Starcastic

Sarcasm runs in my family. So much so that my much younger sister was using the word before she could even pronounce words well. Hence the title, "Starcastic".

When you grow up in a family where sarcastic remarks fly around regularly, you take for granted that other people will pick up on your own sarcasm. This is not the case. Some people just don't get it. For the record... I am not talking about nasty, hurtful sarcasm. Just offhanded comments and stuff. I have found that I really cannot be friends with someone who doesn't "get" my sarcasm. I am constantly apologizing for myself and explaining what I meant. I don't have time for that. ;)

This creates a problem with on-line relationships. Either people I've met through chat rooms or commenting on blogs or friends that you mostly e-mail. Well, the friends that I mostly e-mail have known me in real life at some point, so they've already passed the sarcasm test. But you faceless Internet people...how do you know if I'm being sarcastic? How do I know what the reception to some of my posts/comments are.

That's what brings me to my next great invention. The "sarcasm" font. You can by typing something up, and you always have the option of bold or italic. Why not sarcasm? Just put your word or words in the special sarcasm mode, and everyone reading it will understand you aren't being completely serious. Maybe somewhat serious, but with an edge. Problem solved.

Maybe this just isn't big enough of a problem for the rest of the world. But I could use it in everyday life as well. I always tell Andrew I wish he would drink coffee so he would stop growing. This is just a funny way of telling him he's growing up too fast, and also a deterrent to drinking coffee. Not that I know if coffee stunts your growth...it just seems like the kind of fabrication that I should spread as a mother. So we were in line in Kohl's the other day, and Andrew wanted to be picked up. My mom told him he was too big to get picked up anymore. And I said, "See, I told you you should drink coffee so you'd stop growing." This woman in line in front whips her head around and glares at me. I can't imagine the story she told at her dinner table that night. Meanwhile my son is grinning and rolling his eyes...obviously he understands I am teasing him.

Maybe if I'd said, "See, I told you you should drink coffee so you'd stop growing." she would have understood better. Or not. Some people just have no sense of humor.