There's an article in Esquire about brutal honesty, where the author tries it out for a little bit (with hilarious results) but one thing he said stuck out to me because as I should know, it's true.
And in this terrifying age where everyone has a blog I don't want to offend people, because then they'd write on their blogs what an asshole I am and it would turn up in every Google search for the rest of my life."
Also, another gem.
I don't like gift certificates. It's like you're giving me an errand to run.
I'd try out brutal honesty but I like the friends I've got and don't think they'd appreciate all the honesty. Maybe I'll start with baby steps, like I'll only be brutally honest behind someone's back.
Like I can't stand how every time I call my friend Jared and his fiance picks up the phone. There's no way in hell I'd ever call to talk to her.
Also, I enjoy reading people's thinly veiled blog posts where they used a lyric from a song or a quote from a movie to express their emotional state. I mean, if you're not going to be the least bit honest about what's going on or what's troubling you, do you really have to bother saying anything at all? Paper + Pencil = Journal. If you're not willing to share, keep it to yourself. A rule I haven't always followed myself, but I promise I will from now on.
Also, there's a guy at work who always sneaks up behind me when I'm sitting at my cubicle, and he'll grab me by the shoulders and shake me a little. He gets a big kick out of it, and then he laughs in sort of a cackle, you know the kind of laugh that sounds like the person is gargling spit. Well I usually just laugh it off, feel incredibly uncomfortable and let him walk away, but today I told him that about 16 years ago some man made it perfectly clear that no man will ever be able to touch me unless they don't like being attached to their hands anymore. I do have to admit, the look on his face was a little bit priceless. I don't think he's going to bother me again.