Speaking in tongues...

If you can't speak the language -- act like a crazy person and you may just get your way...

So I have been really upset lately with not being able to communicate...with ANYONE. I imagine this is how small children feel before they can tell their parents -- "No, I don't want to eat another carrot and do not put that ridiculous outfit on me. " But the problem is I am almost 30 and seem to be still throwing temper tantrums.

For example, the other day I went to my favorite flower stand to buy some flowers (which are so gorgeous and cheap here by the way) and my regular friend was not there. Instead there was some mean guy who wanted to charge me double. All I could say was no, over and over and over and the number I was willing to pay. (I probably also stomped my foot.) He just looked at me like I was nuts and put my flowers away. So much for bargaining. He knew better than to reason with a crazy person. I huffed away, pissed that I didn't have my flowers, pissed that this guy thought he could charge me double, and pissed that I couldn't tell him to shove it. I wonder at what level Spanish class do you really learn how to tell people how you feel?

But unfortunately, it gets better. I really had it out with the administration of our building. They have lots of rules here and they love enforcing them. Needless to say it is a total pain in the a#% and I am so glad that I cannot read the daily memos they place in the elevator stating their new rule of the day.

It all went down the other weekend when we were getting our windows tinted. Apparently service people are not allowed in to do such things unless you give 48 hours notice. And apparently this is on page 163, yes, page 163 of who knows how many pages, of our apartment manual. Which is of course in Spanish and that I would never read, even if it were in English.

So here we were breaking the stupid rule, that we didn't even knew existed. (I think I would have felt better about the whole insane interaction if we knew we were actually breaking the rules.) Thankfully they aren't too quick on the draw and did not figure out what we were doing until the window guy was almost totally done. We talked down the first person that caught us, but then he called his boss. (Amazing, that on a Saturday morning when she is not working would respond so quickly, because when she is working she won't do anything for you.) Thankfully we were basically done when she arrived, but she still tried to assert her authority and send our folks home with our front windshield half tinted...half tinted! And being darkened mind you for my safety because I have to drive every day. Something Craig tried to explain to her.

After she listened to Craig's calm reasoning and still wouldn't budge...I let her have it! Well that is, as best I could. I started yelling every single word I knew in spanish -- red, yellow, door, mountain, desk, up, down -- and the best one -- "I am so sad at you" -- because I could not remember the word for angry. Amazing, so incredibly embarrassing, and thankfully not witnessed by anyone that I actually know (except for Craig who was trying not to laugh). But this was the last straw for me. And in her eyes, well, let's face it, in mine and Craig's as well, I had obviously gone off the deep end. And this was more than she wanted to deal with on her Saturday morning...so she left and let us finish up with our business.

Obviously a huge victory, especially after my string of defeats -- I had finally told someone off (who cares if it made no sense) and got my way! Incredible. And of course this woman glares at me whenever we cross paths (which seems to be more often than usual), obviously for good reason. And under normal circumstances this would really bother me, but I had a personal triumph which trumps her stupid glares and her stupid rules.

And I know I shouldn't be, but I am still riding high from winning this little battle. But not to worry....I am working on my anger management and my vocab!