WTF Wednesday

I recently remembered that I have kept my computer files from the last century somewhere on the hard drive and went looking.  I came upon a Letter to Nobody that I wrote in 1997 documenting an interesting encounter that I have since forgotten.

What surprises and delights me is that I sounded just as sarcastic, bitchy and “stabby” thirteen years ago. I have not changed one bit!

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Another just as delightful realization dawned on me: A letter to nobody yet with an imagined audience somewhere out there?  An innate, almost pathological need to (over) share, to tell my stories?  I guess I am destined to be a blogger all along. Or perhaps it’s the other way around: I should be grateful that blogging came along and saved me from a life in the joint from having stabbed someone. It was bound to happen if not for this.

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My Stories
June 25, 1997

As you all know, I have had several “interesting” experiences as an Asian woman in this country. But tonight I hit the jackpot. . . I thought I might share it with you all. I hope you “appreciate” this story as I do.

I went to Brookstone in the mall with my husband this evening. We were looking at different things and I wandered away from him. (My first mistake?) I was looking at a finger blood pressure measurement machine when the salesperson sneaked up from behind.

“I see, you are taking your own blood pressure,” he said.

I wasn’t interested in the gadget, so I didn’t respond to him.

“Do you not understand English? Are you with the man over there?” he said loudly and slowly.

So before he even heard me speak, he assumed that I did not understand English.

“Oh, man, I can’t believe this is happening.” I thought.

I tried to give him a good comeback. So I took a deep breath, sighed, without looking at him,

“No, I do NOT understand English.”

He laughed. Ha ha.

Now, most normal human beings would just take the hint and leave me alone, but not my salesperson. He continued,

“Oh, you do NOT understand English VERY WELL. Not only do you understand me fine, you also got the joke.”

I was wondering which part of his remarks could be the joke. I was also frustrated because he did not get MY “joke”.

“Are you looking at the electric toothbrush also?”

He took down one of the electric toothbrushes displayed on top of the blood pressure taker I was looking at and started explaining how the thing works. Again, I wasn’t really interested.

“Are you not understanding me? Do you understand enough English? Are you following me here?” he out of nowhere drew this conclusion about me.

I asked myself, “Is it because how I look? Is it because how I dress?”

I have to admit that he caught me offguard. I couldn’t believe that someone would say something like this out right to me. I was so surprised that I forgot to get offended.

Silence.

He kept on saying something else. I wasn’t listening. I was laughing. I turned to him with a smile,

“You know, right now I really feel like grabbing something and hitting you with it.”

I ended my line with more laughter.

“I’d better leave here now,” I said, not moving.

At this moment, my husband approached us and asked me what happened.

“Oh, I was just being too helpful and she said she wants to hit me with something,” the salesperson said with a laugh.

Then he turned to me and said, “I know how you feel.”

Do you really? I was thinking.

“I feel the same way whenever I go shopping,” he added.

So isn’t that curious? He feels like an Asian when he goes shopping!

Tagged as: can't bite my tongue, ignorant people exhaust me, sarcastic bitches rock, stereotypes, WTF Wednesday

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