A Week in Review

Hello! I just got back from a lovely walk and then ate fried shrimp. Tasty. I wonder, though, what the balance is between the goodness of walking and the badness of fried shrimp? Let’s just put an important life lesson into play – take the good from any situation and be happy. Let’s do a Week in Review.

She’s Back
Melissa returned from Connecticut on Wednesday, and it’s been nice to have a roommate again. I will admit, it might be hard at times to remember that there is another person in the house. For example, when I’m getting dressed in the morning and need clothes that are still in the dryer, I’ll now have to get dressed before going to the laundry room, and then get dressed again for real. That’s an inconvenience, but worth the trouble to have a friend back.

I’ve had a heart-to-heart with my imaginary friends who have kept me company this summer. They feel displaced, and I understand that. I want them to know how much their support has meant to me while I’ve sat alone, watching tv, playing minesweeper and cursing the smokers who live upstairs. I couldn’t have gotten through it without them. But, now that Melissa is back, we have to be careful about how we interact because me wandering around the apartment talking to what appears to be no one might freak her out. So, the imaginary friends are relearning their appropriate boundaries, and I’m trying not to say, “Oh Chandler, could you BE any funnier?” and “Joey get out of my peanut butter!” out loud anymore. You know, now that I think about it, my imaginary friends look a lot like the cast of Friends. Huh.

Stupid Evil Fairy
I owe Kent an apology. He was my top pick on So You Think You Can Dance this season, a cute, cute farm boy from small town Ohio who melted my heart every time he got on stage. I was so sure he’d win. He had the tween vote! Don’t the tweens rule the world? But, Kent took second place to Lauren.

Before watching the show I was thinking about the fact that none of my favorites have ever won. They’ve come close, like Kent did, but haven’t taken the grand prize. Strange. And then I remembered the curse that the evil fairy gave me when I was born. I used to think, like I once told Tiffany, that the curse was limited to making sure that I never win a drawing, but now I have to wonder if it doesn’t also mess with my favorites winning, too. You know how the story goes – the fairies in the land gather together to bless the new baby. I got beauty, wit, a gorgeous singing voice, and then that crazy old bat stepped up and said, “none of your favorites will ever win a competition”. Nice. I don’t see why she had to drag others down with me. So, I should send an apology to Kent. I am sorry.

To be fair, I’ll also say that Lauren is a great, great dancer, and deserved the win as much as anyone.

Civility
I heard a clip of Dr. Laura ranting on the radio this morning and was horrified. You’ve probably seen the story in the news, if not then here’s a report. I don’t want to dwell too much on Dr. Laura’s story, per say, but instead on the death of general civility. Just this week we’ve had the flight attendant who used the escape slide to get away from a cursing passenger (the escape slide, that’s awesome), and now this Dr. Laura thing. It’s ridiculous. What makes people think that they are right to treat others with such disrespect? It takes a self-importance that I really don’t understand. Heck, I see it all day at the bookstore. People will cut in line or interrupt a conversation because they have “just a quick question”. Whatever. Wait your turn.

I tend to believe that those who are rude continue to do it because they can get away with it, and at times are even rewarded for it. Most people will back down to a monster just to avoid the confrontation. And I know that from a retail perspective that store associates are told to make the customer happy, or, in other words, give them what they want. Parents used to teach their children that they won’t get their way by throwing a fit, but our adult society quickly convinces one of just the opposite. It’s very sad, and I refuse to join the crowd. I’m not a perfect model of politeness, but recent events are making me recommit to doing my best. It’s a loud, obnoxious world. Let mine be one of the quieter voices.

Thanks, as always, for giving me some attention.
You are loved.