Saturday, July 12, 2008
Excuse Me...
It's amazing how those two little words can make all the difference. If said with proper eye contact and a smile, they could get you into Fort Knox. But on Thursday, people only needed to say it in order to squeeze by me in a crowded department store. No such luck.
All told, four separate people waited for me or tried to schlunk past me in the aisles of the men's clothing and toy areas, without even a peep. Just impatient glares. One old man was even shoving me with his cart, wanting to get to the belts and hats (in an area too small for his cart, I might add). How rude. A simple, "excuse me", would have solved everything. I would have turned to see him behind me and politely made more room for him by scrunching myself into the racks of men's Speedos until his ramming-speed cart made it past (only to get himself stuck in the too-small area and being forced to make impossible u-turn maneuvers).
If it hadn't been 4 different people within a span of about 5 minutes not using the universally known, "pardon me" or "excuse me" (in conjunction with a genuine smile), I probably wouldn't be blogging this. Anyways, next time you're trying to get past someone in order to grab the last pair of pom-pom socks on the shelf, be polite and say "excuse me". You'll be surprised at how far that gets you, and how less irritated those around you will become.
In other news, with the high price of fuel, I'm working on some money-saving tips for everyone:
- Drive fast so that you reach your destination sooner (less time on the road equals less fuel being consumed)
- Shave the hair on your left arm (lowers wind resistance when you put your arm out the window)
- Don't pay for gas (this is self-explanatory)
- Inflate your tires to their proper levels, and deflate everyone else's
- Organize the hostile takeover of a multinational oil company (then drive, drive, drive!)
More to come as I test each and every piece of money-saving advice for you in advance....
All told, four separate people waited for me or tried to schlunk past me in the aisles of the men's clothing and toy areas, without even a peep. Just impatient glares. One old man was even shoving me with his cart, wanting to get to the belts and hats (in an area too small for his cart, I might add). How rude. A simple, "excuse me", would have solved everything. I would have turned to see him behind me and politely made more room for him by scrunching myself into the racks of men's Speedos until his ramming-speed cart made it past (only to get himself stuck in the too-small area and being forced to make impossible u-turn maneuvers).
If it hadn't been 4 different people within a span of about 5 minutes not using the universally known, "pardon me" or "excuse me" (in conjunction with a genuine smile), I probably wouldn't be blogging this. Anyways, next time you're trying to get past someone in order to grab the last pair of pom-pom socks on the shelf, be polite and say "excuse me". You'll be surprised at how far that gets you, and how less irritated those around you will become.
In other news, with the high price of fuel, I'm working on some money-saving tips for everyone:
- Drive fast so that you reach your destination sooner (less time on the road equals less fuel being consumed)
- Shave the hair on your left arm (lowers wind resistance when you put your arm out the window)
- Don't pay for gas (this is self-explanatory)
- Inflate your tires to their proper levels, and deflate everyone else's
- Organize the hostile takeover of a multinational oil company (then drive, drive, drive!)
More to come as I test each and every piece of money-saving advice for you in advance....
