Perceptions

Sometimes I wonder about people. Do certain people say things to others....having no idea just how they sound? Are they deliberately negative and condescending to everyone.....or just certain ones? Yesterday was kind of interesting when it came to my interactions with other people. And let us keep in mind....that it might not have been them.....it might actually have been me and my take on what was said to me. I am not sure.

My first encounter was with a blogger acquaintance of mine. I am sure she will not read this, because apparently in her eyes, my blog is not really blog reading worthy! If she does....well then maybe she will have an idea of how I really felt during our conversation yesterday. When discussing blogs she let me know in no uncertain terms that she has read my blog once but finds it really pretty unreadable. She only likes to read blogs by REAL bloggers and real bloggers are individuals whose blogs have 1000+ posts and 10,000+ reads. Mine was far from that and from her viewpoint.....not very interesting at all! Hmmmm! As I kindly (I am actually pretty sure there was no kindness involved and she was fairly aware how much she irritated me) pointed out to her.....every blog starts somewhere.  You have to build a fan base and you have to plug away at it daily to get 1000+ posts. I'll eventually get there.....or I won't, but every time I sit down to blog...I am a real blogger. Now a real writer? That could be a different story. The bottom line is though.....why be so snarky to me? I am thinking....if you don't like my work.....don't read it! It is just that simple.....and I really don't remember asking her for a critique of my work, but I guess the old saying...Everyone is a critic.....is true. Ahhhh well. Moving on.....

My next experience was with a family member who shall remain nameless, but if you know me at all or have followed my blogs (which according to Miss Snarky Pants up above....few do) you may have some inkling who I am referring to. Here is the conversation I had with this family member:
Family member: How are you doing on your diet?
Me:  It's not a diet. Its a lifestyle change and I am doing fine.
FM: Well....have you lost any weight?
Me: Yes! I lost 3 pounds last week and 4.2 pounds this week.
FM: Hmph! Well how did you do that?
Me: I am on Weight Watchers and I follow their plan and then I work out.
FM: Isn't that WW a gimmick ? Don't you have to spend a fortune on their food? You don't have money to be wasting on that kind of $^&#.
Me: No. You are thinking of Nutri-System or Jenny Craig. With WW you just buy normal food like fruits and veggies at the grocery store and you eat within a points system.
FM: Don't you have to go to meetings?
Me: You don't have to do anything, but they do offer weekly meetings which I do attend. They help to keep me accountable and on track.
FM: Doesn't that cost money?
Me: Yes....there is a weekly fee.
FM: That is ridiculous. You should just get some will power and cut back on what you eat. You don't need to be spending all that money to lose weight. If you had just had some will power in the first place you would never have gotten so big.
Me: Ummm.....okay.
FM: Well you said you are doing exercise. What kind of exercise?
Me: I work out at the gym and do various things but I do a lot on the elliptical. I try to work out an hour a day at least 4 x per week.
FM: So how long do you work out on the elliptical for?
Me: It varies. Some days 30 min. and some days an hour. It just depends on what else I am doing during the work out.
FM: An hour on the elliptical? That is ridiculous! No one works out an hour on a machine. You need to be doing squats and sit-ups and walking. You need to do something that will get rid of you @$$. Have you seen your @$$?
Me: No! Thankfully it is behind me and that is a view I seldom get. As for the elliptical.....it seems to be working, so as ridiculous as it may seem....I think I will stick with it.
FM: Hmph! Well...I gotta go. You better get off you @$$ and go do something. Your not losing any weight sitting here talking to me.
Me: Ummmm....yeah. Good-bye!

And as I hung up the phone.......I screamed! Because of who this individual is....I feel I must show a modicum of respect, but I wanted to go thru the phone and smack him. Why so negative? I knew about 3 sentences in, nothing I could do or say was going to make this a positive experience....so I just had to go with it. Oy!

And finally....while on fb last night....discussing people going after Sarah Palin's little boy Trig on a fb friends wall, one of his fb friends messaged me. He is apparently a staunch liberal whom I guess felt he was doing me a favor by letting me know the error of my ways as a conservative. He told me that he accepted conservatives and their faulty thinking simply because they don't  realize what followers they (apparently meaning me) are. We have blindly followed everyone from Jesus Christ to Ronald Reagan and we mistakenly believe that we can do things on our own without the help of the government. He then went on to let me know that the problem with conservatives is they want to base everything on morality....and morality is subjective. There is no true good or no true bad. It is only when we try to categorize and label things that morality comes into play and everyone's view of right and wrong is different. REALLY? I was so stunned at his condescending belief that I was just a little lamb blindly following and that my morality was getting in the way of common sense. And really....there is no true right or wrong? Honestly.....I had no words. I as yet have not replied to this load of thick headed condescension....but I am sure before the day is out.....I will find words....plenty of words, and he will be getting a nice little message back.

I just don't get people sometimes. Again I wonder....do they not realize how they come off to others? Do they not care? Or do they simply use words as weapons? I am thinking the latter. Oh and remember when I said above that maybe it wasn't really them but simply how I perceived what they were saying. Well NO! After going back and reading all of this. It was THEM! Totally them and my perceptions were pretty much dead on!

Well....since Your Photo Here is over I wondered what I would do to take it's place and I have decided....for at least a while, I will end my blog with a video. Just another way to learn all about Lisa.

In light of my interactions yesterday with just about everyone. I dedicate this video to all of them. From Glee:  Loser Like Me

Hope you have a fantastic Saturday!