I'm Mean...

Sarcasm is something that I think may just be ingrained in my DNA, but it doesn't mean that I don't want to back off a little bit. One of these days, it's going to get me in trouble at work...

The older I get, the less patience I have for brainlessness. If we lose power at the tv station and are broadcasting black, it's certainly an issue. It's my job to monitor what's on air, so at this point I'll be scrambling to fix the problem and someone from the newsroom will inevitably will call up to ask if I know that we're off the air and whether they can get an explanation as to what the problem is. Despite all the things that I want to say, the nastiest I've ever gotten is, "Yes I know we're off the air, and I could work on getting it fixed much more efficiently if I didn't have to answer the phone." That one was enough to get me a slap on the wrist (there was an admission that I was correct conceptually, just a warning to watch what I say). Ah, but to dream of what I could say if there was no threat of repercussion...

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Someone that I work with got her hair cut recently. It was a dramatic change, and noticeable to anyone. But she came down with a project that we'd needed a half-hour earlier, saying "Sorry...I was just getting so many compliments on my hair that I couldn't get away." I was a bit annoyed with the vanity, so I decided to bite my lip, take the project from her, and get to work. Later, she came back with another bit of work that needed to be done and spent all her time flipping her hair back and forth, obviously looking for a reaction. I continued to bite my lip (although I think I was starting to taste blood, as hard as I was biting it). She came back a third time, this time bringing down a picture of some celeb with a similar hairstyle, asking how favorably her style compared with the celebrity. I looked up at her with as blank a look as I could find and said, "You look different. Did you change something?" She stormed out, muttering something under her breath and hasn't mentioned it to me since.

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I'm going to need to grow facial hair for the summer community theater show that I'm doing, so I'm working on a goatee at the moment in hopes that the costumer will like it and let me go with a facial hair style that I like. It's been going for a little over a week, so it's definitely not filled in but it's quite obviously there, especially since the sides of my face are shaved. Someone in all earnestness asked me, "Are you trying to grow a goatee?" I responded, "No, my 5:00 shadow starts in the middle of my face and spreads toward the sides." That got a laugh and sheepish, "Yeah, that was a stupid question."

I should be a bit more political at work. I should cut the sarcasm back a bit. But sometimes the words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. Fortunately, I've known my audience...so far. But I need to make sure, whether or not the sarcasm is part of my DNA, that it tones itself down a bit at times.