When Will People Stop Being So Ridiculous? 

I’m the first to admit that I’m hard on people. I judge. I’m a judger! I can’t help it though. I’m a writer. It’s my job to make judgements, formulate funny sentences about them, and relay it to you readers. Writers should always have an eyebrow raised at all times. If they don’t, they’re not doing their job.

“People are ridiculous!” is something I say almost daily because it’s true. They are. And you know where the most ridiculous of the bunch go to congregate and bask in their mutual ridiculousness? Los Angeles, duh! I’ve been here for almost three weeks because of the holidays and for other reasons that aren’t even that clear to me. I don’t mind it too much though because it means I get front row tickets to the Douchebag Show every day. It’s like the surreal gift that keeps on giving.

If Los Angeles is a Douchebag Show, then Malibu is essentially the stage where all the action goes down. I know this because that’s where my father, my stepmom, and little brother have lived for the past ten years. I grew up in the blue collar beach town of Ventura, California (sup meth and surfboards!) but when I was fifteen, my dad remarried a lovely woman who happened to live in Malibu and moved there shortly after getting hitched. For a few minutes, I entertained the idea of going to Malibu High but quickly decided against it because I wanted to avoid freebasing and Marc by Marc Jacobs at such an early age. (Well, maybe not Marc by Marc.) My little ten-year-old brother, however, has been born and raised in the ‘bu and even though he is as delightful as a ten-year-old can be, he’s still very much a product of his bizarre surroundings.
Last summer, I accompanied he and his eight-year-old friend on a play date and got to be witness to a few hilarious gems. The first one occurred on the car ride over to Hollywood where my brother’s friend told me, in his pipsqueak voice, “I’m fat. I used to be 94 pounds but now I’m 98.” I looked back at him and thought two things: 1. You’re gay, so have fun experiencing that revelation in the shower a few years from now and 2. ????!!!! I mean, I know people are body conscious here but to be complaining about your weight when you are actually just skin and bones is terrifying.

After I washed away that disturbing moment with a swig of my iced tea (California has the best iced tea, you guys. It’s basically the only thing keeping me here), we arrived at a taping of my stepmom’s television show. The experience was fun and largely occurred without incident. As members of the audience, we laughed on cue and heard funny jokes and stuff. What transpired afterwards, however, was on a Shia LeBeouf level of Disturbia. After prancing around on set, my brother’s body dysmorphic friend approached my stepmom in her office and, like a professional, handed her his headshots and gave her his agent’s information. “Let me know if a part on your show ever comes up. I would love to work with you.” My stepmom excused herself for a moment to pull her jaw up from the floor and then said, “Thanks! I’ll let you know!”

My brother’s others friends are just as strange. Two of them are actually named Lestat and Basquiat. Can you even deal with that? No. With names like that, your only career option is to become a psychic, an artist with a drug problem, a vampire, or a professional YouTube performer.

Outside of Malibu, things can be just as weird. Just the other day I was at my “office,” which is also known as Buzz Coffee, when a woman came in looking stressed but sedated.

Girl #1: OMG, hey babe. So good seeing you here.
Girl # 2: You too! What’s up.
Girl # 1: NM. Just going to rehab tomorrow…
Girl # 2: Really?
Girl # 1: Yeah, I’ve just been spiraling lately. I’m going to Cirgue Lodge in Utah — the one the Olsen Twins go to.
Girl # 2: Sounds great! (Let it be noted that this friend doesn’t feign any concern for her friend. She treats this information as normal and expected.)
Girl # 1: Yeah. But it’s the poorer one, like down the mountain, but it should be nice. I’m super excited to do Equestrian Therapy. (This is just like horseback riding……)
Girl # 2: Sounds really restorative.
Girl # 1: It will be. There’s no internet though!
Girl # 2: Are you kidding? (This is the most shocked this friend ever got.)
Girl # 1: No, and I’m like ADDICTED to the Internet.
Girl # 2: I know.

Um, so is she going to rehab for an Internet addiction? Unclear. What was clear, however, was that her friend didn’t bat an eyelash at the mention of rehab. If one of my friends — even a casual one — told me they were going into treatment, I would freak out and ask them a million questions. Not this dynamic duo though. Rehab is basically just a really expensive vacay.
So, yeah, don’t these people make you want to barf? Me too. I hate them but I’m also kind of obsessed with them because they’re just so delusional. When people do ridiculous things, it makes me lose faith in humanity but it also has the ability to make me laugh really hard, so whatever? Whatever.

 

In the throes of a housing market meltdown, ridiculous buyer offers are abundant. Here’s an example…
Friend wants to sell his house for $215,000. Buyer wants to buy it. So he offers $185,000. And demands seller pay closing costs. AND throw in a home warranty.

Never mind the insulting low ball offer. The add-on are absurd. In this case, the seller flat-out rejected the offer.Sometimes though, buyers come across a little more subtle. Here’s what to do if you find your self in that position.

First, imagine this:

Let’s say that you have sold your client’s house, and the buyers agent asks you if his clients could move some of their furniture into the garage three days before closing. Although you wouldn’t want to let them move into the house before closing, you see an advantage in letting them use the garage. It will get them emotionally involved and far less likely to create problems for you at closing. So you’re almost eager to make the concession, but…

Before you do anything, remember this: no matter how small the concession someone is asking you for, always ask for something in return.Say to them, “Let me check with the family and see how they feel about that, but let me ask you this: If we do that for you, what will you do for us?”

One of three things is going to happen when you ask for something in return:

1. You might just get something.

2. By asking for something in return, you elevate the value of the concession. When you’re negotiating, why give anything away? Always make the big deal out of it. You may need that later.

3. It stops the grinding away process. This is the key reason why you should always ask for something in return. If they know that every time they ask you for something, you’re going to ask for something in return, then it stops them constantly coming back for more.

Also, lean on the Higher Authority gambit to deflect pressure from yourself. That way you continue to position yourself as on the other person’s side and any negative emotion will be directed away from you. That’s one of the better ways to