The easiest way to make me angry is to make me take the bus to work. And make the bus run late. Then have one passenger with terrible body oder, 2 talking on the phone loudly, and one staring at me.
The reason why a situation like this makes me grumpier than a grandma who can't find her glasses, is that there is nothing I can do about it. Being someone who is used to riding a bicycle or waking everywhere, I don't get angry as the circumstances are mostly in my control; I peddle faster,cross the street, run a red light, or trip that annoying person on the phone over.
In the past whilst on a bus from hell (or somewhere slower than hell coz what with the Devil cracking the whip and his pointy tail down there I imagine things would get done pretty quickly) I have actually done a quick web search to see what other options I have to hopefully get me to my destination faster.
I've also had time to send in a few job applications when I realise that I am going to need to find a new job after the bludger bus makes me so late I get fired.
Well that is a slight exaggeration but when stuck in traffic on my way to the airport for E.S.C.A.P.E trip (European Summer Catchup And Personal Education trip) departure it got me pondering what we feel during these moments when the situation, mostly a sticky one, is out of our hands. This morning common sense did not resonate as loudly as how I was instructing my driver to just go cross country over the footpath and through the roundabout so I could get out in the middle of the intersection and run to my check in, amazing race style.
In fact, to ensure I do have control when relying on other people for transport, any time I take a taxi I tell the driver it's the amazing race. Speaking in an accent sometimes helps, especially when they can't understand how the Rooftop Bar in the city is an Amazing Race checkpoint.
But realistically, accents and red lights aside, you just have to breathe and do what you can, and in lots of situations like getting a flat tyre, having a friend who gets really drunk at their birthday party and vomits on your shoe, forcing you to go home and take care of them, or even if your mobile phone runs out of battery when you had to use it as an alarm clock and you slept over and woke up super confused with your head at the wrong end of the bed, half happy that you got an extra few hrs sleep but not sure why...it's not much.
I guess it's like when I got Pityriasis Rosea, (a benign skin condition that just randomly comes in the spring) the more you think about it the more it irritates you, and you just have to sit tight and wait for it to go away.
And sorry to jump on the #firstworldproblems bandwagon to put things in perspective and hopefully help with your temperament next time times become testing, having your wireless Internet stop working at your house days before you are about to go on a 7-week holiday and needed to book stuff online really isn't something to do a song and dance about when there are people in the same suburb who can't afford food.
So next time you find yourself in a kerfuffle because things beyond your control are going to affect the workings of the merry-go-round that is life, breathe, tell yourself "I can get past this" rather than "this is the worst thing everrrr" then make a funny face and hold it for 1 minute, or until the idea that looking like whatever face you are pulling would be worse than what kerfuffle you are in.
Jj
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