If you are a topper, nothing will get your blood boiling like some guy that knows somebody that did some thing way cooler than what you just talked about. Or people that have to be brutally honest and point out the faults of every person they've ever met, REALLY don't appreciate having their own faults highlighted. My lone fault, (I'm practically a saint) is that instead of complaining, when life is hectic and I am overwhelmed, I bravely, stoically... sigh. In the manliest way possible of course. My own semi-silent protest against the crushing minutia of life. Practically nothing, really.
And then yesterday I had a customer who started sighing the moment I walked into her house. She was upset about a multitude of small offenses. The electrician was late, sigh, she had to get to her office, sigh, she didn't bring her air scrubber, sigh, underneath the fridge was filthy, sigh, walking to the front door, sigh, standing up, sigh, sitting down, sigh, sighing, sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh. ARGH!
Each sigh was a pin prick. And then a paper cut. And then she was stabbing me in the throat. Holy crap! It wasn't a victimless crime, it was akin to genocide. My minor foible transformed into a slathering vicious monster right in front of me. I totally would have punched her in the throat to get her to stop, but I couldn't bear the resulting sigh.
So beware. If you meet anybody that shares your faults, you should just run. Or kill them. Unless there are witnesses.
