You say our love is like dynamite, open your eyes, 'cause it's like fire and ice

A curious aspect of human behavior I seem to encounter fairly often: At work, whenever someone calls and asks for something we don't have, when I respond clearly in the negative to their query, they usually reply with, "Oh, you don't have it?. At that point, I'll repeat what I just said, which usually goes something like, "I'm sorry, but we don't have that". It's a strange and puzzling dialog, even moreso because it happens all the time. Here's the formula mapped out:

1. The question.

"Do you have _________?

2. The answer.

No, we don't have______.

3. The follow up question.

So you don't have it?

4. The follow up answer.

No, we don't have______

Occasionally, their level of incredulity will bring about another question.

5. Ah, so you don't have it?

At this point, I'm beginning to think they're of the belief that if they ask enough times, what they're looking for will suddenly manifest itself. Depending on my mood, I'll respond to the question the way I had from the get go, hoping that by doing so, by not varying one wit, they'll realize how ridiculous they're being.

6. No, we don't have______.

If I'm feeling a bit prickly that day, the urge to say, "You know what, now that you've asked me a bunch of times, we actually do have what you're looking for. Your persistence has payed off, my friend!", can be near overwhelming, but I always manage to keep myself in check.

This type of behavior is more perplexing to me than it is infuriating. When encountered with it, I usually end up thinking about human nature and whether there's hope for our species. To be frank, I often come out the other end of these thoughts feeling a little soured on the human experience.

That said, I'm just as often inclined to be impressed with my fellow humans. Even though we fuck up more than succeed, there are some amazing, wondrous, things being accomplished by some wondrous, amazing people.

I guess what I'm getting at with this post, is that people are stupid. But they're also amazing and wondrous. Or.........ah, this whole thing is making me sleepy, which places me in the stupid category, I think.

But you knew that already.