Love Hate Relationships

What is it about the love/hate relationships in our lives that make us so passionate about things? Is it the push and pull of emotion? The depths of the two opposite emotions? The reward that balances out the work?

Some of my love/hate relationships:

Exercise: I'm not talking about a walk on the beach, I'm talking about purposefully strapping on my trainers and hitting the elliptical until sweat drips down my neck. I hate it. And yet, when it's over, I love that I've done it. And by that point, I've vowed to do it again the following day, even though I know when I wake up the next morning I'll be thinking of 15 different reasons to skip the day's workout altogether.

Food: I love food. Probably in an unnatural way. And yet, I struggle to eat what's good for me, knowing full well that I feel like crap when I eat crap. Why can't pizza, pasta, mac-n-cheese and cake be healthy diet food?

Writing: Does this one shock you? Let me explain. For me, the process of writing isn't enjoyable. Blank pages are hard for me to fill. I push through each one like it's an uphill climb. In the winter. In bare feet. But once I get those first pages done, I thrive on the revising and the layering and the fleshing out of those bare story bones. I'd almost rather revise someone else's stuff. Ultimately, the finished story makes it all worthwhile and makes me willing to go through it once again for another story.

What are your love/hate relationships?

Love/Hate Relationships

First of all, let me start this post with a shout-out to one of my fellow Fictionistas: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RHONDA!!!

Okay, confession time. Unlike most people, I was never on the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer bandwagon. I tend to resist popular things. Don't know why, I just do. However, after falling in love with Firefly and the recent Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, my taste for more Joss Whedon enterprises (and the ever-delicious David Boreanaz) led me to Hulu, a site that lets you watch some TV and movie for free. In the course of a few days, I devoured the first two seasons of Buffy.

I watched the last episode of season two last night. And wept like a little girl. My heart was broken. Why? I'm spoiler protecting this next part in case you haven't seen the show yet either: Because Buffy had to kill Angel, the only man she'd ever loved, to save the world.

At once, I both loved and hated Joss for what he'd made me feel. The way he'd twisted my emotions and drawn me in and made me care. And hurt. At that point, Romeo and Juliet made perfect sense. I wanted a do-over, a differnt ending, an HEA for everyone. I was mad. But I wanted more. (And can I say, I can completely understand the reason for fanfic now? I mean, I'm already rewriting that ending in my head.)

It's a rare show/book/movie that does that to me. Joss seems to do it over and over - I should know to expect it, and I kind of do, but I still hope things will go differently. Has anything ever had that effect on you? What's your reaction to that kind of thing?