Expectations vs. Reality

No, I'm not talking about Reality TV. I'm talking real, actual life.

Expectation: we bought a new battery charger for our multitude of AA (and few AAA) rechargeable NiMh batteries, so the expectation we had, after reading the instructions, was that we'd be able to charge a dozen every day, if it takes six hours to charge two pairs. Reality: FOUR fully-charged batteries in the last twenty-four hours, with a handful that have to be attempted again, because the thing doesn't tell you which one(s) is/are "bad" when it says "nope, those are bad" and you're trying to charge four at a time. Also, six hours is a pipe-dream.

Expectation: Stephen went in late today, and I had no plans, so my expectation was sleeping late. Alarm sounded, ever so quietly; I turned it off, and we both stayed in bed. Within fifteen minutes or so, Stephen got up to deal with the cats. His expectation was that I would continue sleeping in, and I know this, because he closed the bedroom door sufficient to block the sunshine streaming onto my face from the bathroom window. Reality: the first set of batteries were fully charged, so to "test" them (I guess), he installed a set into his Rock Band guitar (I imagine) and turned it on, which turned on the PS4 and the television. When you turn on the PS4 and Rock Band is installed, the volume of the tv is set pretty high. Ya know, for playing music. No way was I sleeping anymore. Not that I'm blaming him or anything. I didn't mention it before now, because it wasn't a big deal. I was actually awake; I just hadn't risen yet. It's the difference between expectations and reality.

Expectation: I received a paycheck in the mail yesterday, so my plan was to walk the old 'hood to deposit it into the bank's ATM, and maybe hit some Open Houses before the day got away from me. Satisfy the non-FitBit thingy; satisfy my curiosity re:real estate; put the money where it belongs. Reality: all the cleaning I did yesterday left me incredibly congested today, and I didn't really treat it. Instead, I tweeted it. Yup, kids, I wasted a long time breathing poorly and hanging out in the Twittersphere. When I was finally hungry, I had some yogurt, which for whatever reason immediately cleared up not only my hunger, but also my congestion. So I killed even more time tweeting (about my miracle, of course!) and watching a bunch of TED Talks that another blogger had linked. I haven't even made it through all of them, but #2 was insanely useful, I thought, if you have anxiety issues, and #5 made me openly cry (not that I ever cry closedly). Eventually, I made it outta the apartment and hit four Open Houses before 5.

Expectation: I am not a fan of cold bean "salads" and never will be. Reality: the demo station dude at Trader Joe's had put together an amazing dealio that I will (eventually) recreate. Maybe I'll blog it when I do. Look for that in a couple of weeks (I never buy the demo the day I taste it; that's my reality).

Expectation: play Rock Band, charge some batteries, watch some tv, blog, get to bed before midnight. Reality: everything but the playing of Rock Band (I had a lovely hot bath after all my walking, instead). Add a glass of wine; that was my evening.

Expectation: the cats know who I am and crave my attention, but only when they really need it. Reality: the cats know who I am and crave my attention, but only when they really need it. Sometimes, there is no "versus", ya know? Seems like a pretty good weekend day to me. 

Was YOUR Reality closer to or further from your Expectations for today?

UPDATE: Expectation: Stephen has to be at work early, so he's gone to bed early, and I'll follow shortly (before midnight, of course). Reality: for no apparent reason, my sinuses have decided that now would be a great time to drain! So much for not waking him by the time I'm able to climb into bed! G'nite! AAAARGH. grumble mutter sputter gripe grumble mutter sputter gripe fume sniffleandnowIneedtoblowagaindammit