My sister-in-law once compared me to my brothers, saying that whilst they both had advanced degrees, I was ‘the smart one’. I sometimes wonder how she meant that.
In a class I took when I still had aspirations of being a radio broadcaster, I was told by my classmates that I had a ‘great voice for classical radio’. They meant it as an insult, as they were all trying to be shock-jocks. I took it as a compliment.
Sunday night, while at the bar watching the Bears win (how in the hell did THAT happen?) I made some comment to my husband - a friend of ours overheard and gave us a strange look. My husband just looked back at him and said, “She just ain’t right.” As in “right in the head” versus “not incorrect”. Works for me.
I was really touched to find an ex-colleague of mine had altered her facebook “how do you know this person?” about me from “We used to work together”, to:
“We used to work together. He made me laugh every single day from 2003 to 2005.”
Of course, that might have been “laugh at” not “laugh with”, but that’s good, too.
Another ex-colleague wrote:
“Jim is my encyclopedia of everything. He taught me my work and we’ve had some real good conversations on various topics.”
'Twas heartwarming.
Oh yeah?
You and whose fucking army pal?
Don’t make the mistake of thinking I don’t know where you live you useless blob of smegma.
Name the time and place, oh and which window did you have in mind?
Tart!
People have told me that I am ‘too nice’ and ‘a strong woman’. It took me a long time and a bunch of disappointment to be able to agree to either.
When I was in Junior High school I was a pretty solid student, and fairly nerdy, and acquiescent to authority. For some reason, a substitute teacher claimed I was a “rebel without a cause”.
Also around that time, a family friend told me he thought I was the type who would prefer driving a stick shift to auto transmission.
Both of these were things I never would have thought about myself, but both led to introspection and had influence on my later years…
I was crabbing to my mom about my dad being too closed-minded (“He doesn’t really hate gays, does he? Does he really hate blacks? I don’t believe him…”) and my mom told me I was quite empathetic towards people who were “different” because I grew up as a fat person, thus being different myself.
I told her that was interesting, and possibly true but I played the “actually, being kind to others is just the Christian thing to do, isn’t it?” card instead.
It’s interesting to talk to my mom anymore.
My brother told me I had tact: the ability to tell somebody to go to hell and have them feel good about it.
A friend once told me that when I try to be quiet in a group, I just look sullen.
She was right.
LOL, I keep being told by customers (in voices that indicate they mean it as insulting) that I am “very efficient.” Somehow, I just don’t take offense at it. It’s a compliment. I smile and say “Thanks!” each time I hear it. Is there really any reason to see “efficient” as an insult???
Better than being told you have a face for radio!
Even this is a stretch of the imagination, but maybe they were expecting warm and fuzzy? shrug maybe they were all hyper and ready to be angry about something and you didn’t let them take it all out on you.
Yeah, I dunno… I’ve never seen ‘efficient’ as an insult, although I’ve heard it used as one. What’s wrong with being efficient?
My mom took me to Borders for my birthday. I picked out a few graphic novels. She told me to pick out more. While I was trying to decide, she flipped through what I had.
When I came back, she said I had a lot in common with Spider Jerusalem (from Transmetropolitan).
I only protested to keep her from being frightened.
My glamazon roomate in university told me that when she first met me, she was totally intimidated because I seemed so quiet at first, but once I opened my mouth something razor-sharp and intelligent and pithy would come flying out.
I’m still secretly smug of the fact that I (a small bookwormish philosophy major) intimidated the glamazon (a 6’ tall former model studying opera). Smirk.
I’m not very athletically talented, but I am pretty intense when it comes to competition. When I play something, I push myself pretty hard to become at least competitive at it. So among the athletically average, most of whom take competition a little more leisurely than I do, I tend to win a lot eventually.
In college I had a racquetball class with a friend from my dorm. He had played the game before, and I had not, so he was looking forward to whipping on me a bit after I had already beaten him in pool, table tennis, Scrabble, basketball, etc. But within a few weeks, I started beating him soundly.
Him: Man, you win at everything…
Me: I, uh…well, thanks man…
Him: …except relaxing.
So true.
A friend of mine once described me on Friendster:
“If [she] was a Simpsons character, she’d be the Reverend Lovejoy’s daughter, Jessica.”
sniff that was so sweet of him…
Also a school teacher once wrote that I do have difficulty working and playing with others.
Not that effective, apparently! 
Really? Because I don’t think I could jam those three things into one character trait with a shoehorn the size of Nevada. What did he mean, exactly?
I just found out that a recently deceased, beloved aunt of mine referred to me as lazy.
I think this is because I only have a bachelor’s degree and didn’t continue my schooling long enough to become a neurosurgeon or college professor specializing in 12th century Flemish basket weaving or something. That side of the family was very into advanced degrees. (Excuse me for being satisfied with a well-paying job in a growing, personally satisfying industry, with a wife, a kid and a nice house :rolleyes: )
I have had several people tell me they were intimidated by me when they first met me. I guess I am as intimidating as only a short, quiet, slightly-built nonathletic middle-aged shy guy can be 