It would seem that I’m a whore to other peoples emotions.
Since quitting my job a year ago, I rarely wake up in bad moods anymore. I tend to wake up nowaday’s and feel pretty positive. Hormones tend to take me in a different direction every once in awhile, but for the most part, I feel good!
Yesterday was no different, I woke up and I felt good. I got my husband off to work, and even he was in a pretty good mood (he is so not a morning person, whereas I am). I made my coffee, I ate my breakfast, I watched my morning shows. Things were good.
I went to take my shower so that I could start getting ready for my day, and I guess that’s where things started to go downhill. The shower was good, I love showers. I get the water as hot as I can stand it and I stand there and let it beat on my back (I have lower back issues that may be inherited or it could just be the lifestyle that I have lived). I don’t wash my hair everyday, but I do straighten it. If it isn’t a day to wash my hair, I use a flat iron to straighten my hair into submission, so that was plugged in and heating up.
I got my make up on, I got dressed and was going back into the bathroom to do my hair when the phone rang. So, I check the caller ID and see that it’s a friend of mine (name being withheld because I don’t know how often or even if she Googles her friends names to see if they’re talking about her) so I choose to answer the phone.
Big mistake.
She’s in a bad mood, and says as much when I answer the phone. I think “Oh great” but withhold comments because she just needs to vent. I’m quiet and I guess people tend to take that to mean “sounding-board.” Usually this doens’t bother me, but I’m already worried about the snow on the ground from the night before, and we know how I feel about snow.
So, she starts to bitch and moan and I guess I finally had enough. I made up a reason to hang up with her, because I’m starting to feel even more agitated because she was complaining about other people’s ability to drive in the snow. I start to complain about what I have ahead of me for the day because now I feel the need to complain a little. As I’m hanging up with her she has the nerve to say to me “Well, aren’t you in a bad mood?”
Tell. me. she. is. kidding!
At this point I head into the bathroom to finish the beauty torture trials ritual, only to find out that the flat iron that I just got for Christmas isn’t hot. Hmm, weird. The power is on, the heat is up to the right temperature and it’s been heating up for about 20-30 minutes. Fantastic, this means that it’s dead. So, now I have to spray down my hair so that I can blow dry it into the correct style. Should have just washed it.*
What’s funny is, if I hadn’t answered the phone to listen to her bad mood, I would have taken the dead flat iron in stride. It wouldn’t have been an issue. But, because it happend after someone who puts me in a bad mood, tells me I’m in a bad mood…I turned into the Incredible Hulk.
Yeah, Hulk smash flat iron.
I’m feeling much better today though.
*It should be noted that I have red colored hair. Any hairdresser will tell you that red is the hardest color to maintain, therefore I don’t wash it everyday. Even wetting it down with a spray bottle tends to make the color run and fade.
I just had a conversation with someone yesterday who espoused the theory that people fit into two categories: rocks and sponges. It would be so great to be a rock, but I too am a sponge. I can walk into a room and take on the feelings before a word is even spoken. It sucks! The phone is the worst, especially when you’re home and people assume you’re available for psychotherapy sessions at a moment’s notice. Suddenly the day is practically over and you feel like shit!
Her comment to you about being in a bad mood — PRICELESS!
Yeah, I thought that was great too. Unfortunately this happend pretty early in the day. It was before noon, I remember that much.
I’m hoping this was just a bad day for her and not a routine habit. If so, perhaps you should consider charging.
Personally, you couldn’t pay me to go back to listening to problems everyday. I left the social work profession for a reason!
I wish I could say that this was a rare occurence, but she tends to call me up every time she has some kind of drama. I don’t want to be misunderstood here; I have no issues letting my friends vent to me. I get it. We all need to share, but when she told me I was in a bad mood, I just about lost it!
Oh yeah, red hair is very hard to maintain .. that’s why i do it myself instead of paying out the ass for someone else to do it ..
And your “friend”? Psh, whatever is what I think. I’d be watching the caller ID the next time she calls .. and I wouldn’t answer the phone.
She’s been my friend for so long that usually her moods don’t get to me. I remember when her moods would bother me all of the time, and then all of a sudden one day they didn’t. I think (looking back on it now) that a lot of it was that I have stuff going on in my life and I try not to burden people with my moods and worries. So, when I don’t do that I tend to just sort of explode. It didn’t help that she told me that I was in a bad mood when I did finally let off some of the steam.