Welcome to another edition of I Comment Therefore I am where I piece together a post from comments I’ve left on other blogs. Shall we begin?
I was visiting CK, one of my all-time favorite bloggers, and a piece she wrote called glimpses really touched me and reminded me of one of my favorite relationships…
My favorite aunt passed away a few years ago. My entire life she made me feel like I was something special. I mean she was nice to all the kids, but I felt like she was extra nice to me. When she was withering away from cancer, she asked me if I knew why I was always so important to her and I said, “No.” She said, she always felt like I was sent especially for her because she lost a daughter right before I was born and somehow I helped ease the pain. I think maybe I was meant for her in a special way. I know that the connection I have always felt toward her is spiritual. Even now that she is gone, I still feel a connection.
Being a tiny woman, Georgina Dollface is prone to strangers wanting to give her hugs; sometimes they do it without even asking. I had to share the following story with her…
I am tall: 5’10”. I was at a Goodwill store shopping and a very diminutive, very elderly Asian woman kept getting in my personal space. I kept moving away because she was making me uncomfortable, then all of a sudden she threw her arms around me and hugged me. My arms were sort of pinned to my sides because she had hers wrapped around them. I didn’t know what the heck she was doing. Was she mugging me? Was she crazy? I looked down at her and her face was looking up at me beaming and she said, “Big! So big!!!” Apparently, she was just enthralled by my height. She didn’t really speak English so that was pretty much the extent of our conversation. It was all very strange.
lisleman recently wrote a post about something that I have known for a long time – people like to complain. I’d venture to say that people need to complain. I have worked in customer service for a very long time and sometimes all I have to do to make an irate customer feel better is just listen to them complain without interrupting them or disagreeing with them. I don’t even have to agree as long as I do not verbalize my disagreement. This is what I shared with lisleman…
I’m thinking of starting a service where people can call in or come in person and complain to me about anything. For a nominal fee they can rant and get things off their chest. I won’t do anything about it, but I will listen.
Then lisleman responded to my comment with…
I don’t know about other guys but it took me too many years before I learned that women often just want to vent/rant and are NOT looking for any answers or advice. Before I learned this, I would jump into analyze mode and start shooting suggestions back. Sometimes the whole exchange would get ugly. All I needed to do was listen – duh.
Melissa does IT work. I think IT people generally get a bad rap. She wrote an interesting post that gives helpful tips for dealing with IT people. In case you don’t know what It people are, they are the ones you call whenever you get pissed off at your computer. I shared my gripe with her.
Here’s what I hate about dealing with IT people and it really has nothing to do with IT people. It seems that whenever I have an issue with the computer I can not get the issue to reproduce when the IT person comes, then as soon as they leave it happens again.
It’s like when you take your car in to the mechanic because it’s making a strange noise and as soon as the mechanic drives it, it purrs like a cat.
I think it’s machines in general conspiring to make me look stupid. Well, I don’t need any help. Thank you very much!
That’s it for this edition of I Comment Therefore I Am.
Do you give good comment? Wanna play along? Go forth, spread the comment love, and turn it into a post (I keep a draft post open while I read blogs throughout the week). Recycle, reuse, and reduce my friends; it’s the wave of the future.
Oh and feel free to comment on my comments otherwise how will I know that you exist.
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haha… getting accosted by a little asian lady… i can just see it!! love that you save your comments… it’s a great idea and maybe one of these days when i start leaving pithy comments, i’ll save mine, too!
Sometimes I like commenting more than blogging. I dig this post every Monday.
Holy crap, Mami, you’re 5’10”??? Jealous. I need just a little bit of that height.
thanks for including our comment exchange. I’m glad you pointed out a very simple thing that many guys just don’t get right away.
Computer/machine problems – troubleshooting an intermittent problem is the toughest type of servicing. Even when you are the one who built the system it can be difficult. Once you can reproduce it you can usually focus in on the problem.
Maybe those IT people need to practice more listening skills too.
FYI, I wanted to comment on your post today about how that George clip is one of my all time favorites, but I’m at work and your comments aren’t loading for me here. I thought I’d drop you a line this way because I know I won’t remember to come back later.
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I’m soooo glad you shared that story here. I’ve be meaning to tell you how much it cracked me up. I read it on my phone at a red light and thought I was going to have to pull the car over, I was laughing so hard! – G
So wonderful the relationship with your aunt. Love the story about the Asian lady!
That Goodwill hug is so shockingly hilarious!
I like that idea of the complaint bureau. You know of course the complainers would be complaining about the small fee too. SMILE
Wow, 5’10”? I don’t know why, but I never pictured you that tall. Go fig. Gotta love the little Asian woman hugging you though. I actually may have a post brewing on something similar. Thanks – I needed the inspiration! 🙂
The little asian lady hugging you because of your height is cracking me up! I just get little old ladies in Wal-Mart asking me to get things off of the top shelves for them (I’m 6’0″).
I think the thing that bothers me about some people’s reactions to my height is that they assume I’m not “girly,” or think I’m thicker-skinned than I am. You know, I’m tall like a dude, so they can treat me like a dude and not a lady. Or maybe that has nothing to do with my height at all, and it’s just my perception.
You’re 5’10”? That’s awesome! I am so jealous!
Big! So big!!! THat’s how I feel these days….
Oh, don’t get me started on people who like to complain, I get them all the time, and no, they are not looking for advice. Some people just seem to get some sort of high from complaining. Well I can tell you this much, it does nothing for me!
Good post!
I get so excited when I’m featured in this post. 🙂
I love the story about the little Asian woman who hugged you, haha, that’s kind of fantastic.
I learned that same lesson the hard way too. Lisleman hit the nail on the head. Sometimes…make that most of the time, I don’t need to respond. I just need to keep my mouth shut. I just need to keep my big mouth shut. As in shut. Just sayin’.
And I hate it when I have a computer problem, and when an “expert” checks it out, they say “I’ve never seen this before”. GRRRRRRRRR
I just love what that little Asian lady did. So cute! I hope you didn’t mind too much 🙂
I also really love that story about your aunt; I’m a little choked up now. Sweet.
When we see each other, you are going to get accosted by yet another Asian lady. 😉 (Only that I am not tiny at all…)
Love this Monday feature of yours. The comment about differences between men and women? Absolutely true.