Oblivion

I'm sure we all know "those people." The kind that do something that everyone else notices, yet they are totally oblivious. B was my second blind date from Craigslist. The first was a kind lawyer, but he had one glaring fault. He was a spit sprayer. We weren't sitting particularly close since we were on a first date, but repeatedly my face got wet while he was talking. I can't imagine that no one had ever told him that it was disgusting to be spit on when someone was talking to you. He just seemed clueless that he was even doing it. Needless to say, that squashed any chance of a second date (and he was fairly boring to boot).

There are also those kind of people that never take fault for their role in anything. There is a woman at work like that. I've been warned never to work with her because she always blames someone else for her screw-ups, even if is painfully clear that she was the instigator of the problem. She is well-known for making other work staff cry. I find it hard to believe she doesn't know about her reputation, but she either doesn't care or (wait for it), blames it on others.

Finally, there are those people that love to create drama where there is none. I'm not sure if their lives are boring or what, but it can be exhausting. When I sold my house in NY, the buyer was overly dramatic. She threatened to pull out of the deal ON.THE.DAY.OF.CLOSING because she noticed a missing window lock (that had been missing all along). It was this huge drama, which I easily settled by going to Home Depot and spending a whopping 45 cents for a new lock. I screwed it in in about 30 seconds. Was she even aware of how silly she looked over a 45 cent lock?

Maybe we all need to remember that it is helpful to step outside of ourselves often, and see how things appear to others. Maybe the spitter would keep his fluids to himself. Maybe the mean co-worker would realize she's hurting herself and others, and she would choose to be more kind. Maybe the buyer of my house would realize that 45 cents isn't worth causing 2 realtors to get in an uproar about losing a deal. Maybe my in-laws would realize that judging B based on my words is ridiculous, and it isn't helping to mend any fences - in fact it is creating irreparable gaping holes in the fence (hello - I know you're all reading). Maybe not being oblivious to several honest, heartfelt conversations would be a great start.

One can only hope. And, almost 5 years later, I do wonder if the spitter has ever found a woman. He told me on that date that NONE of the men in his family with an advanced degree were married. Of course, I couldn't help but wonder if they were a family of spitters :)