Some Dietary Adjustments

Yet again, I have "resolved" to "eat healthier" this year, but it's only sixteen days in and I can see this will, per ush, pose a considerable challenge. As difficult as it is for me to step away from the nutter butters and my nth serving of x-simple carbohydrate, by far the hardest thing for me to stop shoveling in my mouth is my own foot.

I'm a fan of the TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm, and part of what makes Larry David's character (Larry David) so endearing and frustrating is his unrelenting appetite for putting his foot in his mouth. Per season, how many opportunities and potential friendships does Larry miss out on by saying something thoughtless? Many! Very many! And while the show may exaggerate the average person's tendency to fudge up, who among us hasn't had a few zoom-into-the face-wide-eyed 'wow I should've just shut up' moments?

I certainly have, and in classic Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion, I experienced the bitter, bitter taste of  foot-in-mouth in a prime scenario, a job interview. During this interview, my potential employer asked me; "describe a situation that caused you to grow". This was a stumper, flying at me from left field. I had to think fast. I went for the low-hanging fruit: "I think for me, an example of that would be when I realize I need to apologize for something I've said". I should've stopped there. It would've been unoriginal but also unmemorable. Not great, yet not red-flag material. But I added "like when I've said something rude or offensive".

Now, I've never been in a position where I interview and hire others, and I don't know what the criteria are for passing an interview, but I'll go out on a limb and say that I probably wouldn't hire anyone that makes a habit of saying "rude and offensive" things. I can't think of any hiring situation where that would be desirable, except maybe if I was auditioning for Real Housewives of Orange County, which, contrary to rumor, I was not.

Being a reasonable person with reasonable hiring-standards, my interviewer asked me "do you say rude or offensive things frequently?" "I hope not!" was all I thought to say.

I definitely don't think saying rude and offensive things, as long as you apologize, is a great opportunity for growth! In fact, I try to not say rude and offensive things. To say something "rude and offensive" is really to say something unkind, and that's not the form of speaking and communicating I'm hoping to accomplish. While I certainly have quite a ways to go before I'm able to communicate exclusively with kindness, I don't think "rude and offensive" are my primary characteristics, at least I certainly hope not.

Needless to say, I don't expect to be chosen for the position. In the eyes of a reasonable employer, I just confessed to "rude and offensive" personality tendencies. I guess the take-away from this whole flub could be an example of a situation that caused me to grow- or no, no maybe not. At least I can say that next time, I'll close my mouth, take my time, and try to speak mindfully, because when I let my mouth go unsupervised, I can be prett-ay, prett-ay sure to embarrass myself.