Monday Mayhem

The day started out pretty good.  The fog has finally lifted and I feel like a ton of weight is off my shoulders.  Funny how heavy the fog and dense clouds seem to the human psyche.  Plus, there's a goodly breeze finally which is freshening the stagnant air, too.

So, when I opened all the blinds this morning, I couldn't resist taking a mini-video of the valley.  Course, you can't see the ridges and shadings and the real beauty of the mountains in the distance, but still.  Also, try to ignore the sniffing noises.  It was about 20* with the wind chill and I was standing out on the back deck in a tee shirt, jeans and my slippers.  Took about 12 seconds for my nose to start running.

After breakfast, shower, etc., I took the dogs to the big county park (the one I mention in the video).  We haven't gone for awhile, mainly because they have the Festival of Lights there until the New Year and it's a bit hard to walk the dogs through the light displays, let alone all the electrical cables and wires.  This morning though, I felt like doing something different besides the usual park in town, and it was a good choice.  We were the only ones there in the whole entire park,which is massive, so we meandered around to our hearts' content.  It was really, really cold though, walking along the river, and I was halfway to hypothermia by the time we got back to the car.  Definitely runny nose weather.

So far so good.  I drop the dogs back at the house and go back down the mountain to do some quick shopping.  The women up here are getting together on Friday morning for a candy, cookie, whatever deal.  I'm taking those Needhams I made a week or so ago and put in the freezer.  I can only hope people don't fall into diabetic comas over the sweetness.  Anyway.  I wanted those little paper cup things--like you get in a box of chocolates--so popped into Michael's.  Yippee, they had a huge selection.

And here's where my lovely morning goes all to hell.  And why I would just love to forget Christmas.  Or live on top of a mountain and never have to deal with humanity.  Oh.  Wait.  That one I'm doing.

I find the baking section.  I am alone in the aisle (a pertinent thing to keep in mind).  As I'm going down the row, looking at all the choices of candy wrappers, this woman comes around the corner and begins looking at the wrappers as well.  She stops right in front of the wrappers I want and though I was there first, and it's obvious I have been heading directly to the spot she is now blocking, she makes no effort to move, or be courteous, and in fact acts put out that I'm standing next to her.  As I am at least a foot taller, I carefully reach out and snag a package--a package I might add that is two feet above and beyond where she is standing. 

She abruptly steps back and snarks, "I don't appreciate being shoved out of the way!"

I blink, turn, and look up and down the aisle.  Surely she is NOT speaking to me.  Oops.  Apparently, she is.  "Sorry," I say, "but I didn't touch you."  And I start to walk away to pay for my wrappers.

"You shoved me out of your way!"

Well, crap.  I wish I could just let this kind of nutso stuff go, but dammit, I haven't done anything except pluck a little packet off a bloody rack!!  I stop. "I most certainly did not shove you," I say calmly.  "That would have required touching you," and now, through gritted teeth,  "and since I didn't touch you, there's no way I could have shoved you!!" 

She stomps away.  Okay then.  I take a breath, shake my head, wonder what makes people so crazy just because it's Christmas.  As I walk toward the end of the aisle, she flies around the corner and gets right in my face.  "The least you could do is apologize for shoving me!"

OMG..!!!!!

Now, I should mention here that I have a temper; I always have, though the more "grown up" I get, the better I am at not losing said temper.  This woman has been sent by Satan to test me.  I look at her.  I really look at her.  I give her what Jan (my BFF) calls my Death Ray look, but instead of going off like the Roman Candle I want to be, I suck it in and say pleasantly (albeit again through my teeth), "Have a Merry Christmas," and attempt to walk past her.

She sputters, then blocks my path and hisses (no, really, hisses like Voldemort), "You have no right to shove people."

Blink, blink.  Blood pressure rising.  Nanosecond visual in my head is a fist to her nose, when she drops I stomp on her, then---Okay, okay, don't go there.  Get a grip.  For some reason this woman has lost the plot.  Sigh.  As I am bigger, badder, and at least a foot taller, I forge ahead, walk past her, and as I get to the end of the aisle, I turn and say, "You really need to check the attitude before someone really does shove you."  Her turn to blink.

I walk to the cashier, pay for my $2.00's worth of candy wrappers, and head for my car.  The whole way home I'm aggravated by this woman.  Now, here I am, two hours later, still aggravated by this woman.  Why is it that these kinds of situations/people stick with us longer than kind, decent, nice situations/people??

I hope she has an instant karma moment somewhere along the line today.  She deserves it.  All I wanted were my frigging candy wrappers, not an altercation with a Christmas fruit cake.

Bah humbug.