Schadenfreude
The Germans have several unique words that don't have an English counterpart; one of the is schadenfreude. It means taking pleasure in the pain or misery of others. That really doesn't quite describe how I feel at this moment, but it's the closest I can think of.
I know, an opening paragraph like that deserves a serious explanation. Here it is.
There was this woman that I kind-of sort-of dated - way back in 1992. I have to say we "kind-of sort-of" dated because we never actually went on a date. Whenever we bumped into her, she was constantly touching my arms, commenting on how she liked my cologne and generally exhibiting a certain level of interest.
I eventually took the hint, asked her out on a date and she said "yes". We made plans to meet after class, since we were both in college at the time. When the appointed hour arrived, she was nowhere to be seen. I figured she was just blowing me off.
The interesting thing was that I got a phone call the next morning, apologizing profusely and asking for another chance. I agreed. Long story short - this pattern of her saying she wanted to go out, never showing when ever we made plans repeated and then calling to express her regret repeated itself a couple of times.
Eventually, I gave up on and began referring to her as Psycho Girl during any conversations about the subject to my friends. In fact, fifteen years later, none of my friends from that period of my life will mention this woman's name aloud. She is always referred to as Psycho Girl.
Anyway, I learned through the proverbial grape vine recently that Psycho Girl is on the board of directors for one of Detroit's largest employers. I know this sounds really bad, but I can't help wondering if it's okay for me to blame her for the anemic state of the economy in southeastern Michigan at the moment?
(If anyone has an opinion on that, please feel free to leave a comment.)
Of course, all of this was one-upped to the nth degree when I found out about another ex-girlfriend of mine.
There is another young woman who I dated a few years after Psycho Girl who is simply know as Uber-Bitch. We had a brief relationship that never really went anywhere. I broke it off because there really wasn't any chemistry between us.
She responded by making a series of phone calls to various literary agents in New York that she knew, telling them that under no circumstances what-so-ever should they try to publish a novel that I had finished writing. I eventually found a home for my novel, but her efforts did pose a few challenges for me.
Anyway, I have since learned that Uber-Bitch's life has had a meltdown in recent years. She is in the process of getting a divorce from this guy that she met after me and her career has come plummeting down. Her years of back-stabbing and manipulating have reportedly led to her getting fired from her current job.
To top it off, from what I'm hearing, no one else in the industry who is in a position to hire anyone is wiling to even talk to her. The whole thing is karma meets schadenfreude in dark alley.
When I heard about this, I couldn't help but ask myself: just how many copies of my novel should I send her?
(Again, if anyone has an opinion on that, please feel free to leave a comment.)
I know, an opening paragraph like that deserves a serious explanation. Here it is.
There was this woman that I kind-of sort-of dated - way back in 1992. I have to say we "kind-of sort-of" dated because we never actually went on a date. Whenever we bumped into her, she was constantly touching my arms, commenting on how she liked my cologne and generally exhibiting a certain level of interest.
I eventually took the hint, asked her out on a date and she said "yes". We made plans to meet after class, since we were both in college at the time. When the appointed hour arrived, she was nowhere to be seen. I figured she was just blowing me off.
The interesting thing was that I got a phone call the next morning, apologizing profusely and asking for another chance. I agreed. Long story short - this pattern of her saying she wanted to go out, never showing when ever we made plans repeated and then calling to express her regret repeated itself a couple of times.
Eventually, I gave up on and began referring to her as Psycho Girl during any conversations about the subject to my friends. In fact, fifteen years later, none of my friends from that period of my life will mention this woman's name aloud. She is always referred to as Psycho Girl.
Anyway, I learned through the proverbial grape vine recently that Psycho Girl is on the board of directors for one of Detroit's largest employers. I know this sounds really bad, but I can't help wondering if it's okay for me to blame her for the anemic state of the economy in southeastern Michigan at the moment?
(If anyone has an opinion on that, please feel free to leave a comment.)
Of course, all of this was one-upped to the nth degree when I found out about another ex-girlfriend of mine.
There is another young woman who I dated a few years after Psycho Girl who is simply know as Uber-Bitch. We had a brief relationship that never really went anywhere. I broke it off because there really wasn't any chemistry between us.
She responded by making a series of phone calls to various literary agents in New York that she knew, telling them that under no circumstances what-so-ever should they try to publish a novel that I had finished writing. I eventually found a home for my novel, but her efforts did pose a few challenges for me.Anyway, I have since learned that Uber-Bitch's life has had a meltdown in recent years. She is in the process of getting a divorce from this guy that she met after me and her career has come plummeting down. Her years of back-stabbing and manipulating have reportedly led to her getting fired from her current job.
To top it off, from what I'm hearing, no one else in the industry who is in a position to hire anyone is wiling to even talk to her. The whole thing is karma meets schadenfreude in dark alley.
When I heard about this, I couldn't help but ask myself: just how many copies of my novel should I send her?
(Again, if anyone has an opinion on that, please feel free to leave a comment.)
Comments
Comment to karmic retribution situation #2: BWA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In the words of the immortal Justine Timberlake, "What goes around, goes around, goes around comes all the way back around..." You should send her one single autographed copy with a note simply stating, "To remind you of better days." :P
The fact that you mentioned Justin Timberlake in your comment is irony upon irony. Ask me to explain of alcohol sometime.
Love & laughter,
Frank
Karma is indeed a strange and bemusing force to be reckoned with.
^_^
However, if I were to give you a nickname, it would be something with a reference to "Better Off Dead". (I just can't think of anything at the moment.)
Love & laughter,
Frank