I"M NOT ON PROZAC YOU IDIOT!!!!!!

So here's my theory on why people have such poor communication skills these days. People sit in a box, type on a box and put their brain in a box. Let's review. You sit in your box as in cubicle, apartment or bedroom and type on your box like your laptop or your smart phone and you....... well you put your brain in a box! Which means you have trouble apologizing, you don't like being held accountable, you can't notice how someone is reacting to your words and you don't end things well. No apologies, no resolutions, no learning, no improvement and no hugs. Now this isn't aimed just at you! It's aimed at all of us. And that means the people that hurt YOU! Think about it, if you feel it's acceptable to send a text to your soon to be former boss that says "I quit" because it's so much easier for you then that person you are dating, (you know the one you can't stop thinking about and you've told all your friends about), they are allowed to send you a text that says "I'm breaking up with you!" If you insist on having everyone love you on FaceTwit, then be prepared to feel all warm and cozy with a "virtual hug" after you announce your doggy died.

Alright let me try to put a positive Prozac spin on this. Email and texting are so convenient and save us so much time that we now have much more time to exercise, maintain our professional and romantic relationships and look after our financial investments right? Afterall isn't obesity down in this country? Divorce rates are declining and people are retiring at earlier ages, right? Oh wait, lol, I was watching an 80's rerun of The Cosby Show! (mmmm Lisa Bonet!) What set off this rant you ask? Lol, several things.

First was an episode I witnessed in Vegas. Yes I know, it's Vegas what did I expect? But I had to get involved. You see a drunk homeless woman decided to interrupt every one's morning swim by diving into the Golden Nugget Hotel pool and and refusing to leave after security politely asked her to exit the pool. So instead of yanking the piece of crap out of the pool, they actually made all the other paying guests get out of the pool so they could safely remove the homeless drunk! I was sitting at least 30 feet away from the commotion enjoying a book and a beer so I was oblivious to the "situation". However my friends alerted me to what was going on and I blew a gasket! I walked up to the portly little security guard and said "If you don't pull that fat piece of shit out of this pool right now, I will!" He slowly leered over his sunglasses at me and said with a slight Prozac drawl, "Son, the police are on their way. Let us handle this." I raised my voice and hollered, "You are sending the wrong message to people! You made innocent families, paying guests and little kids get out of the pool but you leave this piece of crap in it?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" This time he stared at me with his Prozac glare and mumbled "You need to calm down."....... thirty seconds later the cops arrived. Have you ever been justifiably upset about something and had some one tell you "Calm down!"? It's got to be the single worst thing anyone can say to someone that is justifiably upset. It only makes you more upset!I walked away shaking my head in disgust while the foolish guests snapped pictures of the loch ness drunk and pointed and sneered. Entertaining I guess. But I'm not on Prozac. Not long after my return to civilization, I had the intense displeasure of dealing with some cubicle cretins. One told me via email (since it's so much easier to be mean and insensitive via email) that she forgot to keep her promise to send out purchased goods to one of my customers and that I needed to be more patient and understanding. Hmmm waiting 4 weeks for something that normally takes 2 weeks, 24 hours earlier you promised to send out the product and I need to be more patient and understanding? I replied with "I'm now going to use my patience and understanding to waste 3 hours of my day driving out to pick up and hand deliver the merchandise to the customer!" And I'm not even on Prozac. Less than a week later I had more intense displeasure in dealing with this person's supervisor or as I like to call them "Stupidvisors". With a 5 pm deadline approaching I relayed instructions pertaining to a special event via email at 4:40 pm. Cutting it a little close? Maybe. But this person's response at 6 pm when it was too late to make any changes is what completely outraged me. She emailed "I don't have time to check my emails starting at 4 o'clock. You should have called me live. Besides I'm almost never at my desk." That is her exact quote! Ok, easy target here :-) ! Since I'm not on Prozac I sent an email to 3 of the top managers involved with this project. I simply wrote "Number one, if this person is going to set her own deadline as to when she stops reading and replying to emails, she should send out that warning beforehand. (pretty easy to do actually since emails can be set up to autoreply with such stupid and selfish messages) Secondly, she said I should have called her but also stated she is hardly ever at her desk so how did she plan on answering her phone anyway? (we aren't talking about a person that provides her cell number) And lastly who is she to set her own email cutoff times?" Turns out it did some good! The following day she sent an email to me (copying all 3 managers that I contacted) full of excuses but an apology as well! See, it helps to skip the Prozac and speak your mind!

The moral of the story: It's ok to get upset, talk with your hands, raise your voice, occasionally swear and stand up for yourself even at the risk of offending someone! It's called passion and passion my friends is a good thing!