Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Will you be my psychiatrist?

Apparently I fell harder than I thought because my right shoulder and elbow started hurting this morning.

Okay, here is the situation. It snowed again last night. Roads are pretty nasty still. I slid a lot but managed to stay parallel to the road most of the time. A car in front of me did not, and slid sideways for what felt like 30 seconds, but in reality was probably closer to 10 seconds. So, by the time I get to the Meijers parking lot, I'm already a bit on the emotionally fragile side. I'm not a fan of driving and driving in snow is below going to the dentist on my favorite things list.

I pulled into a parking space, but the guy in front of me had pulled so far forward, that I was still sticking out into the aisle quite a bit. It is understandable though since no one can see lines and the aisle are wide enough for 2 cars to comfortably pass. I see someone come up to my van, he glares straight at me and then proceeds to mumble and mutter on his way to the aforementioned car in front of me. I open my door and hearing him saying something about idiots. At this point, I had that little adrenaline rush and decided to have a chat with him. :)

"Excuse me, can I ask what exactly I did wrong?"
"Your way out in the lane."
"Well, I couldn't exactly pull forward with your car there."
"I didn't think anyone else would be parking here."

I see. No one else parks in parking lots, huh? At this point I said, "Have a nice day," and I moved my van to the opposite side of the aisle and down a little.

This is what I know: I didn't move my van because I hate thinking someone called me an idiot. Couldn't care less what he thinks.

This is what I don't know: Why did I move the van?

Option 1: Perhaps to avoid confrontation, which would be befitting my Hartman's "white" personality. But if I were trying to avoid confrontation, I would have moved without chatting with him first, right?

Option 2: I did it to make him feel guilty that a) he parked bad which caused me to park bad or b) he was a jerk about it.

Option 3: I'm pretty sure it isn't because I'm a nice person trying to restore his faith in humanity.

Option 4: Perhaps a clenched teeth attempt at humility and avoiding pride?

Any other guesses? I'm thinking option 2 or 4, with a slight lean towards 4... I don't really know why it matters to me why I did it. I think it bothers me that I don't understand my own actions or what was going on in my head as it spun a mile a minute.

Now is the part where you share your wisdom and insight, or click away from this page shaking your head and thinking, "Wow, she is more crazy than I thought!"

9 chocolate lovers:

Anonymous said...

Option 2! Pick option 2, m' lady!

Unknown said...

I think 2 b.

coxandroberts said...

B! He was a jerk! I am not shaking my head over you moving but shaking my head at him. So no one else is allowed to park if he is there? I think people here are the rudest people I have ever been around. He is no different. The only nice people I have met are those that are from the west or from church. What a sad way to be.

Nata-Leigh (Lubbock's Mom) said...

You moved it because you didn't want to have another car hit it when you were in the aisle. It had nothing to do with him and good for you for saying something to him. He's the only person allowed at Meijers on a snowy day? I didn't get that memo.

Missy said...

I can't expect to accurately guess your motivation if you can't, but if it were me, it would have more than likely been #2, both out of irritation at the jerk and to show him I thought he was a jerk. That will be $220 please. :p

Cindy said...

Everything I know about you...says we are pretty similar....kudos to you for having the guts to confront him...and doing it in such a way as to hopefully make him think about the way he treats people in the future...unfortunatley he sounds like one of the millions of chronically unhappy people who are still allowed to roam this earth. The saddest part about these chronically unhappy people is that even a confrontation...like you had...won't ruffle his feathers. He forgot about you before you even started speaking...you on the other hand will reanalyze the entire event over and over to see how things could have worked out differently....i.e. how suddenly he could have had a change of heart and like the Grinches heart growing 3 three sizes that you could have seen a physical change in his countenance. You, like most mom's...are a natural fixer....your kids come home with a problem...you help them fix it....you hear that a neighbor needs help....you fix it. Sadly...chronically unhappy people can not be fixed....they just get to run around making the rest of our lives miserable when they somehow find a way under our skin. My bet is that you moved your car to bring some validity to your argument of his irrationality. Sorry this was so long....it was threapeutic for me to understand more about those unhappy people...maybe next time I meet one I won't let them under my skin. Good luck!

Mariel said...

I love your background. Fun blog!

www.oneshetwoshe.blogspot.com

nicole said...

You're hilarious! I think you handled the situation great. You were assertive, but not aggressive. Way to go!

Victoria :) said...

Let's not over think the situation. (Or is it too late for that)? :) It was obviously 2b. You and I still have quite a bit in common after all these years you know.