Friday Smackdown

Busy day, deadline day. So here's a few random thoughts:

• For the last time, Anonymous, I was not bragging in my last post about compliment etiquette. You miss the point. The post was about how you respond when people compliment you for stuff you didn't "accomplish." I threw in the example of my wife, 'cause the little old lady complimenting her the other day made me think of this really inconsequential issue. Clearly you are not married, 'cause while I mean every word that I write, even if I didn't mean or believe my own words I'd still call my wife pretty 'cause she's my wife! I married her, which means even if she was three feet tall and 800 pounds I'd call her pretty. Get married and then come back and tell me that you don't feel your wife is attractive. And when you do that I'll be sure to let you sleep in my back yard while you're looking for a new place to live after your wife kicks you out. Anyway, again the point was the compliments. I've never been comfortable excepting them when they're aimed at me. It really weirds me out when I get other people's.
• Val, good to hear from you. And you get points for the funniest response of the week. I think I will tell 'em my dog's hung over. That'll make for an interesting reaction.
• The Miami Herald recently ran a story on breakups by phone/text-message, email, etc., which got my buddies and I talking. We all compared notes and all agreed that we've dumped at least once each over the phone. Shameful as it is to admit, I know I've broken up with at least one woman over the phone. But I was young and insensitive then. That's my excuse and I'm sticking w/it.
• Question from a good friend: Say you meet a person of the opposite sex while they're visiting your town on a bit of vacation. You two hit it off and romance seems to be a strong possiblity. That person leaves town with hints and overtures. You trade flirty emails with that person. They drop more hints. Suddenly you find that there is a real possibility that the out-of-towner could be moving to your town. Coincidentally, that's when the out-of-towner's interest in you seems to cool off. What's going on? My answer was now that the out-of-towner might be moving to your town, they're backing off 'cause they don't want to start fresh with a significant other in tow. They want to keep their options open. Not nice of them, but I say true. I could be wrong. What say you?