Let Go

I'm a perfectionist. Some people would say I'm "anal retentive". This may have been true ten years ago, but now "anal" would refer more to my fetish than my personality.

I like to be precise. I like to be correct. Which means I also like to know when I am wrong (so that I can come correct). I like it when other people have their shit together so they don't waste my time. I don't think there's anything wrong with this. But it can be taken too far. As a child and young adult I was fairly uptight in general. Not good. I was stressed out too often, a replicant heading for early "retirement".

Now I'm just uptight about certain things. Like the condition grading accuracy of vinyl records I buy from online sellers. For example, a lot of sellers automatically grade new records as 'mint' but they really aren't. In fact, most new records are not 'mint'. Sleeve scuffs? Not 'mint', jackass. Played in-store? Definitely not 'mint', fucker. Probably not even 'near mint'.

Either :
* Take the time to look at your records under a GOOD light at various angles. Even your "new" records. Test the record's playing condition if any wear is visible.
OR
* If you don't want to take the time to grade your records accurately, then don't act like a fucking saint when I or any other buyer asks for a partial or full refund. If you want to save time/money upfront, then be prepared to pay for it later. No one is perfect. (Especially not me.) And vinyl is an extremely imperfect media. Acknowledge this and take some accountability. Be a professional. Don't be a dicksqueeze.

Of course, there are very few sellers who can always meet my expectations. So I have lowered my expectations. In fact, buying vinyl records has taught me to just let some things slide. How many times am I going to allow myself to get upset about a brand new record that has a bit too much surface noise or is slightly warped and doesn't grip the slipmat as well as I'd like it to before these worries send me over the edge permanently? Fuck that.

I want to let go. I'll never let go of it all. But I can always try.
Who wants to hold onto shit?
That doesn't feel good.
"Retentive" my ass.