Month: June 2019

Priorities matter

Posted on by backuphill

grayscale photo of human lying on ground covered of cardboard box

Photo by THE COLLAB. on Pexels.com

If you’re homeless in California, you gotta be wondering what the hell is going on in the state.

If you’re political grandstanding, like California politicians, then you know exactly what is going on.

Fund healthcare for young illegal aliens, but continue to allow your streets to fill up with homeless camps and drug addicts, most of whom are legal citizens.

Yeah, that makes logical sense.

This from a state that was in a budget crisis emergency not too many years back, and one that continues to tax people and businesses right out of the state. Oh, and throw in a possible economic downturn in the near future and you have yourself a situation rife for another budget crisis.

But hey, people in the country illegally make a louder splash in the news politically than doing something about the homeless crisis.

As usual, California has things backwards and priorities in the wrong place.

 

 

Not representative

Posted on by backuphill

black framed wing mirror

Photo by Lukas Kloeppel on Pexels.com

Recently I was tasked with finding a used car to purchase for my daughter. A process I am not fond of, let alone knowing my daughter is now old enough to be out on the road on her own. Scary times I tell ya!

Anyway, looking for a used car these days is tough. People are shady.

People are shady.

Hundreds of car ads on multiple platforms and driving by, stopping and looking, at cars on the side of the road with signs in them. It is hard to find a quality used car for a decent price. Or, I should say a decent car for an inexpensive price.

I wanted something that I didn’t have to worry about my 16 year old being on the side of the road in the dark somewhere but also knew it wasn’t going to be in perfect condition. The problem is that when you take all that into consideration and then add in a relatively limited budget, well let’s just say an ice cube in hell has a better chance. LOL

People are shady.

I already knew that point, but as I looked at cars online and then would go look at them in person I found a great majority of them were misrepresented in the ad. The body condition was accurately reflected in the photos. The interior was purposely misrepresented for obvious or glaring flaws. The engine leaked oil. The description left out the mile on the vehicle. Windows didn’t work. Mold growing on the interior? Come on.

Anyway, we found a car. I am not sure it was as great a deal as we first thought. New brakes all around after purchase and the key FOB doesn’t work even after the battery replacement. It is even possible the engine was pressure washed to hide a small oil leak.

I didn’t expect perfect, but people are shady.

Have you had similar purchase experiences from buying this online? Got a horror story to share?

Voluntold

Posted on by backuphill

photography of a person pointing on something

Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

I think there is a little bit of this in everyone.

You have something planned for the day, either at work or in your personal life. You have things ready to go and then all of the sudden you find your plans have changed.

Not because you want them too, but because you have been “voluntold.” Maybe you have heard of it. Maybe you have been the unwilling victim.

The boss. The wife. The parents. Maybe you missed a meeting. Maybe you were selected because of your “qualifications.” Maybe you’re just unlucky.

I am sure you have run into it at least once.

No one likes it.

And yet, we all have maybe done it to someone at the same time. Ah, sweet revenge…

 

Avoid or ignore?

Posted on by backuphill

close up photo of woman covering her ears

Photo by Oleg Magni on Pexels.com

No, I am not talking about doing that childhood favorite of skipping down the road obnoxiously swinging your arms, smiling, and just generally being carefree.

I am talking when someone purposely and obviously skips (avoids?) you but manages to respond to everyone else.

I don’t make it habit of leaving comments on other people’s blogs just so to leave a comment. I am selective and I try to put thought into it so that it can generate a conversations. I also make every effort to respond to comments left on my blog as I believe engagement is a good thing (at least when the comment isn’t purposely malicious).

Anyway, I have noticed that certain bloggers out there are really good at leaving a comment, a thank you, a thumbs up, etc. for the people who take time to comment on their blog. I think that is great, especially if there are a lot of comments, because it takes time. Returning the love is a good thing.

However, it also becomes a rather conspicuous omission when they fail to respond as well. As an example, a blog I made a comment to yesterday had 48 comments as of this morning. Now, we know that WordPress (for some reason) counts all comments, including the ones from the author, so really there were fewer than 48 comments from people who read the blog. As I scrolled through this morning to see if I received a comment (maybe I had missed a notification?), I noticed that every single comment the blog received go a response except mine. In some cases, there were multiple responses from the author.

Hmmm, weird.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not butthurt here. I just think it is rather interesting because it is SO OBVIOUS.

What habits of bloggers to you find annoying? Do you have any that you really appreciate?

Infested

Posted on by backuphill

macro shot of yellow crawling insect

Photo by Egor Kamelev on Pexels.com

Taking care of a yard, along with all the other things around the house when you’re not at work, can be a pain in the rear. Limited time, limited funds, limited knowledge. Sometimes you can work around two of those, but when the trifecta hits there can be a severe case of the weekend warrior blues.

Thankfully, I have less of those blues than I used to. However, there are somethings in the yard that just irritate me to no end!

There are some flowering trees in the front yard – cherry, plum, whatever. I can’t remember. All I know is they have white blossoms on them in the Spring when they bloom. Anyway, they have taken some work to keep them under control (they grow really fast!) and pruning them is no joy.

This year, they are infested with aphids. Like INFESTED! The trees look sickly and the leaves are falling off like it is late Fall. I can handle bugs in most cases, but for some reason aphids gross me out.

Yesterday, I hope I took care of the infestation. I did some research and bought some spray for the trees. Let me tell you, I sprayed the hell out of those trees! I want those things gone and I want the trees to still have leaves for the summer. So, I went to war.

If I can remember, I’ll let you know if I won.

What insect gives you the eebie-jeebies and just can’t handle?

I don’t want you…

Posted on by backuphill

white and black soccer ball on side of green grass field during daytime

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Kids. They can be so confusing.

When my daughter was really young she used to tell me that she “didn’t want me.” I, of course, knew she was mad at me and knew that she wasn’t really speaking truth, at least the truth of a 2-3 year old.

Now I find myself in the later years, as she is a teen, saying more things that start with, “I don’t want you…”

Most of the time is related to a request for her independence and I respect that. I shouldn’t need or want to do everything for her. I am willing to let her explore things on her own and allow her the freedom to have success and to make mistakes. I may not always be happy about the choices, but they are hers to make. I can, of course, choose not to honor the “I don’t want you…” if I know the choice or decision isn’t in her best interest and is dangerous.

She now has a job. It’s doing something she likes (kinda, kids don’t really like to work) and in a sport she has enjoyed for a long time. She has been reffing soccer games for the parks and rec. For the most part, she has enjoyed it and she has been successful at it this year.

I once said, shortly after she got the job, that I was going to come watch her some time. Her response was, “Dad, I don’t want you to come watch me ref games.” When asked why she said that was just weird, that parents aren’t supposed to go to their kids’ place of work just so they can watch them. OK, get that. We visited my son at Taco Bell shortly after he got his first job just to tease him a little but it wasn’t to sit and watch him during his whole shift.

So, to honor her request, I have stayed away. Part of me wants to go watch her and be proud of the job she does, but I can also do that just sitting at home. I don’t have to see her to know she is doing the best she can, really enjoying what she is doing at the time, and be proud of her too. Right?

Am I correct in honoring her “Dad, I don’t want you…”?

Why can’t kids come with a damn instruction manual?

white and black soccer ball on side of green grass field during daytime

Ask not

Posted on by backuphill

army burial cemetery cross

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What can you do for me? What am I going to get out of it?

That seems to be the prevailing question these days. No one does anything for free, or because it’s the right thing to do. There always seems to be a catch, or something has to be gained from it. Is it a millennial thing? Is it just a generational thing?

The entitlement generation. A generation that feels something is owed to them – for doing not much of anything.

Contrast that to the Greatest Generation. One who didn’t ask what could be gained. One that didn’t ask what was in it for them. One that didn’t ask if there was danger. They just did it when they were called.

Today, on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we could use more people who answered the call without hesitation (not just drafted but volunteered) and did their duty without asking for anything. Even today, they don’t recognize that they are heroes. I have been told many times by vets of WWII, “We just did our jobs.” 

JFK said in a speech a few years later, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” We have far too many people asking for the country to do something for them. Too many.

It’s time to stop asking for. No one is owed anything. You earn it.

Hard work. Perseverance. Sweat. Time. Patience. Hard work.

Ask not.

Give.

Non-competitive

Posted on by backuphill

white baseball ball on brown leather baseball mitt

Photo by Steshka Willems on Pexels.com

So, up here in the Seattle region, there have been a lot of years where our professional sports teams haven’t been competitive.

We once had the Sonics who won the world championship way back in the last 70’s. They don’t even exist any longer. We have had the Seahawks really step things up over the last 7 or 8 years with a playoff team and two trips in a row to the Superbowl, even winning the first. There is the Storm and they have won several championships, but there aren’t really that many people who pay attention to them. We also have the Sounders and they have won some a title or two as well, and for the “most popular sport in the world” they do draw huge crowds of rabid fans here. Finally, there are the Mariners…40+ years of mostly irrelevant baseball.

The Mariners have been a modern demonstration of Sisyphus. Yes, there have been a couple seasons where it seemed they might actually break through, only to have them end with a mighty crash and burn. As fans, we actually go into every season with hope for the boys of summer but actually know it is just a practice in futility. This season is no better.

It’s “rebuild” season again…and they’re bad. Competitive in two seasons? Yeah, not likely.

Good thing I just love baseball or I would have stopped paying attention a long time ago.

Cart…horse…

Posted on by backuphill

man riding on the carriage surrounded by trees

Photo by Min An on Pexels.com

Irritating, isn’t it?

When people put the cart before the horse?

Lots of people do it.

Jump to conclusions. Assume the worst. Overthink it. Worry before you know.

I have been known to do it myself.

Isn’t it weird how people, in general, do it more and more?

 

A little uneasy

Posted on by backuphill

brown and white bear plush toy

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I didn’t sleep well last night.

You know that feeling like something just doesn’t feel right in your stomach? Yeah, I had that. All night I felt like something was going to happen at one end of the body (TMI?). I would fall asleep and then wake up a short time later, always on the verge of something but nothing really happening.

Except lack of sleep. It was a rough night for getting good sleep.

I woke up this morning with less of the uneasy feeling but it is lingering. Still seems to be a battle between whether the day will end up with a “tossing of the cookies” or the “squirts”.

Good think my cube is close to the bathrooms at work. I will be splitting time between the two, I think.