"Valerie's only weakness is that she is too compassionate," he wrote.

Unfortunately, this statement appears in one or more of my personnel files. Its author is one of my former colleagues. He taught biology across the hall from me. He models excellence in education and is just an all-around great guy and his sons were a sparkling highlight of my whole teaching career. I respected him so highly that I asked him for letter of recommendation when I left that school.

Of course, he was right. The other day I wanted to write a snarky Facebook status update that said, "All week I'd been thinking that on Thursday I can sleep as long as want---¡pinche Garbage Day!" But then I thought of the sanitation workers, who I appreciate almost more than any other public service workers. So the poor princess had to wake up at her normal time, which is probably 4 hours later than those guys have to get up. Like having a washer and dryer at my house, garbage pick-up is something I'll never take for granted and will always appreciate. It seemed stupid and selfish to complain about something about whose absence I'd complain even more bitterly about.

I can't even complain about noise like a regular person without compassion stopping me in my tracks and impeding and superseding attempts at humor, irony, sarcasm or whatever they wish to call it that include what I (mis)perceive as cruelty toward others, even flip comments that are just normal parts of normal peoples' normal discourse! So I erased the update. Pathetic.