A Confusing Sense of Humor

I love a good sense of humor as much as the next person. Heck, I have a pretty good sense of humor, if I do say so myself. Humor prevents this oft-depressing world of ours from getting TOO depressing.

There are varying styles of humor, from the dry sense of humor, to the sarcastic, to the just plain goofy. Just watch a night of stand-up on Comedy Central and you'll see the different degrees of humor. A sense of humor can come on too strong sometimes, though. Some people try to be "on" all the time when they don't necessarily have to be.

Combine a sense of humor that comes on too strong, with a sense of humor that isn't necessarily funny, and you can have problems. I'm talking about the people who think they're being sarcastic or witty, but are actually coming off as plain rude. These are the folks who take something you do or something you say and joke about it.

This kind of humor has always confused me. Don't get me wrong, I'll sometimes take an opportunity to "zing" a friend. But I don't do it all the time, and I certainly only do it to people I know. That's the kicker right there. People you know. Why would you want to make fun of someone that is a stranger to you? They probably don't know that you're being funny. They probably just think you're being a jerk.

At the barbershop yesterday, I walked in and headed towards the seats on the side, expecting that there might be a wait. Instead, the woman working there greeted me and asked for my info. There was a man standing near the register, who decided to joke about how I went off to the side instead of directly to the register. I would have liked to tell him where to stick it, but that's not me, so I gave a courtesy smile and continued talking to the woman.

This was a prime example. I suspected that the man was just trying to be funny, but where does he getting off making fun of people he doesn't even know? What, I took an extra few seconds going off to the side instead of going directly to the register? Yeah, that's prime comedy material right there. Why don't you stick around, and make fun of the way I sign my name on the receipt? Comedy gold.

It's not that I'm being overly sensitive. That sort of thing really doesn't bother me on a personal level anymore. But it does bother me as a matter of principle.

If you feel the urge to express your sarcastic, "let's-make-fun-of-what-you're-doing-or-how-you're-doing-it-for-no-apparent-reason" style humor to people you don't know, resist that urge. Express it to your friends. They might actually laugh.

(Im)patience, grasshopper

Patience, it seems, has joined common courtesy among the ranks of the forgotten.

This wave of impatience is apparent just about everywhere you go. Just go for a drive, you'll see what I mean. Watch those people in the front of the line at a red light.

It can be observed largely at the store, ANY kind of store. There were two instances of this that I had to deal with this past week, on the same day, and at two separate stores! You may know the kind; the impatient ones are the people who will stand right behind you, as if unaware of the concept of personal space. If they have a cart, it's usually just about attached to your rear end if they're behind you.

On both occasions, the women in question swooped into the register as soon as I turned to leave, as if they were rushing towards some imaginary pile of cash. I don't normally make comments to people like these, but their glue-like behavior here made me make remarks both times, saying "Impatient, aren't we," to one woman, and "at least wait till I get out of the way" to another.

Luckily I don't have to deal with these kinds of people very often when I go shopping. If I did I certainly wouldn't stand for it. One of the most irritating instances was a time where this woman behind me starts moving my items out of the way so she can put her two or three items down. I told the woman I'd be done in a minute and to please not touch my things, and she of course gave me the "what's your problem" look.

I can't imagine working in the customer service industry in this day and age. It must demand an enormous amount of self-control not to put these people in their places. I don't think I could take another "I don't want it fixed tomorrow, I want it fixed NOW" before I yelled at the person. It's probably why I moved to the position I am now at my current job.

Where does this behavior stem from? My guess would be all these services that cater to the person who doesn't want to go out and do much, or don't want to make a lot of effort for things. Like home video rental delivery services. TiVo. Broadband internet. Amazon.com. With services like these, you get to do so much from the comfort of your own home, and all pretty much at the click of a button. To these people, actually having to go out and stand in line to get what they want is abhorrent.

So, another wonderful thing that's been lost. I really hate to think that all these qualities that I've learned, and that have been taught to me by my parents, are being spat upon by the general public.

Oh well, I could always order my groceries online.

Blame it on the...

Give DFW drivers a clear day, and they will drive like maniacs.. 20MPH over the speed limit, weaving in and out of lanes.

Give them any kind of inclement weather, however, and things change. Drastically. The same can be said for how people themselves react.

I am frequently surprised how people react when it rains or snows in Dallas. Especially when one of the sayings in Texas is something to the effect of "If you don't like the weather in Texas, stick around a bit, and it'll change." And it does. In the course of a week we can go from upper 90's to rain to lower 60's. So it's not like inclement weather is new. At least not to long time residents.

People are around water all the time. We go swimming, we run through sprinklers, we soak in hot tubs, take baths, take showers, spray each other with hoses. And for the most part, this is enjoyable to us. But, some water starts falling from the sky, and it's panic mode. It's often amusing to me seeing people dashing madly to their cars, hands over their heads, as if they are going to melt. They'll sometimes run even if they have an umbrella. For me, it's a calm stroll over to my car. I like a nice walk in the rain. Even more amusing is a trip to the store when its raining, seeing all those cars hovering around the entrance, dropping people off, blocking traffic.

Speaking of traffic, boy does it pile up when its raining. What little ability to drive people already have, is quickly lost. Most drivers will slow down to a crawl, but there are other drivers out there (mainly trucks) who drive as insanely fast as they always do.

Odd how so many people are out there going "what is this strange liquid falling from the sky??!"
While those people are out there running for cover, I'll be enjoying a nice walk in the rain.