that people do need their own time and space. That was fine by me, because I like listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio, and blasting my CDs. The biggest issue is how differently we deal with each other on work matters, as opposed to how we would treat anyone else. If there's frustration in anything, it comes out right away, and we second guess each other all the time. If you think I'm writing about this because something happened today, then you're right. We're all good now, and back to smiling and flirting. As nice as that is, it's going to be better when we're not working together.

So, if you must work in the same place as your significant other, make sure it's in a large organization and that you are separated in different departments that don't deal with each other. If you are recently starting a relationship with someone in your office, someone should quit and find a new job.

And if you find yourself in the strange situation where you get transferred to a new city by your company, and you meet the woman of your dreams in the new office, and then you move in with her, and then you get married, and neither of you have better job prospects, the best option you have is to knock her up so that she can leave the job when the baby comes and take courses for a new career and never go back to the other job.

iPod: "Break Your Heart" by Barenaked Ladies, "Jungle Rock" by The Replacements, "How to Take a Fall" and "Speed Trials" by Elliott Smith and "Summer Salt" by Braid.