I came out of the shower today to see Dwight laying outside the bathroom door waiting for me, and kitty laying on the towel outside the shower waiting for me. And as I brushed my teeth, B.P. started licking my leg with his sandpaper tongue.

Just a normal occurence for any pet owner, but it is nice to feel loved by creatures.

Lately I've been feeling sad, frustrated, and extremely misanthropic. In fact, I think 'misanthrope' is my current favorite word, because it describes my current personality so well. And maybe not just my current personality...

Last night, we had pizza at Eno's with Andi and Jeff after spending the day helping them rid their yard of all the limbs that had fallen due to the recent snow. While there, we started talking about cartoons. Jeff's theory is that shows that were once popular with kids would always be popular, because kids don't have a whole lot of mental baggage--if Teletubbies appealed to some part of the primal child brain in 2001, the show will continue to appeal to kids in 2050. The only difference is whether parents will feel the show is appropriate/fashionable for their kid to watch in 2050. Talking about this made me realize how few kids' shows I actually watched as a child. I remember liking most of Sesame Street (most everything but those yip-yip characters), Mr. Rogers, and Pee-Wee Herman (esp. the opening sequence). Later on, I really liked Mighty Max and Bobby's World. But I hated Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, and all those kids' shows that were supposed to be funny. Because I hated the characters--I found them annoying and unfunny. This causes me to suspect that my misanthropic tendencies existed from a very early age. I mean, what kid dislikes Bugs Bunny?

In reference to my current state of mind, I mostly blame it on too much internet-ing. People are too ready to speak their mind while remaining hidden behind a computer screen, and spending too much time reading the raw, unfiltered thoughts of thousands of Americans is bound to make anyone hate the world. I do feel, however, that these unfiltered thoughts (because of the sheer volume of like-minded comments) represent something of the nebulous, ephemeral thing we call 'society.'

And there's nothing like reading these unfiltered thoughts to remind me of how much I don't fit in.

I hate feeling like an 'other.' I hate not agreeing with 95% of people who are in the same situation as I am in. It not only makes me feel frustrated with myself for being myself, but it also makes me feel frustrated with the rest of the world for being so incomprehensible.

I suppose I am at odds with everything around me.

Although I did have a fairly stimulating conversation with my dental hygienist today during my teeth cleaning...

I once made a joking comment during a medical school child psychology class that I planned on potty training my possible future kids like I potty trained my dog--15 minutes after eating or playing, take them to the toilet, and reward proper defecation! If they hadn't learned to sit up by themselves yet, I would hold them up to the toilet. I was chastised and told that I would scar my children mentally by expecting so much of them...apparently, according to medical professionals, attempts to potty train can't occur without serious damage to the self esteem until 2.5 years of age.

I really was joking at the time, mostly. Just like I'm mostly joking when I say I will use a spray bottle to discipline my toddler... ;) Though it does seem quite ridiculous to have to change disgusting baby diapers for 2.5 years of my adult life...and that's if you only want one kid!

But tonight, I was surfing around the internet, and came upon this website about "elimination communication." Apparently, this method was brought to the industrialized West by a woman who spent a lot of time in India in the 70s and 80s, and who noticed that Indian women carried their naked babies on their backs all day, and yet were rarely defecated on by their offspring. Somehow, they could tell when their infants had to go to the bathroom (very young babies that can't talk or sign yet) and would then hold them over a toilet. The method is all about observing your baby and recognizing the signs of an imminent pee or poop. Genius! It is like potty training a dog!

I feel positively vindicated.