An obnoxious and an uninvited IN-LAW dropped by the house this Christmas afternoon unannounced with half-a-dozen or so individuals in tow. How I consider this person as such won't be discussed here for that would take another blog or two entirely. My relatives were surprised how she got wind of our gathering and how she was able to get hold of our new address, but being "in the zone" because of THE SEASON, welcomed and accorded to her common courtesy extending the same to her entourage, no matter how much of a distraction and an inconvenience she brought along with her on their sudden appearance.
Adding insult to injury, the phone rang and I was the unlucky one who picked the phone up. After I recited my standard phone greeting I got a woman on the other end who brusquely asked me who I am. I calmly said, "I beg your pardon, but you are the calling party and it's only polite that I be the first to ask who is calling." She firmly said that she got two (2) missed calls on her Cell Phone which registered our home number so she was prompted to return the call. This she said with neither apology nor a semblance of civility.
Keeping my cool, I politely pointed out to the caller that she should have stated her purpose when returning a call to an unknown phone number then identified herself or vice versa. Beating her to the punch before she can issue a rebuttal, I immediately asked the caller again to whom am I speaking with. She gave me her name almost in a shouting manner followed by a blunt "At sino ka ba? (And who are you?). Still keeping cool and not knowing who she was, I repeated the caller's name out loud for anyone in the room to hear. The obnoxious in-law said that it's her sister on the line and that the call was hers. She stood from where she sat and half ran towards me, she then yanked the phone from my hand without even waiting for me to hand the device over to her nor even giving any hint of a thank you as she turned her back on me and proceeded to attend to her call. For a few seconds, I swear you could've heard a pin drop as it bounces end from end due to the abrupt silence that ensued. My relatives present know full well that I openly loathe the woman even to her face for her uncalled for animosity towards me and against the family. Some of them covertly feel the way I do, some even worse than loathing and the remainder doesn't give a hoot about her at all. All of them though, at that instant, was anticipating for me to blow my top and to give her a full military style dressing-down right then and there. Thinking of Christmas and what the season stands for and much to my relatives relief, I disappointed them all when I decided to glide out of the room without uttering a single word nor a hint of agitation. In my head though I was thinking and screaming, HOW UTTERLY UTTERLY RUDE! -- FIRST: Crashing a party with entourage in tow. SECOND: Using the phone and dialing a DDD number without permission and THIRD: Getting one of the hosts to pick up a call from an equally obnoxious sister sounding ala The Queen of Sheba having a bad PMS day. Apples doesn't fall far from the tree nor from each other indeed.
Adding insult to injury, the phone rang and I was the unlucky one who picked the phone up. After I recited my standard phone greeting I got a woman on the other end who brusquely asked me who I am. I calmly said, "I beg your pardon, but you are the calling party and it's only polite that I be the first to ask who is calling." She firmly said that she got two (2) missed calls on her Cell Phone which registered our home number so she was prompted to return the call. This she said with neither apology nor a semblance of civility.
Keeping my cool, I politely pointed out to the caller that she should have stated her purpose when returning a call to an unknown phone number then identified herself or vice versa. Beating her to the punch before she can issue a rebuttal, I immediately asked the caller again to whom am I speaking with. She gave me her name almost in a shouting manner followed by a blunt "At sino ka ba? (And who are you?). Still keeping cool and not knowing who she was, I repeated the caller's name out loud for anyone in the room to hear. The obnoxious in-law said that it's her sister on the line and that the call was hers. She stood from where she sat and half ran towards me, she then yanked the phone from my hand without even waiting for me to hand the device over to her nor even giving any hint of a thank you as she turned her back on me and proceeded to attend to her call. For a few seconds, I swear you could've heard a pin drop as it bounces end from end due to the abrupt silence that ensued. My relatives present know full well that I openly loathe the woman even to her face for her uncalled for animosity towards me and against the family. Some of them covertly feel the way I do, some even worse than loathing and the remainder doesn't give a hoot about her at all. All of them though, at that instant, was anticipating for me to blow my top and to give her a full military style dressing-down right then and there. Thinking of Christmas and what the season stands for and much to my relatives relief, I disappointed them all when I decided to glide out of the room without uttering a single word nor a hint of agitation. In my head though I was thinking and screaming, HOW UTTERLY UTTERLY RUDE! -- FIRST: Crashing a party with entourage in tow. SECOND: Using the phone and dialing a DDD number without permission and THIRD: Getting one of the hosts to pick up a call from an equally obnoxious sister sounding ala The Queen of Sheba having a bad PMS day. Apples doesn't fall far from the tree nor from each other indeed.
Thankfully, she and her entourage left early. You might say it's the Christmas season. One should forgive and forget in honor of Him the real reason for the season and in accordance with civil tradition. My fellow pedestrians believe me when I say that with her, I tried, and I am trying still. But when I am on the verge of letting go, she has this uncanny ability and rough timing of circumventing and trying my limits, that of which causes me to end up belaying the decision to grant her full and unconditional redress. Some people just have the knack of creeping into your nerves no matter how much you try to purge ill-will from your system. Anyone care to agree or disagree?
REMINDERS TO SELF: 1. INSTALL an Access Code to prevent free access to NDD and DDD outgoing phone calls. 2. POLITELY ask a rude caller to dial again or call at a later time and to entertain the call only until such time the caller realizes to keep his/her phone etiquette in check. 3. ALWAYS keep in mind that PATIENCE is a virtue. 4. TAKE THE HIGH ROAD and add a sprinkle of UNDERSTANDING when facing any untoward situation. 5. Add to this list that may induce personal positivity as the need and/or situation arises.
What an awkward treat this was for me to close our Christmas Day Celebrations. I just hope that I would be able to keep myself in the zone and won't be THE FIREWORK if she gets wind of ANOTHER get together we planned after she and her party left come NEW YEAR, January 1, 2013.
NR - 12252012
NR - 12252012
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