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Journal Em Emalb's Journal: Something New, a poll of sorts, and a rant 46

Journal by Em Emalb

I have decided to only "friend" newcomers if they have a journal. I figure you all have something to say and there's no point in me friending you if you aren't saying it.

Does this action:

A) make me an asshole?

B) make me an elite hacker?*

C) not matter what so ever?

D) make me even more arrogant sounding in assuming people have time to write journals?

E) mean that GMHowell will ride his BMW bike up and down your block slinging homebrew and pretzels at you with amazing dexterity?

Anyhow, there it is. Now for the rant.

I'm not anti-social, by any stretch of the imagination. However, lately, I have found myself being well, not rude, but pretty short with people I don't know. For example, I'm in line at the grocery store getting some flank steak and veggies for fajitas, when the lady behind me at the "10 items or less, no checks get me in and out in a hurry cause I'm fuckin hungry" line decides to start a conversation with me. Ah, I see you got the fixins (yeah, this is the South, people actually talk like this) for some f'itas. (yeah, there is no Fajitas....it's just f'itas) Yes, I politely say, that's what this stuff is for. Ah, you eating them tonight? Yes, I plan to. That's nice. Turns to Jen (my fiance') Have fun cooking them. Jen: Well, actually, Em** here is cooking them. he's really a much better cook than I am. Lady in line: Well, I'll be, a man that cooks. Better hold on to this one, honey! Me: polite smile. Lady: How long you been cookin? Me: I was a short order cook at age 16. I've been cooking my whole adult life. Her: Wow. I wish my husband would do that. Me: uh huh. Bubai. Her: Yeah, he won't cook for nothing. I can't get him to take out the trash either. Me:... Her: And trying to get him to clean up after himself.... Me:...(15 feet away now, back turned, walking out the store. Her: HMMMPPHHH. Some people are just rude.

Ok, bitch, here goes. I was in the express check out line, kinda irritated that the fucker in front of me had 15 items and payed by check. The sign says (gosh damnit) 10 items and no fucking check cashing. I was in wham bam groceries in hand mode, and this jagoff slowed me down. Then, you crank up the southern and start asking me stupid questions. I was polite enough to answer, but leave me the hell alone. I don't really care that your slob-assed husband won't cook or clean or do anything other than sit on the couch bitching or shoveling his fork to his fat assed mouth. Not my problem. I've got tons more examples, but this is a starter. Besides, none of you fuckers*** read this far anyway. Damn you readers digest for making us all not want to read more than we have to.

Am I over-reacting?

*does it make me more l337 to type it the correct way? Kinda like a reverse coolness. I'm so cool I don't have to shorten it. I like it. I may do this from now on.

**believe it or not, this is not my real name.

***fuckers yes, but in a good way. Unwad the panties. thanks.

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Something New, a poll of sorts, and a rant More

Something New, a poll of sorts, and a rant

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  • pleasant conversation amongst strangers only exists to kill time. the lady at the store should shut up and do her job. as for only friending those who use their journals, it doesn't bother me. I only friend those with insightful comments or interesting stories. If they happen to have a journal good for them. I'll check out what they write. I've found a number of friends through journals.

    completely off topic: Windex is the best stuff I've found yet for cleaning a mouse or keyboard. It beats soapy wa
    • When I was a field tech I had some foaming computer cleaner in a spray can that was great with keyboards and dirty monitor casings. It supposedly wouldn't short out circuits even if you put way too much on. I don't recall now where I got it, though; wish I had some now.
  • You did the right think with Mrs Earwig, by the way. As for the luser holding up the Express Checkout, nearest I've come to that was waiting at the ticket office at Watford train station, when a woman decided that it first thing in the morning was a perfect time to have a long argument with the ticket-seller (and her boss, if memory serves) over refunds for lost travel days on her annual season ticket... you could see the steam coming out of people's ears...

    Oh, and I did read to the end of the JE. That's w
  • Besides none of you fuckers read this far anyway.

    I totaly read the whole thing. I feel I deserve some sort of prize or something. A shubery perhaps?

  • I can think of two reasons to add people to your friends list: (1) to be notified of their journal entries, and (2) to give their comments a bonus score.

    Did you have another reason?

  • Maybe a little. I'm not from the South, so I can't really say what people are like, but every now and then I'll come upon someone who wants to chat. If it's just polite chit-chat to pass the time in line, no big deal. If the topic turns to something like yours, I usually just say to myself "just a couple of minutes of this and then I'll never see this person again..." I just switch to "Uh huh... uh huh... uh huh..." mode and don't really listen, but at least I make it seem like I'm trying to be polite.

  • And people who do stuff like that totally piss me off. You were more polite to her than *I* would have been. Fscking whack job, that's what she is.
    • They're just being southern, that's what southerners do. And yea, it's irritating as hell. I just want to get my stuff done and get out and not have to talk to gossipy old ladies.
      • They're just being southern, that's what southerners do. And yea, it's irritating as hell. I just want to get my stuff done and get out and not have to talk to gossipy old ladies.

        I know. Despite being from Michigan, half of my family's from West Virginia, which makes me a southerner by blood, sorta. :) Doesn't mean that stuff like that doesn't irritate me.

  • I always thought B, because well, it just completes the mental picture I have of you :)

    I am not too keen of "friending" anyone who do not have journals, in that, I like to think I "know" a friend. Well, as far as you can "know" anyone through a journal.

    • I am not too keen of "friending" anyone who do not have journals, in that, I like to think I "know" a friend. Well, as far as you can "know" anyone through a journal.

      I'm not as bothered by the presence/absence of JE's; when I friend someone, it's either because I found their journal some other way (they've friended me, a click-thru from a comment, or sometimes friend-of-friend) or I just liked their comments. The extra mod points friends' posts get don't make much difference in JE's - not enough posts, no

  • I usually hold off on Friend'ing someone if they don't have a journal, or a lot of comments that give good insight into what the person is about. That goes for offline folks as well. If you don't show any good reason to be your friend, I won't bother with you. Sometimes that might come off as elitist, but who cares, I just have high standards for the people I associate with.

  • I thoroughly sympathize with your 'get me the hell out of the grocery store'-ness. I lived with my aunt for ~4 years, and she *WAS* that woman. She knew everyone in town, and always had something to talk to strangers about.

    Shudder.

    I *am* anti-social, especially when I'm in the express lane, or have something rather important to be doing. Get the hell out of my way, and don't make conversation with me. I have things to do!

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • You should read what few journal entries I have. The latest being a rant on ranting. :) I tend not to write journals cause I tend not to do anything. My daily journal would never vary. It would be:
    - Woke-up late for work, hungover
    - 9hrs at work as a techie/hacker with only 3hrs of actual work to do. Lot of Slashdot and k5 reading.
    - played roller/deck/ice hockey (depending on the season)
    - took a nap
    - went drinking till 3 am (or bouncing, now that I moonlight)
    - watched Comedy Cent
    • tell us more about the druken Irish guys fighting please.

      I'm irish as well, and wanted to see what my kooky kinsmen are up to. ;)
  • sorry to repost, but I forgot to add ...

    "ps. Now you know why I only grocery shop at 3am Sunday night/Monday morning at Super Wal*Mart or Giant. No lines or other customers or interaction with people I'd just as soon kick in the groin rather than talk to."
  • U r0x3r. U'r so l33t it hu3ts my 3y3s. U'r n0t ub3r, u'r ub4r.

    Yup.
  • Don't care cause I write a Journal ;-)
  • Don't worry. The commoners just don't understand what it's like to be us.

    I find it interesting that you don't tell us your name, but you've told us your fiance's name. On the other hand, you could just be using a fake name. Whatever.

    Regarding the lady, I think that what may have bothered you is that you were stereotyped. Who wants to be perceived as a man that can't cook. Some might not mind avoiding cooking, but none of us wants to be perceived as a lazy man telling someone else what to do. I don't know
    • well, the reason I don't use my real name is because A) it doesn't mean anything, I mean, are you going to treat me different? And B) I don't want what I say about my company and other companies to come back to haunt me. Usually I have nothing to say about either, but every now and then.....

      As far as validation goes, I wasn't actually shooting for that. To be perfectly honest, if I wanted validation, there are a lot better ways to get it than in an online forum with a bunch of psuedo-anonymous people.
      • I was joking, as well, about the validation part. I really was. I'm surprised that it wasn't obvious, but I take responsibility for that. In other words, I'll try to make sure that my jokes are obvious, or not do it @ all.
        • Nah, I think my clue meter is pegged around 0 today.

          I got 3 hours of sleep and am going to be up all night again. Damned neighborhood dogs.

          Might be time to buy a paintball gun and make some canine "art"
          • I was thinking about you the whole time that I ate supper, which was just after I posted that message. I think that you are just having a tough time right now, with the wedding & whatever problems you face. I'm still going to be more careful. I'd like to mention though, that as upsetting as it may be for me, I'm not offended. I still think you're cool. Really.

            I remember when my brother was getting married. What a pain it was for everybody in my immediate family...

            In short, I don't know exactly what is
            • hey, thanks man.

              Eugene, you're allright in my book.

              yeah, times are kinda tough right now. But hey, whatever. Life is happening, and I don't want to miss it.

              Anyhow, I think my biggest problem is I read too fast. I might have missed the humor (like 3 times now, must be dense) and there's nothing to it.

              Don't worry if you feel you have offended me or anything, I promise you haven't...and, as always, if you do, I'll let you know, same as anyone else. ;)
  • Firstly, I read it all. Are you overreacting? Of course. Is it a bad thing? Hells no. Fuck the norms. More than once I've told annoying people talking to me that I had no interest in talking to them. Some people don't understand this, some do.

    And to answer to your stars....

    * - nope not a bit - its still lame.

    ** - Really, Silicon Jesus really *is* mine

    *** - Honestly, I don't see how fuckers can be taken in a bad way.

  • But A & B & C.

    Totally. Some people don't get the hint that their "friendliness" is not welcome here at this time. Frequently, those people are truly clueless- most likely suffering from Aspberger's syndrome. Sad, but I feel the prevelence of this disease is far worse than people imagine.

    When I think of Clueless wonders- I am reminded of a Nature trip I took. The guide said "now, This looks like a bamboo plant, but its actually not. Its a...." blah blah blah, he went on for about 5-10 minutes on
  • I really don't care what you do with your friends list, so long as I'm on it.

    Now, as for the shopaholic socializers -- I couldn't *stand* that when I lived down in ATL. And it wasn't just the people in line -- it was the friggin' cashiers as well! There wasa full blown conversation about everything I was buying.

    Now, not that I'm saying it's wrong to be social, but I wasn't raised to slow down the line talking about everything, lest you piss off some psycho 3 people back in line. I'm of the theory t

  • And, as the full spelling of "elite" is clearly not only 1337, it's even elite. Sort of a nerd-chic.

    Of course, you should still spell it "h4x0r". You have to ease into these things, or people will say you're Pretentious [despair.com].
  • I read that whole story with a grin on my face. People like that annoy me. If you're going to talk to me, keep an eye on my check-out process, because as soon as I grab my bags I'm outta there.

    As for my poll choice, I really don't know. I never write journal entries, mostly because I can't think of much interesting stuff to say. I usually just reply to others' JEs and posts. On one hand, I think one should pick his/her friends based on that person's posts (are they amusing, insightful, etc.), but on the oth

    • I think you should try, Patik....it would be an interesting process. You'd be surprised at what comes out when you scribble down thoughts randomly.
  • I only have a couple of friends that don't have JEs and they were on there when I was reading the articles (instead of JEs almost exclusively now).

    As for the talker, I'm okay chatting with people as long as it isn't holding someone up. Especially if that someone is me. If I am in the slow line and I bought a thousand items, go ahead and talk to me, but please don't discuss what I'm purchasing, that's rude. On the other hand, when in the express line the other day, I had a conversation at intentionally l

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Could have been worse... you could have been buying condoms... One never wants to hear "small" in a sentence that has ANYTHING to do with one's penis. :-)

        That reminds me, I was a gun store the other day and they had something called "Choke Tube Lube". The instructions on the bottle said, "Apply liberlly to choke tube to allow easy insertion and removal."

        For those of you reading who aren't familiar with guns, a choke tube is something you put in the muzzle of a shotgun to control how much the shot sprea

  • In answer to the poll: G) for a Good Idea. Posting your JEs for comments from Friends Only would make you an elitist (not 1337 , mind you) asshole.

    RE: the rant: You ain't from around here, air ya? Seriously, this is one of the things I love about the South, and your reaction is one of the reasons I'm glad I moved farther away from the city where people are just too damned busy all the time. Not to be mean, Em, but maybe you should, like, move to NYC or something. What does it really cost you to be friendl
    • No, actually, I am from all over. I was originally born in Texas. I've lived here for about 5 years though.

      As far as liking it, well, no I don't. There is a time and a place for polite conversation. The 10 items or less line in a grocery store after being held up by an inconsiderate bitch who wrote a check and had more than 10 items is not the place for it.

      Re: moving to NY city. I don't think so. I like where I am. Also, get out of the bed on the wrong side today did you? A little harsh I think eh?
      • OK OK OK. Before this escalates, I can see that you're feeling pretty grumpy right now, so I'll back off.

        I'm sorry that you were in a hurry and got frustrated at the grocery store not enforcing their 10 items or less/cash only rules. But the person to take it out on is NOT the simple-minded, well-intentioned lady in line behind you. Maybe she perceived that you were feeling impatient and was just trying to assuage you.

        Maybe next time, the more appropriate thing to do would be to go bitch out the store m
        • Well, enough about you, let's talk about me ;)

          My biggest problem today? Mother Nature and some canines next door.

          I am stuck working for the night shift guy here at work. This shift goes from 8pm to 8am. I have to work for him through saturday morning. I worked my normal day monday from 7am to 4pm, went to sleep, woke up and came here. Got home this morning at around 8:45 and tried to go to sleep. It started lightning like crazy and the thunder was intense. It sounded like it was literally outside m
          • Sorry the storm bothered your sleep. I was upstairs watching out the window at the trees whipping around like they were in a stormy ocean. It was pretty spectacular.

            And annoying neighbor dogs are just the pits. :-(

            I wasn't worried about pissing you off... too much. I can just understand why you're a crabby-appleton today, and that deserves some space.

            Oh, and any /.er who retorts you ('cept maybe for gmhowell, 'cause he's always good for a retort no matter what) for snuggling after sex is just jealous '
  • The friend/foe thing is just a personal tool. I briefly considered using both lists: one to mark people I want to check out for social interests and one for people I want to check out for technical interests. Some people take the foe/freak thing personally, though.

    Currently I'm interested in reading a lot of these 'social' journals, but only TL and Surak are tagged as friends since I can look at the "friends of friends" and pick out recent journals entries from there. (TL was the first interesting journal

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