Some character assignations (or is that assassinations?) and a verbatim e-mail thread on an unseasonably cool Friday.

Thought today I’d more formally introduce myself, and my cohabitees. I yawn at the prospect of providing little summary bios, and if my fellow drifters want to jump in here themselves and provide me with their own self-portraits, I'd be happy to post...in meantime here are short character descriptions along the lines of something you might see on a play's Cast of character page.

Woody: Earnest and serious and virtually vice-free (unless you consider a taste for Sondheim sinful—which I do) But basically an all-around good guy with a big heart despite its tendency toward the sentimental.

Karen: Very earnest and serious (nice match with hubby Woody) and a super organized perfectionist who some might call borderline OCD, but I won’t cause I’ve known worse. But she’s also real smart, generous, wise, caring and thoughtful.

Renee: A true and pure artistic spirit. Imaginative, intuitive, inspired, sensitive, aesthetically sophisticated and therefore pretty much out of touch with reality. And I mostly say that cause I think it’ll make her laugh.

Marty: Marty is a shrink, ergo, nuts. However smart, capable and accomplished he must know he is, and we all know he is, he’s nevertheless chronically convinced that his glass is always half empty and that total doom is forever imminent.

Ellen: Has held the title of Ms. Gullible for over half a century cause she’s so trusting and big hearted that it never occurs to her that others may not be. But she can be tough too when it comes to getting what she wants, though her concern for those she loves always takes precedence. Also a world class worrier. I could add something snarky, but she’s my wife so I’ll leave it alone.

Ricky (Me): Essentially a melancholic but with just enough false optimism to get through most days without too much angst. Mostly lives in his head where there’s music always playing and has few material desires or ambitions which in some ways makes him the wild card in this “let’s build a house” undertaking.

I submit the following as perhaps a better way to understand some of the personality dynamics:

Yesterday Marty sent e-mail:
I thought we should price what a central vac and sprinkler system would cost us

To which Ellen replied:
i don't esp like central vacs. when u open those connections, the noise and sucking scares me.sprinkler?? ok. it'll be alot- i've had it, but might as well.

To which I replied after misunderstanding initial note:
My bad…I thought by central vac you meant central air…if you mean those holes of suctioned air for vacuuming, I would say it's unnecessary considering size of house but unlike Ellen, I do not fear it.

To which Marty replied:
central vac out is fine with me, just remember buying a good vacuum could cost up to 500 dollars.

To which I replied:
…vacuum discussion has me starting to worry about Marty…sounds to me like he's morphing into Adrian Monk.
I suggest that if a reasonably priced vacuum cleaner is not sufficient to meet his high standards, I will personally get down on my hands and knees and finish the job with the aid of a 2 dollar toothbrush.

To which Marty replied:

thank you for your support and I will hold you to the toothbrush idea, you know there is a sale on them in costco.

Don’t know what Woody, Renee and Karen thought during this exchange, but I take their silence as an indication that they probably had far more important things to think about.

Till next time…this one’s for Woody.