Merry Fucking Xmas

[bethlakshmi]

I really did wake-up in an OK mood. Overslept and was late to work, but an OK mood. But... now I'm grumpy due to an obnoxious post. [Edit - deleted reference - I just don't need to go back and dwell on this. And thank you to everyone who posted for all the support.]


It also reminds me of pax_industria's latest post - about an asshole who smashed in the front of his car and didn't have the decency to leave a note.

And of the billion other times I've wanted to commit homicide in association with Christmas shopping. In the past few days I've:
- had food or beverages spilled on me twice by hectic waitstaff
- been cut off on foot and by car any number of times
- had a door politely slammed in my face by the patented "let me hold the door for you while standing in the doorway" technique
- bumped into or been mowed down by people on cellphones or people too busy talking or pondering purchases while moving to notice that I was there.

And any number of inconsiderate indignities. And I doubt that the universe has singled me out on this one. We all deal with this on a daily basis throughout the year... but somehow at Christmas, it seems to multiply. As we all fly hectically through the season, trying to encourage peace on Earth and goodwill to men, we do exactly the opposite.

I'm not even sure I'm any better - I'm sure in the frenzy of shopping yesterday, I did unkind things to others.

But... maybe I can learn, and so can the rest of us. As you continue on this week of holiday frenzy, take the time to slow down. Drive safe, sane and responsibly. Be considerate of others as you shop and don't block walkways if you can help it. Think of others when you use your cellphone, either be aware of what's going on around you while you move (in car or on foot) or stand to the side of the path. Every time you run a holiday errand, make it a point to say "thank you" to any employee helping you. Smile at other shoppers, and be aware of the other warm bodies around you, also desperately trying to have a nice season.

If, every time we think of something that Must Be Done before Christmas, we take a second to enact a polite courtesy to someone in the immediate vicinity - this really COULD be a nice holiday.

I promise, I'll try too.

Comments

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

I am not (so not) looking forward to dealing with the airports when I go home. I believe my call to my parents once I got off the plane last year was along the lines of "Fuck you all! *I* am not traveling next Chrsitmas. You can haul your butts out to see me!"

So that didn't work, but anyway.

As for the Brave Soul who Leave Anonymous Comments, they are bitchy and mean and deserve to sprain thier toes. But you knew that.

[madrun.livejournal.com]

What a cowardly bastard to say something like that anonymously. And go you for not listening.

The one rampant inconsideration that drives me to distraction is the cell phone thing. Everyone seems to have a damn cell phone stuck in their ear all the time. Look, talking on the cell phone in a crowded place is bad enough but holding a personal conversation on a cell phone while trying to deal with other people, like cashiers or waitresses for example, is RUDE.

I try to combat holiday craziness by not participating. I go to great lengths to avoid the mall entirely, and try to shop at weird times like 8am on a Tuesday morning when everyone is slightly less busy. I'm also as conscious as possible about where I shop. I try to fool myself into thinking it helps!

[lakshmi-amman.livejournal.com]

Not a bad plan. If I could do so, I would. I do try to not hit the mall during the holidays. If nothing else, because I like giving gifts that the recipient wouldn't think of or wouldn't be able to find. So that the gift has some special element of me in it, because it took a person like me to find it/think of it. And that means shopping in smaller, weirder places.

But at mainstream times. But my respect for Internet shoppers, and pre-Thanksgiving shoppers is growing. I bet those clever people have much more fun during the holidays.

[madrun.livejournal.com]

Chaotic crowds in small places (like stores) make me really nuts, almost panicky so it's a habit based on necessity.

There are lots of weird, quirky places on the Internet too!!

padme wants to fuck shit up.

[jezebelpussycat.livejournal.com]

Wow what a fucking asshat!!!!
grrrrrr!
grr
grrr
gr

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

It's sad that most of my stress avoidance ideas for the holidays basically come down to avoiding people, or at least crowds. I don't normally find them stressful, and even at this time of year, they don't bug me nearly as much as they used to, but it does seem that everyone is wound just a little bit tighter then normal, and a few have come unsprung. I'm don't think isolation is the answer, but quiet, low-stress times with a few friends probably helps ground you all.

[lakshmi-amman.livejournal.com]

A very good point. I was pondering the idea of hiding under a rock. But the idea of trying to be better with the planning next year, and spending time at the home of friends or family doing low-key things sounds incredibly wise.

[elizabear.livejournal.com]

Rectal haberdashery indeed.

Do you have IP logging turned on? If so, we could track the poster.

[lakshmi-amman.livejournal.com]

Well... no. It's on now, but I figured we were all grownups here...

[suba-al-hadid.livejournal.com]

I doubt whoever posted this feels very happy when they look in the mirror.

I have to agree with this totally. When my (now-ex-)husband finally admitted that the reason he'd cut me off sexually was because I was too fat (at only 40 lbs extra because of post-pregnancy - sometime I'll show you pictures of me as 'fat' and you'll say WTF?), I later discovered that the reason was because he has had issues with his own weight all his life and had simply transferred them to me. It is strangely satisfying to learn now that he's abjectly sorry about that and wishes he were still together with me (without being obnoxious about it - we're good friends now) and probably wouldn't do that again. So yeah, I would totally write that freak off. You're sexy, and we all know it :)

[flyinglemurs.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, no idea what all this is about but...MEAN PEOPLE SUCK.
I think that about covers it.