I don't know where this belongs, but wanted to vent. Sometimes, I feel so ignored. I feel invisible. Now, there are times I want to drop into the background. I am not deeply social amongst strangers, esp. in certain situations, and esp. in crowds. Yet, this is diff.

I'm going to give some examples and you all can share your own.

1. My friend bought a purse some years ago (but an event in recent years reminded me of it). The lady never gave her a bag- perhaps my friend even said she didn't want one. There is no rule saying you have to have a bag, and it's more environmentally friendly to not take one if you don't need it. The lady did give her a reciept, however. My friend walked out of the store with it, very obviously displayed. She was clearly not attempting to hide it. At this point, the two ladies at front got chittery about the girl leaving with the purse and talking about whether they should do something to stop this apparent thief. I walked over, said, "She bought the purse. I saw her. I can take you to the woman who sold it to her." They ignored me. Acted as though I never said a word. After they kept yakking, I thought, FINE, I will handle this MYSELF. I started to walk off, planning on finding the lady who sold it to her to tell her that the two gossips up front were accusing her, very loudly, of stealing and were thinking of taking action, could she please straighten this mess out. As I walked away they called out for me to wait, asked me what I had said, blah, blah....after I'd sat there for awhile after saying it, with no acknolwedgment and them still yakking on about her taking it.

2. Some years later (in the past couple of years), I was attending church at a family member's house. We rarely see these people, though, as they are slightly extended family and live a few hours away. A few relatives that I see much more often were also in attendance. A topic came up regarding genealogy. I happened to be knowledgable about the subject, and while they were musing over it and wondering aloud, I said, "Oh, I know about that!" Or something like, "I can tell you the answer to that!" No one acted like I'd even spoke. I think I said it more than once and was loud enough to be heard. No one acknowledged me, even though I was the only one there with the answer. Well, my cousin, sitting in the chair with me and seeing that I was ticked off did, but no one else did. When I mentioned it later my sister said it's all in my head that I get ignored. But I wasn't asking for extra attention. They were listening to each other, but not to me- and I was the one with the answer they sought! What gives?

3. This year, I went to a gas station. I got a pop and a sandwich....and some chips, I think. I went to the counter and layed it up there. Two people were behind it- they didn't even look at me. I stood there for awhile wondering if they thought I wasn't ready. The man was a bit busy, but the girl was just standing there chewing gum, looking forward, sort of looking around, but not really acknowledging me. I was reminded of movies in which someone is a ghost, but doesn't know they've passed over, yet, and no one can see them. It was a weird situation. Finally, they acknowledged me. Maybe she was tired and spacey.

4. Not too long after event #3 (within a few days, weeks, or a couple months), I went with a bunch of friends to a resturaunt. I was repeatedly left out in some way. I can't recall it clearly now. Maybe I didn't get a menu at first, but I'm not sure. I didn't get my silverware. I can't remember if I got my drink. My order wasn't taken while everyone else's was. I had to get them on a diff. round to take my order. When the food was brought out, I didn't get anything. I later found out this was because they had given my food to someone else there, which wasn't exactly their fault. But even then, I don't think I got it all. I'm not sure. I can't recall what all happened, but a handful of diff. things did. There was something else, too, but it was a simple mistake. I know we had a lot of people, but it seemed to always be me, never anyone else. Finally, one of the people at the table said, "I don't think they like you here, Locust" as a joke, and laughed.

5. Not long after this, I was at a diff. resturaunt, and REPEATEDLY ignored by the two (I think it was 2, but maybe 3) waiters who came to the table, and repeatedly put off. No one else in our decent sized crowd had any issues with them, though, and if I tried to speak to them, they blew me off. My friend had to get their attention for me because they ignored me so much and even he said he thought they were treating me diff. and ignoring me.

It's not that this happens all the time, but it does seem sometimes I go out with a group and I am ignored to a bizzare degree, while no one else is.