"I really, REALLY don't want to be doing this speech."

Dublin Core

Description

This artifact is an image of a conversation between two friends documenting one person not wanting to write a speech.

The submitter provided the following about the artifact’s history:
1. Facebook messenger
2. Todd Sterling, April, 2018
3. The text
This text was written while procrastinating on actually writing a speech, with zero relevance this was typed purely to waste time and ramble.

Creator

Todd Sterling

Source

Katherine Cancello

Publisher

Facebook Messenger

Rights

Todd Sterling and Katherine Cancello

Language

English

Identifier

Coverage

2000-2024

Letter, Message, and Announcement Item Type Metadata

Genre

instant message

Material

digital

Circulation

Person to Person (digital)

Linguistic Text

But he does go to bed every night at approximately 11:36 pm and brushes his teeth with counterclockwise circular strokes. Crest toothpaste, 4 out of 5 dentists suggest it. That 5th dentist is likely sexually confused and in an abusive relationship, one he welcomes because his mother probably wanted a daughter and even made him dress up as a girl from time to time. He would tell his father, but receive a beating because he wasn't "man enough to even fight his own mother off*. Books were the only true reprieve from a world that seemed out to get him, and he found himself fascinated with teeth. Maybe it was the intimacy of seeing what is normally tucked away behind the lips of a woman, only something that could be seen if he were to make her smile (a painfully daunting and intimidating task for him) or maybe it's simply because a smile can cover up the pain a person feels inside, pushing forward a facade of job just beyond the crushing weight of chronic inadequacy. College rolled around and he found he did better in biology than in philosophy, the topics made more sense when they were objective and scientific facts than the perceptions of those who were in touch with their feelings. He wasn't ready to face those demons, not like the sheep lined up all around him with their perfect lives. Dental school was a breeze, and he managed to even strike up a relationship with a woman in one of his classes. She was kind, gentle, and understanding. He felt that he didn't need to put on a face for her because she could see through it anyway, for the first time he met someone who could see him for who he was. One night, years later, he came home to their comfortable little apartment in Sedona a few hours early, he wanted to surprise her with dinner since a few patients cancelled and he was out early, When he walked inside, he heard his wife with another man and noticed a shirt on the floor with a nametag belonging to a Crest sales rep. He wasn't a fighter, he didn't even stop them. The next day, he told her that he knew what she was doing and she slapped him, accusing him of making her cheat on him, forcing her into the arms of another man because he couldn't be there for her in the way she needed him to be. He apologized and went to work, where he sadly worked on teeth until late in the day when a guest signed in and asked to speak. It was a crest sales rep, this time another person, though just as sleazy as the man with his wife. He was about a foot shorter than the dentist but carried himself as though he were an NBA all-star, flashing his clearly bleached teeth at every woman in the office and frequently slicking his dirty blonde hair back each time someone glanced in his direction, as though it were an advisement to sleep with him on the spot. He got to the point, immediately demanding that the dentist endorse Crest. He said four out of four dentists already did, but it didn't have the same ring to it as "five out of five". The dentist was amazed at his audacity, and found himself in a position of power and authority for the first time in his life. This man's career was in his hand. the dentist stood up and simply said "no", feeling the adrenaline pump through his body as though he were on speed. The rep looked as though he had been slapped in the face, stood up, and left without saying another word. From then on, the dentist would pride himself as being the fifth dentist, the one who stood his ground and finally left his mark on the world.

I really, REALLY don't want to be doing this speech.

wow, I really cant tell that you dont want to write your speech

Given Text

Photo icons next to each individual message
Colored boxes surrounding messages

Uploaded

Katherine Cancello 04/11/18

Files

Screen Shot 2018-04-11 at 8.07.37 AM.png

Citation

Todd Sterling, “"I really, REALLY don't want to be doing this speech.",” Museum of Everyday Writing, accessed April 29, 2024, https://museumofeverydaywriting.omeka.net/items/show/771.

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