A Rant and A Story

What's wrong with people nowadays anyway?! Why are they so negative and so insecure that they feel the need to put other people down all the time? It's like everytime you tell them something positive, they have to turn around and make it a negative thing. Bastards!

For example; last year when my brother got promoted, I went and told everyone, "Hey, guess what? My brother just got promoted!" So there I was, all psyched up and really happy for my brother, and then someone had to say pointedly, "That's great! So when are *you* gonna get promoted?"

Excuse me! We were both working the same account under his name, that's why he got promoted and I didn't, but that is so not the point! Even if I really was a no-good, useless person who would never get promoted, is this the response you would give to a friend? I mean, honestly, what the heck are they trying to say anyway? If I really was useless and you wanted me to buck up and work harder, is that any way to tell me?

More recently, when I showed the song that Lone and I wrote to some people, and I asked them, "So, how do you like it?" And their answer? "Well, the lyrics could've been better." Um...yeah, I know that. I mentioned that I didn't work as hard on the lyrics as I could have. And it's not that I can't take criticism when it's constructive, honest, and well-meaning, but when they criticise just for the sake of putting me down... Why?? Seriously?!

It's not a big deal, and it's not the worst criticism I've ever gotten. I mean, if all a person say is it could've been better, I'd consider myself lucky. But it's really not what they said, it's the way they said it. And it's the personal history I have with said person, they keep looking for faults in every simple, innocent, mundane thing I do! And you can actually hear the disappointment in their voice when they can't find anything bad to say about me! So this isn't the only case, but it's the easiest for me to illustrate here.

Still another example; Valentine's morning after... "Oh, guess what? My darling gave me (insert expensive gift here) and (another expensive gift) and (another expensive gift) and (another!) and (another still!)..." (Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little.) And then they ask, "So what did *your* bf give you for Valentine's?"

Obviously, at this point I was already a little annoyed, but I answered anyway.

"Books," I said.

"Books??!" Incredulous look. "He gave you *books* for Valentine's day? That's sooooo not romantic!"

Grrrr.....*smoke coming out of ears* It's romantic and meaningful to me! And books are a whole lot more valuable to me than a bunch of flowers that are going to die in a few days anyway, or diamonds that have absolutely no use at all except ruining clothes and injuring me(there's a story here that I may tell later)! But I wouldn't expect shallow bastards like them to understand that. So I just said, "Well, I wanted books, so I told him to get them for me."

"Ok...so where are the books?"

Why? Would you be able to read the letters written on them? Hmphh!

"They're not here yet."

"Huh? Valentine's over, and the books are still not here?"

"Yeah, we ordered them through Amazon, (you computer-illiterate moron) coz it's cheaper."

"Oh... *cheap*er."

Yes, *cheap*er. Jerk.

Did I mention that I hate the whole commercialism of Christmas? Well, that goes for Valentine's too! One Valentine's dinner out last year, and that's it for me. *My* darling and I spent Valentine's night creating a simple homecooked dinner together, and we had our Valentine's dinner at Hard Rock the Friday before. So we're cheap. Well, at least we're smarter than all those people who spend all their money on unnessary things like flowers and diamonds just keep their gf's insecurities at bay, and who probably have so much money to spend because they don't put any in their savings at all. Blek!

Do I sound bitter? =P

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with buying your gf gifts and flowers or whatever, if that's what she wants and you can afford it. But if they think that the world revolves around them getting flowers and gifts for Valentine's, and all hell breaks loose if they don't get any, then maybe you should think about getting a less materialistic and insecure gf.

And if you're a girl and you think that it's pathetic that my bf's giving me books, because I specifically asked him not to waste money on flowers which prices are jacked-up damn freaking high for Valentine's day, and use the money instead to buy something which I really want and gives me knowledge and makes me as *not you* as possible, well then, I feel sorry for you, because you obviously have a sad life that hasn't any meaning at all except for all the material goods surrounding you.

So lalala....

I'm going to enjoy reading my books when your flowers are already in the trash, and your diamond's doing nothing but looking pretty on your finger.

The story I said I was going to tell about diamonds, btw:

I've got two diamond rings, whatever karats, I don't know, I don't care, but they're small, coz I won't wear big ones. I don't like diamonds, and I don't like rings. My dad got me the first one, he practically forced it on me. I was at the jeweller with him looking for something for mom, and he saw a diamond ring he wanted me to have(as an effort to make me more *girly*). I told him, don't buy the ring, just give me how much it's worth and I'll go shopping for books instead.

Sighz... He said no. It's the diamond or nothing. =(

My world is crazy, btw, other fathers are so desperate to get their kids to read more books and spend less money on useless stuff, like diamonds!

Fine, a diamond is better than nothing, who knows, I might be able to sell it one day and buy my books after all. So he got me the diamond, and it spent the next few years wrecking a lot of my fragile clothes while I was putting them on. They always set diamonds jutting out of the rings, I don't know why, and I don't know how people with huge diamonds handle them.

But anyway, I got used to it and just went around with the ring on my finger everyday, until one day I realized that the diamond wasn't on the ring anymore! It got loose from the setting! And I didn't even realize it, I don't know how long I lost it before I noticed. Fine, whatever. I didn't care much for it anyway.

So that's money down the drain. Imagine if I had bought my books instead! I'd still have them, or at least the knowledge from them. Sighz...

The other diamond ring was a gift from an ex. I don't remember for what occasion, it might have been Valentine's. Anyway, it was sweet of him, but this ring did almost everything the last one did. Which is to say, nothing but ruin my clothes, except this one did worse. It actually, -this is true, I swear- took a whole chunk of my skin out of my finger one day when I was just going about my business. A whole chunk! And the chunk stuck to the ring and was still there after I did all my cursing and swearing at the agonizing pain!

There's still a red raw mark on my finger where the ring took a chunk out of it. So I'm giving up on diamonds, they're nothing but trouble. Trust me, books are the best thing anyone can give me. Better yet, give me the money and I'll get the books myself, coz I won't just read any book.

Sighz...maybe I'm just not meant to wear diamonds. I'll never be a girly girl. =P