STEPH DEROSA: MAD HAT TEA COMPANY >>>

I was out strolling around the downtown Tacoma area, checking out the shops on Broadway on a beautiful day last week. I decided to head over one street to Commerce and duck into the Mad Hat Tea Company for a small rest. As I was taking a potty break in their alluring smoky gray bathroom, I recalled a run-in I had with an acquaintance on Broadway just moments before.

I know her through a friend of a friend, you know how Tacoma community is, right? So, we're chatting away, each of us expressing how great it is that we had run into each other, and within seconds of our conversation beginning she does it: she brags about something. She holds up her ring finger and shows me a tiny dust particle of a diamond.Look at my diamond! Look!she says. She then goes on to say, And he bought me these jeans, and we're getting ready to move, but I won't live anywhere but the North End.

Click on the link below to discover why I have a problem with that.

I love your ring, I really do, but doesn't a compliment feel much better being received on its own will? It's as if you're asking me to like you. And trust me, I'm not shy about handing out compliments to people or telling them how much I like them. If I see your ring or anything else nice about you, I will warmly tell you so. I feel people don't hear enough positive words in their life, and I'd like to change that. Maybe that's this girl's problem, she doesn't hear it enough.

Another problem I have is: you didn't mention anything about your engagement. Isn't that what the ring is all about? I tell you what, I'm going to be happier about you finding the love of your life more so than I am about what kind of damn materialistic piece of rock he put on your hand. That's a slap in his face. You mention the damn ring before you do him and the three months salary he just dropped on your stupid hand.

And you won't live anywhere but the North End? Why? Is that like a status thing? I totally understand that the North End of Tacoma is absolutely gorgeous, but there are other places in Tacoma and its surrounding areas that are just as gorgeous, if not better. You want to over-pay for something when you could possibly get something greater for cheaper somewhere outside of the trendy North End? Are you really that worried about what you look like to others?
My point is that I really hate a showoff, a braggart, and a self-righteous person who thinks they are better than others. I know, I know, all she did was be proud and happy about her ring. And yes, I am proud and happy for her as well. It's not this girl specifically that I am upset with at this point, but it simply stirs up the ideas I have about modesty.

My daughter has a couple of friends from swimming class, and one father in particular I have to move away from if he's sitting anywhere within earshot. He's the type of guy I had talked about in an earlier Toilet Tales: not being secure with his manhood. He has to go on and on and ON about how much money he makes, how great his house is, and what a nice view he has. Seriously, he talks himself up constantly. I let him go on talking, and I politely nod as he boasts and brags. He really has no idea how ugly he sounds. Bragging is extremely unattractive, just so you know.

So I finish up, admire the warm lighting in Mad Hat's bathroom, and return to my safe spot on the couch out front. I wrap my hands around my delectable cup of tea, and simply relax. I sit safely with my drink, admiring it, and enjoying the silence of no one bragging.

LINK: Previous in Weekly Volcano.