Miss Manners on acid

As I grow older I recoginze that my parents were right. SHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Don't tell them I said that. Sadly, they were right about most things and one of the things that they were right about is that kids have no respect these days. If it was true then, it's even more true now. Everywhere go I'm surrounded by kids and teenagers who are just rude and inconsiderate. It's an epidemic. But that's not really what this post is about. This post is about taking manners so far that it borders on absurd.

I called someone tonight. Her daughter answered the phone and at first I was very impressed by her phone manners.

Child: "Hello, you've reached the _____ residence." (Nice, huh? Perhaps a little stuffy but very polite.)

Me: "Hello, is ________ there?" (Maybe not the best question to ask but I find it usually gets the job done.)

Child: "Yes she is. Would you like to speak with her?"

Me: ...Pause... "Yes, please."

And all the while I'm waiting for her to come to the phone, I'm thinking... "Would I like to speak with her? No. I just called to check that she was there. (Said in my best sarcastic voice.) "Of course I want to talk to her! That's why I called!"

I'm all for phone manners but to me, it was just all too much. I have no doubt that the little darling was poised with a pen and message pad in hand before she picked up. I can't decide whether she would make a better secretary or answering machine. Yup, that's good manners gone a little to far, if you ask me.

I know. You didn't ask.

I've been neglecting my alter ego.

I've been neglecting my alter ego. I don't even remember the last time I posted to this blog. I could go back and check but that would be a bigger waste of time than posting to this blog. I've been neglecting The Rant Suit because there really hasn't been that much to rant about lately.

*Anybody who knows me knows that is a total LIE. I always have something to rant about. It's an ugly personality flaw. *

Let's just say that I've been trying to be a little more positive lately. I'm trying to see the good in things and concentrate on that instead of the things that annoy me. There are so many. It's harder to find the good things. At least for me. I recently caught up with an old friend and read her blog. Her gift amazed me. She was able to take the most mundane, ordinary, annoying things and turn them into learning and growing experiences, happy thoughts and inspiration.

I wish that were me.

But we celebrate the little milestones anyway. Today I read my relation's blog and chose not to put a comment on it. That may seem small but she put up a glowing movie review on a movie that I thought was boring with a capital B. She's not the kind of person you can disagree with so I chose to not injure her sensibilities or damage our relationship, which is tentative at best, and I didn't comment. It about killed me.

I'm not all the way there yet though. Another relation just had a baby and chose a simply ridiculous name for the child. I told her that she was going to spend a lot of time trying to comfort her child after he was beat up at school.

See. I'm not as good as I should be.