You'd think I'd've written more about the pangs of ISO while I was in caught in its throes -- like how a chain reaction of paperwork gets set off every time something is instigated/amended; or how, after being submerged in ISO headspace for weeks, I saw shmutz on my shirt as a non-conformance; or how the momentum of organization would compel me -- me, pack rat and queen slattern of frowzy splendour -- to tidy up where the comfy anarchy of my omnium-gatherum normally reigns supreme.
At the very least you'd think that I'd've griped about how all that paperwork, while necessary, is also now utterly obsolete because ISO has changed its system and we must comply, which means brand new paperwork and more shredding.
But no, for some reason all I wrote about in that huge constipation of a backlog/backblog (which still has yet to be completely expressed) was: money.
Probably because my S/O thought that during ISO hell week would be a good time to bring up the subject. Surely he thought that offering to have the two of us live on his salary while I sock away all my salary into my student loan would take some pressure off me... but it doesn't.
I don't want to simply change indebtedness from one source to another. And while in theory it would save having to pay off scads of interest, it will still cost me.
I have made it quite clear that I have no intention of marrying; and I will not share a joint account, which has been another heated and tearful source of argument.
I am normally malleable to the point of spinelessness; but there are a few stands I will make, and this is one of them: If one is not willing to marry someone, then it is absolutely verboten to merge finances.
They say the thing couples argue about most often is money; oddly enough, I think at its essence, this argument is less about financial security and more about the emotional security of having somebody to depend on (or depend on you) financially.
Frankly, I'd rather be paying through my nose to my government (think brain being drawn out for mummification so I may join my money in its afterlife; see below) than be financially obligated to a current or ex-S/O. Nothing personal. :)
So. There we are then. Comprende?
Posted by edgar at November 14, 2002 12:52 PM