My Exercise In Futility

Normalization is a technique that database administrators use to organize their data into tables. Normalization may have the affect of duplicating data, but it does not introduce redundancy. Ultimately, the end result of normalization is a map that shows you what objects belong in a database, their relationships, and the tables required and the columns needed in those tables.

I think that my new roommate and I are still in the normalization stage. An effect of our cohabitation, we have duplicated some household items. We have two sets of soaps and shampoos to use in the shower, two different personal care products lined up in the bathroom, and two sets of…. well, everything. But, just as database normalization suggests, these are not redundant systems. They are multiple systems serving two people who dwell in the same apartment.

As with database normalization, I believe we have discovered objects that don’t belong in the apartment with us. Whether we’ve got rid of old furniture that just won’t fit and the fact that we seem to have found a place for everything, and everything is in it’s place - we’ve normalized a bit.

Finally, we’re starting to get all the ‘tables’ in place. Which of us does the dishes or the cooking Monday and Tuesday? Who takes out the trash and the recyclables on Thursday? Where are the best take out spots? Where should we get the laundry done? When should we go grocery shopping? Where should we go grocery shopping? (New York normalization opens up a whole new set of data fields to take care of.)

I know, it’s weird for me to describe to you that my new roommate and I are starting to get along just fine, and that we are starting to establish some routine and stability within the house. I guess I could have just come out and said it that way - but that wouldn’t have been as fun as comparing us both to a bunch of database objects.