Guerilla messaging

One of my sisters has the most annoying computer manners.

It is not terribly unexpected. She approaches most things in life the same way: her priorities are paramount, often to the exclusion of common courtesy, and she can get quite testy when you cannot see how much more important and busy she is than you are. For years I bought into it. I am still not very good at saying no to her, but my patience has been stretched very close to the breaking point. As with so many irritants it life, it is a lot of little things, all piling one on top of the other for nearly 50 years. The camel’s back is close to breaking.

The computer, with email and messaging, is only the most recent forum for the dysfunctional sibling dynamic we are locked into.

She IMs me at the most awkward times (‘Busy’ ‘On the phone’ or ‘In a meeting’ status mean nothing to her), and because my email ‘doesn’t work’ (subject for another day), she won’t email details on what she wants done, even though I have repeatedly asked her to. (I am very glad she stopped using that wretched wink of the little guy popping his head up and sticking out his tongue. It only took me a year to get her to stop doing that.)

All this is getting past the title of this article. Guerilla messaging is what I call her trick of messaging me with a question and then vanishing to go do something else, and it has become chronic. No ‘be right back’ or ‘Excuse me a minute. One of the kids just set themselves on fire.’ Just nothing! Then 20 minutes later another IM ... did I get her question? Argh!! I leave my home computer IM on permanent ‘Appear Offline’ to avoid getting irretrievably irritated with her, and am seriously considering blocking her on my work IM. The inconsideration is making me quite grumpy, and I don’t like to feel that way.