I went to a workshop last week where a colleague of mine told me I was complicated. Another told me I was guarded. I know I’m guarded. I’m not sure about complicated. I’m not sure I know what he meant. Perhaps he meant snarky. My snarkiness can be off-putting to people if they don’t know me (or even if they do.) I do try to contain it, especially in professional settings, but sometimes, I just can’t help myself.
For instance, when an inebriated, twenty-something guy from the workshop got in my face and said, “Hey you! You’re the one that yelled at me!” I thought about being polite. After all, I had no memory of ever meeting this kid, let alone yelling at him. But it was two in the morning, I was tired, and he was drunk. So what did I—the older, wiser, supposedly more mature and professional of the two of us—say?
“You probably deserved it.”
And I wonder why people find me difficult to deal with.
