rules

"Yeah, I know what you mean....people just give themselves away and I'm like x, y, z, which is totally not like that. I have rules I use to govern myself with, you know?"

Actually, I'm beginning to wonder about that.  The above phrase has come up in a dozen or so conversations lately, on a variety of subjects and my innate skepticism has kicked in.  It always makes me think, that type of statement.  The way one projects oneself is often very different from the way one actually is.  So is it delusion, hopefulness, or just lies?

One gets in far more trouble with people over lies than over honesty, generally, but I like to think that most people don't go out of their way to just make shit up, or misrepresent, most of the time.  It's just such a curious thing to be listening to someone talk and then watch what they do and realize that there is a relativity to when people say "I don't do that", or "I'm not like that".  Really?  Are you suuuure?  It's not really supposed to be a sliding scale, you know. 

Job:  People would never lie to get a job, never do shady things at work, never take a job they intend to quit, never walk out without professional courtesy.

        Fact:  People - including a large portion of those who say they would 'never', do that shit all the time.  

Friendship:  I would never lie to a friend, abandon a friend, jump to conclusions, flip out, or go behind a friend's back.
   
        Fact:  See Fact above.

Romance:  I would never sleep with someone without a real connection, disappear on someone, lie to someone to manipulate them, or multi-task sexually and risk hurting someone's feelings.

       Fact:  Again, see Fact above.

Mind you, I'm not venting or complaining here, but as I'm an active participant in this great social experiment we have going, I observe and report my findings, as I see them.  So I was sitting here watching a lightning storm, unable to sleep, due to an incredibly shoddy air conditioning system in my building (I'm not the only victim of this) and I started to ponder representation.  Do we have expectations of one another that are too high, or have we accepted too low a standard, in these times?

And now that asshole car with the alarm that goes off every night is at it again.  Violent claps of thunder are so much more soothing.