The Give and Take

They say that strong communication skills are the backbone of any relationship. I agree.
This applies to the relationship I have with my bank teller, as well as the relationship I have with my girlfriend. With my bank teller it is important that I don’t communicate how I feel that if she lost a few pounds she’d be cuter. With my girlfriend it’s important that I communicate how much I will enjoy watching Dancing with the Stars even if I’m lying.
Communication isn’t just about talking things over in a conversation. Sometimes it’s about Telling Facts.
It is always important to firmly and decisively inform your domestic partner of any ultimatums you happen to come up with. For example:

We recently got a cat.
It’s a fully formed adult cat that our friend could no longer take care of. Being older, it came with an attached name; “Oscar”. Now, I have a nephew that goes by that same name. I also have a pre-existing condition where I think that sleeping with your pets is stupid. Sleeping is for sleeping, I heartily enjoy laying down at night and getting uninterrupted sleep. I don’t get up and pee (unless I’m drunk), I don’t toss and turn, I don’t check on things, I don’t get up to jot things down, and I don’t snack.
Taking these issues into account, I offered up only three ultimatums about getting a pet.

1-My nephew is Oscar, so the cat gets a new name.
2-The cat does not sleep in our room because the cat is not allowed in the room in the first place.
3-under no circumstances will there ever be more than 2 cats allowed in our house at one time. 3 cats or more is scientifically proven to make you mumble to your self and become a spinster.

I think it was important to talk over these ultimatums and prove that we have good communication skills with each other.