Saturday, August 8, 2009

Losing My people Skills

I know... I know.... I said I wasn't going to blog on fridays or saturdays anymore.... but something occurred to me last night. Unfortunately, my night time meds kicked in before I could get it typed out. Luckily for all concerned, anyway. Typing with a head full of zanex is quite the adventure and reading it afterwards can be somewhat of a chore.

At any rate, young Vinnie stopped by the house last eve. He's been recently re-esingulated (CO speak for single again) and I suspect he was bored. The wife and I were just about to sit down to dinner and a movie. Push, it was. An odd movie, but not too bad. But they filled gaps in the plot with lots of too-loud music. Annoying.

Anyway, the wifeling had to keep reminding me "Ask him to sit down!" "Did you offer him something to drink?" and "Did you invite Vinnie to stay for dinner?"

Hell, I was just enjoying standing around and making bad jokes. The little social amenities were slipping by me. In my mind, Vinnie is one of the crew and therefore one of the family and if he wanted something he would either go get it or ask for it. It's part of that funny wiring in my head. Poor social skills and very bad fine motor skills.

Before I joined the DOC.. actually before we moved up here from that tackly little tourist town down south, we used to have company at the house all of the time. And I treated them the same way. If they were company, they were family (more or less) and they were expected to make themselves at home in my house.

But since moving up here and working at the prison and since the comings and goings of all of the foster children has subsided, we both have become less outgoing and more content to stay at home by ourselves and see very little of the outside world. Not that we mind company, you understand... Vinnie and the rest of the crew are always welcome here. And I think it does me good to have someone to talk to and be silly with now and then. As the wife said: "Listening to you two talk, I imagine that he's the kind of son you might have had."

Eeeeee.... It's somewhat frightening, even if it is somewhat true. I'm sure I would have warped a kid like that, had I been around his whole life. No offense, Big V, but it's true.

Luckily for me, I have found a niche in life that allows me to have poor people skills and still earn a paycheck.

7 comments:

  1. people skills are highly over-rated. Just be glad that you missed last nights train wreck. It was a doozy

    KP

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  2. KP- Oh, my. I can't wait to hear the details.

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  3. Move out to the middle of BF nowhere like us then NO ONE ever drops by unannounced. If a car does pull up in the driveway it's alarming, even if it's friends you have a while to flush out the hormone rush before you can be friendly.

    I can understand why people who really live out in the boondocks have loaded weapons close to hand.

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  4. I wasn't worried.
    I felt the same way.
    Stand, bad jokes, get what you want.
    I'm the same way, I don't introduce people most of the time, I forget and they end up intoducing themselves.
    One of those CO traits I guess.

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  5. I used to have people skills, too. Heck...I was a waitress (among other things). My paycheck depended on people skills. Thank God that's not true anymore. I deal with the public on the weekends during the summer and I find it EXTREMELY stressful. That's right...more stressful than walking into a wing full of murderers, rapists, gang-bangers, etc. That's screwed up!! Then again, I've always been more comfortable among the criminal element than the "norms".

    BTW, Rev, my house is the same way. If you want something, get it! Make yourself at home, put your feet up (move the cat first!). If you don't like something...THERE'S THE DOOR!!!

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  6. KP- Moving out to the boondocks has been a dream of mine for quite awhile now. Need a neighbor?

    Vinnie- Next time just come in, raid the fridge and flop down on the couch.

    Peggy Sue- I think I'm ruined as far as public service goes. I could be nice to random strangers for maybe five minutes and then I run out of smiles and inanities.

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  7. It seems the Boondocks are calling many of us. I too have been losing people skills, There for awhile I thought I could find them again, but I think they are just gone. I used to be a soldier, many of my friends died. many more wounded. So few people in the real world understand life and death. I believe that those in the hive and many in DOC do understand, it is an unspoken bond.

    So if any of you come visit me, well some one will probably have to tell me to to you to sit etc. but remember if you visiting we must have bonded, make yourself at home too.

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