Aggravation
I got my period this week, which explains why I snapped at people Tues and Wed. But it didn’t come with its usual “wow, I think I should kill myself” introduction (or at least, not a serious one — I can’t believe I can rank the levels of premenstrual suicidal ideation), so I didn’t expect it, even though it’s exactly on schedule.
In other irritable person news, I overheard some woman yelling at someone on the phone. Apparently the person (guy, I think) had ditched her without notice, and she explained that it was ok if he called to let her know beforehand (I would agree, for reasonable amounts of beforehand, where reasonable is not “well, I tried to call you 45 minutes before but you didn’t pick up your cell”), but no one could screw her over twice! She’d forgive him this time, but no one screws her over twice! It’s ok if you have to cancel, but don’t screw her over, because no one does that twice!
She was wrong, though. This guy could totally make plans with her and blow her off, screwing her over twice. He wouldn’t, one presumes, have a chance to do it three times.
January 18th, 2008 at 1:24 am
“Wow, I think I should kill myself” is exactly right and yes, I’d be very startled to begin a period without that.
If she’s putting it that way right out of the gate, I’m willing to bet the guy has at LEAST 46 more opportunities to screw her over.
January 18th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Your post reminded me of a bumper sticker I saw. “I have a period and a gun. Any questions?”
January 18th, 2008 at 10:07 am
She must have read the same cell-phone etiquette article I saw a few years back, about the horror of people thinking they can just not show up when someone is waiting for them in a public place, or be really late, because they can call to tell the person. Anyway, one woman in that article had the same policy as this woman professes: on first offense, give a clear warning. On second offense, drop the person.
My pre-period mood (when not controlled by artificial hormones) is “We have no-no-no-nothing in co-o-o-mon.”
January 18th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
See, I had the “wow, I ought to kill myself!” thought, but not the deep level of “and this is how and when and where”, so it was comparatively non-noticeable.
I don’t think he could do it 46 times, because she was so irritating on the phone that he would kill her well before this.
That said, in general I agree with her. You give adequate notice if you need to cancel. (Obviously I exclude emergencies.) And being late really sucks, though I’ve determined that my ability to be on time is 100% determined by mood. Good mood = early. Bad mood = late. Which is awesome, as then I feel even worse about myself for being late.
Seeking Solace — a period, a gun, and driving a very heavy vehicle. We should all be glad we’re not quite as irrational as we think we are every month.