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Source: (consider it) Thread: Why I Hate One-Uppers
Charlie-in-the-box
Shipmate
# 17954

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I am royally pissed and I need to send someone to hell to burn in a deep trench. I have a former friend who always has to “one up” me. You know the type, right? If I stub my toe, she would tell me about her six months in traction with a broken ankle and how the prayer team still prays for her full healing. If I say I’m hungry she will say she is on day 33 of a 40 day fast and she is beyond selfish things such as being hungry. She infuriates me and pushes all my buttons to the point I see red. I literally get hopping mad at her.

I am very honored that I talk to a priest from time to time for spiritual direction. He's such a gentle soul, I consider him a dear friend on my faith journey and, in a time when no one likes me in the Catholic church, it means a lot that he cheers me up and encourages me. He sees the real me and doesn't run in fear. He can actually help me believe that I'm wanted. She was upset that I started talking to him insinuating that I should go it alone. I guess she is in charge of my fucking life, maybe I should start sending her my bills. Anyway, she wanted me to have no one to talk to and be alone while she has people in her life. She has to brag about how she goes on pilgrimages he leads and "too bad you can’t afford to go." Then when I say the Father and I talk via email she will say, “I need to call him. I have his personal number on my cell phone. Do you have his personal email or do you have to use the school email?"(he's a high school chaplain). She will comment that she calls him all the time so I can know that I am not as good of a friend to him as she is and she just goes on and on. This is a priest for crying out loud. She acts like a spoiled brat. If I blew up at her she would cower and guess who would be the bad guy? You got it. Someone please tell me I'm not the only person with a bitch like this in my life. It's maddening. I visualize sharks circling her body as she talks while I toss in bloody meat around her.

As she brags about all the people she's "saved" or prayed for and they were "healed" I slowly roll the mental tape of me driving a car in the Mohave Desert at noon with her in the passenger seat. Suddenly I pull over and tell her to get out quick yelling that there's a spider. She jumps out of the car, leaving her phone and purse inside and I gun it covering her with dust and dirt as I drive away with her in the middle of the desert and her voice fading to silent.

I don't know why it grates me when Miss One-Upper acts like this but I totally admit it steams my clams like nothing else. Everyone thinks she has miraculous healing powers but she's syrupy sweet and totally fake. She plays the martyr if you point that out. She will ask if I’m STILL talking to the priest I see and then go on and on about how she is going on his latest pilgrimage.

She knows I am getting back on my feet from the divorce and starting over financially. She knows I'm lonely and the struggles I have with depression and spiritual wrestling. She wants to show that what I have, even a friendship, is nothing and she has something better. She acts like it's 8th grade and I just picture myself taking my hands, digging in my nails, and twisting her face off.

This priest is someone I consider a dear friend and I don't have a lot of friends. We may meet for dinner and chat once or twice a year and I email him with my diatribes, tantrums, and frustrations. God has so blessed my life with him as a priest, friend, and guide and she just can't let me have that. She can't let me have one thing without psychologically photo bombing every good thing/person my life. I have a hard time in the faith and he is someone who really helps me. Then she acts like what I have is nothing compared to her glory. She treats me like shit and and wants me to feel like that's all I am. I just want to jump up and down and throw a tantrum like a little kid. I posted a Facebook message once to a lady I know from the former parish I attended saying how wonderful she was for burning me a CD and I really liked it. Not ten minutes later Miss One-Upper posts, "I'm so glad you and I are best friends" to that same person to make sure I knew that. I just shook my head--she just can't quit.

I got so angry at her bragging about going on a recent trip to another friend of mine last Saturday I actually went and got blind, stinking drunk at home. I was seeing red. Why am I not allowed to have special things or friends without her one upping me? She has the total attention of another priest. She has a whole group convinced she has special healing powers. She has a family at home and isn't lonely. But she has to make herself feel good by making me feel bad. I want to send her stupid ass to hell for trying to prove I'm nothing and that she is always one step better. If you look up selfish in the dictionary her pic is there and you will know who I'm talking about.

Why does she push my buttons? I want to disconnect the wires from my buttons. I want to have them be like the buttons on my toaster. You can turn them all damn day, your toast is still burning because they aren't connected to anything. They are like knobs on a play kitchen stove. Someday maybe I’ll be that way and not want to bonk Miss One-Upper with a ball bat across the back of her head and then run over her with my car.

Don't ever expect to see a prayer card with my face on it. I'll never be a saint. If there was a card of me I'm sure Miss One-Upper would probably have a bigger one, with gold just to prove a point. DAMN she pisses me off.

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Charlie-in-the-box
http://rosarygirl1962.blogspot.com/

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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528

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how the hell is this person still in your life? Defriend her on FB. Defriend her in real life. Don't tell her a darn thing. Don't even stand next to her. Run, don't walk, to the nearest exit. Don't even bother returning your tray table to its locked and upright position...

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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!

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Evangeline
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# 7002

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Those people are poison, I agree with LC, run, don't walk away, cut her out of your life completely and you will be better for it.
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RuthW

liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13

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quote:
Originally posted by Charlie-in-the-box:
Someone please tell me I'm not the only person with a bitch like this in my life.

You're not the only one. Two things have helped me a lot: distancing myself from her, and finding other people who don't buy her self-promoting one-up-man-ship. So when she posts something on Facebook that makes me want to [Projectile] , I have two people who will join me in all the "Did you see that?!? Could she be more self-absorbed?!?" stuff behind her back.
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RuthW

liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13

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Defriending her is the obvious answer -- but it's easier said than done. To de-friend my one-upper I'd have to de-friend a bunch of other people as well.
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Charlie-in-the-box
Shipmate
# 17954

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She's no longer on my Facebook but we do have the same faith so there will be times when we attend the same event. The minute she sees me she springs like a fucking panther and here we go again. I wish someone would stick their foot out as she is coming towards me and she has no problem cutting right in on a conversation. [Mad]

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Charlie-in-the-box
http://rosarygirl1962.blogspot.com/

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RuthW

liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13

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It's very unlikely that you are the only person who sees her this way, Charlie, and unlikely that you are the only victim of her bullshit. Look for another like-minded person and band together. I have run interference more than once for another of my one-upper's victims, and she does it for me. And finding someone to share your feelings with can help de-fang the snake for you, because it's very affirming and undoes a lot of the feelings that come from being put down.
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528

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Very true.

If you don't mind being passive aggressive (hey, it can be fun!), you can get some of your own back when she does this shit. Wait for her to start her Topper stories and say blandly, "Oh dear, you're quite right. My situation is nothing like as bad/good/difficult/blessed/whatthehell as yours was!"

After about five go-rounds she'll start to eye you suspiciously. With luck, she'll dump you soon after. [Yipee]

[ 25. June 2014, 01:35: Message edited by: Lamb Chopped ]

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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!

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orfeo

Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878

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Tell her you robbed a grocery store and see if she still tries to one-up you.

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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.

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The5thMary
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# 12953

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quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Tell her you robbed a grocery store and see if she still tries to one-up you.

Hahaha! Now that I've had a laugh...well, I am ashamed that I was ONCE like this "friend". I was rather insufferable (some wags might say I'm STILL insufferable but I won't go into that...ahem!). Anyway, the reason I did it was I was incredibly insecure and had "issues" from childhood and other crap. The thing is, that excuse only goes so far. When one gets into their late twenties, it's time to deal with one's shit or prepare to be friendless. I had a friend tell me in no uncertain terms that I was a selfish b*tch and she wanted nothing more to do with me. She wasn't the only one, either. Now, I could've kept right on being a selfish bitch but I had no friends and was pretty lonely. So, to make a long story short, I really spent time in therapy and looked at my actions. I made myself look at the shit I had become. I didn't like what I saw and felt remorse.

So, the people who dropped me like a hot coal were completely justified in doing that. Maybe this woman needs to be told, like I was, that her behavior is vile and unacceptable. Just because some of us follow Jesus and try to be forgiving is no reason to let less evolved people continually harm us with their poison. Tell this woman off. She'll probably act affronted and she may try to drag your name through the mud but the people who know her and know YOU will understand she's being a defensive douchebag.

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God gave me my face but She let me pick my nose.

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Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
It's very unlikely that you are the only person who sees her this way, Charlie, and unlikely that you are the only victim of her bullshit. Look for another like-minded person and band together. I have run interference more than once for another of my one-upper's victims, and she does it for me. And finding someone to share your feelings with can help de-fang the snake for you, because it's very affirming and undoes a lot of the feelings that come from being put down.

And also prevents you from stupidly lashing out in kind, which only turns you into the asshole.

Also-- it's cold comfort, but you can take some cold comfort that this persons' behavior demonstrates 1. They really don't think they are as great as they say they are, no matter how loudly they say it, other wise they could handle accommodating others and

2. If you really do get to the point where you are saying to yourself,"I am definitely not crazy. Every time I have an success, every time I have a problem, this person is right on deck to comment." then... what does that say about what an impressive-- nay, intimidating person you must be?

I was thinking today about a buddy I made in singing class years ago-- she was stunningly gorgeous and sang like a pro. She was also the nicest, most supportive person in class. Why? She could afford to be. It was the insecure folk who were always casting side-eye at others, and loudly proclaiming any pushback as "jealousy."
I'm not saying these other classmates were any more or less talented than my friend was, I am saying-- obviously they weren't convinced of that.

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

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comet

Snowball in Hell
# 10353

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Gosh Charlie, it sounds like you hang with my little sister! if so, feel free to keep her. tell her I died.

in my mind, there are three ways you can deal with this.

1) the cold shoulder approach. this is how I manage my sister in hopes of maintaining some sort of family harmony. You ignore her. everything. she calls, don't answer, and if you accidentally do, suddenly come down with a really horrible case of the trots, or tell her your hair is on fire so you have to go. If she walks up to you at church, suddenly remember that you're due at the doctor's office for your scheduled lobotomy. basically don't allow a conversation to happen. at all. for any reason.

This is a very unsatisfactory solution, but if the other two turn your stomach, it at least is an option.

2) the TNT approach. maybe have a few shots first to limber up. Then go find her and let her have it both barrels. (metaphorically, please) tell her in no uncertain terms what a fucking pathetic little freak she is, tell her you can see right through her obvious screaming jealousy of you, you're sick and tired of her attempts to bring you down, and you want her GONE. Probably much like Mary's friends said. Totally flip your lid, light the fuse, blow your top. Chances are, you'll never see her again. except maybe in court.

this is the most satisfying of the three options. a good explosion is better than sex. downsides: possible police involvement. plus guilt from really saying what's on your mind. However true.

3) the what-grown-ups-do approach. less fun than number 2, probably much more functional. You work up a script to have a conversation with her. you write it out first, to help you get your thoughts in order. you take deep breaths, you practice. and then you invite her sorry ass over for a heart to heart. You use "I" language. for example, DO say, "when you always tell me how much better you do things than I do, it makes me feel like you're trying to hurt me, is this true?" DON'T say, "WHY ARE YOU SUCH A RAVING LUNATIC?!?" (if that sounds better, see option 2) Stick to the "I" language, and be calm. take deep breaths, and have the conversation. You will cry. She probably will, too. she might yell, too. it's okay, yelling is temporary. Even us yelly types eventually have to stop and hydrate. basically, she may not respond satisfactorily. This is okay, if that is the case you end your conversation with, "I don't think we can remain friends. Thank you for listening. You may go, now." or, she may (I'm betting PROBABLY will, even) respond satisfactorily - "I'm so sorry, Charlie, I had no idea I was hurting you! I was just trying to feel like somewhat less of a complete loser since my husband left me for that drunken schnauzer dress-maker in Boca Raton!"

Downsides of option 3: it's really, really, REALLY hard to act like a grown-up. but it pays off. just remember than once this undie-twistingly uncomfortable conversation is over, you can sooth yourself with otterpops and a blankie, so it's all good.

go do it. it's better to have one red day that five blue ones. pull off the band-aid. you'll feel so much better once you did.

or, you know, option one. but really, that one kid of sucks.

--------------------
Evil Dragon Lady, Breaker of Men's Constitutions

"It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.” -Calvin

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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772

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Being a mature adult is a possibility but you could also be a passive aggressive underminer. It can be a lot of fun. Lifemanship by Stephen Potter is an old but fun guide.

Try practicing these responses in a sympathetic voice.

"I'm so glad things are going better for you, I was worried about you for a while..."

"That may work for you, but I'm just not humble enough to do that."

"How brave of you."

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Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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My mom (classic one-upper) has a friend, R.< who is-- her karma, basically. When she recounts their arguments, it is like Furby Doll transcripts. What I say to her-- and what I try to practice myself-- is that it is much less worthwhile trying to figure out how to handle a one-upper and more worthwhile to just find cooler, more generous people to hang out with. In her case I think she is so invested in "beating" R. that she can't leave her alone.

The jealousy thing-- this is what has come up with me a couple times, with a couple one-uppers in my life. Mostly because, in my mind, they have absolutely fucking nothing to be jealous about. I will take as a template a college friend. i'll call her Jazmin, because-- that is her name [Big Grin] . We took a couple film studies classes together.

On a surface level, she trumped me in every way. She was younger than me, taller than me, thinner than me, more attractive than me, had a cool flashy film job, had cool flashy boyfriends, had connections coming out of her ears and dozens of people who were on hand to worship her undeniable charm and charisma (I was one of them.)She made no attempt to disguise the fact that she considered herself superior to me-- she even (AbFab fans) declared me the "donkey to her racehorse."

Yet, one of our professors praised an essay I wrote, and it sent her into a rage. we socialized at a local networking club-- every time a guy talked to me, she would come over and literally step in front of me. Anytime someone would try to involve me in the conversation, she would drag it back to herself.

And my feeling was- what the hell are you trying to prove by trumping me? I have no illusions that I am any big threat to anyone as far as diverting attention, but boy did she act like that was the case!

So-- yeah. That behavior is generated by delusional thinking-- either narcissism that won't allow anyone to have the spotlight but them, or the kind of photographic negative narcissism that says, if I don't fight for attention every second, I will lose it forever.

Either way, buying into it validates it. I wound up "losing" Jazmin's number. I wound up happier doing that.

[ 25. June 2014, 06:26: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

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Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
Defriending her is the obvious answer -- but it's easier said than done. To de-friend my one-upper I'd have to de-friend a bunch of other people as well.

Boy, I like the "list" function.

--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

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chive

Ship's nude
# 208

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She reminds me of a lass I once worked with who had to trump everyone's experience to the point of ridiculousness. She eventually stopped after she was mocked large and long after another colleague was telling us a story about when he was in the merchant navy and he was held at gunpoint by pirates in the South China Sea. We were all waiting for him to finish this, clearly interesting story, when she interrupted with, 'When I was shot in the head...'

Mock her, take the piss, fuck her - you don't need arseholes in your life.

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'Edward was the kind of man who thought there was no such thing as a lesbian, just a woman who hadn't done one-to-one Bible study with him.' Catherine Fox, Love to the Lost

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Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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quote:
Originally posted by chive:
She reminds me of a lass I once worked with who had to trump everyone's experience to the point of ridiculousness. She eventually stopped after she was mocked large and long after another colleague was telling us a story about when he was in the merchant navy and he was held at gunpoint by pirates in the South China Sea. We were all waiting for him to finish this, clearly interesting story, when she interrupted with, 'When I was shot in the head...'

[Killing me] [Killing me] [Killing me]

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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At a Christmas party with family friends-- we were bonding over our favorite Christmas carols, and one bubblehead chirped, "the only version of that song I like is the one I perform on harpsichord, with this cellist I know..."

--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

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Sipech
Shipmate
# 16870

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It's so tempting to start a response along the lines of...You think you've had trouble with a one-upper? Mine was ten times worse!

If you really want to be shot of her, announce that you will be soon be donating one kidney and see if she keeps playing.

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I try to be self-deprecating; I'm just not very good at it.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheAlethiophile

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Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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quote:
Originally posted by TheAlethiophile:
It's so tempting to start a response along the lines of...You think you've had trouble with a one-upper? Mine was ten times worse!

(yenta voice)You don't know from one-upping!


Oh and go to 1:50 here. I know this chick. I KNOW HER!

(the premise of the sketch is the recurring "drama queen" character teaching her acting students how to make every situation revolve around themselves.)

[ 25. June 2014, 07:35: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
Schroedinger's cat

Ship's cool cat
# 64

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I think there are a number of options you can take here.

1. Return her one-upping with your own. If she asks why you are not "going it alone", explain that you find it good to have someone who agrees with you, and can help you grow - like a sportswoman and a coach. If she discusses the pilgrimages she is going on, explain that you would rather spend your money on other people, not yourself.

2. Defriend her aggressively, making it clear that you can no longer cope with her neediness in her spiritual life, and so are trying to find more positive people to work with. When you meet her, ignore her completely. If she butts in, pretend you don't know her at all. Take a leaf out of the Jane Austen era women who knew how to cut someone.

3. Kill her. Personally, this would be my preference. Simple and straightforward, not to mention permanent. Of course, she would probably then come back after 3 days, but if she does, remember, she will almost certainly be gone in 40 days again.

Whatever, get this bitch out of your life. She is a waste of your time.

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Blog
Music for your enjoyment
Lord may all my hard times be healing times
take out this broken heart and renew my mind.

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Erroneous Monk
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# 10858

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I think this is a great thread. Thanks Charlie.

I also think the leaving-her-in-the-desert fantasy is probably really healthy.

There are some people where the only thing you can do is keep smiling, while inside you're wondering whether it'd be possible to stick your pen over her glasses and into her eye without breaking it.

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And I shot a man in Tesco, just to watch him die.

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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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I think you may have a mis-labelling problem. The correct term for someone who brings negativity and suffering into your life is not 'friend' but 'enemy'.

Act accordingly.

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Charlie-in-the-box
Shipmate
# 17954

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quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
At a Christmas party with family friends-- we were bonding over our favorite Christmas carols, and one bubblehead chirped, "the only version of that song I like is the one I perform on harpsichord, with this cellist I know..."

[Paranoid] [Killing me] OMG!

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Charlie-in-the-box
http://rosarygirl1962.blogspot.com/

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Charlie-in-the-box
Shipmate
# 17954

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quote:
Originally posted by TheAlethiophile:
It's so tempting to start a response along the lines of...You think you've had trouble with a one-upper? Mine was ten times worse!

If you really want to be shot of her, announce that you will be soon be donating one kidney and see if she keeps playing.

OMG I almost spit my tea on the computer. LOVE IT!

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Charlie-in-the-box
http://rosarygirl1962.blogspot.com/

Posts: 55 | From: Island of Misfit Heretics | Registered: Jan 2014  |  IP: Logged
Amanda B. Reckondwythe

Dressed for Church
# 5521

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quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
one bubblehead chirped, "the only version of that song I like is the one I perform on harpsichord, with this cellist I know..."

To which the response is, "Oh, I hear the critics really panned that recording. I'm so sorry."

I have a dear friend who has been a dear friend for many years -- he's helped me through difficult times, and I him. However, whenever I begin to tell him about something, his response always is, "Oh, my cousin Naomi had it much worse" or "That's like the time that my friend Joey [did something far more interesting]."

Fortunately (I guess), he now lives 3000 miles away and our encounters can only be by telephone.

I finally told him, "Elliot, I don't know these people you're telling me about, and I want you to know that whenever you start going on about them I just take the receiver away from my ear." That hasn't completely broken him of the habit, but at least I can keep the friendship going without actually having to listen to him.

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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.

Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004  |  IP: Logged
Charlie-in-the-box
Shipmate
# 17954

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Thank you fellow sufferers,

I am so blown away by the options. It's like I just opened all my Christmas presents early. I want to use every one of them. The one who was story bombing with her comment about being shot in the head, I could so see her doing that.

We are NOT friends. I ended that a year or more ago. Sadly, we do end up at the same functions and I'm not going to check ahead of time because that just isn't worth the effort.

I think the comment about major insecurity is valid. She has a priest she worships (not kidding) and she literally threw herself on the ground once because she THOUGHT he might be mad at her. I see Borderline Personality Disorder. I'm a mental health case manager who works with the homeless so I've seen it all before.

When someone needs to be admired that much you are all right, feeding that monster gets nowhere.

I love the options and thanks for making me laugh. LOVE IT!! [Snigger]

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Charlie-in-the-box
http://rosarygirl1962.blogspot.com/

Posts: 55 | From: Island of Misfit Heretics | Registered: Jan 2014  |  IP: Logged
Pigwidgeon

Ship's Owl
# 10192

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quote:
Originally posted by comet:
...she calls, don't answer, and if you accidentally do, suddenly come down with a really horrible case of the trots...

Not unless you want to hear about her MUCH worse case.

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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf

Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged
Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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I refrain from telling my mom about any ailment I have unless abslutely necessary, for just that reason.

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
RuthW

liberal "peace first" hankie squeezer
# 13

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quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
Defriending her is the obvious answer -- but it's easier said than done. To de-friend my one-upper I'd have to de-friend a bunch of other people as well.

Boy, I like the "list" function.
Me too, but despite my phrasing I wasn't just talking about Facebook here. The one-upper in my life is too important in one of my social circles for me to simply stop having anything to do with her.

The newest development with her is that she's in love. So naturally she talks if she discovered, nay, created love itself.

Posts: 24453 | From: La La Land | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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Oooh, dear.

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
Pyx_e

Quixotic Tilter
# 57

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Next function you both go to hire a stupendous male escort (stuff a cucumber down his trouser leg) to fawn over you all night (make sure you hair is a mess and you have grass in it, look flushed), and barely talk to her again.

[ 25. June 2014, 16:43: Message edited by: Pyx_e ]

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It is better to be Kind than right.

Posts: 9778 | From: The Dark Tower | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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So, at age 45, I still have that one friend who will glom all over any guy who gives me the slightest attention, even if she has taken no notice of him before. To the point that I have been tempted to advise male friends, " if you really want to get X's attention, flirt with me for an hour or two. She'll be on you like white on rice."

Which is really funny, but I do worry about meeting someone special and having her interfere. My plan, therefore, is a modification of Pyx_e's -- hire the hunky escort, have him act out being "stolen away" and meanwhile I scurry off to be comforted by the guy I really like.

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
Starbug
Shipmate
# 15917

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My boss is like this. When I said I was seeing my GP for IBS symptoms, he said 'Oh, I've got that!' I asked him if he'd been disagnosed and, of course, he hadn't.

He's also done everyone else's jobs, so he knows all about them and you can't tell him anything. I think he must have done my job a very long time ago, though, as he doesn't seem to remember what it involves. He must be at least 150 years old, as that's what it would take for him to have done every single job in our department. Or maybe he's lying.

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“Oh the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?” ― The Day of the Doctor

Posts: 1189 | From: West of the New Forest | Registered: Sep 2010  |  IP: Logged
Lyda*Rose

Ship's broken porthole
# 4544

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Ya think?

Where do we get all these "friends" anyway? [Confused]

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"Dear God, whose name I do not know - thank you for my life. I forgot how BIG... thank you. Thank you for my life." ~from Joe Vs the Volcano

Posts: 21377 | From: CA | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged
The5thMary
Shipmate
# 12953

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quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I refrain from telling my mom about any ailment I have unless abslutely necessary, for just that reason.

Since I was once an insufferable a-hole, I guess karma had to fulfill itself when my wife and I got involved two years ago with this woman from our church. Maybe we felt sorry for her...I know we were both wildly attracted to her beauty...but we sure paid a high price for befriending her. She is also one of these people who always has to one-up your particular pain. She does this on a constant basis. What's worse is she is a disabled veteran and is convinced that without heavy-duty pain killers she is going to die of agony. So, she has faked being critically ill enough times that the Atlanta V.A. hospital just doesn't have any room for her in the emergency room. The V.A. will tell the paramedics that they have to take her someplace else. Our ex-girlfriend is always so upset about this. She doesn't get it. I was with her on two occasions in the e.r. when the doctor told her there wasn't anything wrong with her and she dramatically moaned, "Ohhhhh, but the pain! I'm going to die from the pain!". She fooled them a few times but after I ratted her out to her psychiatrist (she doesn't know about that!), the e.r. doesn't give her pain meds unless they find something that would cause her such pain. She's always in so much pain. Last week she called my wife and moaned that she had a chill and should she go to the e.r.? My wife absolutely hates talking to her. Gee, I wonder why.

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God gave me my face but She let me pick my nose.

Posts: 3451 | From: Tacoma, WA USA | Registered: Aug 2007  |  IP: Logged
The Phantom Flan Flinger
Shipmate
# 8891

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Next time your paths cross, let her speak first - then one-up her.

She'll probably one-up you back, just keep on going and see how ridiculous it gets.

She might get the message, she might not, but it'll be fun!!

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http://www.faith-hope-and-confusion.com/

Posts: 1020 | From: Leicester, England | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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quote:
Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
Ya think?

Where do we get all these "friends" anyway? [Confused]

I think we are using the term generously. Because, yeah, the people I think of who I feel I have established decent friendships with just would not pull this shit-- and I don't feel the urge to avoid them.

That's what happens when you gamble peoples genuine rapport for mere social dominance-- you might have people showering you with attention in a surface way, but you don't have that kind of deep down reassurance of companionship that a reciprocal friendship gives.

Hence my advice to Mom-- make individual dates with the women in your group who don't drive you batshit and that will help alleviate the irritation of having to deal with her in a group.

My mom's problem, though is that she also has a need to be the boss bitch, so avoiding her won't do-- she has to trump her.

I said to her (like Ruth said earlier) that if she was annoyed, there had to be others who were annoyed, too.Ironically I based this belief on a couple of conversations I had had with a couple of my mom's similarly aged relatives. About her behavior.

[ 25. June 2014, 18:34: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
quetzalcoatl
Shipmate
# 16740

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There's something about age as well, isn't there? When I was in my 20s, I had 'friends' who were completely unsuitable, sarcastic, mocking, unrelated, and so on, but I had a sort of emotional promiscuity. So I thought everybody would be my friend, even people I didn't like!

Anyway, as the heart grows older, it comes to such sights colder (Hopkins), and I had less and less friends, as I discriminated. Now as an old man, they are nearly all dead or mad! They tell me this is progress.

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I can't talk to you today; I talked to two people yesterday.

Posts: 9878 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2011  |  IP: Logged
Pigwidgeon

Ship's Owl
# 10192

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quote:
Originally posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger:
She'll probably one-up you back, just keep on going and see how ridiculous it gets.

This ridiculous?
[Big Grin]

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"...that is generally a matter for Pigwidgeon, several other consenting adults, a bottle of cheap Gin and the odd giraffe."
~Tortuf

Posts: 9835 | From: Hogwarts | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984

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Or this ?

[ 25. June 2014, 19:02: Message edited by: Doublethink ]

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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell

Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005  |  IP: Logged
Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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What if you could infect someone's Siri with a program that one-ups everything they say? [Yipee]

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
Amazing Grace

High Church Protestant
# 95

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I want in on the ground floor on that app. Sounds like it would make a fortune.

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WTFWED? "Remember to always be yourself, unless you suck" - the Gator
Memory Eternal! Sheep 3, Phil the Wise Guy, and Jesus' Evil Twin in the SoF Nativity Play

Posts: 6593 | From: Sittin' by the dock of the [SF] bay | Registered: Jul 2003  |  IP: Logged
lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333

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quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
quote:
Originally posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger:
She'll probably one-up you back, just keep on going and see how ridiculous it gets.

This ridiculous?
[Big Grin]

Never, EVER link to anything from the Live at the Hollywood Bowl concert. That abomination was the biggest insult to one's fans ever committed.
Any other version is better.
Of course, you could always watch the original.

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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou

Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008  |  IP: Logged
mousethief

Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953

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Have very much enjoyed this thread although I don't have much to add to it.

You all are so much better at having one-upping friends than I am.

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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...

Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
Or this ?

(sigh) Nina Wadia. [Axe murder]

... sorry, what were we discussing again?

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
Ariston
Insane Unicorn
# 10894

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quote:
Originally posted by Pyx_e:
Next function you both go to hire a stupendous male escort (stuff a cucumber down his trouser leg) to fawn over you all night (make sure you hair is a mess and you have grass in it, look flushed), and barely talk to her again.

I was called?

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“Therefore, let it be explained that nowhere are the proprieties quite so strictly enforced as in men’s colleges that invite young women guests, especially over-night visitors in the fraternity houses.” Emily Post, 1937.

Posts: 6849 | From: The People's Republic of Balcones | Registered: Jan 2006  |  IP: Logged
Kelly Alves

Bunny with an axe
# 2522

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Now, see? That would be a bro move. [Big Grin]

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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.

Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
Ariston
Insane Unicorn
# 10894

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No cucumber needed.

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“Therefore, let it be explained that nowhere are the proprieties quite so strictly enforced as in men’s colleges that invite young women guests, especially over-night visitors in the fraternity houses.” Emily Post, 1937.

Posts: 6849 | From: The People's Republic of Balcones | Registered: Jan 2006  |  IP: Logged
Pyx_e

Quixotic Tilter
# 57

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22 cucumber St.

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It is better to be Kind than right.

Posts: 9778 | From: The Dark Tower | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged



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