I just don't get it. I have been around long enough to think that I've seen it all, but this one has me quite confused.

People claim to be your friend. They claim to know you and want to see you happy. Then it comes down to the wire. You make a decision for your own life, and instantly you're the bad guy. As far as you're aware, you've done nothing wrong. This is where it gets confusing though: Everything you do offends the other person - this "friend" - and they hate you for all you're worth.

I've had more than a few cases of this as of late, and I just don't get it. I do understand that my friends have feelings and they will be sad to see me leave the area. I don't understand why they think I'm just tossing 'em to the curb and that I have no feelings towards the matter at all.

Am I sad to be leaving this area? A little.
Will I miss my friends around here? Heck yeah I will!
But am I looking forward to the new adventures? If I weren't, I wouldn't be taking them on.
Okay, okay... Am I at all nervous or scared? All of the above.
Then why am I doing it? Because I feel it is a necessary step in my life. I have been given the opportunity of a lifetime, and I feel I will hate myself forever if I don't at least give it a shot.

I understand that people have had suggestions to keep me around here. While I appreciate it, the suggestions that have been offered do not necessarily place me where I want to be in my career or life. It's not that I hate this area or the people here; there just isn't much more here for me.

Please, don't hate me. I've done nothing wrong.

People who drive SUVs and trucks just completely aggravate me to no end. Today, I got behind people in both types of vehicles who would dodge the slightest bump in the road, or drive really slowly over a bit of a rough patch, even though they are driving vehicles with enhanced suspension systems.

Yeah, I know. It sounds stupid and even a bit whiny, but I'm getting a bit tired of it. People seem to think that being a complete and utter jerk and treating me like less than crap is a good way to make them look good. I don't know if they think they're being funny, or if they're just too blind to see that they're being jerk-like, but it's getting rather old.

I'm not the coolest person in the world. I'm not the smartest, or most pop-savvy, but I am just as much of a person with feelings as they are.

What am I to do? Shrug it off? Dish it back at them? Call them out in front of everyone and risk looking like a cry-baby?

Here's a situation for you:

You have a married couple next door, and a married couple downstairs. They frequently argue and fight, sometimes so loud that you have to turn up the television (at 11:30PM) to keep from hearing them.

Do you:

a. Just put up with it
b. Confront them directly
c. Confront the landlord
d. Confront law enforcement personnel

It's just a hypothetical situation...

...that is going to make it hard for me to sleep tonight...

This message is for anyone who has pissed me off today:

Chill out. You are all more uptight than I am and you can't take a stupid joke. I tolerate your "jokes" of the same nature all the time, and you have never seen me retaliate as you have towards me today. I don't know what has everyone so on-edge today, but it needs to stop.

This is EXACTLY why my day has sucked so far.

So every night around 7:00, this jerk on a loud motorcycle rides by and revs it up really high right outside my apartment. Tonight, he went by right when I was trying to hear something on the TV, and I missed what was said.

I've decided that I want to get a paintball gun, and hide out on my balcony with it for the next time he comes around, disturbing my peace.

Very little needs to be said about this, except:

1. Boston: You're stupid.
2. WTF?!

I'm sure you've seen this, if not experienced it.

You're sitting in the drive through at McDonald's, waiting for your order to be filled. In the parking lot, a group of young "adults" exits a car. They begin to offer conversation to their buddy, working inside at the drive through window. Statements such as, "Flip those burgers!", "Hey, can I get free food?!", and the like all are offered up as topics of conversation.

Normally, a good employee at such a place will shrug it off and let the cronies walk past. Other times, though, the employee will respond, and join in with the juvenile torments.

Something similar happened to me today at work. A former employee was utilizing the services of the car wash. He tried to start a conversation with me, when he was about 50 feet away from where I was, and even though I had a customer in the shop who I was tending to.

I was the responsible employee and just ignored it.

I just happened to catch the start of today's NASCAR race at Dover. I have to say, I feel violated.

They had Brooke Hogan, "Hulk" Hogan's daughter, sing the National Anthem. When it got to the rest after "...o'er the land of the free...", the crowd cheered. Being the spoiled rich brat, center of pop culture she thinks she is, she got that look of, "They love me!" on her face, smiled really big, and chuckled.

Who says that the crowd was cheering for her? What's to say that they weren't cheering because they are elated to be in a free country?

I just hate stuck up snobs. Sorry.

On my way back home this afternoon, I stopped in at the local Chinese restaurant to get some carry-out food. When I walked in, there was an old man standing at the counter, ordering. After he placed his order, he said something along the lines of, "So I hear China is going to war with the U.S. Or is the U.S. going to war with China?"

Puzzled, the guy behind the counter said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I've not heard about any war." The old man began talking about the Chinese government being involved with Iran, and the U.S. fighting Iran, and the U.S. being dependant on the Chinese economic system, and so on...

The guy behind the counter, who was Chinese himself, handled it very professionally. When the old guy was leaving, the cashier said, "I suggest you not talk about such things next time without thinking about what you are saying and who you are saying it to." Not once did he argue with the old guy, nor did he raise his voice.

So yeah, that old guy needs to be flogged. That would be like me walking up to him and saying something like, "So you're going to die soon..."