Day Two - weeds among the roses...

Okay so here we are at Day Two.  Pretty much business as usual, and still in formative stages.  Homework that was assigned was dry enough to be considered worthy of it's own desert...but I did most of it.  Got a little chastized for expressing my distaste with the "redundancy" of it as the reason I chose not to do it all...but small price to pay for peace of mind.

And we still have weeds among the roses.  ~sigh~

We may be only on Day Two, but c'mon now...if you fuckers can't show up on time (if at all), then quit wastin' our time and yours and just drop the class.  Yea, we had some more slacker types again today that were conveniently the same ones from yesterday.  Now, had this been a JOB, it's almost a universal standard that tardiness on the first day is expected...but this is now Day Two, so either get your shit together or fuck right off.  Had this been a JOB, late two days in a row would likely be grounds for a "watch" to be placed on you immediately...and that is not good by any means.

I am NOT a morning person.  I'll be the FIRST to admit that, and was one of the great many reasons why I enjoyed working from home at my last job.  There was no commute, and no distance to travel, so I could sleep in a bit longer and such, but still be on time.  Now that I have to commute (at least for the next 8 weeks), it means I have to force myself to be a morning person for that time.  If *I* can do it, the rest of these asshats better play the same tune or J's gonna get himself right pissy.

When these slacker types came sauntering into the room, you could feel the energy get sucked right outta the class (or as my boy Pimp and I used to say, "busted my chi").  That is not only inconsiderate to the class and instructor, it's poor form if you expect any one of us to take you seriously as a future entrepeneur.  I mean seriously, if you can't bloody well show up on time to a CLASS, how the fuck am I gonna take you serious that you'd show up for a meeting...or other manner of appointment?  All they're really doing is demonstrating how little pride they have in themselves, and how little respect they have for the rest of us.

That makes me mad.

You wouldn't like me when I'm mad.

I figure if it happens again tomorrow, or even the day after, I plan to speak to the coordinator of the course personally and remind them that I plan to inform the Government (of which is sponsoring this course) that they are allowing slacker types to roam free with no discipline or follow up.  If you're just filling quota by saying that these people are to be attending, but they really aren't...then I'm sure the Government would take a dim view of the class being occupied by a bunch of mouth-breathers just so you can fill seats.  Like I said, you wouldn't like me when I'm mad...I get vengeful and downright ruthless if needs be.

The best part of today's class was after class in fact.  The instructor started a chat about goals, and who you can call on to assist you in achieving them.  She used the goal of weight loss (like 90% of women would), and went so far as to imply that if her significant other wouldn't agree to remove temptation from her sights, that he couldn't be relied on for support.

I waited til the end of the class to show her the burr that commentary left on my ass.

Only because I could personally relate.  I think it was early 2006 (I believe) and I was living with my ex fiancé.  She came into the living room one day and right outta nowhere decided to inform me that she was gonna be joining Jenny Craig to try and shed some pounds.  When I say outta the blue, I mean outta the blue.  There was no warning shot or conversations about weight that I can recall that would've been seen as a catalyst to this bombshell announcement.

Anyways, my asshole immediately puckered up after she dropped it on me.  Why?  'Cause that scenario is akin to "Honey, does this dress make me look fat?" that's why.  The FIRST thing that came outta my mouth was me telling her that I'd support her 100% if she could answer one question for me...

"Are you doing this for YOU, or are you doing this because you think or perceive that I gave you reason enough to believe I wanted you to?"

She told me after a short pause that she could give a fuck what *I* thought about it, and she was doing this because she was tired of sore knees, sore ankles, sore back, huffin' and puffin', and so on.  Okay, fair enough.  The LAST thing I wanted to hear was how I made her feel that I thought she should lose weight, and believe me for the next few days I had tried to go over every single conversation and email between us to see if there was any indication or reference I'd made to this effect.

Now, I told her I'd support her 100% and I fully meant it.  I wanted to be her moral support, and she was glad that I was supporting her decision.  She even asked me to make sure that if she starts to slip or sneak or cheat, to give her the "speech" to get her back in line.  Fair enough.

However, it wasn't long before there came a time that I was out on the couch, watching a movie or something, eating a cheesecake I had bought for myself (she couldn't have any) and she came out of the computer room to grab a drink.  She caught me on the couch, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen...I was just watching the flick and mindin' my business when all of a sudden she pops her head into the room and lays down an assault on me.

She freaked out because I was eating a cheesecake (and my 2nd or 3rd piece by this time), with a bag of chips on standby and a 2L of Pepsi to wash it all down with.  I choked on my cheesecake with the surprise attack.  She said I was an asshole because I was eating that "shit" and knew she couldn't have any, so what the fuck kinda fiancé am I and what kinda support is that to be offering her?!  She even started in with personal barbs like "Must be nice to have a high metabolism and be able to eat all the shit you want and stay perpetually thin!!"

Yea, she went there.

I was in shock for the most part.  How did I suddenly become a villain?  Why was I being attacked?  It's not like I walked into the room and made goo goo eyes and "mmm" sounds while I devoured the cake in front of her like a true asshole woulda.  I was eating in peace, and by myself outta sight...so why all of a sudden am I being jumped?  Naturally, I went into defensive mode and told her SHE was the one on a diet, not ME.  SHE wanted to lose weight, not ME.  SHE wanted to eat right, not ME.  Why should *I* suffer and have to give up MY treats just because YOU wanna lose weight?!

That's why I had a burr in my ass over the instructor's comments.  To me, the way she said it, and having a story I could relate to...implied directly that I was an uncaring and unreliable sonofabitch because *I* wouldn't quit eatin' junk shit because she had the willpower of a wet paper bag.  That I couldn't be "counted on" for any support.  I took that comment VERY personally.  If I agree to support you in your goal, I will...but not at MY expense.  If I have to change MY life because of YOUR goal, then all bets are off.  And even suggesting that my refusal to "adapt" makes me unreliable or uncaring was insulting and offensive.  I should have to eat my snacks like a refugee outside in the garage...or treat a trip to the fridge like a Special Ops mission because YOU have no fuckin' willpower?!

Get bent.

So needless to say, it created a great debate discussion that saw 3 of us engaged in.  She elaborated that, where goals are concerned, this is where most people will fail...be it a personal goal, or a business related one...when you personalize it and create imaginary lines whereby their acceptance or refusal to comply with your "needs" will make or break your end result...you FAIL.  Expecting others to make it easy as pie for you by removing ALL obstacles is where people fail themselves and their goals.  If you ask and someone refuses to comply because really, it's a "win-lose" scenario and not a "win-win" scenario, then you need to get Plan B in order in short form, and fast.  Don't go blaming the failure of your goal on anyone else just because they didn't make it easy as pie for you, and don't personalize it.

Good lesson to learn, and she has asked that I relay this story again tomorrow to the class so we can see what happens when others place too much emphasis on Plan A, and not enough on Plan B and the consequences that one may see once it gets personalized for any reason.

Should make for a good discussion.  Being only 1 of 4 males in the class, I expect to hear a lot of feminist claptrap about how "the man" is holding women down by not "helping" by stopping his junk food habits for "her".

Interesting day ahead, I suspect...