scrawls.

scrawls

still cheaper than therapy*

21.4.05

The other side of the 'send' button

i've been caught up to. By someone who, now, makes a great story (that i most recently told a week and a half ago i think), and i'm going to so get in trouble for this. This is bad karma. Right here. ka-POW. There go my chances at being reincarnated as a sea otter. It's spotted owl from here on out. Or maybe this is my karma catching up with me? Because i've done this, too. You find someone and email them, out of the blue. And you know they're thinking, jeez, i barely knew you back then, what the hell are you talking about, here? All the stupid shit they did that affected you so much and never even occured to them that it might. And it's not going to change anything for them, now, and you know it when you're writing them, and you know it when you hit 'send,' and you know you can't keep doing this or you'll be a stalker. It's a one-shot thing. And for the record, karma takes roughly seven years. This particular karma, anyway. (god, i'm old.) So. Here i am being written to, now, on the other end. And what do you do - what can you do? Like, kid, you don't even qualify as an ex. I had no idea. Have you really been thinking about it for this long? And if you write back, are you feeding some kind of neurosis? And if you don't, are you a total asshole? And if you write back, is it delicate and walking-on-eggshells, like how they think about you, or is it normal and casual and brisk, like how you think about them? What's the balance? Because you don't want to be outright cruel - whether or not you might have been, nearly a decade ago - but you don't quite want a new correspondent, either? Here's what i can't say:

Dear R, I had fun at event X, and am glad to hear that you did too! And now, i have a great icebreaker at Formal Events Where I Don't Know Anyone. You know, "This Reminds me of the Time..." lol. (And for what it's worth, i quite honestly don't think you did anything i'd need to forgive you for.) Remember that movie we saw - they just made a sequel, the little girl grows up and kills herself. Weird, huh? Unfortunately we've reached the maximum guest list for the wedding (big family + small space = aargh!) but say hello to your friends for me. It's a little creepy that you referred to event X as "the best weekend of your life." Good to hear from you again, though. Regards, liz

Because, callous and unfeeling and trample, trample, trample. Only i don't want to encourage this, either. Cuz, dude, i'm happy. I'm getting married. And this kid has nothing to do with it. Nothing, like, on par with a butterfly flapping its wings in M100. Hello, little butterfly. Nice to know you exist. Carry on with your life however you have been living it. Don't mind me.

Labels: internet, people

scrawled @ 15:56