[evil, maniacal laugh] bwa ha ha ha ha ha hee haw heee....*cough, sputter, cough*....ahem.
I'm back now.
Anyhow, I seem to have learned to use a fabulous power first taught to me in my youth.
The power of guilt.
Oh yes.
First example:
The center dial on my bathtub is broken, meaning that it will only shower, it won't bath. This is upsetting. I am a fan of the hot bath. Especially in the winter. Particularly when it's cold and stormy outside as it is today.
This has gone unfixed for quite some time, despite reporting it dutifully to my landlord. He said, "I need to find a new set of knobs...I'll get to it."
And he didn't.
The landlord's son lives a street over and came by our place about an electrical problem two weeks ago. So I bugged him to bug his dad about the bathtub. The son promised he'd fix it himself.
He didn't.
A couple weeks passed.
This weekend, the son was mowing our front lawn. I said, "sorry to ask, but I need to remind you about the bathtub."
This young man was *immediately* doused deeply in sheepish guilt, he apologized a bunch and promised to fix the bathtub, which he did on Sunday morning. And apologized some more.
Aaaah. Guilt is good.
Next example:
After my dental work yesterday, I woke up with a swollen face and a nifty bruise on my cheek. I'm thrilled to have to explain this to my coworkers.
My dentist, being the kind sort that he is, emailed me today to check to see how I was doing after the work. I emailed him back a photo of my bruised face and suggested he won't be getting any new referrals from my coworkers.
He called me right away and apologized profusely and told me this sometimes happens (nicked a blood vessel when he did the injections) and that he felt terrible this had happened.
A man who inflicts severe pain for a living feels *terrible*.
Heh.
This feels gooood. I'm learning what my mom has known for years...guilt is quite the propellant.
In case you are still in training wheels and need to learn how to properly give the guilt, here's a wikihow to get you over the hump.
Only downside? This power can be used on me, too.
Damn my Catholic upbringing!
