Today I came home in the middle of the day between bus runs. I am expecting to get a really nice field trip tomorrow, so there was no need to do midday work today. If I do, I will go over 40 hours this week and that is a big no-no. Shortly after I got home, my roommate (who has a midday) surprised me by walking in the door. He had forgotten his cell phone, he told me, and needed to rush back to work. He did stop to ask why I hadn't taken a midday today, and I explained. The conversation didn't last more than 5 minutes.
After he had left, I went to the kitchen to get some toast and peanut butter (I realize that there is currently a peanut butter salmonella scare going on right now - ask me how much I care?) and when I took my jar out of the cupboard I was surprised to see a receipt taped to it. That's when I remembered a conversation my roommate and I had back in December. I had mentioned to him that I wanted to get a jar of peanut butter and he told me he was heading to Costco and would just buy the 2-pack they have there. Sounded great to me.
Of course I told him I would pay him back for he peanut butter, but it was one of those things that I don't think about on a regular basis. Of course I planned on paying him back, I just forgot. But rather than mention in passing (today perhaps?) that I still owed him for the peanut butter, my roommate simply taped a reminder to the jar.
Is it just me or is this petty? Is there a reason he couldn't have just mentioned it to me? I had some peanut butter last night and the receipt wasn't there, so obviously the $5 owed him has been on his mind recently. Why couldn't he just come to me and remind me verbally? Why stoop to the childish tactics that he usually does? The man is over 50 years old! Isn't it time for him to depart from his childish ways and fraking grow up? Is he afraid that I'm going to bite his head off because he dared to remind me I owe him five fraking dollars? It's not like I'm trying to welch on a $5 debt. I planned on paying him back, but I'm a human and I sometimes forget. I often forget. If he wants his money so badly (if the $5 really is keeping him from eating this month) why stoop to such a petty way of getting it back?
I guess I'm not one to talk. My response to his "subtle" message was to write him a check and tape it with the receipt to his jar of peanut butter. Could I hand him the check tonight when we're both home? Sure thing. But this seems much more fun to me.
1 comment:
It could just be that he doesn't like confrontation and it seemed easier to confront you with something when he wasn't there. The same reason that I find it easier to send some people an email about something than to call them up and talk about it... there's a bit more control in the non-personal contact.
But it is childish, or at least immature.
Post a Comment