Pet Peeves

 Life  3 Responses »
Oct 232010
 

Since it’s raining today, I didn’t have much to do [I couldn't ride my bike], so I thought I’d complain about some of the little things that bug me. I know I’m not supposed to sweat the little things, which I don’t [for the most part], but these are so minuscule, I figure they don’t really count.

One of my biggest complaints are walnuts, or any kind of nuts, in chocolate chip cookies. Nuts have no business in chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are sweet. They’re a dessert, and nuts provide an unwanted texture, and flavor that takes away from that. Nuts don’t belong in chocolate chip cookies.

And come to think about it, nuts don’t belong in brownies either, but I don’t usually eat brownies (I don’t particularly like them), so I don’t really care. Still they don’t belong. They’re OK in Snickers, but that’s about it.

Another complaint is with people who buy [or rent] a convertible, and then drive around in it with the top down, and all the windows rolled up. Rolling up the windows takes away from the aesthetics and clean lines of the convertible. It’s just ridiculous! If you want a convertible, either ride with all the windows rolled down, when the top is down, or just leave the top up and use the damn air conditioning.

I personally don’t like convertibles for exactly the reason people do that. It’s too freakin’ windy, and it can get cold (depending on where you live), when you ride in one with the top and windows down. So what’s the point? It just bugs me.

Then there are those people at the gym, who after using equipment, fail to return the weights to their proper storage places. I’m not a very big guy, so removing a 45 lb plate so I can replace it with a 2.5, 5 or 10 lb plate, is not something I relish doing. Hey, I could drop that heavy weight on my toe or foot, and then how would you feel? What’s the big deal? You put the plates on, so take them off. It’s just common courtesy.

Oh, and I can’t forget the few people who find it necessary to do stretches, and/or other exercises right in front of some piece of equipment they’re not even using, when there’s plenty of open space elsewhere for them to do just that. I hate asking people if they’re using this equipment, when I know full well they’re not. IMO, that’s a stupid question.

Could you guess I went to the gym today?

Those are just 3, or 4 (depending on how you’re counting), pet peeves that immediately come to mind. They’re not something I get overly worked up about, but they do bug me some. Still, if those were my only problems, I would be a very happy camper.

Unfortunately that’s not the case. I’ve got tons of others, some of which I’ve blogged on before, i.e. alternative medicines/treatments, the US health care system, work, etc. but they have more to do with a perceived general overall stupidity of far too many (IMO) Americans displayed in their everyday business and private lives, so I won’t get into that today.

Mostly I was just upset because it was raining today, and I didn’t get to ride my bike. I just needed to vent. :)

Until you’ve walked in the shoes of another

 Life  1 Response »
Jul 082010
 

I haven’t been very philosophical in a great awhile, but a recent conversation with one of my wine drinking buddies has compelled me to do so now.

We were discussing a recent 60 Minutes segment about people choosing to walk away from their mortgages, and allowing their homes to fall into foreclosure, because the value of their homes had fallen well below the amount they currently owed, despite the fact, in many cases, they could still afford the monthly mortgage payment.

The conversation got a little heated, when I said I could understand the reasoning behind the decision. It’s purely a financial one. Why continue to pay [and pay] for something that’s no longer worth what you paid for it, or even what you owe? Why keep throwing good money after bad, especially when it’s cheaper to just stop paying? There has to be a time when it’s best to just cut your losses and run [so to speak].

But my buddy felt, if you could afford it, you were morally obligated to continue making the payments. If you entered into a contract, you were obligated to fulfill that obligation regardless of the financial implications. He likened it to borrowing money from a friend to purchase a car, but later found out the car was defective. Would you then refuse to pay your friend back, he asked?

First off, I don’t see there being any moral considerations when making financial decisions, and how can you compare a house worth several hundred thousand dollars with a car worth a few thousand dollars?

And how can you compare a friend to a bank, especially a bank that understands the risks involved in lending money for a home loan? Why else would they retain title to the home, until the borrower paid it off?

Incidentally, I would pay back my friend no matter what the cost!

I was then reminded of the controversy surrounding the decision by John Edwards to continue seeking the Democratic Presidential nomination, in 2008, after his wife was diagnosed with cancer. There was a lot of name calling, and people condemning Edward’s decision to continue the campaign, and not giving up everything to stand by his wife’s side while she fought her disease, all the while professing to know the moral thing to do, and how they would have reacted in the same situation.

Well, it’s the same for both cases.

In this case, my friend is retired, living on a nice pension (with health insurance), in a very comfortable home worth over a million dollars, with very little if any mortgage. How can he possibly think he knows what he would do if his house was worth half what he owed.

My point is he can’t. Nobody can know. And we definitely shouldn’t be passing judgment. Until you’ve walked in the shoes of someone faced with a tough decision or in a no win situation, there is no way anyone can ever know how they will react.

Not only is it naive to think otherwise, it’s down right arrogant.

I’m still jaded, but

 Life  No Responses »
Apr 012010
 

At least today I gave the young kid who came to the door the opportunity to tell me he was with some “jobs program” before telling him I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t have the time.

Plus I even managed a good deed yesterday, when I noticed the clerk at the Japanese supermarket, where I purchase my green tea, only charged my credit card $8.99. I knew that wasn’t right, as I bought 4 bags of tea, and one of the bags of green teas alone (the Gyokura), I knew cost more than that.

He was very appreciative, and I felt good about it as well.

Who knows, maybe I’m not as jaded as I thought. It’s just I believe in the golden rule,

Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you

and I would never go to someone’s door at any time, nor call them on the phone, trying to sell them something.

If you want to sell me something, send me an email. You’ve got a better chance that way than coming to my door, especially if my email filter doesn’t catch it.

I am so jaded

 Life  3 Responses »
Mar 282010
 

It doesn’t happen all that often, but it does happen often enough, when someone comes to my door that I don’t know, I assume they’re trying to sell me something, and immediately turn them away. I try not to even listen to their opening salvo. I just say “not interested”, and shut the door.

Edie’s not as jaded as me, as she will always “give someone the time of day”, but not me.

The other night some girl came to the door around 6 PM just as we were sitting down to dinner. The door was closed, so I was able to ignore it, and she went away. But about 2 hours later she returned. This time I answered the door with my usual cynical, pissed off attitude, stating we’re having dinner, and I wasn’t going to buy anything.

She tried to tell me she wasn’t trying to sell me anything (at least now that I think back I believe maybe she was trying to tell me that), and she asked if I were Eddie. Well, obviously I wasn’t, so I said no, shut the door, and went back to finish drinking my glass of wine.

But when I told Edie what had happened, she said why did I do that, since it is very common for people to mistakenly refer to Edie as Eddie. Yeah well, now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to dismiss this girl. After all maybe she wanted to give me a million dollars. I seriously doubt that, but then again……….

Anywaze, maybe if I didn’t live a country where there is so much hatred and distrust for one another, I might not be as jaded as I am, but alas, that’s just not the case.

We just don’t have the money, or do we?

 Health Care, Politics  2 Responses »
Sep 012009
 

Don’t you find it ironic, when our elected representatives say “we just don’t have the money to provide universal health care to everyone in this country”, they don’t have any trouble finding enough tax dollars to pay for their own health care, and the health care of millions of government employees.

Don’t you find it ironic, when our elected representatives say “we just don’t have the money to provide universal health care to everyone in this country”, they can manage to find 100′s of billions of tax dollars to fund two wars [Iraq and Afghanistan], and provide those citizens with health care.

And don’t you find it ironic, when our elected representatives say “we just don’t have the money to extend unemployment benefits any longer”, they don’t have any trouble finding plenty of tax dollars to fund salary increases for themselves, and for millions of government employees.

It just seems when it’s of benefit to our elected representatives, or their friends, they don’t have any trouble finding the money, but if they won’t derive any benefit, all of a sudden, there just isn’t enough money.

 Newer Entries