Birdwalk

Is it a good sign that I'm having trouble coming up with a "worst thing"?

Best thing? Found a place locally where I can take riding lessons. I start in January, assuming that I can make it work with my schedule.

Worst thing? Well, I'm having a hard time coming up with something, actually, but if I had to pick something I guess it would be the annoying coughing fits I've been having today thanks to The Cold That Won't Go Away. But even that is manageable.

Looking forward to: Watching the rest of House of Sand and Fog tonight. I love Netflix. I really do.

Dreading: Taking Mickey to the vet on Friday for a series of vaccinations, which will involve two shots and one that needs to be administered up the nose. I hate going to the vet, even though Mickey is usually really well behaved there. I know he doesn't like being there and I hate putting him through it -- he sheds BUCKETS while he's on the table, an indicator of stress. I took the whole day off so I could just hang with him for the rest of the day.

Follow the yellow brick road

Ok. Best thing? Boss brought Munchkins to the staff meeting this morning.
Worst thing: Boss brought Munchkins to the staff meeting this morning AND I CAN'T STOP EATING THEM.

Better late than never

Yes, I’m still alive. I hate to be one of those Johnny-Come-Lately posters, skipping whole weeks of posting…but sometimes I just have nothing interesting to say. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately but nothing is really crystallizing into anything postable. Also I’ve been busy at work. So I think, from now on, I’m going to play a little game that I used to play in my head during a particularly rough time in my life, when everything seemed to be going to shit and I had a really hard time focusing on the good to keep from being overwhelmed with the bad. At the very least, every day, I vow to identify and post The Best Thing That Happened To Me Today. I will try very hard to dredge up a morsel of goodness in my day, as hard as that may be, and share it with you, dear reader. And, just to keep things balanced and to give me a chance to vent, I’ll also post The Worst Thing That Happened To Me Today because hey, I need fun too.

So. The Best Thing That Happened To Me Today is: I heard Heat of the Moment by Asia on the radio. (Yes I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel here, I know.) That song always brings me directly back to 7th grade, do not pass go, do not collect $200. My first boyfriend made me a tape of this album and that was my first-ever gift from a member of the opposite sex. I’m sure I played that homemade tape until it was shredded. I loved this album.

And now, The Worst Thing That Happened To Me Today: An irritating conversation with a vendor who was so clueless that he couldn’t simply tell me yes or no if his company could accept a logo in a TIFF format. Yes or no??? Yes or no, you moron! You do this for a living, I can’t possibly be the first person to call you up and ask you this! Can you or can’t you?
This is a close second: Despite repeated applications of rewetting drops my contacts insist on sticking dryly to my eyeballs. This is really quite unpleasant when your job entails staring at a computer screen all day long.

On rudeness

I’m sure this is the thirtieth or fortieth post I’ve done regarding rudeness, but it seems to be an issue I continually struggle with. I try so hard to be polite to people, probably because I’m acutely sensitive to rude stuff being done to me. Those who know me may be dubious about that statement, or maybe you’ll think that if I actually am trying to be polite my efforts to be polite are failing miserably, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. I really do try to be considerate and avoid rudeness whenever I can.

However…I am starting to think that there are some situations in which rudeness is allowed, if not outright called for.

For example, the other day I’m walking Mickey around my complex, and I meet one of my neighbors walking her two pugs (nasty little snorty creatures.) Now, I have had several previous conversations with this woman, one of which consisted of her accosting me on my way to my car one day to complain about someone else’s dog somewhere else in the complex and ask me what “we” were going to do about it. Her husband, who is a paperhanger (you know, a guy who hangs wallpaper) actually did our downstairs bathroom about a year ago. I’ve even given her and her husband expensive dog items that Mickey couldn’t use. Nevertheless, on this particular occasion she sees me with the dog and starts walking toward me, saying, “Oh, I’ve been wanting to meet you!”

I’m flattered that she’s been looking forward to meeting me, but the fact is WE’VE MET on numerous other occasions and she’s apparently forgotten all about it. In my book, that’s rude. So am I supposed to try and be nice and help her hide her mistake by pretending we’ve never met before? Or do I give her a funny look and say, “We’ve met.”

On this particular occasion, I chose the latter.

This put her in a really awkward position, I know, but I just didn’t care. I’m tired of making allowances for people without people skills. Let her squirm.

Does this make me a bitch?

Or, how about this:

I’m in my office working, with my back to the door, typing furiously. I’ve got a good train of thought going on and it’s clear to any onlooker that I’m busy. But suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see someone standing in my doorway. I’m thinking, “Go away, please go away, I’m busy please go awaaaaaay.” But then they start talking. I try to give them subtle signals that I’m in the middle of something by not turning around or giving one-word answers or continuing to work, but for some reason they just keep talking. Then, as they make their move toward the one guest chair in my office…my brain is screaming, “NOOOOO! Don’t sit down please don’t sit down please!” But of course they do. So now what? Do I stop working just because someone else decided it was time for a chat? I’ve got deadlines! Projects to finish! But if I ignore them and keep working, or, better yet, actually ask them to leave? Then what? Am I the bitch then?
I’d like to think that life is about more than just “making nice” with everyone, whether they deserve it or not.