Preparing for Battle

Some people love confrontation while others shy away. Then there are those who don't like confrontation, but strangely thrust themselves into it because they feel compelled. Tonight's entry is a short one, but it was fun to experience.

I am currently selling all of my furniture because I want to move out of my apartment in a month with little to no excess possessions. My most recent buyer was a very short and petite middle-aged woman (we'll call her Mara) who had her sights set on my nightstand. The piece, originally bought at Ikea for about $45, was listed for $15 in my craigslist post. Considering it was coming pre-assembled and in perfect condition, it was a good deal.

Mara showed up at my apartment and had her game face on. She was in no mood to make friends as she first assessed the size of the nightstand proclaiming, "I'm not carrying this." She inspected the stand quickly and reached into her wallet. She hesitated briefly before pulling out a 10 dollar bill and two 1's. "So, twelve?" she asked, holding the money out and expecting me to pause briefly before caving to her generosity.

"No, the ad said fifteen."

She cocked her head to the side. "Don't you need to sell this?"

"Yeah, but I can get $15 for it. This isn't the first one I've sold."

I stared Mara in the eyes, but she put her head down and marched to the door. With her hand on the door knob, she turned back to me with a theatrical flair.

"Don't you move tomorrow?" she asked with an accusing tone.

My response was a couple notches below smug. "Actually, I move in a month. I'm just getting rid of my stuff now."

Mara sulked against the door knob before placing her hand on her purse.

"Well, do you have change for a twenty?"

HA! Got 'er!

There's more to it, but that would be gloating. The moral of the story is that we sometimes psyche ourselves up for confrontations because we feel that they are necessary. In the event that a confrontation was not necessary, we can end up making fools of ourselves. She could have used some charisma to talk me into a $3 discount, and could have walked out with a bit more pride when I turned her down. Instead, she couldn't look me in the face the whole time I helped her with the nightstand down to the curb.

I don't want to sound like I think I'm superior to dear old Mara, because I'm not. I'm just as susceptible to overhype as anyone else. The only thing that really needs to be said is that this could have been an unremarkable exchange, but instead I got a little chuckle out of it. Just another lesson in the discipline of relaxed living.