A coworker’s husband left on a road trip and called her at work to say he was leaving her because he wanted to spend more time with his friends.
They’re actually still together. And he’s still that much of a dick.
Dunno if this is close enough in style or not, but I was at a meeting and mentioned I was having back surgery the next day, and one of the people there told me that a mutual acquaintance had recently had unsuccessful back surgery that left him in such pain he shot and killed himself.
Of course, it could have functioned as a warning, I guess.
Not so much in the “now” department but still.
Ran into an old coworker. We both had worked with another older guy. Great guy, damn smart, funny, helpful, down to earth. It was an honor to work with him.
So, I get this report “I don’t know if you heard but Dr. Smith died of X a few years ago. I went to the hospital to see him shortly before he died. Gawd did he look TERRIBLE!”
Dude, its bad enough that you are telling me news you know I won’t enjoy hearing, but hey news is news. The extra details aren’t adding anything positive.
Okay you know what? For all the people that are calling me a “snowflake” and saying I had no right to be a little upset (actually, I was more bewildered) that they sprung their stolen laptop on me in the limo on my way to get married…
YES GODDAMNIT the Bride SHOULD be sheltered from all sorts of shit on her way to the freakin’ altar. They could have told me when it happened. They could have told me the following day. They could have told me that goddamn morning when I saw them at breakfast. They could have fucking waited until after the damn ceremony, or until dinner, or until after dinner, or until the next goddamn day, or until we freakin’ got home. I, as the bride, or any bride for that matter, in my dress and shoes and tiara and bouquet, in a freakin’ limo, DID NOT need to be suddenly told the shitty thing that happened to my parents TWO DAYS EARLIER. In my humble opinion, YES the bride DOES get to be a “snowflake” on that ONE GODDAMN DAY of her life. ANY BRIDE, ANYWHERE.
Thankfully, like I said, it was the only tiny blip in an otherwise perfect and wonderful wedding.
/rant
Carry on, please, with your similar stories. Thank you.
As much as I hate the bride/snowflake/bridzilla thing I’ll agree with you that there is no reason for a bride to not have a special day within reason. And that goes for the groom. Or your birthday celebration. Or the day you got the big promotion. Or the day you graduated. Or when you are on vacation. Or a bunch of other times.
Seriously, you downer people out there, if the news is bad and the person you are telling it to can’t do a damn thing about it, if its a “special” day then the bad news will keep a day or two.
I feel really bad that your parents just don’t seem to love you enough to make everything about you. I can see how that’s very frustrating.
Seriously. People who think their parents should be excited and/or happy about attending their wedding are jerks. Why does everything have to be about you, OP?! I suppose next you’ll tell me that when you were a child you expected your parents to give you gifts on your birthday. That’s just the kind of person I bet you are.
People. Honestly.
I dunno. While I hope my mom is excited about my upcoming wedding, if she isn’t I can’t really blame her for that. It’s not her fault if it’s less than the ultimate thrill. I’ve never been particularly thrilled about anyone else’s wedding, (or my first for that matter).
I can understand being disappointed if others didn’t enjoy something as much as I’d hoped they would. I think the danger is in letting that disappointment turn to resentment.
You seem meh on weddings in general. While that’s fine and I sympathize to an extent, I hope you can understand that some people are considerably more excited about them and that in fact this is somewhat expected, particularly from immediate family members? Or if not excitement, then at least something a little better than “grudging participation.”
I mean, I eloped in Vegas, with no family in attendance, but I think I’d have felt somewhat miffed if I told my mom about it afterward and her reaction was “Oh, really? That’s nice. Did I tell you my laptop got stolen two days ago?” (Which actually seems like something my mom would say, now that I look at it…)
Oh yeah, I worked in a bridal store. I was impatient with the concept before then, and horrified after.
Well, sure. I don’t like grudging participation. I greatly prefer if people simply don’t do things they’d rather not do.
One of my bfs broke up with me on the phone, when I was at work. Imagine having a conversation like that with all your coworkers within earshot.
My first husband threw a surprise birthday party for me, and then in the midst of my birthday party, told me he wanted a divorce.
I think that announcement could have waited for a day or so.
Having something stolen is a horrible feeling - it’s extremely personal. When you plan a vacation (think of all the shit that goes into your vacation) and have one of your most personal or expensive gadgets stolen, it’s upsetting. I mean, you’d be upset if you went on your honeymoon and your laptop was stolen, right? Or if your dress got ruined at the drycleaners and you were super upset about it, your husband may be like, “Uh…aren’t you marrying me and not a dress?”
So I think they were traumatized and not handling it well. If something is stolen from me, I am EXTREMELY upset. That’s just a gross violation.
Ah, that reminds me. I was thirteen and had just gotten back from a trip to China with my parents. I hadn’t seen my friends in two weeks. So I call up my best friend and was like, “Anything good happen? Any juicy gossip, anyone die?”
“Well, actually, yes.”
“…Huh?”
“Amanda died in a car accident.”
//awkward.
I wondered if she was feeling glum about the theft, then got herself all worried that you’d think there was some more personal reason she wasn’t in super-happy-wedding mode so she blurted out the reason by way of an explanation for her mood, heard herself and realized the bride didn’t need to hear that on her way to the alter and clammed up again before she got to the “… and that’s why I’m a little down in the dumps” part of the explanation.
But that works better on the day of the theft, not two days after it.
You know, it’s not even an issue of brides being special snowflakes. You just don’t blurt out irrelevant bad news at someone in the midst of a special, positive occasion, or any occasion wherein someone’s emotional energy and personal concentration doesn’t need to be on your issue. There was nothing the bride could do about the laptop, so she didn’t need to know, not then. It was rude and insensitive.
It was no more appropriate than complaining about your cat being at the vet in the middle of an important business meeting or talking about your hemorrhoids during family dinner.
No, it was actually very sappy and depressing. “Our dear friend, blah blah blah… terrible tragedy, blah blah blah… *let’s all pray *blah blah blah…”
Sure, it was a tragedy. The news could have waited till after the reception.
I agree, but remember who the audience is for this thread. This is Doperland, where people who voluntarily wear anything more grand than dirty jeans and concert shirts from the '80s are snobs obsessed with their appearance to the detriment of personal relationships. And also where people who don’t gobble down food they’ve never seen before and ask for thirds ten seconds later are spoiled rotten picky eaters who don’t appreciate their circumstances. Somewhere in there it was decided that weddings are not supposed to be important to anyone, not even the bride and groom. So Soylent is a bridezilla for wanting five minutes of tranquility on the way to her ceremony. If she was a decent person, she would have insisted that her stepmother tell her every detail about the theft, even if it meant SM was still talking during the vows.
Yeah, no kidding. Why compound it by ruining what was left of a meaningful day. That’s a shame.
Yeah, but the left occurred days earlier. I would argue that even if happened that morning it would have been better to have waited, but after 2 days or so, wait 12 hours longer.
Similar to ChefGuy’s story. Shortly before my son got married, he called to talk about wedding plans. He lives in Seattle, I’m in Iowa. He tells me “my share” of wedding expenses is $1,000. I’m sorta surprised (doesn’t the bride’s family pay?) and he knows I’m not flush, but I think okay, this is the kid who moved out right after high school and has never asked for anything. I’m also thinking $1,000 for a small wedding being held in the bride’s parents yard? Anyway, I take out a loan and send him the money.
Fly to Seattle for the wedding, and son says both families are having dinner at a local restaurant. I’m there with my other two sons and my daughter. Bride’s family is there – bride, mom, dad, two sisters and their boyfriends. Waiter brings the check and son hands it to me. Bride’s parents are a UW prof and an accountant. They live in a family compound (think The Godfather) in the Seattle 'burbs. The bill is over $300. I’ve just shelled out $1K plus plane fare (and the bridesmaid’s dress my daughter wore).
I put it on a credit card and wondered if there was some wedding etiguette lesson I’d never learned. Is the groom’s family supposed to host the bride’s family? I’m okay with that, but it would have been nice if son had told me in advance that I’d be paying.