More odds and ends

Mom *kind of* has a point when she says I hold on to things, in her view, for too long, but only in the sense that I remember them. She has a shorter memory-- hence her inability to remember that she's already told me that I've put on weight or that I should get a convection oven/microwave combo--so in her mind, the fact that I remember things means that I dwell on them. I don't, really, and when I do, it's more in a 'that's interesting' or 'that explains it, fits a pattern' way.

So this afternoon on my way home, as I read an article on table salts in Express, I remembered the following conversation from this weekend:

Mom: I have a similar canister of sea salt, except I got mine at the dollar store. How much did you pay for yours?
A.: I don't remember.
Mom: Well, approximately.
A.: I don't remember at all. Little enough that it wasn't worth committing to memory.
Mom: Well, maybe you just don't pay attention to what things cost.
A.: I generally do, although less so with salt because I buy it so infrequently.
Mom: I'm sure you paid more for that salt than I did for mine.
A.: That's quite likely. If you care enough, you can check next time you're in Trader Joe's.

***
The more I do this roommate search thing-- which thankfully I'm ready to stop doing--the more I want to start my own business as a people-skills consultant, and those of you who know me appreciate just how scary that is. It is a f*ed up world when I have anything to teach anyone about people skills.

Lesson one: manners are not optional or situational. Yes, e-mail is an informal medium. Nonetheless, when you're talking to another human, you still need to be polite. I would never send someone I didn't know an e-mail without addressing them, even when I don't have a name (for example, when I rsvp for events). It's one thing when you're exchanging e-mails back and forth or making quick plans; it's another when you're introducing yourself to someone and requesting information. What makes those e-mails rude is the same thing that makes robocalls so obnoxious: they're not even willing to invest resources in annoying me and wasting my time, i.e. they are claiming my time while valuing their own. All I can say to that is that if you're unwilling to put some time into phrasing your question in a complete, grammatical sentence, I feel no social obligation to put any time into responding.

***
[Yawn]. I need a nap. I would have taken today and/or yesterday off if I didn't have a f*load of work to do. Hell, I would have taken a nap at work--it has been done, you just go to the health center and the nurses give you a bed--if I didn't have a f*load of work to do. The work from home thing is also a blessing and a curse. I'm glad to not be at the office but it was kind of eerie to be working from home this late in the evening. Anyway, enough whining, I'm sure you all need a nap, too. You know that throughout all my bitching, I don't actually believe I put up with any more BS than anyone else; I just have a blog, so I use it.