14 thoughts on “Catastrophic Expectations

  1. Dr.Fart

    the compliment one is not true. in the old days ol’ Farty could pay a lady a compliment and it would be gratiously received. These days, it’s met with disgust and disdain. I brought my daughter Millie and her friends to Stillorgan Bowl on Sunday and complimented one of her friends a few times and the atmosphere in the car grew toxic quiet quickly, and none of ol’ Farty’s charm could pull it around.

      1. Dr.Fart

        no no not at all, i simply said she had wonderful eyes and they reminded ol’ Farty of Jane Fonda. I don’t think she understoof the reference. Later I remarked that her skin looked incredibly well cared for, and that i’ve always admired the complexions of mixed race girls such as herself. no matter how charming i was it was not well received. and Millie was very angry with me and commented how thrilled she was to be living with her mother and not me. teenagers can be so cruel.

        1. Termagant

          I think your best parenting strategy at this point is to bully her on social media, try something related to body image insecurity

          1. Dr.Fart

            gosh i daren’t return to THAT place. cripes! Computers and I don’t mix. That was the beginning of the trail of breadcrumbs that led Kitty to some of my.. monogomy failings.

  2. Robert

    LOL I have experiences where nearly all of the “what you think happens” happened.

    The trick is to not let it bother you. Some people are just mean-spirited grass-holes.

    This kind of nonsense that tries to pretend it doesn’t happen, can only serve to further fuel anxiety when they do.

  3. millie vanilly strikes again

    As a young person, I remember genuinely not giving a flying fudge what people thought about me, I brought what I brought to the table, that if I was kind to others it would be revisited upon me. Youthful naivety, perhaps.

    Social anxiety came hand in hand with a severe dose of post natal depression in my mid-late twenties and while I have fully recovered from the PND, I have found the social anxiety almost impossible rid myself of. I fear I will never be free of it and I miss so badly the person I used to be, who didn’t second-guess almost every social interaction and find herself wanting.

    1. Paulus

      Unfortunately, many social contact/occasions can be littered with traps.Especially if they are connected with work or business, some perceived class structure, (God help us), or whether we simply feel outside the relevant group.
      By contrast; look how carefree we can be when interacting with a small child, or a friendly dog (assuming we’re not afraid of dogs). We know that the child or dog doesn’t have a hidden agenda – they are simply taking us at face value, without any preconceptions –  and we’ll generally react accordingly. 

      It’s one of the few advantages of getting older; you genuinely begin to care less and less about what others think – especially on trivial; matters…i.e. most things!
      You’ve reached a point where you know what works for you – and you go with that.
      Roll on the bus-pass eh.

    2. Bertie Theodore Alphege Blenkinsop

      I think you’re wonderful Mildred, the best internet wife a man could ever have. x

  4. Spaghetti Hoop

    ‘Her nerves are at her’ as anxiety used to be diagnosed. Prescribed with all sorts of highly-addictive medications too.

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