Sitting on the Cactus

"The world is full of cactus, but we don't have to sit on it."--Will Foley

Good Sunday afternoon.  Weekend's almost over....again.  Why does it pass by so quickly.  This was not one of my better weekends...although it had started out as a great one.  I got to do a little shopping for myself and was feeling pretty good....until the cable guy came.

Our cable has been very bad lately; it's been hard to watch anything without the screen either freezing or going black.  Last time this happened it was due to the squirrels.  Yup, those little critters tore up my cable lines...so I figured they must have gotten at it again.  So I called for service, and it seems they sent their most miserable worker to my home.

The quote above says you don't have to sit on cactus, but sometimes you can't help it; you get thrown into it. I have to say this man was one of the most miserable people I've run into in a long time...and it is hard to believe that his job is working with the public.  His negative attitude started even before he stepped into the house.  I opened the door to let him in, and he just stood there.  I said very nicely, "Please, come it." and very nastily he responded, "I can't see."  Now, we keep the lights off because of the heat they emit...but my house was not in total darkness.  It was 4 pm in the afternoon.  But, what the heck, I turned the light on for him...and from then on it was nothing but one complaint after another...he went on such a tirade about everything..such a miserable attitude.  Just a few little incidents are below.  Now mind you, all this is being said in a nasty tone.

"It took me a whole hour to find out which line is yours."  Well, I didn't install it; blame your co-workers.

"This job is taking longer than I thought."  Well, aren't you getting paid for it?  I am sure you are not doing this out of the goodness of your heart.

Now, my cable box in the living room has a habit of rebooting itself, and every time he went near it, it rebooted...each time making him angrier and angrier. He was fuming when he took it out to put a new box in. Next, he has to install all new wires outside, and as he is coming into my house I hear him on the phone carrying on about "the job" to his boss, and his boss in the background trying to pacify him.  Well, I pay $170 a month for the services.  The service man should NOT have to be pacified.

"Your television must be broken."  I tell him the television will only go on if the cable is on.  He gives a sarcastic chuckle and says "What are you talking about.  Don't turn the cable box on.  I will be back."

Meanwhile, my son and I are pulling all my books out of the bookcase to check out the television...because HE has insisted that he fixed it and it should go on. The sweat is pouring off of us, and now we are starting to snap at each other.  Suddenly, the cable box says 'turn on' so my son turns it on.  Lo and behold, the television goes on...and after going through all that extra work.

Now he comes in, and he's mad.  "Who turned the cable on?"  Now, I am getting angry.  I reply in the same angry tone  "You told me that you want the television on.  Well, I told you it won't go on without the cable.  See it is on now."  He gives some angry retort to which I respond very, very sarcastically "I'm sorry that it is so hot, but fixing my cable is your job, and I pay for it in my monthly bill."

Needless to say, and to make a long story short, by the time he left, I had totally allowed him to rent space in my head.  My good feelings of the morning had swiftly gone downhill, and I  was fighting tears; I always cry when I am angry. My son and I were beginning to take snipes at each other but we later apologized to each other....realizing it had all rubbed off from him. All in all it was a bad day. And if I hadn't wanted my cable fixed so badly, I would have booted him right out of my house.  

Negative people.  They are like a black hole; they suck the joy right out of you.  Yesterday, I tried so hard to stay positive and remain strong, but his negativity totally drained me.  I was just as angry as he was.  Everything I had ever learned about dealing with negative people flew out the door, and I wasn't able to shield myself quick enough; and before I realize what was happening, the same dark aura that surrounded him, was now surrounding me...and it wasn't a very good feeling and actually took quite awhile to rid myself and my home of it. Of course, I did call to complain after he left and did get some money taken off my bill, but that did little to alleviate my wounded spirits.  A good smudging with sage was in order and that followed by a ritual bath by the light of a blue candle. By evening I and my home were once again back to normal.

You may ask, why did I not send him on his way?  Because we would have been left with nothing because everything was unhooked...and who knows when they would have sent someone else...but it also made me look at myself...how dependent we are on technology...how important it has become in our lives...that I would allow myself to be abused in my own home all for the sake of a television show and the internet.  I've really got to do some serious thinking on that one. Thanks for listening to me today.  





"Attitudes are contagious.  Are yours worth catching?"--Dennis and Wendy Mannering