she's
actual
size

I have food!

I've been running dangerously low on food products over the last week or so. I've been living mostly on pineapple and ramen noodles, although I've treated myself relatively lavishly for lunch each day.

Anyway, the Assistant Operations Manager is moving to Arizona in a week, and she wanted to get rid of the food she'd accumulated so she wouldn't have to move it with her. Tonight before I left work, she dropped off four bags of food.

It was like Santa Claus came!

And now I have a unique perspective into how the Assistant Operations Manager eats. A six-foot tall blonde who weighs 120 pounds soaking wet apparently exists on:

Rice and instant potatoes. Lots of rice and instant potatoes, and Jell-O.

She's moving to Arizona to get a "fresh start." She grew up here. She was married once, and divorced. Her parents are both dead, and she has only her sister and extended family here. She hates the cold, and has hooked up with a guy in Arizona (the obnoxious software company guy). So, she's moving there.

I think it's a mistake. She's flown out there once, and he's been here several times. They talk all the time on ICQ. They know each other fairly well, but still...

She's leaving everything she knows. She's uprooting herself to be transplanted in unfamiliar territory, staking everything on the belief that she loves this guy. If things fall apart (which, unfortunately, happens to her quite often), she'll be alone and far from home, and probably stuck without any money.

That's what I was thinking up until a few hours ago. Then a light came on in my head, shining a horrible glow on what I was thinking about the Asst Ops Manager's plans. I sat back, literally stunned.

Why?

Because I'm planning on doing the exact same thing.

I've flown up to Winnipeg once, and my fiancé has been here several times. We talk all the time on ICQ.

I'm leaving everything I know. I'm uprooting myself to be transplanted in unfamiliar territory, staking everything on the belief that I love this guy. If things fall apart (which, unfortunately, happens to me quite often), I'll be alone and far from home, and probably stuck without any money.

And frankly, the Asst Ops Manager is better off than I am. She already has a few job interviews in Arizona. I have nothing in Winnipeg - no idea about the job climate, what's available, or even if I'm marketable.

What I think freaks me out the most, however, is that the Asst Ops Manager's boyfriend and my fiancé are both named Dave.

Deep breath.

I know, logically, that I should have a hard time drawing parallels between someone else's situation and myself. But it came too easily.

We're different people. She's had a long succession of relationships, mostly bad. I've had a smattering of bad to neutral relationships. I've never been married, while she's divorced. She bears literal scars from her past. Mine are hidden in my personality. Her family is broken and scattered, but mine is strong and cohesive.

And yet, I still see the similarities.

So... If I'm so sure that my future with my Dave will work out, how come I'm sure that hers will fail?

I'm missing something here. Either I'm not seeing an obvious piece to this puzzle, or I'm being blindsided by my own optimism.