2003-01-25 - 2:01 p.m.

Anyway, I dont have anything too personal to say anyway. Just some pet peeves about other people's social conduct that bother me. Sometimes I wonder how it is that people can justify things to themselves, how do they think their actions are OK?

Like at work yesterday: Two of the higher ups in my office decided to take the new temp receptionist/data entry clerk girl out to lunch. Fine. But instead of being discreet, they made a huge deal out of it in front of everyone - "We're taking the temp out to lunch to THANK HER for all her HARD WORK" Nevermind that I was sitting right there and in the last year I have done 10 times as much work for them as she has, and they've never taken ME out to lunch. Now, our lunch breaks are only 30 minutes. But I can't take a break until she gets back. They took a 2 hour lunch, and because of it I didn't even get a lunch at all. When they got back, I mentioned it to them and they were totall nonchalant about it!

Then, i have a friend who always says she's broke. But she makes more money than me, she just chooses to wisely spend it on her bills, while I put off paying my bills so I'm never flat broke. So we all went out to a club last night that my new neighbor put us on the guest list for. I made sure to give him her name so she'd get in free too, even though he doesn't know her. We get to the club, and I know everyone is flat flat broke, so I say I'll buy everyone a drink - cuz you can't stand around in a club without a cocktail. The drinks are expensive, and I'm not rich, but I don't want anyone to go without a drink. Then she turns right around and buys herself a second drink. She wasn't too broke after all. I couldn't afford to buy myself a second drink because I'd bought her first one.

Ok, i guess i got personal, i hope she doesn't read this, because i love her to pieces and the reason i didn't say anything to her in the first place was because i didn't want to be petty, because of course I did buy her the drink to be nice and it should be considered a gift with no strings attached, and I didn't want to make a big deal out of it or make her feel bad. I just need a place to let off a little steam this week, and I want this to be the place. Forgive me?

Speaking of letting off steam -- our administration in this country, and the news media coverage of the political happenings is driving me crazy. I was coming back from the Peace Rally in San Francisco, and I heard a radio broadcast by Mike Reagan, who I guess is the new Rush Limbaugh or something. I knew I shouldn't have listened, but I wanted to hear with an open mind what the other side had to say. He not only said that all the demonstrators were communists, but that we were terrorist sympathizers! I should laugh at this because it's so completely off the wall, but it still pissed me off.

But here's the kicker: He interviewed the editor of frontpagemag.com, a right-wing news source. The thing is, I expect people to be politically opposed to me, that's fine, I want to hear their legitimate arguements about what's going on. But it was Martin Luther King Day that I was driving back. And the editor made a comment about how Martin Luther King was sometimes called by his critics Martin Luther COON. And he and Mike Reagan chuckled at this! And criticized MLK! And this guy is the voice of white, right-wing americans on the radio! I was completely LIVID and AGHAST.

I just don't understand how people can be like that. I know I'm not perfect, but I try really hard to look out for other people and be a nice person. I wish everyone did the same.