"This Is Not A Joke So Please Stop Smiling"

I apologize for the previous post, wherein I was in whiny emo mode. I don't rightly know what's wrong with me (well, what besides the usual), but I don't think there was really any call for that post. Ugh.

So I went out to the corner store a couple of minutes ago to get a snack. The route there was an obstacle course of cars, RVs, drunk OU fans, lawn chairs, and various combinations of all of the aforementioned. Anyway, once I actually reached the convenience store, I had to wait a good five minutes for the girl in front of me to figure out what kind of freakin' cigarettes she wanted. There was also a guy in front of me doing his damnedest to be a walking, talking Oklahoma cliche. Actually, since he was aiming for cliche, he was more of a moseyin', drawlin' Oklahoma cliche. Had the cowboy hat, the boots, the tight wranglers, the belt with the metal inlay and big buckle, the whole nine yards.

I think he was trying to hit on the cashier girl, who was sitting there listening in what I'd hesitate to call rapt fascination (but wouldn't hesitate to call "polite boredom") as he told her he'd never felt out of place in Oklahoma except for earlier today, when he'd attended a "rock concert" in Lawton. Something about all the kids in their "baggy black jeans" frightened him (of course, judging from how he was dressed, he'd probably consider clothes that fit properly to be baggy). He then went on to vouchsafe that he had Garth Brooks out in his car's CD player, and that he only ever listened to country.

As I listened impatiently to this man's ramblings, it occurred to me that he was proud of this fact, in the same way that a toddler is proud of a full potty. That analogy has more connections than I really like to think about. Of course, I'm aware that this is Oklahoma, and there's a reason most of the radio stations are country (and I've also come to grips with the idea that this isn't because all the radio stations have a personal grudge against me, though it sometimes feels as though they chose their station format and playlists in a calculated effort to annoy me).

I've felt out of place in this state many times, mostly when I'm surrounded by football fans. Admittedly, that means I'm attending the wrong damn university if I want to feel comfortable, as today proves. I hate having to deal with these people. I wish they'd all go away, and I'd really like nothing more than if the world only contained those people I truly care about. This could all just be frustration with being sick talking, but I've felt like this at times when I'm in good health as well, so I doubt that it's just a passing thing.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Barenaked Ladies, "What a Good Boy"