You're what the French call ‘les incompetents’

Incompetence. Women say men suffer from it; men usually don’t deny that they do. The inability to complete something can be frustrating for the one involved but can be downright maddening for others who are expecting results.

I’ve often said that some people I know couldn’t organize a bowl of cereal to save themselves, and usually I am right, while others would turn up to the opening of an envelope is you asked them. Yet, it baffles me as to how difficult it can be for someone to take control of their surroundings, duties or responsibilities and deliver on their promises to others. Again, much like the notion of assumption, I don’t ever expect the incompetence of those around me to go away.

Don’t get me wrong, I make no excuses for myself as I am as much to blame as the next person, yet when you are consistently let down by those around you, you’re bound to explode. Case in point, when a friend had organized a night out at a much-hyped Thai restaurant in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. We made the cross-city trek to the restaurant working up an appetite along the way, expecting to have a table reserved.

Alas, once we’d met up in front of the restaurant with the others, we were told they hadn’t booked because they were sure we’d get a table (on a Saturday night nonetheless). Of course we didn’t. The restaurant was fully booked and tables weren’t going to be free for over an hour. We ended up eating at a dodgy local pub. Not exactly the Thai cuisine we were all anticipating.

Other situations have included receiving details of a night out so late that alternative plans had been made, being told to meet at a certain time at a certain place then waiting over an hour for the person who organized it to arrive or, finally, being told that they hadn’t booked or forgot to book tickets for a hugely popular event even though you had cleared your plans for the entire day/night for something you were genuinely anticipating. The last scenario has happened to me on numerous occasions of late.

I know that this will have hit the nerve of a number of people I know who read this blog, particularly as they know who they are. I half expect to have fewer friends by the end of the week, especially since I have lashed out at the same people twice within the space of a week. However, I believe it needs to be said.

Sure, there are certain circumstances when it cannot be helped, and there is no problem in that, life is too random and unexpected to know what is about to happen next. But when you next ask me what I did over the weekend, and I reply “Sweet FA” - do not come back to me saying “Well why didn’t you call me?” because the simple response would be that if you didn’t fuck me over with your ineptitude for orchestrating a simple get together, I would have been with you to begin with and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

For my remaining reader who has read to the end of this post, apologies for bringing down the mood lately. I hope to come back in a lighter mood in the next few days. No promises. Don’t want to get your hopes up of course.