Some people. Sheesh.
April 17, 2008
This week, I have thrice experienced people at their worst. What’s with the world?
On Friday, I was running in Memorial Park, and I stopped at a water fountain for some rehydration. There were two water fountains, as you may know if you run on the running trail in MP. This woman was filling her water bottle at the fountain while her children played around her. One, on top of the fountain she was filling her bottle from and one practically in the other fountain. I ran up, clearly sweating, and stood there. The woman looked at me, and went on filling her bottle. She never once asked her children to get out of the way so other people could use the fountain, and she never once chided them that the fountain is not for shoes.
Then, Saturday, I checked my account on eHarmony as I apparently had a message from another member. The eHarmony process is a series on questions that you go through before you can just send “emails” through the site. This member and I were at the point where we could ask “essay” questions, where the interogator chooses or makes up questions that the interogee can respond to with a paragraph. Here are the questions I was asked:
1. Are you worried that I am too short or you are too tall?
2. Where are you in getting your degree? Did you go back to school or are you continuing something you started before?
3. Can you afford a girl? Do you work at all or do you just go to school?
The first two are not that big of a deal, but I can’t believe that someone who didn’t know me asked about my financial picture. I closed out communication so that I won’t be getting any more messages from her. Not just because she is so rude to ask the question, but also because I don’t think a person who is concerned about that this early on is someone I need to date.
Then the last. I share a little culpability here, but I think the egregiousness of the behavior of the other individual far out-strips my behavior. I was driving down a one lane portion of Memorial Drive during rush hour. I have a small 2-door Civic. This guy in a Lincoln Navigator comes up behind me, clearly annoyed by my mere 5 miles over the speed limit. He tailgated me for a long portion of the road we shared. Think about that for a second, because his car out weighs my car by probably atleast twice as much. If I had to stop suddenly, he could have plowed me under. I get really annoyed when people do that, so when he whizzed past me doing way over the speed limit at a light, I got out of his way and gave him the finger.
Now, this is the part I can’t get over.
We turned on to a two lane road. He apparently realized I was flipping him off, so he brakes hard, pulling into my lane to force me to stop. When I braked harder, and pulled into the opposite lane to avoid hitting him from behind, he manuevers to stay in front of me. I managed not to hit him, but once we came to a complete stop, he flips me off. Then floors it out of there doing atleast 50. You endangered our lives for that?!?! You effing child!
That’s the world we live in.
As far as the E-Harmony questions go, I am going to defend the girl for a moment and say this:
At a certain point in the lives of most women, “financial security” becomes the largest relationship issue and the FIRST thing we are going to wonder about, whether or not we come out and ask right away or directly. It is something all my girlfriends talk about, all my single friends above the age of 26 look for. That is what the question was about. I think the way it was phrased was a little rude, “Can you afford a girl?” – that was odd. However, I think that almost all women are going to put you up to the same scrutiny when considering you as a suitor at this point in life, because it is usually the first thing that matters to women as they become mature. Not all women are after a breadwinner, and for women who hold their own financially, it is not as much about the “can you take care of me” aspect as it is about demonstration of ambition, but it is a large factor nonetheless. I am not surprised she asked. In a social, non-virtual situation, she would have already gotten the social and physical clues she needed and would just need to flesh in the details. Believe me, if a girl doesn’t ask that kind of question right off the bat, she is either thinking it silently, discussing it with her friends when you are not looking, or not interested, because it is THE first thing women want to know.
Demonstrating your “support for your friends,” again, are we? I wonder if you had your “mother’s look” on your face before you typed here.