Katie Doyle, Girl About Town

Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2002 - 12:28 a.m.

It pays to do a good deed, my friends.

I went to the Big Chain Videostore to pick up a movie or two, right? I had like this pounding headache I've had for several days, but I'm trying to think past it anyway, and I get up to the register to pay for my movie, and the CSR is being a little smarmy and "hello there, ma'am, how are you today" with the dumb jokes and stuff, but I'm trying not to be snappish, because I already loudly snapped "child" when this big honkin' kid running from his friend slammed into me, and he looked so sorry and apologized, that I felt really mean and told him no, I was sorry, I had a headache and I took it out on him. He was really rude, and old enough to know better, but I still felt bad, because I spoke pretty sharply to him. But I musta put the fear of god into this CSR, because he was all ingratiating after that. So, he rings up my movie and the game I got, and it turned out my free rental card wasn't good for the game, which was kind of a bummer, but I'd gotten a free rental on the movie, so I figure oh well, pay the man and go home. And he's all apologetic about that too, and I'm like dude, it's fine, here's my check. But while we've been trying to conduct this little transaction, this shaved head asshole all short guy attitude elbows ahead of the guy next to me and demands of the kid running that register where is a certain movie. The kid says it isn't out yet, and the man gets hyper snippy and demandy all over his ass, all loud and belligerent and "let's step outside right now". I wasn't paying more than vague attention, because as I said, I had the headache from hell and was working really hard just to process what was going on on *my* side of the little checkout sales barrier. But the whole thing boiled down to why the hell isn't the movie out and when will it be out, and the guy next to me keeps getting louder, and when the kid tells him what date it's out, he calls the kid rude and some other stuff, so that I want to turn around and tell this asshole in no uncertain terms what a fucking piece of shit he is, but I look over the barrier, and he's about as tall as I am, with this look on his face that says "just fucking try it, I am not above slugging any of you," and I figure I'd rather just not deal, so I don't say anything. He snaps a few other things, and I have to ask my guy to repeat himself, and I'm trying to write my damn check, and the dickhead flounces off somewhere in there. I ask for the store manager, and my kid tells me it's the kid that was just getting yelled at, at the same time that kid says to me, "I am." So having worked for the Big Chain Video Store and knowing what schmucks run the company, I say to him I'd be happy to leave my name and number so that if his District Manager gets in his face, I can bear witness that the customer was the asshole, not the kid. He says thanks but it'll be okay. I start to ask my kid what the sales amount is again, and the dickhead returns to ask another question, still all bellicose and crappy, to the point that I set my pen down and wait for him to finish, literally biting my tongue not to tell him exactly what I think of him. I just look at the kid helping me, and he says to me again, "I'm sorry," and I snap. Long past caring at this point whether or not fuckhead hears me, I point at my guy and loudly bite out, "YOU don't owe me an apology." I point at the manager kid. "YOU don't owe me an apology." I point over the barrier in the general direction of the dick. "THAT ASSHOLE owes me an apology for being UNBELIEVABLY RUDE, but YOU don't owe me a damn thing. And he owes YOU an apology too." People froze and stared at me, but believe me, I was long past caring, at that point. The manager kid looks at the kid helping me and says "is that her check?" My kid nods yes, and he says "give it back to her." He looks at me and just says "thank you," and my kid gives it back and says thanks and merry Christmas, and I say wow, cool, thanks back atcha, and that was the end of that. But I got a free movie *and* a free game rental, and all I had to do was be human. Pretty cool, huh? :)

As the Vineyard Turns
I'm hoping for some pretty pithy and stupid golf quotes soon; things are heating up over there on the Vineyard, with lawsuits about to fly forth and all kinds of WWW Smackdown action in plaid, so I have high hopes that will soon prove a constant source of amusement for those of us who don't have $300,000 to spend on a town home on the wrong side of the tracks. We got townships threatening to secede, the threat of low-income housing, happy little duck homes hanging in the balance, and golfers from Tokyo threatening to smash the hapless isle. Would it be terribly un-pc of me to refer to them as Golfzilla? What about just the debacle itself as such?

Bygones.

Say it ain't so, Sean - or, I Love It When Celebs Practice Politics
::sigh:: It's like Jane Fonda all over again. Why do actors insist on visiting the enemy in times of strife and then sitting in artillery weapons or holding press conferences saying there's no reason we can't all just get along and that if blood is spilled, it's entirely America's fault? I'm sorry, Sean, but if it were that fucking easy, we wouldn't be where we are. And you're a fucking moron if you think Saddam Hussein is a fine, upstanding, trustworthy member of society or that he does *not* have or is not figuring out how to make chemical, biological and mass destructing type weapons. Hell, *I* am against Bush's little red herring myself, but I'm not dumb enough to buy Hussein's press or party line. And for you to say ON IRAQI SOIL negative and incindiary things about your own country is pretty fucking reprehensible, in my opinion. Say that shit when you get back home, not at a press conference with Tariq Aziz, on a trip organized by the "Institute for Public Accuracy". Can you say "propaganda," you twit? BTW, the IPA is an organization which is about as far from objective as you can get. One has to wonder whether or not Mr. Penn bothered to do any research on the people sponsoring his little press junket or not, or whether he is a member of their group already. Sam Husseini, the guy running it, has extremely biased views which seem to me to be decidedly anti-Semitic*, anti-America or its government, extremely pro-Palestinian*, and he was a leader of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination League, itself a fairly incindiary organization. My point being, they're not exactly the group to show Sean an unbiased and objective side of Iraq, now are they? And what fucking idiot goes over there dependent on that government and thinks he's getting an honest picture of things, anyway? Ride around with the UN guys and see how *they* are treated and what *they* find, pal. Not what your handlers choose to show you. Jeez. God help me from do-gooders too stupid and naive to look at the world without their little rose-colored glasses. Take the glasses off and LOOK, or you can not hope to see.

*While I myself am rather pro-Palestinian, I do not preach a hatred of Israel. Maybe Sam doesn't either, but it sounds pretty intolerant when he holds forth on the subject. I can kind of understand that, given the state of things in that part of the world, so I'm not going to get into it. My point is merely that he isn't exactly unbiased or objective in his viewpoint(s). His writing isn't always even-handed either, which argumentative writing really needs to be, if you hope to sway people on the other side to your viewpoint. Or at least allow them to see it. Reason is far more effective than a baseball bat. I might be one to talk, but this is a stupid online diary, not a major article trying to pursuade people to see things my way. And frankly, I don't feel like putting that much work into this damn thing. I point out a few points, and you get it or you don't. I wish you'd get it, so I really should work harder, but the plain fact is that what I guess I really want is for people who see things the way I do to get off their asses and vote or do something to make a fricking difference. Sod the rest of the crowd.

Bygones.

The other guy who signs the press releases for the IPA is David Zupan, a 50-something "former English teacher turned peace activist" who seems to have a bone or two to pick with NATO. I guess you gotta have all kinds. The world would probably be terribly boring if everyone agreed. Not to mention that contradictory as it sounds, it probably wouldn't last as long. Think what it'd be like if everyone thought we should drill for oil wherever the hell we wanted and screw the consequences and environment.

And you know, while I'm on this whole IPA thing, Mr. Husseini, the sanctions the UN imposed on Iraq did not hurt the Iraqi people. *Saddam Hussein* hurt the Iraqi people by refusing to comply with restrictions HE agreed to at the cessation of hostilities in Iraq. He withheld food and supplies from the Iraqi people when he let them mold in warehouses and sold them on the black market. The sanctions were employed to force him to cooperate with the conditions to which he agreed in order to end the Persian Gulf War. It was his choice to refuse cooperation and force the sanctions. So I'm sorry, but the UN and America hold no responsibility for that suffering, and you, sir, may kiss my ass.

Most Interesting Search of the Day:
girl+sexy+lobster...what the hell is a girl sexy lobster? Is that a lobster which is sexy to girls, or a lobster which wants to have sex with girls or that which merely finds girls sexy? Enquiring minds want to know. Oh shut up; they do too. Admit it: you are curious now. Is that a pervy thing? Come on, freak, 'fess up!

Favorite Searches of the Day:
"Al+Gore"+snl+chihuahua and Jingle+bells+in+French (10th of 29)

Nosy Katie Doyle googlers: 4
Nosy Katie Doyle googlers actually named Katie Doyle: 1
Freakishly Nosy Katie Doyle googlers: 1 (Katie+Doyle+Personal+File...what the hell is that about?)
International googlers: 1 - Tag, Denmark. ("Dipwit" means idiot, btw.)
Dumbass AOL T&A searchers: 1

That's it for me.

Peace out,
Katie

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Yesterday's News - Next Stop

In which Katie shares sad news - Wednesday, Apr. 01, 2015
In which Katie returns after a very long absence - Monday, Jun. 25, 2012
In which Katie pokes her head in and brushes some of the cobwebs away - Thursday, May. 06, 2010
In which Katie asks you to write your congressman again. - Monday, Jun. 02, 2008
In which Katie asks you to please click the link and send the message to protect the rights of artists - Wednesday, May. 21, 2008