Did It Again

Careful, young Jedi.

"What are my goals for the new year?" asks Sybil.  Caught unawares, I state improve office efficiency, work on work/life balance, develop a hobby.

Boy, was I wrong.

I was supposed to say, "I am reflecting on myself as a person and will strive to improve upon myself, especially in the area of how selfish and uncaring I am."

I walked right into the trap.  I had no idea that Sybil was testing me to see what I was thinking and whether I cared enough about her feelings to make the necessary changes in myself to satisfy her.  She was disappointed that I never stated that was my intention.  I did not indicated that my goal this year was to strive towards self-improvement.

Naturally, an argument ensued.  Again, I was left trying to appeal to Sybil's feelings using reason.  A losing course of action.  One cannot oppose rhetoric with dialectic.  I am ill-equipped in the rhetoric department.  Losing proposition.

Of course, Sybil cannot see the hubris she has in demanding that I change.  Firstly, the change she wants is for me to focus on the little things.  We're not talking about me coming home drunk at 3 am, spending all of our money, nor having some sort of a problem chasing women.  Nope.  We're talking about turning the seat warmer on in the truck, making sure I pack her the right lunch, etc.  The things that really matter, right?

It almost feels like she is tying to push me into divorcing her.  Since I have taken divorce off of the table (religious reasons and 'for the children'), it will have to be Sybil that pulls the trigger.  Of course, my not willing to divorce her diminishes my leverage over her.

At this rate, the New Year will definitely be exciting.