I don't understand enough about technology to explain exactly what happened, but our cable provider changed the look of their menus and all that bullshit. So now, any channel that's not broadcast in HD is just sliiiiightly squished so that everyone looks like they're in a very subtle funhouse mirror. A visual aid:
Regular Dave Chappelle
Funhouse Mirror Dave Chappelle
Granted it's not the most egregious thing in the world, and since regular broadcasts look like shit on an HD tv anyway, I'm not to worried about it. What does worry me is that my husband seems completely oblivious.
The other day, we had the following exchange:
Me: Why does the picture look so weird?
Him: Because it's not in HD.
Me: No, I mean, why is it squished?
Him: *curious look*
Me: It's squished. Like, the aspect ratio is off. Everybody looks like they're a little too narrow.
Him: No, they don't.
At this point, I jumped over to the TV and put my hands on either side of the picture, as if attempting to estimate its size. I'm not sure what I was hoping to accomplish. If he wasn't noticing that Kurtwood Smith's forehead was a quarter-inch narrower than usual, me surrounding the picture with my hands certainly wasn't going to trigger a sudden recognition.
Me: SEE????!?!?!?!?
Him: ....
Me: *spontaneously combusts from frustration*
See, the difficult thing about humans - and the reason why I avoid interacting with them unless I absolutely have to - is that they all see things differently. In my world, the picture is warped. In my husband's world, it's not. Who's to say which world is the "correct" world? (Mine is.) (But for the purposes of illustrating a point, let's pretend I didn't say that.)
It's been hot lately. It's been hot and muggy and it's making everybody act like a crazy person. When you wake up every morning feeling like you've been slapped in the face with a hot, wet dishrag, it tends to put a damper on your whole day. I understand this. So I wasn't surprised when a gigantic drama bomb exploded at work earlier today, all because everybody sees things differently and everybody always thinks they're right.
As with most drama bombs, there were about a thousand ways that everyone involved could have behaved that would have defused the drama bomb. But everyone behaved in just the right way such that everyone's feelings got hurt, even people who were barely involved with the situation at all.
Me, I don't get involved in drama. But as the conflict erupted over my head, I felt my stress levels rising ever higher. I hate conflict so much that I can't even stand to be around it. And I hate the fact that people seem to want to cultivate it so much. Doesn't everybody have better things to do?
I don't want to go into the boring specifics of everything, but the whole mess basically started because of a schedule mix-up a few days ago. Then somebody made a phone call to try and straighten it out, harsh words were exchanged between people who have no particular reason to dislike each other, really, and then today there was another mix-up and suddenly everyone within fifty feet was basically forced to become a part of the DRAMA BOMB BAYSPLOSIONNNNN.
And I swear to God, I literally had the thought: "this place would run so much smoother if we only hired robots."
Perception isn't a problem with artificial intelligence. You don't go to turn your computer on in the morning and it's all like, "We never go places anymore! I feel like our relationship is in a rut! Why can't we have adventures like we used to?" and you're all "look, I just wanted to check my email" and your computer's all "well you can check your email IN HELL!" Or maybe that's what it's trying to say every time it crashes. I don't know.
Working with humans is so hard.
Drama rolls off my back for the most part. I think it helps that I basically assume everyone is just looking out for themselves, not necessarily out to get anybody else. If they hurt you, it's incidental. It wasn't their intention. And you can ask them nicely not to do it again, or you can lose your shit and scream at them. Either way it's probably not going to make a damn bit of difference. People are going to keep pursuing their own interests and fulfilling their own priorities without really giving much consideration to how you think or feel.
I don't confront people because I honestly don't think it works. Also, it's fucking awkward and I'm bad at it. My intensely domineering mother left me with zero coping skills for conflict in the real world, unless "curling up in the fetal position and keening" counts as a coping skill. It's hard for me to be around other people's conflict, too, because I see all sides so clearly. I empathize with everybody and I just wish they could all drop their suspicions and hurt and apologize to each other. But that won't happen. We can't just all get along.
I guess I don't see the point in getting angry at people for doing what humans do. Though I'm a peon at work, I'm still in a position where I occasionally have to remind people of the proper protocol for doing things. This means people will often lie to my face about various things, such as:
1. Who, in a position of authority, supposedly gave them permission to break protocol (Are you sure it was the manager? Are you sure it wasn't....nobody?)
2. Whether anyone ever made them aware of that policy
3. How they don't have time to do things correctly
Even though I know these are blatant lies, it doesn't really bother me. I find it more baffling than anything. I wonder if they know that I know they're lying. What, exactly, are they trying to accomplish? Saving face for a brief period of time inbetween telling me the lie and me finding out the truth? (This could be anywhere from a split second to a day or two.) In the end they just end up looking worse. Why would you voluntarily make yourself look like a lying sack of shit?
I have so many questions. Very few answers. And my TV is still messed up.
YES IT IS, GOD DAMN IT.
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