...and Death smiled

stsathyre:

ryrick:

stsathyre:

anddeathsmiled:

stsathyre:

You know what? I understand that smokers feel like they have the right to smoke wherever but fuck you for getting right up under me and lighting up. Especially if I don’t know you. Go the fuck over there.

As a long time smoker/current ex-smoker, I’m gonna have to tell you that…

People here don’t practice that kind of courtesy, but it’s good to know that people elsewhere do. Folks here will literally get as much in your space as possible, kids be damned, and smoke. I was on a bus stop, not even in the shelter, just standing around and this chick literally stood right next to me and started smoking. Like, in throat punching distance. I wouldn’t have even had to unbend my elbow. I wasn’t even in the shade. There was absolutely no reason for her to be that close to me. I almost beat her with a stop sign, but instead I moved.

I fucking hate that. Excuse my fowl language, but I understand the RTDer’s. I was on the 11 three days ago and someone stunk to high heavens after standing next to me and smoking. So what did I do? I put peppermint oil on under my nose. He got furious with me because the smell “disturbed his bus ride.”

EXCUSE ME, the disco dance party bonfire of tobacco disturbs my bus ride. It was ludicrous. I got put to blame due to his stench.

I have such a lovehate relationship with RTD and its passengers, it’s not even funny. :-/

They make good writing fodder, but they’re generally disturbing.

Its like that everywhere….I get so fucking mad at folks when they smoke under the bus stop - especially when the weather is nice. No reason to be under cover, getting that up in other people’s business. Its not like they don’t KNOW it stinks and hurts folks. But what really kills me is when people smoke around kids, or other folks who can’t easily move away, or who don’t stop when asked. I have a friend who is legitimately allergic to tobacco - to the point where it requires an inhaler and possible other unpleasant effects. Its the tobacco itself, not the smoke. She has no reaction to smoke from fires or weed, and she does have allergies to plants in the same family as tobacco - so its a thing. Maybe I’m just sensitive, but there are a million valid reasons smokers should be respectful of non-smokers. (And vice versa, sometimes.  As long as I am not hurting anyone else by sitting on my porch and smoking, I’d prefer not to be yelled at.

daxsymbiont:

my problem with the question “how are you” is not so much that i don’t have an answer; it’s more that there is a limited range of Acceptable answers and “how i am” never falls under one of those responses

i could totally engage in small talk if it were permitted to answer like…

I work in a call center, doing  inventory control/distribution for the stores in my company. I answer the phone by saying “Hello, thank you for calling X, this is Wendy, how may I help you?”

And people get REALLY ANNOYED that I break the social contract and don’t respond to, or ask ‘how are you?’. They get genuinely upset and sometimes it really throws them off.  Particularly the younger/newer folks. What I appreciate about the long term employees is that after a while they realize when they call…that I don’t care how they are feeling, but I do care about doing what I can to help them do their job, if only to be efficient, if not mostly cheerful while doing ultimately silly work about things that aren’t as important as folks think they are. They stop asking how we are unless something is obviously wrong; there is still a coworker relationship, so when things happens we do sometimes commiserate about the job or small talk.

I noticed that working retail as well, as I always asked how I could help instead of how they were; folks dislike the breaking of the implied social contract about caring about each other. OTOH, when I DID ask a customer how they were doing, and it was a regular, they knew I was genuinely interested and we could chat a bit, and vice versa.

Personally, I find I also prefer to be asked how someone can help me, rather how I am feeling. Having a stranger ask me that, even in passing, makes me feel a little uncomfortable, the same way I do about people who are overly huggy and under-consenty, or folks who call me by pet names who have never met me.) However, I used to have, and still struggle with, boundary issues so I am very aware of those sort of lines these days.

revcon:

I am anger bored by the crying of a people
Who for the taste of freedom never fought.
I am anger bored by the weakness of a people
Who for the source of their own power never sought.
I am anger bored by the amnesia of a people
So quickly forgetting the lessons time has cruelly taught.
I am…

stsathyre:

and this lady has parked her ass right in front of the new age section. Like, if I were seriously trying to get to something, she would’ve had to gather all of her shit and move out the way.

So, I go, “Can’t find what you’re looking for?”

And she goes … “Oh … Oh …It’ll jump out at me.” As if I…

Every once in a while, something good does pop up in there. I literally had a copy of Ida Craddock’s biography fall an bonk me on the foot. I didn’t have the cash to buy it that day, and a few weeks later, my parter, who’s book and author recommendations are always excellent resources  brought his copy over and suggested I give it a read! I think it also depends on the location of the book store as well. My Barnes and Nobles  (and the Penn Bookstore) are large enough to have nicely well stocked sections for a variety of topics. The book store I worked in was an express in a commuter mall - our ‘new age’ section was one bay of books that made me cringe, and the 6 book mythology section I’d put together. Bleh.