People are Annoying. Part I

I know with a broad general title like "People Are Annoying" I'm going to have many an entry regarding this subject. Hence the "Part I".

So Sarge has this friend, his name is...hmmmm..."Sarge's Best Friend Forever" (SBFF). He's a pretty cool guy, always there when you need him, willing to help out, even at the cost to his own familial obligations (a whole other story, SBFF needs his OWN blog). He is usually very funny and easy to get along with, a bit high strung, but hey, what better target for my bitchy jabs. I call him SBFF because he has a bit of a man-crush on Sarge (SBFF, if you're reading this, we have discussed this, you know it's true, your wife agrees with me, and it's not like I'm using your real name!!), and it's just fun to tease "tough military guys" about things like that. Sarge, eh, he could care less, and even knows who I am talking about when I say "Your boyfriend."

Ok, you're asking, if he's so great, what is he doing in a post titled "People are Annoying"? Well.

I am 100% Japanese, and I'm American, as in born and raised IN AMERICA. I hate being called "Oriental", I feel like it's just an outdated term. What the hell, why beat around the bush, I just don't freaking like to be called that. It does not bother me that my mom refers to herself as Oriental, or that other people don't mind being called Oriental. HOWEVER if you are my friend, and you once refer to me as Oriental, and I ask you politely (well, lets be honest here,TELL you) to call me Asian, I WOULD EXPECT YOU TO RESPECT MY WISHES!!!


I'm not saying that SBFF does not respect my wishes. No,no,nooooooooooo. He does call me Asian, but to the exclusion of my ethnic sub-ethnicity, if you will.

Let me explain.

SBFF and his wife were over at our house hanging out, and SBFF's Wife notices my shadow box with the 1001 cranes "I" folded for my wedding. I explain to her the Japanese tradition of folding the 1001 origami cranes, and how when we got married Sarge and I couldn't afford to have them set into a fancy pattern, so my mom framed them for us in a shadowbox. Note that I mentioned that it was a Japanese tradition. SBFF jumps in and says all sarcastic like "You're not Japanese! You're AAAAAASIAN!!!!!!" Holy Crap! I about shit my pants. I was so freaking out of my mind with disbelief that someone would even try to argue my ethnicity with me that I just gave him my WTF?! glare of doom. I know SBFF will say that he was just playing with me. Whatever. He didn't think it was so funny later when I made a crack about his Alopecia affected eyebrows. This happened almost a month ago, and it still pisses me off when I think about it.

And I wonder why Sarge and I don't have more friends. Poor Sarge.