gothrockrulz (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
gothrockrulz) wrote2011-09-18 12:57 am
gothrockrulz) wrote2011-09-18 12:57 am
Guess I Should Just Move to Britain Already
Note: very long, GIF-peppered rant in progress.
Over and over and over, I get asked the same question in various forms as I'm working as a cashier in retail.
"Where'd you get the cute accent?"
"So where are you from?"
"Are you British?"
Over and over and over, my answer is also pretty much the same. I'm an American girl, and I've never been out of the U.S. I've lived all my life in the same Southwest, same state, same county, same town. I've even lived in the same house for over 15 years.
But NOBODY believes me.
[GIF from severaldancingwampas at tumblr]
I probably do have a slight British accent, but to tell the truth, I can't hear it. I think I sound perfectly normal, except for a slight difference here and there. I know what I sound like when I'm speaking in my normal accent, and I know what I sound like when I'm purposely affecting a British accent for fun. There's a marked difference.
Since people can't seem to wrap their minds around my accent, I try to explain that a bit of a British accent may have rubbed off on me. I watch copious amounts of British TV and movies, or American movies stealing British actors, after all. (Stuff like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and all things Jane Austen.)
People tend to talk and act like those they allow to influence them. That sounds reasonable, right?
Guess what happens after I'm done explaining? 10 times out of 10, the person I'm addressing thinks I'm kidding. (9 times out of 10, said person looks at me funny, as if wondering if this sweet, timorous-looking girl behind the register is secretly making fun of said person.)
Just this evening while closing, one of my managers at work says he's been meaning to ask me something . . . and asks that same never-ending question. And he doesn't believe me, either.
Whaddya want, a freaking birth certificate?
[GIF from thedayireturn at tumblr]
Arg. If people don't like my answer, they shouldn't ask questions.
Oh, well. Maybe I'm overreacting. (Using Anakin Skywalker and Genesis Rhapsodos GIFs is a little bit on the dark side. Oh, crap, I just made a stupid pun, because tumblr GIFs are making me feel better. Stupid tumblr ruins all my bad moods--and sucks up way too much of my free time.)
Maybe I should look at this in a more positive light. Perhaps I'm just too sophisticated and witty to not be British. Or maybe I'm so much like a creature that is not of this world, it's hard for people to believe I've been a desert rat all my life.
Okay. Rant terminated. If you're still reading this, thank you for your patience.
At least one good thing is starting to come out of people's random nosy questions. I'm getting an idea for an interesting story here . . .
Over and over and over, I get asked the same question in various forms as I'm working as a cashier in retail.
"Where'd you get the cute accent?"
"So where are you from?"
"Are you British?"
Over and over and over, my answer is also pretty much the same. I'm an American girl, and I've never been out of the U.S. I've lived all my life in the same Southwest, same state, same county, same town. I've even lived in the same house for over 15 years.
But NOBODY believes me.
[GIF from severaldancingwampas at tumblr]
I probably do have a slight British accent, but to tell the truth, I can't hear it. I think I sound perfectly normal, except for a slight difference here and there. I know what I sound like when I'm speaking in my normal accent, and I know what I sound like when I'm purposely affecting a British accent for fun. There's a marked difference.
Since people can't seem to wrap their minds around my accent, I try to explain that a bit of a British accent may have rubbed off on me. I watch copious amounts of British TV and movies, or American movies stealing British actors, after all. (Stuff like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and all things Jane Austen.)
People tend to talk and act like those they allow to influence them. That sounds reasonable, right?
Guess what happens after I'm done explaining? 10 times out of 10, the person I'm addressing thinks I'm kidding. (9 times out of 10, said person looks at me funny, as if wondering if this sweet, timorous-looking girl behind the register is secretly making fun of said person.)
Just this evening while closing, one of my managers at work says he's been meaning to ask me something . . . and asks that same never-ending question. And he doesn't believe me, either.
Whaddya want, a freaking birth certificate?
[GIF from thedayireturn at tumblr]
Arg. If people don't like my answer, they shouldn't ask questions.
Oh, well. Maybe I'm overreacting. (Using Anakin Skywalker and Genesis Rhapsodos GIFs is a little bit on the dark side. Oh, crap, I just made a stupid pun, because tumblr GIFs are making me feel better. Stupid tumblr ruins all my bad moods--and sucks up way too much of my free time.)
Maybe I should look at this in a more positive light. Perhaps I'm just too sophisticated and witty to not be British. Or maybe I'm so much like a creature that is not of this world, it's hard for people to believe I've been a desert rat all my life.
Okay. Rant terminated. If you're still reading this, thank you for your patience.
At least one good thing is starting to come out of people's random nosy questions. I'm getting an idea for an interesting story here . . .
no subject
People here often still wonder where I'm from. I lived in New York for a little bit, and still have a slight accent.
no subject