April 04, 2005 :: Slave wages

Today I got a wholly annoying "reminder" email from a friend. The contents:

Just wanted to remind everyone that the "Moving Day" party is on Saturday, April 9th starting at 10am! Food will be provided.


Did I mention that I'm annoyed?

First of all, attempting to disguise this conscription of able bodies with the word "party" is insulting. It ain't no party, especially not at 10:00 am on a coveted Saturday morning. On top of this, I never responded to the first email to confirm my attendance, mostly because I have absolutely no intention of attending this "party". I am thirty years old, dammit, and I am old enough (and fiscally responsible enough) to hire movers to move my stuff when I want stuff moved. I haven't asked people to help me carry my earthly possessions from one house to another in almost a decade. One piece of furniture, sure. But your whole damn house? Stop being cheap.

No, a slice or two of pizza isn't ample compensation. Besides, as I already mentioned, I'm thirty now. My pieces and parts don't work the same way that they used to, particularly my suspect lower back. I am not risking traction and disability because you can't fork out a couple hundred dollars. Hell, I don't even like carry my own stuff. I sure wouldn't ask "friends" to do something I don't even want to do myself.

Which leads me to my biggest beef... if said person had actually been anything resembling a friend in the last 12 months or so, I might be inclined to set aside my philosophical differences and help anyway. That is what friends do for each other, right? But we haven't been. Said person has been pretty much unreachable, and unresponsive to voicemails. So to come calling now, I think, is the height of presumption.

Besides, I have a prior engagement at that same time. I've had a standing date with my pillow on my calendar for years.