BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Buddhism Do Not Complain for 1 Month

Hmmmm to me

"Why do all these dog walkers have flower-scented bags for dog poop? I never see these bags in the pet stores."

that's not venting. You're not upset with the dog walkers for having flower-scented bags. You're not complaining that they should not have them. You're making an observation about something unusual.

To me it'd be like saying

"that Ferengi drink holder has a clockwise spiral design in it, so the liquid spirals clockwise as it comes down towards your mouth. Do you think if they had them in Australia that they'd have to use counter-clockwise spirals to get it to work right?"



Would he see the humor in that?

I do have to admit that if there was a slow line and someone started saying "can we get you a chair? Want some drinks" that I can imagine at least half of the people getting ticked at the impatience being shown. I thought you southern people were supposed to be laid back and slow going?

Ha! Nope, we have "Type A" personalities here, too. We just sound sweeter when we're b****ing about stuff.

And, we were really only making fun of the fact that people are so wrapped up in themselves that they don't "get it" when they are just standing there, blocking the register, talking, when other people need to get to the register to check out. They weren't talking to the cashier, but to each other. They were done, time to go, move along.

Which is funny, but it's irritating that nobody has the slightest notion of courtesy to fellow shoppers. I'm sure we're all guilty of it from time to time.

I get really irritated when I'm trying to get to a store, walking down the mall walkway and people in front of me are "meandering", like five wide, blocking the whole darn path, stopping right in front of me to rearrange the kid in the stroller or something. Can't we get a slow lane for these people?

And, yet, I'll stop right in front of a jewelry store and gaze at the pretty sparklies.

So, I try to remember that people are probably just not aware and truly don't try to [censored] me off on purpose. It's just the human condition.

Jilly, I cannot divulge the secret handshake info. Let's just say it's not a handshake, but something more canine in nature.

Lisa, I am just pulling something out of my but. please go with me here.

I have had an amazing breakthrough with my little sketch. I am THRILLED. After I wrote it, i let out a litle whoop of joy and showed it to Dan.

He loved it and agreed that is EXACTLY our situation, that I had it to a tee. MAJOR MAJOR lights went on for him. I am so happy.

Do you see, no it's not a vent per se, but he would see me as "complaining" over the course of my trying to get him to play with me.

he promised to try to remember how irreverent I am and I promised to try to remember he takes me far more seriously than I might be thinking. So big yays for me.

Part of it is probably the "man" thing, too, Jilly. Bless their hearts, they always want to "fix" things for us.

Yes, true, Deb.

Lisa, here is precisely how this would go with Dan and the Ferengi straws:

Jill - "that Ferengi drink holder has a clockwise spiral design in it, so the liquid spirals clockwise as it comes down towards your mouth. Do you think if they had them in Australia that they'd have to use counter-clockwise spirals to get it to work right?"

Dan - "actually that is a myth about how things go counterclockwise in Australia."

Jill - "but if you were on Fereginar, then it might not work and you'd have a big scene full of angry Cardassian patrons with faces full of romulan ale. They would have to ask the Klingon bouncers to step in before an interstellar war erupted!"

Dan - "I don't think you would have a situation where the straw would back up. According to the Wickipedia, the coreolis effect would actually blah blah blah blah blah."

Jill - "You know, you are a Vulcan."

Not that we are even talking about complaining in this particular scenario, but darn how do i get him to just PLAY with me and not CORRECT me?

Deb, about the "handshake," that really does make sense in a doggy universe. And explains why i cannot find flower scented doggie poop bags.

Jilly - that is awesome that you had the breakthough! I don't see the Ferengi situation at *all* to be venting or complaining. It is observing something funny. So if he would not "get" that you were joking / observing in that situation, I would count that under "humor impairment".

Not to say Mensa is special, but at Mensa meetings people are doing that kind quirky discussion ALL the time and we love it. It is brain stretching. It's finding the odd connections between things. It's odd but I've never had anyone "not get it" at a Mensa meeting. Maybe we self select for oddballs But that is pretty much exactly how Mensa hang-outs go. That and really silly puns

So again I agree 100%, that is NOT venting. You're not complaining about something wrong. You're making a fun observation.

I suppose when people are slow and talking I remind myself that that IS their purpose to be there - to slowly talk and amble along. They're not in a rush - if they rushed, they'd just leave more quickly and they don't want to leave! They want to spend a few hours at the mall. So to me that would be like me getting upset with an elderly couple for walking slowly - when that is what they want to do.

That's the perfect time for a tree pose, to pass the time until the lane clears