I like being goofy, like, all the time. Cracking jokes pretty much constantly. Being ironic, sarcastic, and just a general pain the in A. I can sometimes feel this wearing on people who aren’t like me. They smile in a “that’s not really funny” kinda way and I preserve my ego by assuming they just don’t get it cuz they don’t read enough or they watch Two and a Half Men (though I really thought Ducky from Pretty in Pink could do no wrong – he can and he did) or they’ve been deprived of knowing people like me for too long.
The thing is, I’m the same way. I really can’t make myself laugh at something that’s not funny, even when it’s the polite thing to do. I feel like I might make some weird sound that isn’t at all like a laugh cuz my body doesn’t know what it’s doing. Then people will look at me like I’m some kind of freak who makes weird noises at inappropriate moments.
I also really can’t stand small talk. I’m just not good at it. It’s pretty bad, my sentences come out short and jumbled. How do people have full conversations about nothing? I don’t understand. I’m perfectly satisfied with silence if you don’t actually want to get to know me and it’s probably pretty obvious that I don’t really care to know you so…let’s not discuss the weather, the latest Brangelina drama, or where I got my jacket and how much you love Forever 21.
The other thing is, I write this and think, “Ugh. What a horrible person!” Does it make me a bad person that I only enjoy being around people that are like myself or that I don’t make much of an effort to talk small or laugh falsely? (I didn’t phrase that fairly)
I mentioned this to my friends, who I love, and who are very similar to myself in many ways (though they have their own unique attributes that I admire – and faults that irk me) and they said, “Birds of a feather, Age, birds of a feather.”
You know how I feel about bird analogies. I like birds. I just don’t want to flock like one, have one in my hand, two in the bush, or kill two with one stone. I’m also aware I may have missed the point.
I guess I’m just hoping that since I’ve detected this not so subtle flaw in my character that my future experiences in the Peace Corps in a completely different country, continent, culture, will help me to be open to a variety of different people and personalities. I feel like I’m a pretty nice person, or try to be, but I want to be more than that. I want to feel genuine attraction towards others. I don’t want to miss out on knowing anyone, you know?
Imagine if I only knew people like me for the rest of my life. I’d become one of those closed-minded, unaffected people, believing everyone should agree with me and if they don’t, they’re stupid. Ew.
Though, the important thing to note in all of this is that I will never, ever, like Two and a Half Men. Double ew.
gotta love Otis
-Age
Hi Adrienne. I don't think you're a snob you're just a gal who knows what she likes and isn't scared to put it out there. Most of us don't learn the value of this until we realized just how precious and fleeting life really is.
ReplyDeleteLife is short. Do things that make you happy, inspired and fulfilled.
First impressions. AHH! Two and a Half Men! I just wanna take Charlie Sheen's face and I wanna.. I wanna smush it up so people don't think he's charming anymore.
ReplyDeleteOk. I'm going to read the rest of this now.
Ahhh and we finish back where we started. I feel cleansed. It is a bad show. One of the worst I've ever seen. That show is 40% Charlie Sheen being a stereotype and 60% the laugh track hamming it up.
ReplyDeleteI'm similarly bad at forcing myself to do things other than my natural, immediate reactions. Har, har, har... -Why are you laughing like a pirate, Brian?
I just don't feel comfortable around people who are too different than me, who don't get my sarcasm, and I can't joke around with. People I can't have deep conversations with or cry with.
ReplyDeleteI need people around me who GET me.
And I know we also need to enjoy friendships with people who are different than us, who maybe see the world differently and we have to work more for to get THEM.
So it's a fine line.
I'll find myself being described by others as "a social butterfly" and the moniker always feels strange. But truthfully I am, because talking about random things to random people can be fun. It's how I get more people to laugh at my jokes, because my humor is a little peculiar, so if they know me better, they're more likely to get me and laugh, and really, at the end of the day, I just need that validation that I'm funny. How's that for writing something down and thinking, ugh, what a lame person I am!!
ReplyDeleteAndrea - that's a great viewpoint to take. Life is short, why waste time laughing at a lame joke? :)
ReplyDeleteBrian - birds of a feather
Stephany - a fine line is a great way to describe it, I'm not entirely sure what's right and what's wrong but I hope to understand myself and others better as I go along
Copy Girl - Not lame, hilarious. (there's your daily dose of validation, I love your blog and think you're so funny!)
I've never seen Pretty in Pink but love Two and a Half Men and crack jokes all the time. I hope we can still be blog friends ;)
ReplyDeletePirates always trump TV show taste. Always.
ReplyDelete"I like being goofy, like, all the time. Cracking jokes pretty much constantly. Being ironic, sarcastic, and just a general pain the in A."
ReplyDeleteJust fired someone who was like this a couple of weeks ago. She irritated and aggravated everyone around her. Her act wore very thin, especially since she often went over the top with her "pain in the A" persona while interacting with senior management. The final straw was a snide, nasty, rude, crude, sarcastic, and racist comment she made to me about my mother.
She thought it was hilarious. I simply said, "Security will escort you out now. Your final paycheck will be mailed to you and you can pick up the contents of your desk in the lobby tomorrow."
Wow. Anonymous: I realize how, from your recent perspective, I may have painted myself to be quite disrespectful and negative. I'm not. I try very hard to treat everyone I meet with respect, particularly my superiors. I think firing jerks is a great business practice and I am truly sorry you had to go through all of that, it couldn't have been fun or easy. That being said, I really hate it when people don't like me so know that my posts are often exaggerations of real situations (they just tend to be funnier and more entertaining that way) and most of the time I am simply making fun of myself when I joke around. "snide, nasty, crude, sarcastic, and racist" - there is only one word there that would describe me and that is sarcastic but even that I know how to rein in when appropriate. I don't mean to sound defensive. Mostly, I feel bad to have given such a terrible impression of myself and to have reminded you of someone who has personally offended you and your employees. Just note, I've never been fired and my bosses and co-workers love me. *GRIN*
ReplyDelete