Ever get the feeling that you just left the other person about a mile back in the conversation you're having with them, even though to you, your line of thinking is a logical progression?
I'm fairly certain I've blogged about this before, but so what? :)
I don't think in words (at least most of the time), which isn't a big deal with writing. I have the chance to write slowly, to revise, to make my thoughts and the words on the page match. With speaking, though, I tend to keep things to a minimum. That leads to some interesting gaps at times, as it turns out.
As a courtesy to DH, I try to spin these thoughts out for him when he starts giving me that Look.
The term "cat-frogging" came about because of one such incident.
Here's another, more recent one. We were in the grocery store, trying to find these wheat crackers little one likes a lot. All we could find was the plain "white" variety. DH remarked that we might as well get saltines if that's what we were stuck with.
"I wonder how difficult that would be," I mused.
"How difficult it would be to get saltines? Um, hon, they're right here," he said.
"No, setting up a tank for starfish."
I got the Look. Here's my thinking:
I had a professor in college who used to eat saltines as her go-to snack. Sometimes she ate them with tuna salad on top. (It used to stink on her breath - I hated going to a conference with her around mealtime!) The only brand of tuna I know of is Starkist. Tuna fish...Starkist...starfish. I like starfish, and we used to have fish, so I wondered how difficult it would be to set up a tank for starfish (speculation only; I don't have time to maintain a saltwater tank right now!).
See? Perfectly logical. Granted, that was one of the shorter, less obscure cat-frog instances I can recall.
This is normal, right? Or am I really that weird? :-p
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the_infernal_optimist posted on Feb 29, 2008
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Comments
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GrapeKoolaid said on Mar 01, 2008....
Can't blame your DH on this one, infernal. That was quite the leap. When it's all laid out, it seems fine, but taken out of context, it seems like a non-sequitur.
It's a freight train of thought, is what it is. :D
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nytquill17 said on Mar 01, 2008....
Oh lord...I do it ALL the time. And most of the time I don't even notice it. I'll find myself mulling something over that's completely unconnected to what I was just doing (well, unconnected to anyone but me, obviously!), with NO idea how I got from one to the other until I make myself remember.
This one was a doozy though! :D
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Mr_Box said on Mar 01, 2008....
I have to say you would have totally lost me there too. One minute you're talking about crackers and the next second you're mentally setting up a tank for starfish.That's a leap. But I think I'd be highly amused by something like that. Although I have a feeling you spend quiet a lot of time explaining yourself to your husband.But I bet he laughs once he realizes what you're talking about. At least I know I would. -
beyondtheveil said on Mar 01, 2008....
infernal- I've done this often, voice my thoughts and get that look.
My wife and I usually have a different problem along these lines. We sometimes misinterpret what the other said and continue a conversation on two different subjects. But its great for a laugh.
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the_infernal_optimist said on Mar 01, 2008....
Grape: I like that. Freight train of thought...yeah, that's good! :-D
nyt: I figured you might do that. We tend to think in similarly esoteric patterns sometimes. It was a pretty bad one, but that one had a relatively short explanation compared to some! :-p
Mr. Box: I think I'd have lost anyone there. ;-) It is kind of funny (to me) once I realize just how much of the puzzle was missing for whoever I was talking to! DH is usually not amused, but I giggle sometimes at the look on his face. :-D
beyond: Those would be some interesting conversations! At some point you realize you've diverged on topics, and then it all comes clattering down, right? I think that would crack me up, too. :)
~Infernal
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Twylarants said on Mar 01, 2008....
Cat-frogging? That's what it's called? My husband does this all the time!
He begins the conversation in his mind...I'm not a part of the beginning at all.
Suddenly he speaks, and I look at him like he's crazy, and he can't understand the look. How can I possibly know what he's talking about when he started the conversation without me?
At other times he over informs me to the point where I want to duct tape his mouth shut! Like this exchange:
"Remember our house?"
Yeah?
"In Jersey."
Yeah.
"On the corner?"
Yeah. Our house in Jersey. On the corner. The only house we lived in. Got it.
"Remember the garage?"
Yeah.
"The one that flooded that time."
YEAH. THE GARAGE. GOT IT. WHAT?
"That was a nice lawn."
What?
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silverwhisper said on Mar 06, 2008....
gah, i do that all the darned time! the mrs and i call it conversational whiplash. :>
ed
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