Coming home after a busy day, in time to take an important scheduled phone call re. finances. Finding that the drive is blocked by a van belonging to an aerial guy who is working at my neighbour's. Stopping on the ample car park opposite (yes, not as though the drive was the only place for him to park...) to say "Excuse me I need to get home urgently, could I get to my drive, please?" and hearing, instead of the expected 'Sorry, I'll only be a minute!', "CAN you wait 5MN!?" No.
No, I certainly cannot wait 5mn for one who doesn't have the slightest ounce of good manners and shouts at me as if I was the one doing something wrong. If you're going to be such an uncivil man-with-van, good luck with your business... There are workmen's units beside my drive and many vans come and go all day; we all get on very well because we all respect that we work and live here and we need to get along. When some vulgar outsider disturbs the established pattern of jolly friendliness around here, it is most certainly not welcome.
The aerial guy got the proverbial bras d'honneur and I blanked out his existence.
I parked on the carpark and went home as he was shouting "I'm coming now!" Too late, I have no time to waste on plonkers.
My poor neighbour was mortified so I told him not to worry.
I have great neighbours, they are a massive part of why I love living where I live. Again, outsiders barging in on the order of things is not cool.
Seriously, I work all day with kids who, given their disadvantages, have to argue their way through their day in the most extraordinary ways, sometimes... I work closely with a seven-year-old who has issues with Pathological Demand Avoidance and I successfully deal with him with professionalism and the care that he deserves. I am not prepared to come home to have to make the same allowances for some jumped up so-called professional, supposedly an adult, with a Volkswagen van that is apparently too precious to park on a public car park!
I cannot recall for sure the last time I was so angry at someone... Maybe in 2016 when some old witch complained about my dog's woofing?
Thank goodness it is a rare occurrence.
The phone call went very well, by the way.
Time for a well-earned yoga nidra meditation, methinks.
And today again I came home to find a van in the drive; it was one of the electricians who use the units... As he heard my car he popped his head round and gestured to ask which way I needed to go; I indicated my drive and reversed to let him out so I could park and get home... The manoeuvre took only a minute and smiles were exchanged as I said "Thank you" and he said "Sorry about that" at the same time. This is how we do things in my neighbourhood; why we don't like it when outsiders bring chaos and bad feeling. We like 'nice'.
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