There's always buzz when a new Star Wars comes out. I tend to ignore buzz. Actually, I tend to do the opposite of whatever the buzz says. I'm just contrary like that. But then I was in Best Buy, and on their huge TVs, they were showing The Empire Strikes Back. I became engrossed, and suddenly I wanted to see them all again. I've seen the original trilogy once, back when I was about 16. I haven't seen any of the prequels. But I figure I should refresh myself, since Episode III will be at the $2 theatre soon, and I'm planning on taking advantage of that.
I was just going to rent the trilogy. But then I realized that I work at a software company, and someone surely had the SUPER-MEGA-EXTENDED-BONUS EDITION WITH SPECIAL FEATURES FROM THE DIRECTOR'S CHOICE COLLECTION. We have a lot of dorks here. Two of my coworkers had the VHS versions, and the third led me to another, Todd. Apparently, Todd is a kind of a sci-fi nut, so he definitely had them. I asked very nicely if he would mind if I borrowed the set for a few days.
I personally have a hard time loaning out my belongings. My old roommate's friends used to borrow things from us. Maybe they would ask her, and she's an accommodating kind of girl, so she would rent out our things. Maybe they wouldn't ask, knowing she would agree, and have every intention of returning it. Maybe they were thieves. In any case, I lived in terror of my stuff being borrowed out and never returned or returned damaged. I don't like it. So I understand that when people lend things to me, they may very well be the same way. In fact, since they're my friends, they are very likely the same way.
But it's rude to not let people borrow things when they ask, and it's rude to look pained and uncomfortable and to say, "PLEASE DON'T BREAK IT AND PLEEEEEEEASE DON'T LOSE IT, AND BE EXTRA-SPECIAL CAREFUL, 'CAUSE IT IS MINE, MINE, MINE." However, that is probably a good way to get the thing back immediately and to never be asked to lend anything ever again because you are such a freak. No matter how much you want to not let the person, and no matter how suspect this person actually is, being stingy is no good.
So when I got a response email from Todd after I asked to borrow his DVDs, I laughed. Thrown in with some chit-chat about the series, Todd said, "Not that I think you'll intentionally mishandle them, but please take care of them: no scratches please." I imagined him agonizing over this, trying to word it just right so that I wouldn't be offended, but that I understood that I was to be careful. Or maybe Todd is just a confident enough person to remind me that it was not my own DVDs that I was playing with.
I should be such a person. I should be able to say "Be careful, please." Maybe if I were silly about it, I could get away with it, because it would be like I'm making a joke but I'm not. I could say "Don't let your pet elephant play with it!" or maybe "Don't use it for scrubbing your pots and pans!" And see, that would serve the double purpose of me feeling better because I was able to warn someone to be careful, and it would also make that person think twice before using the item to scrub pots and pans.
In any case, I have Todd's DVDs, and I won't be letting my pet elephant play with it, although I might tell Todd that I did, just to have some fun. I'm pretty excited about seeing the trilogy; I hear there's an exciting twist at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, something to do with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. I can't wait.
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