I wonder if I’m getting bitchier with age or am I [further] developing a passive-aggressive defense mechanism for dealing with service and contact people within the Swedish system. Or maybe it’s my Swedish. I don’t know but today before lunch I’ve already:
A. Walked away from a pointless discussion forcing a crocodile smile and a poorly disguised patronizing “OK” response. And
B. Employed rather cheekily (that’s a nicely borrowed British term that needs to be picked up by Americans) the same usage of “I’ve already said this a number of times” after a “helpful” (not) person said it to me when I asked for additional instructions. (I got to point out that her repeated explanation didn’t apply since I had repeated that I was past the point she was sure I was still stuck at.)
I was inwardly snickering at my sassy attitude. 
In the case of B we ended our conversation very pleasantly which got me to reflecting on what had just happened. I was snappy and threw back her flippant remark as a challenging joust and she either took it in stride or found it merely natural development.
Am I only now learning how to play the game?
(For those of you not up on the Swedish Royal Family and the current gossip–Madde is the hottie younger sister of the heir apparent, Victoria. 
Vickan is marrying Daniel the commoner gym dude and is having her big state wedding this June causing scandal among a number of Swedes disapproving of the new non-Swedish tradition introduction of the King walking his daughter down the aisle –you get all that? I can barely keep up.) 
It’s the 40th anniversary of the original Earth Day and the 20th of the rejuvenated popular hackey sack bash inaugurated in Central Park (among other places in the US). I was in Central Park with all of us youthful, save-the-world-please-pass-me-a-beer revelers that day in NYC. I remember reading the next day of the tons of trash left scattered in the park and the damage done to the green areas.
