Uncomfortable Situations

We've all been there at some point. Everything is swimming along beautifully, then suddenly you find yourself in a situation that, through no fault of your own, is just uncomfortable. You never know when one will jump in front of you. But they happen so often to so many people, that even Hollywood has capitalized on them. Meet The Parents is probably the best example of this. Every single scene in the entire movie made even the viewer a little uncomfortable. Having to meet your girlfriend's parents for the first time is always a little nerve wracking. But the things that happen to Ben Stiller in that movie really push the envelope.

But it isn't limited to just that one event. These things can happen anywhere. I remember back when my ex and I were dating, I was over at her parent's place having dinner. Afterwards we were sitting on the sofa watching T.V. while her mom was putting away the leftovers. Her mom was bent over with her head in the refrigerator, and lets loose with a very audible breaking of wind. I'll be honest, I would have been proud of a fart that had that much resonance and volume. Her mom is laughing inside the refrigerator while the rest of us are pretty much speechless. I mean, yeah, I could have really gone off and embarrassed her even further, "God woman, what the hell did you eat?? Is this what I can look forward to from your cooking?" But I didn't. I sat there fighting back laughter and tears were forming at the corner of my eyes. My girlfriend was turning 14 shades of red, which only made me have to fight the swelling urge to laugh my ass off even worse.

But some uncomfortable situations don't really have a lot of humor tied to them. They are just plain uncomfortable. Such as having a pretty good acquaintance that you enjoy hanging out with at the local watering hole, but yet another patron is a complete drunk asshole, every time they come in. You're sitting there having a beer, shooting the shit, glance back to the door and see this person walking in. You say something like, "dammit, I can't stand so-and-so. They are so fucking obnoxious." Your buddy looks over to see who you're talking about, turns back to you and says, "Yeah. I know. That's my sister." D'OH! What the hell do you say in response to that? Ummm... sucks to be you? And you still CLAIM her? There is no saving grace from that. About all you can say at that point is, Really? Hm. Did you catch that football game last night? And hope you can just forget the whole thing.

These things are endless. You take a girl out on a date, have a great time, catch a good movie, go out for a couple of drinks and some conversation afterwards, are really enjoying the company. Then something totally unexpected happens. It could be anything. Something you said you wish you hadn't said. Something she did you wish she hadn't done. Who knows? Or maybe something like...oh, I don't know...another guy she's going out with turning up in the same place the two of you are. Let me tell you right now... NO GOOD CAN COME FROM THIS. Even if everyone walks away with all of their teeth in tact, the tension it creates is pretty much guaranteed to fuck the rest of your evening. She's going to have to at least talk to him for a minute, he's going to feel fucked up about it, you're going to feel fucked up about it, there is going to be a bit of a power play from someone, for sure. And when all is said and done, if it turns out all good, it's still not all good. It's the kind of thing that will just kind of linger over whatever time you have left in your evening plans. Like the big pink elephant in the middle of the dinner party that no one talks about. Creepy.

Ah hell, as I always say, everything happens for a reason, and it always works out just the way it's supposed to.

This of course is just a umm.. hypothetical situation...yeah, that's it... that's the ticket.

~Out~