Lost in Translation

I think anyone who’s been following me online for long — on any forum — knows that I don’t always come across as “perky”’ or “positive,” or “fun.” I’ve dealt with all sorts of accusations, insults, and misinterpretations over the years.

It’s not OK. Not really. There’s a real person on the other side of all these electronic words and I get my feelings hurt and then I stomp around the house and the BF has to convince me that all those ‘anonymous’ haters are idiots who don’t know me, who don’t understand my sense of humor, or who take what I say out of context... and let’s face it, the most hateful stuff people say on the Internet is done under the convenient cover of anonymity. Which really says something about its relevance anyway, but doesn’t mean I don’t have to stomp around and rant about it anyway.

But that’s one of those beside-the-point little tangents ... The other day one of my clients was telling me that one of her coworkers was asking who does her nails. So she told her coworker who does her nails. And her coworker said, “Is she grumpy?”

Grumpy? [pout]

Well, yeah. Sometimes I am grumpy. Sometimes I’m goofy. Sometimes I’m bouncing off the walls manic. Sometimes I’m contemplative. Sometimes I’m feisty — OK. I’m feisty all the time. And when I get told that someone has developed a notion of who I am all the time — as a basic rule — from one random Facebook post, or because I put a lot of stock into the “Maggie RANTS” title of this blog, I can’t help but add “mystified” to my list of potential daily emotions.

All I can do is weigh the anonymous input from the Ether against the real-life reactions, relationships, and interactions I have with real people on a daily basis — the people who spend their time with me wiping tears of laughter from their eyes while I admonish them for not sitting still while I make them laugh. I can’t be all that “grumpy” if my clients keep coming back — and enjoying their time here.

I figure something must get lost in the translation between real life and the Internet. So sometimes I have to pout and rant. But mostly, my clients keep laughing, so I’ll take that as a sign that knowing me must not be all bad.