Nosy, Rude Or Both?

I recently bumped into someone I've known for a while. I don't see her too often but when we do see each other, it's usually not planned and a real "bump in" situation. Every time she sees me, she asks about M but not in a nice way. It's always a steady stream of questions that go something like this - all in ONE breath:

"Hey, C! How are you? How's M? Did he pop the question? Are you getting married? Do you discuss marriage? How long has it been now? Shouldn't you be concerned about having babies?"

Then she just pauses and waits for me to answer. I usually give her a puzzled smile because I honestly do not know which question I should answer first as she asked 7 rapid fire questions without giving me an opportunity to answer even one of them. On this most recent "bump in" I responded with, "Why don't you ever ask if we're happy?" She seemed stunned and made a quick excuse to get out of the situation. I don't understand why certain married people find it necessary to badger single people about not being married. It's not like I go around asking married people why they aren't divorced yet.

Perhaps those married people are unhappy and want someone to commiserate with. Perhaps they find marriage to be a drag and want someone else to be in that club with them. Like when you're eating something that tastes bad and you say to the person sitting next to you, "Taste this, it's awful!"

Or maybe they are just concerned. A lot of people in our society believe there's something "wrong" with people who are not married and don't have kids by a certain age. My friend C, who is more like family, recently spoke to a man in San Antonio, TX who chided her and all "career women" for not putting marriage and kids as the top priority in life. And yet, he himself was divorced.

Are they nosy? Are they rude? Is it a little bit of both? I call it rude. And as I told my friend C, she should have kindly reminded that stupid man that it's two thousand and f'ing TEN, not 1910. It's not even 1950:




( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deCHQdZuXog )

5 Things CC Taught Me

1. Red lights are optional in Corpus Christi. If you’re at a red light and no one is coming, you can just go on through the intersection. That annoying red light is more like an illuminated stop sign. I actually felt weird for staying at the red light while waiting for it to turn green. I simply could not bring myself to run it.

2. The only Mexican bakery in CC that still does pink cake correctly is the Michoacán. There are new variations of pink cake that I’ve found at different Mexican bakeries all over Texas. But, luckily, the original can still be found in CC. If you spot original pink cake in your neck of the woods, you must tell me.

3. Santa Selena (Saint Selena) is real if you believe. She is like the Santa Claus of Corpus Christ. Her grave is a regular spot for locals and tourists to visit. By the way, her grave is creepy and I won’t apologize for saying that. Her memorial statue is equally popular but a little less creepy. And people still jam out to her music, paint murals of her all over the city and I know someone who carries a pic of her in his wallet.

4. If you’re into people watching, you should hit up the Saratoga Bingo Hall. I went twice and will continue to go there. It’s as good as airport people watching! They bust out their lucky charms and have an entire gaming system that fascinates me. Have I ever won money from that bingo hall? No. Have I ever laughed so much I cried there? Hell-to-the-yes!

5. Pack your fat pants. Like New Orleans, you will eat. A LOT. This city has some of the best Mexican food (not necessarily Tex-Mex) and you just can’t help yourself. It’s the same with the pink cake; you won't be able to say no. But, most importantly, they have HEB Plus which is the most awesome grocery store in America. You’ll go in there and buy things just because you can. And why shouldn’t you?

5 Things NOLA Taught Me

1. Traveling to New Orleans, LA by car could mean hours added to your road trip. Especially if there is something going on, like a football game or a concert. We happened to be going there when the Cowboys played the Saints. The traffic was a nightmare and most of them were Saints fans who lived outside of NOLA. Good thing I wasn’t in my car with my Cowboys antenna ball. And I guess it was a good thing we didn't go to the game because the Cowboys won and we were probably their only fans in NOLA.

2. Café du Monde is always packed... except maybe when the Saints are playing. The café is typically overflowing with people but we walked right in and seated ourselves. The game was in the 4th quarter and the café was dead. There was only one other couple in the café and they looked like they just arrived from the set of Gilligan’s Island. Seriously, they were eerily similar to this. But I have to say that those little beignets are worth the wait and live up to the hype. AMAZING!

3. You can and should walk around with your adult beverage. You can buy wine, cocktails and other adult beverages just about everywhere including pharmacies, gas stations and small “walk ups.” (Imagine a hot dog vendor or snow cone stand that sells only mixed drinks.) As long as your beverage of choice is NOT in a glass container, you’re able to take it with you as you go; even from bar to bar.

4. A bicycle is the best way to see the city. We went on a bike tour with the Confederacy of Cruisers (named after the novel A Confederacy of Dunces about NOLA). It was AWESOME. We cruised through quiet neighborhoods and got a taste of the true Big Easy. Our tour guide rocked and it was my favorite part of the trip. But do it sober; it may be the Big Easy but you still can’t drink and drive.

5. Pack your fat pants. You will eat. And eat. And eat some more. This city has a wide range of restaurants that go from street carts to upscale dining and they’re all outstanding. You will try to restrain yourself but trust me, it will be for naught. Just open up your trap and give in. You will thank me later.

Word.

Today I heard some people talking about going out to lunch and burritos came up as an option. Chipotle was their winner but they didn’t pronounce it correctly. It came out as ‘chip-pole-tee’ and the correct pronunciation is 'chip-oat-lay.' Ugh.

Last month, I was at a Christmas party and I heard this woman talking to some children about Santa Claus. Only, she pronounced it as ‘san-tee’ instead of ‘san-tuh.’ Sigh.

This season on Top Chef, I noticed several of the contestants prepared ceviche. Only, they didn’t pronounce it correctly. They said ‘suh-veech’ instead of ‘seh-veech-eh.’ Groan.

And those are just the ones off the top of my head. There are more out there, I’m sure of it! What I am not sure of is why I am bothered by the way people mispronounce certain words. Perhaps it is linked to people calling me by the wrong name on a daily basis. I’ve been called Carla, Clarissa, Claire, Clarice and several other variations of the name Clara. Several of my coworkers, who have known me over 7 years, still don’t get it right.

Either way, there is just no excuse for saying “supposeBly” when the word is clearly spelled s-u-p-p-o-s-e-D-l-y.