Zen-less

When I mentioned we were having some electrical work done, I didn't go into detail because, you know... it's electrical work. But one thing I had the guys do was install a new electrical outlet in the little basement-stair nook where we feed the cats. The nook is pretty nondescript, save for some tiny shelves where I collect ponytail holders, a bare lightbulb (ack! must cover that thing!), and this great print from one of my great-grandfather's runs for the State Legislature.

Yuppie alert: We wanted an outlet in this nook so that we could plug in a fancy watering system for the cats. (Whatever... you already knew we spoiled them.) Besides keeping their water fresher, we thought they'd love this because they're always intrigued by dripping/running faucets and such. So we were pretty smug that we were about to rock the cats' world with this thing. The choice of the actual watering system was harder than anticipated. You know that problem of scale when you're shopping versus when you're at home? It's how we ended up with a ginormous tv, when a "very large" tv would have sufficed. In the pet aisle, I had the opposite perspective problem - all of the watering systems seemed huge. Surely this isn't going to fit in the nook! We won't even be able to walk by this thing! And so we brought home something far smaller than necessary... but whatever.

After unpacking and repacking every watering system in the store, we selected "The Lotus." (Note: we did not pay anything close to full retail for this product.) It's small and discreet, there's not a big tacky logo on it, and because there are multiple water openings, they could both use it at the same time. Done.

So we brought home The Lotus and set it up, and the cats basically give us this expression for a few days:

No respect for the care we took selecting it, the hourly fee we paid to the electrician, or our concern for their health... nada.

Worse, though, is that another problem has surfaced: The Lotus drives me crazy. Our entire downstairs has been taken over by the sound of, at best, a fountain, and at worst, someone peeing down the basement stairs. I've tried to get in the Lotus mindset and tell myself to be Zen about it, but the feng shui in our house must be off, because that pep talk is not working. Allow me to demonstrate:

I hear that all day long. From the couch, that's what I hear. From the kitchen, that's what I hear. My only refuge is upstairs. 

Which leads me to ask: am I a bigger sucker because I installed an electrical outlet solely for my cats, because I bought a ridiculous item, or because I dislike said ridiculous item after all the effort that went into procuring it?

Oh, and it goes without saying: #firstworldproblems.