It would be inaccurate to say I’m getting cranky in my old age; I’ve always been cranky. These days I’m much more likely to verbalize it to perfect strangers, though, and I don’t necessarily restrict the venting to the Internet anymore. I mean, like, I actually open my mouth and SAY things to people who piss me off. *GASP!* Well, not at work, but elsewhere. I just find myself having less and less patience for people who are disrespectful or downright rude, and instead of spending precious energy clamping my mouth shut and trying to communicate my displeasure telepathically, my annoyance makes itself HEARD. Prime example number one.

Example number two: El Fiance and I spent the night in a hotel recently for a Military event. Not only was the hotel full of Military folks and their families, but one or two young girls’ soccer teams as well. I got to the room myself at about 10:30pm and girls of all ages were running to and from the pool, the soda/snack machines, and each other’s rooms, one of which was next to mine. Packs of girls aren’t quiet, it’s just a fact. Doors were slamming, feet were thumping up and down the carpeted halls, voices were loudly calling to each other and echoing in the nearby stairwell without any adult supervision in sight. Me and my Demon of Speaking Up weren’t having it. I popped out into the hallway and quite firmly announced “Ladies, it’s late. People are trying to sleep, it’s time to quiet down.” I got a meek “Yes, ma’am,” said “Thank you,” and returned to my room. Demon of Speaking Up was all  kinds of gratified and smug: “See what happens when you say something? Shit gets DONE and you get to sleep.”

Example number three: Today at Walmart. I confess to becoming something of a Shopping Cart Nazi. No matter where you park at our Walmart, you don’t have to walk unspeakably far to put your cart away in a corral. So today I take my cart to the trunk of my car, unload contents into the trunk, and walk across the lane behind me to put the cart in the corral. What, 12 feet away, maybe 10? Took 30 seconds. I get back to my car and I’m about to get in when I notice that the people parked in front of me, who also just unloaded a cart, have parked said cart at the front bumper of my car. I didn’t even think about it. “REALLY? The cart thingy is RIGHT. THERE.” And yes, they heard me, because the dude gave me a look that plainly said “Uh…dur?” Excuse me, but have a little respect for other people’s property! The fact that YOUR car is a hunk of shit doesn’t mean you’re allowed to make MY car that way, lazy ass. I should have demanded the dude fork over his wallet as my fee for taking HIS cart over and putting it away right behind mine.

I’m just 35 years old. Imagine me at 80.