Comments on Just Bloggled: When Life Gets a Little Baffling: My Problem with the Smile Police

I agree it's bloody annoying and just plain rude. ...

2010-01-19T17:26:48.007-05:00

I agree it's bloody annoying and just plain rude. A demand to smile is obnoxious even if there is nothing tragic in one's life. It's an intrusion. It is particularly nasty if coming from an authority figure or if a man is demanding this of a woman. And it doesn't matter how long or how well the parties know each other. It's about denying the validity of your mood or feelings and/or demanding submission.

Yeah, I always get the smile comments, too. I don'...

2009-10-31T06:32:06.000-04:00

Yeah, I always get the smile comments, too. I don't smile very often, so usually someone will inevitably make a comment about how I should smile more or that I look sad or they will even call me "smiley" as a way of implying that I don't smile enough. It gets very annoying after a while, and if the same person keeps making the same comment, it starts to feel like harassment. The people who make these comments really don't seem to understand that there are people in the world who just don't smile that much. It might not have anything to do with being sad or depressed, the person just might not feel like plastering a smile on his or her face the whole day, every day. Also, it sometimes has to do with personality. Some people are outgoing and greet every one with a smile, while other people are more reserved in their facial expressions.

I've heard of insurance covering it for some peopl...

2009-04-12T10:55:00.001-04:00

I've heard of insurance covering it for some people. One of my mom's friend's mothers had her lifted and covered by insurance, but she was a senior citizen at the time. I don't have insurance now unfortunately, but when I did I didn't know if they would cover it for someone my age until it actually did start obstructing my vision. I doubt it since my employer kept switching to the cheapest HMO or PPO they could get every year. My eye doctor has never indicated that the eyelid is affecting my vision so far. All he has ever said is I'm nearsighted and have a slight astigmatism in one eye, and I've been getting my eyes checked since the 6th grade.

The last plastic surgeon I went to left with me a lumpy nose and a lopsided chin implant. He was board certified for 30 years, and he still ended up being a quack. I had a hemotoma on the implant that looked like a marble stuck under my skin, and he tried to convince me that it wasn't there and that I just had shingles or Bell's Palsy; hence the reason I couldn't move the right side of my face at the time. Funny, once it went away, I could move my face again. Lucky for him, the blood clot didn't migrate and kill me.

He also took part of the cartilage from the bottom part of my nose and stuck it in the top part w/o anchoring it down, so every time I sniffed it moved around my nose like an S. We had another surgeon remove that in another town, and she was competent and nice--two things he didn't seem to be--but because of that experience, I'm not quite ready to jump on the plastic surgery train again.

Now if I could get an appointment with Dr. 90210 or that plastic surgeon on The Doctors, maybe I'd reconsider...

Hi Staci: I just wanted to mention a medical cond...

2009-04-12T02:32:00.001-04:00

Hi Staci:

I just wanted to mention a medical condition that I had called "ptosis" (pronounced toe-sis). Yep - it's a droopy eyelid. If you have any medical insurance you can have your MD or optometrist check your eyes for a field of vision because, over time, the eyelid gets droopier and it begins to occlude your vision - hence, you can get surgery to fix it AND it's covered by insurance. I had this done already and it was relatively simple, although I had a plastic surgeon who specializes in eye work do it. Of course, I live in LA where you could find such a creature, plastic surgery being as omnipresent.

But it might be something you want to check out because it is a legit medical condition and you basically get an eyelid lift for nearly free.

Warmly -
~Laura 8-)

Recent blog post: Ahhh... Friday Silliness

The thing is, had they simply asked me "How are yo...

2009-04-10T22:55:00.001-04:00

The thing is, had they simply asked me "How are you?" which is the polite thing to do, I'm much more likely to say, "Fine" and genuinely smile. However, by telling me to smile or telling me basically that I look like crap, you're not going to get a genuine smile. You'll get a smirk at best and the one finger wave at worst.

You gave me an idea though. Forget Jan Brady. Next time I go grocery shopping, I'm just going to pretend like I'm on America's Next Top Model and strike a pose every few minutes with my buggy. I may never get to go back to Kroger again, but at least I'd prove my point.

Recent blog post: For the Record, I'm Not an Idiot

I hate these people with their constant, "Smile!" ...

2009-04-10T22:26:00.001-04:00

I hate these people with their constant, "Smile!" as if everydamnbody has turned into a photographer all of a sudden. I guess it's just a lame way to make a connection to someone else if you don't have anything in the way of meaningful patter.

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