Divisions and Precisions

Realization

I think I may have discovered why I'm single.

Fantasy has ruined my expectations of real life. It's sad but true. How can being with a normal human being, day in and day out, doing laundry and washing dishes and being stinky sometimes and being grouchy sometimes compare with a fantastical Hero with hair that at least always looks dramatic and who always has something interesting going on and never has to do laundry or go to the bathroom or worry about much of anything except defeating the villains and saving the world?

I've always ended up in one long-distance relationship or another -- probably for the same reason. It's so easy to idealize someone that you see once in a blue moon. It's easy to have a perfect relationship without having to deal with the other person's imperfections up close and personal all the time.

I don't like this about myself. I've known for some time that I was a perfectionist, but I didn't think it went this deep. I mean, I'm certainly not perfect, and I wouldn't want to live with someone who wanted me to be.

But how can Joe Blow from down the street compete with dreams of Aragorn and Josua Lackhand and (damn you, Brand) Elathan and Arthur and Gawaine and countless other heroes? It's not that I would want to live with idealized perfection. I really wouldn't. But when you're already half-infatuated with fictional characters, it's harder to be completely charmed by real people.

I wonder if that's why so many sci-fi/fantasy geeks are loners?

I'm really bothered by this. It's not that I don't know the difference between fantasy and reality, it's just that I prefer fantasy.

Posted by Lisa at December 20, 2001 05:15 PM