Month: August 2018

Don’t mind me, trying to get anywhere…

Posted on by backuphill

closed construction road road sign

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Passable roads are nice. Summer is nice. So do we have to ruin one to make the other possible?

Summer is apparently the only time road construction can get done. Added to that, it also can only be done during the day and not at night, which is weird considering we have this cool technology called “lights”. So, with technology available to do construction at night while traffic volumes are reduced significantly, why are we still doing it during the day while traffic volume is at it’s highest?

I suppose someone (or maybe just LIFE in general) is out there conspiring against me and all the other people that have to get somewhere…

 

Intentions are the best

Posted on by backuphill

So, you know that saying that goes something like, “Only the best intentions”? Uh huh…

Actually, intentions are only that, intentions. Qualifying them as “best” means that those intention probably fell short. Really, if you think about it, anytime anyone uses the word “intend” they are actually admitting that they failed. They didn’t hit the mark. So when someone says they only had “the best intentions in mind” then they are admitting that their best didn’t come out and the best is still in their head.

So, I have to admit…I have the best intentions to get a post out earlier today. Actually, that isn’t the truth either, I actually intended to write a post and then schedule it so it would post this morning but it didn’t happen. Life and work have hit an intersection and my best intentions didn’t get ahead of them. As I write this, late in the day I have intentions of writing tomorrow’s post too. Well, intend to make that happen…

Man, I hate intentions.

#smh

“Free” garbage

Posted on by backuphill

abandoned aged architecture black and white

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Apparently it is now acceptable (not really but people must think so) to leave your garbage wherever the hell you want. Forget the garbage can. Forget taking it to the dump (or whatever you call that place that collects garbage). Forget being a rational, decent person, and taking care of your crap yourself.

No, now all you have to do is haul your unwanted crap (i.e. garbage) to the edge of the road (i.e. sidewalk) or the corner of your property, or worse – in front of someone else’s property, and put a sign on it that says “FREE”.

What kind of conversation does one have to have with one’s self that would make this acceptable? “Good lord, I have a bunch of crap. Actually, it’s just garbage, but I don’t want to take the time or effort to dispose of it properly so I think I’ll just drag it over *scanning* there and put a FREE sign on it. Surely, someone will see this pile of crap and take it because it is, after-all,  free.” 

Have you ever had that conversation with yourself? If your answer is anything other than no – you’re a damn idiot! STOP putting your crap out in the hopes that someone will take it. It is is garbage and you don’t want it, it is garbage and no one else wants it either!

I literally saw an abandoned six-person dining room table and 5 chairs sitting on the sidewalk in front of an open field, within the city limits. Yes, that’s right, some moron drove their truck to the side of the road and set up the dining room furniture on the sidewalk with a sign that said “Free”. Like WTH, right? I’ve seen couches, chairs, freezers, fridges, stoves, cribs, cars, weight benches, exercise equipment…the list is never ending…

And then there are those people who drive to the end of a gravel road or drive out the middle of nowhere on a dark night and dump their garbage in a pile like they are at the damn dump! Seriously? When did nature become your freaking personal garbage can? GRRRRRRRR!!!! Don’t even get me started….

Come on people, get your sh*t together and stop acting like the world is your oyster – ‘cuz it ain’t! You gotta share it with the rest of us and the rest of us are getting pretty tired of your selfish crap.

 

The “Poor Me” Society

Posted on by backuphill

adult casual collection fashion

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Well, there are a whole lot of people these days that you just can’t seem to make happy or placate in any way. We have become a society that immediately jumps on social media or goes to a media outlet of one kind or another to vent the “injustice” one has just suffered.

“Poor Me”

Got a bad meal? Poor me. Post about it on social media and post a nasty review on Yelp (or other place to do a review).

Got treated unfairly? Poor me. Rage post on all forms of social media.

Life generally sucks for ya? Poor me. Complain to everyone over social media.

Got discriminated against because I’m *insert laundry list of issues*? Poor me. Call them out on social media.

*insert laundry list of issues* offended me. Poor me. Everyone else should be offended too.

Life is hard. Poor me.

I don’t have what others have. Poor me.

*this* isn’t what I expected/wanted. Poor me.

We have a problem people. I am not sure if this is a generational thing, but it is sure starting to feel like it is. We have a whole generation of people who just can’t cope with whatever challenge or difficulty comes up in their lives. If it is hard or they meet resistance, they just quit – or rage on social media so everyone can feel their “pain.” Instead of meeting it head on, fighting for it, working harder, working smarter, or making do with what they have been given and where they have been given it, they instead try to generate outrage from everyone else so that their problem will be fixed by someone else.

We really need a change. We have allowed it to happen and that’s a shame.

 

The dreaded ALL company meeting

Posted on by backuphill

woman standing in front of sitting people

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You know what really sucks? Those all company meeting!

“Hey, even though we’ve worked together for years, let’s do an ice breaker.”

“Thanks for being here today. I am going to show you a PowerPoint about company/organization policies. This is our annual reminder and the same PowerPoint you have seen the last six years, but we’re gonna do it again anyway.”

“So, wasn’t that great? Thanks for being patient with that as we covered exactly the same things we covered last year, and the year before that, and the year before that.”

“Moving on, we really need you people to buy into what we’re doing here at our organization, so let’s sit around and brainstorm ideas for goals. Let’s write those goals on these giant post-it notes on the walls. Then let’s go around and place these colored dots next to the ones we thing are most relevant. Then we’re gonna rank the ones that are most relevant.”

“Now we’re gonna take those goals we came up with and in your teams please write some S.M.A.R.T. goals that your team can work on over the next year.”

“Finally, we are gonna post these goals in some really obvious spot where we can all see them and remind ourselves about why we do what we do and what we’re working towards.”

Then we all leave the room, looking at each other like we all just went through a painful root canal. We find the posted goals on the wall the next week and promptly forget they are there and ignore them for the rest of the year.

The life cycle of the dreaded ALL company meeting.

adult dark depressed face

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The land of accusations

Posted on by backuphill

blur close up focus gavel

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American ideals are dying and it is a perplexing conundrum.

The very foundations of our country were set up so that abuses by the government, or government aided abuses, would be avoided. The Founders of the country knew all too well that when the government can abuse it citizens it has too much power. Or, at the behest of citizens, it can be used to persecute other citizens. We have, for all intents and purposes, come full circle on one of the abuses the Colonies complained about when they wrote and published the Declaration of Independence for all the world to see.

Innocent until proven guilty.

In our current society, it no longer exists.

All it takes these days are accusations, a pointed finger, or a social media wildfire. The media sets out to convict people in public opinion before charges are even filed. Gone are the days of proof. Gone are the days of evidence. Gone are the days of committing an actual crime. If you stand accused, or have an allegation lodged against you, you are guilty. Plain and simple.

Our systems isn’t perfect and there can always be improvement, but in my mind we are headed in the wrong direction on this issue.

Extreme dislike – Morning Routine

Posted on by backuphill

straight razor kit

Photo by Josh Sorenson on Pexels.com

You know how you have that one thing that you really just don’t like doing? Do you wish there was a permanent solution so you didn’t have to do it? Yeah, me too.

In this case I am talking about – SHAVING!

Ugh, I hate doing it. I hate that it takes so much time to do it in the mornings. I hate that I have to buy razors and handles and cream/foam/gel (whatever). I hate that I have to look at my ugly mug each morning and debate, “Is today the day? Should I shave or not? Can I get away with not doing it today?”

OK, ladies, I know. I know! Stop complaining, right? I realize I have way less surface area to shave. But, I also can’t (realistically) hide my noggin in pants, or under a skirt (or even in a mask). You at least have that! I don’t have the option to hide it if I don’t want to shave.

And, yes, I could just go full lumberjack (or worse, hipster…), but this just isn’t really acceptable in the business world quite yet and I also have some health issues that keep from doing it long term. So, yeah, there are limitations that make it necessary to shave.

I just hate it.

 

Hack hack cough cough

Posted on by backuphill

action celebration club crowd

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afe;anu;aenuBGJVABFV;A;nabn;uanb;nr;an. anfaournajnv. uanpouvannurafknajhrh. $$%$^&#!

Oops, sorry…

It’s so damn smoky here in WA that I can’t hardly see my keyboard. Air quality sucks and visibility sucks even more. Those beautiful mountains that are normally in the distance, snow capped peaks and such, are all gone. It is like we are suddenly living on a flat Earth (stop it! Stop. It. I know what you’re thinking – that was a simile).

I.Can’t.Breathe.

I.Can’t.Think.

Someone stop putting the fires out every year so we can breathe a little easier next year. Yeah, that is actually how it works. Just saying…

Anyway, give me a shout out if you can’t breathe as well. Or give me a shout out because you can take in lungs full of clean air and have the energy to shout.

 

The only safe place on Earth

Posted on by backuphill

alone bed bedroom blur

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Monday morning and there seems to be only one safe place left on Earth. Ok, to be fair, each of us only has one safe place left…

BED.

I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to go to work. I don’t want to do anything today. I don’t want to see people. I don’t want to talk to people. I don’t want to sit in traffic. I don’t want to…I just don’t want to…

WAIT. Maybe bed isn’t the safest place any more. I think I have just been assaulted by my alarm clock. Damn. So much for this safe space.