Complaints | Piss and Moan

Sit down

Posted on February 28, 2020 by backuphill

man wearing green polo shirt sitting in front of wooden counter

This is not the guy and this is not the bar. But you get the idea. Photo by Daria Sannikova on Pexels.com

Ok, so I missed a day. Yesterday.

I tried really hard to not have something to Piss and Moan about. I almost actually made it the whole day. I mean, really, what could I possibly find to complain about while I am on this vacation? Baseball. Sun. Beer. Best friend. Good food. Can it get better than that? Probably not.

But, the day just wasn’t the same if I didn’t find something…and then it happened. Tonight at dinner. Talk about irritating.

We were at a sports bar and having some food and drinks. There weren’t that many people in the place, maybe 20, so there were lots of empty tables, even empty seats at the bar.

So, we found a table that was up against the wall so we all could see the TVs above the bar. One TV had the opening night of the NFL Combine. One TV had the Houston & Washington spring training baseball game on. The other TV close to the bar had TMZ on (what the hell??).

We ordered our food and because watching the various TVs and then this guy comes in and takes a chair at the bar in front of the TV with the combine on it…which is the seat right in front of us…and then he doesn’t even sit down, he stands instead of using the chair. So, he blocks the view of the TV completely.

Dude, sit your ass down! No, better yet, find a different seat. There are a hundred other chairs in this place and you have to sit right in front of the TV, in front of us, so we can’t see it? Can we say someone was a little just into himself and oblivious to anyone else in the world?

Rude, dude, rude.

Morning flight

Posted on February 26, 2020 by backuphill

man walking on the road holding black luggage during sunset

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Travel day has arrived! To say that I am excited might be an understatement. Sun, baseball, buddies, beer, food,…yeah, it’s gonna be a blast.

Unfortunately, the start hasn’t been completely smooth.

I left the house one time and got the the airport exactly as anticipated. Grabbed the small suitcase, pulled up the handle for better handling while rolling, and headed to check in for my flight. I was checking the bag (it’s free) so I didn’t bother to check in early.

I got to the kiosk, checked in, and went to put the handle down on the suitcase and it won’t go down…like not move, at all….I pushed. I shoved. I pulled. I pounded. I tried finessing it. NOTHING. It isn’t moving. Great.

I am not unpacking this thing to see if I can get the bars for the handle to move from the inside. Oh, and I didn’t happen to bring my hacksaw with me so I can’t cut the dang thing off.

I asked the luggage people what I should do. They said, “We’ll still check it.” REALLY? Thank goodness!

Stress melted away.

Coffee is being consumed and I am waiting to board my flight. Let’s hope that is the only challenge faced during this trip.

The list

Posted on February 25, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

I am leaving, on a jet plane…and I know when I’ll be back again, unfortunately. I seriously could enjoy the life of retirement and no plan or commitments every day. *sigh* Alas, I must settle for small breaks in the routine.

Anyway, I have a list.

A self-imposed list. It’s always self-imposed.

I wrote up all the things I need to do and would like to do before leaving, in less than 24 hours. It’s too long.

Some of the things are just reminders of small things I need to make sure get packed and other things are actually things I want to get done.

I know one of my blogger friends, Curt, wrote about his “to do list” not too long ago, and how a list before traveling is a love/hate-win/lose kind of exercise. I totally identified with it because I do it too, and have done it again!

How many of you are the same way? Suddenly seeing your physical or mental “to do list” grow so long before vacation that you can never get it all done if you had two weeks to do it? Why do we stress ourselves even a little before we vacation?

Blind bat

Posted on February 20, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Miri on Pexels.com

Along with a visit to the regular doc yesterday, I also made a 4th trip to the eye doctor for an original appointment that was back in January.

Why the 4th? Well, it’s partially because I seeming as blind as a bat (I am still developing my echo location skills) and partially due to their incompetence. The outcome of this last appointment? A possible 5th visit…

Due to the power needed for my eyes, I haven’t had the clearest of vision in one eye because technology in the soft contact industry just hadn’t caught up my needed power. So, when I found out that clearer vision was now a possibility for the worst of my two eyes I was kinda happy about that. They ordered trials and I went upon my Piss and Moan way.

When I went back to try on the trials they discovered they ordered the wrong ones and only one that I actually needed was available. So, I tried that one in my eye and it was a significant improvement over the years of partially blurry vision! But, that was only one eye. And while the better of my two eyes didn’t need as extreme an amount of correction, I didn’t have two matching brands in my eyes. So, I left knowing I would have to go back again to pick up the correct lens when it arrived.

I went back, picked it up, and with the trials I noticed that my vision was improved but comfort was down – my eyes felt dry and tired at the end of the day. Hmmm…back to the drawing board.

I also had trials of my current brand in the correct powers, so I put them in. Comfort was fine. But, I really felt the sharpness wasn’t there like the other trial and so I wondered if the prescription was actually correct. If it was, would I have to sacrifice some better vision for comfort?

So, my follow-up yesterday…sacrificing comfort wasn’t an option as I wear my contacts around 16 hours a day. I can’t spend my evenings rubbing my eyes and feeling like I need to take them out the minute I get home in the evening. The comfortable pair, the ones I felt weren’t quite strong enough, well I was right. They weren’t the right prescription. One eye was correct and the other was not.

Seriously.

My Piss and Moan level went up four notches. I know it wasn’t the gal’s fault that was helping me. But I seriously has some issues with the fact that it was the fourth time I had to take time off work, drive 20 minutes one way, just to see if they could get it correct.

I think we have it sorted out now, but I think I may visit a different doctor and office in two years when I have to go through this again.

Group texts

Posted on February 18, 2020 by backuphill

photo of man in white dress shirt holding phone near window

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

I bet you cringed when you read the headline. I know I do. Or, maybe your eyes rolled violently to the back of your head. I know mine do.

I think it is safe to say group texts are the bane of texting. A necessary evil, if you will.

I am sure you can see where this is heading…I hate group texts! I really really really do.

So much so, that my family knows not to include me in a group texts unless it is absolutely necessary – like getting bad news to a large group of people quickly necessary.

The problem is, I keep getting included in groups I really don’t need to be a part of. Actually, I probably do need to be a part of them but the group then gets abused by people talking about other things I don’t need or want to know about. Suddenly the conversation goes from necessary to drivel and my phone is exploding for no good reason other than people like to hear themselves talk.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a good way to remove yourself from the group text (like an actual text conversation) unless it is through some kind of social media app. You are stuck…listening to your text alert go off endlessly…as people have a conversation about nothing….until finally you BEG the person who added you to the conversation to please remove you from it.

Not to be rude or anything, but would you please delete my contact info from your phone…forever?

Other than scolding everyone to stop using the group text message for side conversations and everyone finally agreeing to stop, how do you curb this extreme annoyance?

What do other people think? Should group texts be outlawed? When are they acceptable?

Surprising

Posted on February 17, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I have managed to get eight hours of sleep each of the last two nights. Surprising, to say the least.

Why?

Because I am still sick.

It appears that it may have gotten worse over the weekend. I am not really sure. What I do know is that my rib cage is worn out from coughing and my body aches. My cough is now one that would cause my toes to come up from my lungs, if that were physically possible. It’s deep. It rattles. Nothing happens except a bright white light vision and head spinning.

If there are no more posts after this, it’s because I died gasping for air while coughing up a lung or some other body part.

Father Time

Posted on February 14, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

Another trip around the sun.

Another drop in the bucket.

One foot farther into the grave.

Picking up speed on the other side of the hill.

It doesn’t matter how you put it, birthdays just aren’t really all that much fun. Maybe it’s just me.

Sure, I get the celebration part and I am not really a fatalist, so it isn’t that big a deal.

BUT, I can tell you another year older and being sick at the same time is kinda beating me up today. I really just wanna sit in a dark room, watch movies or play video games, and not interact with anyone unless I have given prior approval.

No such luck.

People are everywhere. There is too much light. I am coughing up a storm (I am not contagious any longer), and work is much too busy.

Yes, OK, I get it Father Time. You win.

But, I might just take a nap in my car and you can’t stop me…

Robot vacuum

Posted on February 13, 2020 by backuphill

My vacuum is not this one. It is from a different company and this photo is just for demonstration purposes. Photo by Jens Mahnke on Pexels.com

The house has a robot vacuum.

It’s kinda new. It has been roaming the house at a pre-planned time for about three months now. Honestly, it’s nice to not have to sweep as often. It also cleans up some of the rugs that are by the entry points of the house, there there is that too.

But, it is also a lot like having a freaking toddler in the house.

Anything that is on the ground gets moved around and sometimes you have to go hunting for stuff. Example: shoes. It will push slippers and shoes under the furniture. Thus, I find myself on the floor trying to fish stuff out from under the bed or night stand. It will also sometimes grab shoe laces and drag the shoe around for a while.

It closes doors and gets stuck on the inside of a room. It keeps working, unlike a toddler, but then you have to open the door and direct it out of the room. So, now doors have to be closed when it starts so it doesn’t get stuck in room, just like you do when you have a toddler in the house and you don’t want them getting into stuff.

It gets stuck under things and doesn’t finish what it was doing. The TV stand. The coffee table. The night stand. If it gets caught on something, it just stops.

It unplugs stuff and then you wonder why it isn’t working. I have had the phone charging cable not power up my phone when I plug it in at night. The robot unplugged it from under the night stand. The subwoofer for the sound system wasn’t working and movies/tv sounded funny. The robot unplugged the subwoofer from the powerstrip under the TV stand. It once drug a phone cord all over the house.

It picks up stuff you really don’t want it to…like screws you accidentally drop or didn’t know came out of something. Fridge magnets. Hair ties. Batteries. It’s like a toddler that puts everything in its mouth and you’re running around saying, “What do you have in your mouth? Lemme see!”

Why does it treat somethings, like the wall and furniture, like it is glass and eases into cleaning the edges while at other times it just bashes it’s way around the same furniture, like it has no eyes and doesn’t have a clue that it is getting close to something? Same for a toddler and cats…you tell it to be careful and nice, gentle, and it does for a while and then all of the sudden it grabs a big handful of fur and pulls, sending the animal scurrying away.

I tell you, I don’t have time to babysit the robot.

Seriously.

Sick and tired

Posted on February 12, 2020 by backuphill

tissue paper on container near glass window

Photo by Julian Paolo Dayag on Pexels.com

Family was over last weekend.

They knowingly came over with colds and the little ones openly hacked, snorted, and touched everything in sight.

Now I am sick.

And tired.

It’s irritating. Really.

Why do people feel the need to expose others to their illness? Just stay home. I don’t care if you’re a relative or not. I don’t want you around.

I’ll take care to do the same.

I am going to go rest. Because typing is exhausting. Reading hurts my eyes.

I am just generally irritable…but then that isn’t all that unusual. I am that way most of the time. It is just to a higher degree today.

Need to know

Posted on February 11, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Linda Eller-Shein on Pexels.com

“You’re on a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know.”

The above phrase gets tossed around a lot, but there are actual times when it applies. Yesterday, I ran into an instance from my employer that seems to fit this to a T.

The admin assistance to our department director came around with a new form to fill out. It supposedly is something that we have filled out previously and supposedly only has one line changed on the whole document. The supposed change is “to comply with federal grant requirements.” The added line really isn’t the issue for me though.

The document is basically a “driver screening” risk management form. I get that in order for me to drive a company vehicle, they have to ask certain questions and it is expected that I report certain details should circumstances require the necessity to do so. That isn’t really an issue for me. I understand the necessity of such a screening. HOWEVER…

The document goes on to ask about information that I believe is totally unnecessary and, quite frankly, a violation of my privacy by asking about my personal vehicle. As in, should I drive my personal vehicle during work hours and on work time. The document is asking for the kind of vehicle I drive and license plate (why would it matter what vehicle I drive if it is my vehicle?), what insurance company I use and the policy number (with specific amounts of coverage); it requires to inform my employer if I drop expected level of insurance to a lower level, and expects me to waive all rights as an employee if on company time and there is an accident in my personal vehicle.

Does this sound invasive? Is this typical? Do you willingly give your employer information they don’t really need?

Yes, there is travel required as part of my job. Yes, I do prefer to drive my personal vehicle instead of the crappy company cars. But, the requirements of this document are “part of my continued employment” with the company, as though the document and my driving my vehicle have anything to do with my job performance and skills as a trainer and software analyst.

A big part of me bristles as this whole thing. I can accept that my employer needs to know certain things about me, but I don’t accept that they need to know everything about me.

I partially joked with a co-worker who was feeling the same way as I was yesterday that it won’t be long and they’ll be asking for our homeowner’s insurance policies since we telecommute several days a week.

I can see the future, and I don’t like it.