Hear me roar!

I know I have mentioned the incredible friendliness of the locals before, and I may have, at times, touched upon the absurdity of their politeness, but I would have never believed that it would actually have me making frustrated faces at my phone.

Do you ever find yourself wanting to be assertive and slightly upset at someone, because they did not keep their appointment, or did not perform up to par, but then find yourself thwarted by their saccharine sweetness? When I lived in Europe, this happened so rarely, that I never gave any thought to it. When I hired someone to do something, and they messed up, I would tell them curtly and in one of those voices that I'm sure would work at the Pentagon that "This was completely unacceptable", and feel much better about the whole situation. However, today and yesterday I have been overwhelmed by people not keeping their appointments, showing up late, or simply making a big mess of things, and then being so incredibly evasive and non-confrontational about it, that I would end up making indistinct guttural sounds after hanging up.

Not that I like to get angry. I don't. I'm usually the kind of person who will avoid confrontation, and who thus, in general, fits in very well in the south. However, when someone makes a "boo-boo" (to stick with terms acceptable to the locals), I would like to be able to point that out to them. I don't even expect an excuse, I just want to be able to let them know how their tardiness, their chipping large parts off our walls while putting in a floor, and their missing appointments really affects me (and to be frank, although that's another no-no, just plain ticks me off). However, it would seem that this is not really an option here in the south. The moment you hint at something being not absolutely perfect, people go into possum mode. They may not literally play dead, but they will do everything in their power to shift blame, change the topic of the conversation, or question your initial agreement. This pretty much takes the wind out of your sails, leaving you feeling wonderfully frustrated, and the situation unsolved.

However, husband-dear and I have literally practiced the conversation I will be having with the floor-man in the morning (he of the chipped walls), and I think we're good. I honestly believe I am ready for whatever non-confrontational curve ball he throws at me. And no, I am not going to get mad, or mean. I'm just going to let him know how I feel, and then, wait for it, get him to fix the problem he created. And just in case none of that works, I have a back-up; husband-dear promised he would take over and pull some air force attitude. Whatever that may be. This is going to be interesting!