Unwanted Conversation

In regular every day living we all encounter people. On the bus, at work, at the mall...etc. This is fine. Sometimes we say a simple hello to acknowledge someone and sometimes we have a conversation. This is also fine, as long as both people are on the same page.

For instance: when you walk by someone on your way to work. You know that if you say a simple greeting, the conversation will start and end there. So a simple "hello" is sufficient. But, when you walk into the workplace and say hello, it sometimes develops into an unwanted conversation. You say "hello" or "good morning" and then the other person begins a long drawn out conversation on something that has nothing to do with either word. I come to work, not to listen to someone talk about useless and/or unwanted information. So while the other person goes off on their tangent, I am thinking about how boring they are and hoping my face shows how annoyed I am.

On top of the boring conversation, some people add a horrid smell as they wave their arms and mix their ill smelling odor with the air you are about the breathe in. I start to hold my breath, or cover half my face with my hand. I figure that might help block some of the stench from entering my nose.

So, unwanted conversation and body stench. I think these are two of the things that irritate me most. I am at a loss because I experience both of these 5 days a week. This is clearly my reason for looking forward to weekends.

How does one avoid these things? You don't. There is no way that you can. Unless you are rude. There are two stages of rude.
Stage 1: Internal Rudeness. This is the first step to becoming rude and learning how to internalize anger. You think rude thoughts, and wish you could just blurt them out, but don't, because your parents taught you to be a nice person (highly over-rated).
Stage 2: External Rudeness: This is the second and final step to venting the anger you internalized in stage 1. You come to your breaking point and just speak your mind. This graduates from wording things nicely to being a complete ass. This stage lasts a lot longer than stage 1 for some people. But this is the stage where you accept or reject being rude as a normal part of your every day life. I accept reluctantly. I guess there's still a part me of ( a very small part), that doesn't welcome the frustration.

I am just entering Stage 2, and I think this is the rudest I have ever been. Maybe it's my age. I've come to the point where I just don't care anymore...and I don't want to. People have been irritating me my whole life. And now it's time for payback! I'm an adult, and don't take kindly to people who speak to me as if I were still in kindergarten, people who have horrible manners (eating psoriasis, picking ears with toothpicks, eating like a horse, picking their nose and then reaching to shake my hand...there are so many, I can't possibly list them all), and especially those who just keep talking as if they love the sound of their own voice and assume that you do as well.

This concludes my rant. Enjoy the rest of your people filled day and try to eek out some rudeness...you might like it. =P

Great Aunt Susan We'll Miss You

Some of my best childhood memories were from the days we spent at Great Aunt Susan and Uncle Andy's place in Lac du Bonnet. That's where I got to know Aunt Susu. But that was a long time ago, and she didn't really know who I grew up to be, until this July.

I spent some time taking her (In the photo on the left with my Grandpa Fred) to appointments in Hamilton General Hospital this summer. We talked, laughed a lot, she told me some family stories and I updated her on my mom and siblings. From talking with her and the doctors, I learned that she went through a few pacemakers over the years (one damaged a heart valve), she was on 17 medications and she liked to go fast in her wheelchair. She just wanted to get better. There were many times in that one day where she would slam her arms down because she was annoyed that she had to wait so long. She was fed up with being sick and spending all this time in the hospital.

I had a chance to speak to her a couple days before she passed. Although she couldn't speak, the doctors said she could still hear. So I said a few words to her. Hearing her struggle to breathe was very difficult. She hadn't eaten or drank anything in days and she wasn't responding to anything but her heart was still going strong. When my dad came home from visiting Winnipeg, she responded to him and others with a mumble.

At one point during her appointments I had to wheel her into a doctor's office that had wall to wall furniture. I bumped her chair into a weigh scale and she said to me "I hope you don't drive a car like you drive a wheelchair!" I choose to remember her the way she was. She was funny, sweet and such a blessing to many people.

I see the body as a house the essence of each person lives in. Once the person has breathed their last breath, the house no longer contains any part of them. An empty shell is left behind while the spirit and soul go on to better things. What's beyond life, I can't be sure. But I know as well as you do that our time here on earth is temporary. So we should make the best of it while we're here.

Tell people that you love and appreciate them constantly and never take life for granted. It's the only one you have.

Stink-ity Stank - Good Hygene Is A Must!

Some people wear deodorant or antiperspirant and some choose not to. I don't know what's worse. Using it or not using it!

What's more bearable, used deodorant sweat stank or body odor?

Sometimes I mention the issue, but that depends on the relationship I have with the person. I have no problem telling a sibling or a cousin that they need to shower. Nor do I have any issues telling my close friends that they have toilet paper stuck in the back of their pants. Or mentioning a zipper that needs to be zipped, a shirt that looks bad, a stain, a rogue booger in the nose or eye or offering a piece of gum and responding with a sarcastic "not at all" when they ask if their breath smells.

I really dislike being around smelly people. It's unpleasant. So before you leave the house today be sure to apply deodorant and brush your teeth. Or, don't talk to me. I'm not going to hear a word you're saying while I hold my breath until you're clear of my personal space bubble and I can cover up the stank that you've left behind with scented oils.

It's Cold, It's Milky, It's Drippy

Sometimes I go for a chocolate bar, a bag of chips, chocolates, sour soothers, cookies...but very rarely do I decide to buy an ice cream. I hate when I'm out with friends, and everyone wants to go get ice cream. They all giggle and say "yay, ice cream" like they're 5 again. I just don't get some people's obsession with this dessert food. Here's what I hate about it:

IT'S COLD!
Very cold! I hate that feeling you get when you bite into an ice cold mound. Why would you want to temporarily freeze your teeth? How is that good? I can see how it would be refreshing I guess, in the summer time. But it's still last on my list. I'd rather have iced tea, or a cold beer. At least that warms up to a comfortable temperature once it's hit your mouth.

IT'S MILKY
If I am going to have milk...I'll have milk. Not some whipped, frozen version of it. When I have a peanut butter sandwich, I want milk, when I have a creamy chocolate bar, I want milk. Not ice cream. Milk is supposed to be healthy isn't it? If I want something sweet...I want it to be unhealthy. That's just the way it is.

IT'S DRIPPY
I absolutely hate eating anything that make a mess of me. Like wings, ribs...well any food that has sauce on it that is likely to drip. Ask yourself, what's gonna catch those drips??? Yeah, bang on! Boobs! Every time. They just get in the way, then, everyone looks at you like you're a pig. Hello???!!! It's not my fault. It's the boobies. They just stick out too freakin far!

Anywhoser...I don't like ice cream. So, please, just remember that. I don't like it. So if you are looking for someone to go to the BDI with...call somebody else. I'm not interested. I will however go for Gelate. It comes in a bowl and you eat it with a spoon.

Only Time Will Tell

Just some thoughts on the present situation: I have learned over the last 3 years, that working for a non-profit organization has it's good and bad points. You could say the same about any other job I suppose. But here, people expect you to be a "good Christian" about things, smile and take it. No objections. And when there is an objection, most often, they are a little surprised. You see, they don't want to hire more people. That's more money out the door every month. That alone is frustrating, because things don't get done properly or to the best they can be when you have someone new every year, learning how to do things for the first time. Things get lost in the mix that way.

This isn't something that's going to change anytime soon. I wish this place ran a bit more like a business. It makes sense to me. There's always someone that knows exactly what's happening with every aspect of the work place. Plus, it's just more proffessional, more organized. Non-profit organization doesn't have to mean, non-profit...so no organization. And yeah, if some of the people I work with see this...they'll be frustrated with what I've noted here. But they are also free to have their own opinions.

While it's nice to work for a good cause...I don't think it'll be what I do for the rest of my life. I'm hoping things will change. Only time will tell.

Best Email Joke EVER!

You gotta love it when someone asks you a stupid question. People do it to make conversation I suppose, not realizing how dumb they've just made themselves look.

Yesterday I was buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my dog at Wal-Mart and was about to check out.

A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. What did she think I had,an elephant? Since I'm retired, with little to do, on impulse I told her no, I didn't have a dog, and that I was starting the Purina Diet again. Although I probably shouldn't, because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in the intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her it was essentially a perfect diet and the way it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry - the food is nutritionally complete - so I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me. I told her no; I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish Setter's ass and a car hit us both.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he was laughing so hard!

WAL-MART won't let me shop there anymore

My Rude-aholic Self

Yeah...I have diagnosed myself. Rude-aholic. Most people who know me, know that I do enjoy a few rude comments here and there.

An inner struggle breaks out in my head at times. No, I'm not hearing voices! Basically, if someone is talking to me, and I really don't feel like listening or they're not making any sense, I say things in my head, hoping that person will understand and leave me alone. It never works. Which is disappointing. But I guess on some level I am learning to be patient.

Don't worry, those of you who read this blog are not in this annoying category...most of the time. Ha ha. No seriously.

Some days I just wish I could be outwardly rude. Like tell the person babbling "I don't care." Or "Give me your phone number so we can pretend that I will call you so you can tell me more about this useless crap with your annoying voice and irritating habits."

I can't be the only one on this planet that feels like this! Maybe this is just one of those subjects that people keep to themselves. You know...something people bottle up. While I do occasionally do some bottling of things, I am not a fan of the outcome, which is an explosion of rudeness in it's purest form. I think it's good to just get it out before you get to that lethal stage. Where all you can think about is shaking the person or giving them a good karate chop to the neck.

My problem is that I can't just let it out with people I see all the time. It just wont work. It will make things awkward and anger me more because said people will try to resolve the situation. But the thing they're not taking into consideration is...their whole being is annoying and/or nauseating and that's too difficult to even bother with! Plus, I think I like to be angry sometimes. Like while I'm cleaning, I always clean my apartment much better when I am enraged.

Yeah I know...this is all crap and I should kick myself in the ass for sharing it. You win some you lose some. This is me, but you knew this...you just never knew how deep the rude-aholic disease went. Feel free to stop talking to me out of fear that my brain will use your conversation as an excuse to use telepathic messages to hint that you should leave me alone.

...end of babble