Complaints | Piss and Moan

Planning

Posted on September 27, 2019 by backuphill

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So, I am doing a training today. Teaching teachers to use the software the should be using for grading students.

I am usually the type of guy who doesn’t mind someone pointing at something and say, “Do it.” I show up, and do it.

BUT, this morning is a bit different. I wasn’t a part of the planning of this and I found out yesterday there are all kinds of factors that could make this morning go very poorly.

First, this training was supposed to be to one district who requested the training. Somehow members of another district managed to get into the training. I think I nicely took care of that issue by letting them know that the training was indeed intended for a specific district and that they weren’t really invited.

Second, the registration website being used to sign participants up for the training says the training starts at 8:30am. My calendar says it starts at 9:00am. So which is it? OK, I am flexible and can go with the flow….except for the last thing…

Finally, there is a meeting scheduled in the room where the training is supposed to take place. The meeting is scheduled from 7:30-9:00am. Uh, that is a problem! Not only can I not set up and prepare for my training, but if the training is truly supposed to be at 8:30am what am I supposed to do with the people who show up on time for the training?

Yeah. This could turn into a CF real quick.

I know my stuff. I don’t have an issue working on the fly. Hell, I taught high school for 15 years. I can go with the flow with the best of them…but at least I had some control of my environment to some degree. In this case, I have little to none.

And on top of it all? I am wearing slacks on a Friday, which is supposed to be casual day at the office. Damn.

Two Thursdays

Posted on September 26, 2019 by backuphill

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My regular telecommute days are Wednesday and Thursday. However, that last two Thursdays have had meetings in the office that I have had to attend, so I telecommuted on Tuesday instead.

As such, this is the second Thursday in a row that I have made the hour (+/-) trek to the office. And this is the second Thursday in a row that the traffic has been less that tolerable. More than an hour to work, again.

Seriously, what is with Thursdays?? Why can’t people drive on this day of the week?

I am seriously starting to contemplate calling in sick on Thursdays if I have to go to the office and can’t telecommute. Think they would notice?

Annoyed

Posted on September 25, 2019 by backuphill

man sitting on black leather padded chair

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There are few things more irritating than playing whack-a-mole on news websites! I mean seriously, why does this have to be such an annoying thing?

OK, to be clear, I am talking about all of the pop-ups, over-sized headers, loud videos, video ads, etc. you get when you visit just about any sort of news site. Whether it is a tech website, an entertainment website, or something else, there are just about always two or three pop-ups that have to be closed to get a clear view of the page.

Annoying! I say. Annoying!

I use an ad blocker, but even that doesn’t get everything. Sometimes it isn’t a third party ad. Sometimes it is even the website sharing it’s own information about something else they would like you to look at. More annoyance.

Why is this necessary? Yes, of course, I know…they make money by clicks and crap like that. Some websites I have just stopped going to (they used to be good ones and I liked them) because I get tired of the same “dance of the pop-ups.” I like whack-a-mole, but not really that much.

All I can say to anyone who might be reading this – STOP IT! You are seriously damaging your name, brand, reputation, whatever by continuing this practice.

*This applies to blogs as well. If you have ads on your blog, make sure you aren’t turning off your readers by having stupid crap like described above.*

Wise counsel

Posted on September 24, 2019 by backuphill

Grinding gears

Yeah, this today.

You know how you give someone advice you know is good advice because it comes from experience and yet they decide to do their own thing because they know better without having any experience (except failure)?

Yeah, grinds my gears.

I have not other words.

Ever find yourself giving wise counsel only to have it completely ignored?

Getting real

Posted on September 23, 2019 by backuphill

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Let’s get real for a sec. Can we do that?

I am about to step on some toes, I am sure, but that’s OK. I do what I do.

OK, real. How’s this for real? I am going to go out on a limb here and make a bold statement:

If you are an adult and you are still having your mail delivered to mommy & daddy’s house as the main location of your mail delivery, you’re a loser.

There I said it.

I don’t feel bad about it.

As an adult, you should take responsibility for certain things. I believe being responsible for changing your mailing address after you move is one of those responsibilities. It’s not a hard thing to do. They have forms for that. Better yet, you can do it online and be done with it in a matter of minutes. Stop being so damn lazy that you can’t be responsible for your own mail.

Oh, and here’s a bonus bold statement:

If you’re a parent who allows your grown child to have mail delivered to your house when they have moved out just so you know they will have to stop by once in a while to get the mail, well, you’re just as lame.

Cut the damn cord already!

Good grief. If you are one of those parents who don’t mind getting your kids’ mail at your house then you are part of the problem too. Help them get a freaking life! Oh, and while you’re at it, get one of your own too!

Ugh! Really. Just do it.

You both need to grow the hell up.

Over/Under

Posted on September 18, 2019 by backuphill

If you are betting person, you probably think this is about something you do. It isn’t. I am not really a betting person, but I’ll take the Over on the fact that you likely have an opinion on today’s topic. Almost everyone does, they just might not like to admit it.

It goes a little like this…

You walk into the room. You really aren’t paying but you find a seat and go about your business. As you finish, you notice the toilet paper is wrong. Wrong, as in someone has put the roll in backwards. You try to ignore it but you just can’t. You have to try and switch it so it meets your preference. Over or Under.

I had to deal with this in my own house recently. Someone who doesn’t live here put the new roll of toilet paper into the dispenser the wrong way. I immediately had to fix it. I couldn’t even start the process by sitting down first.

Me? Well, I prefer Over. It is, after all, the only right way to do it.

How about you? Does the Over/Under bother you? Do you have a hard time resisting fixing it, even in someone else’s house?

**PSA: Parents, if you are teaching your children the Under, you are doing it wrong. Please don’t subject the rest of the public to your malfeasance. No one, especially your children, deserves that kind of abuse.

Chain letter

Posted on September 17, 2019 by backuphill

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Irritating trend continues to the electronic age.

I am sure you are well aware of them. They seem to be everywhere. Honestly, I never thought I would see them in social media and yet there they are. I have done my best to ignore them and just scroll past them.

But then a close family member posts one…and I have a hard time biting my tongue. The one from the family member was worded slightly differently and talked about it being a “social experiment” so “don’t do it if you aren’t going to participate or you’ll break the experiment.” You have likely seen a version of this somewhere in your feed (provided you have Facebook):

The last few years have taught me that when it is our time to leave this world no one can stop it. We have one life to live. The material things we invest in are left behind only to be discarded. Memories are important to me. I’m going to start a “reunion of friends and family”. The idea is to see who reads a post without a picture. If no one reads my post, this will be a very short experiment. But if you are reading this message, make a comment using a single word about how we met. After that, copy this message on your wall and I will also leave you a word. Please, don’t leave a word and then not bother doing it. Grateful beyond measure!

I don’t like chain letters. While this isn’t exactly a chain letter, the idea is the same. Do something for me and I’ll do something for you and it will keep going (thankfully there is no threat of death like some chain letters have, LOL)

I also don’t like desperate attempts to get people to comment on something or “see if people are paying attention” or “cleaning out my friends list” type posts. I guess I am a bit of a rebel and refuse to play the game. I have had people tag me in posts where they have to do something and then “tag 5 more people” so they have to do it. I refuse to do it.

Call me obstinate. Call me difficult. Call me a jerk. Call me whatever.

Anyone else severely dislike these things? What other “chain letter like” things do you see on social media that irritates you to no end?

Pizza shenanigans

Posted on September 12, 2019 by backuphill

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Did that title get your attention? I know it does me! I love pizza and so I get excited just thinking about it. Well, that is until I start thinking about the shenanigans going on at the local Little Caesars.

I am sure you are well aware (and if you aren’t then you really aren’t a pizza fan) that Little Caesars advertises a special deal they call the “Hot & Ready.” Essentially, you can get a basic large pepperoni pizza just about any time (because they always have them prepared, thus hot and ready) for $5.99. This is advertised EVERYWHERE!

Why am I explaining what a Hot & Ready is? If these people love pizza like they say they do, then they already know this information.

So, our local Little Caesars benefits from a national advertising campaign but doesn’t actually offer the advertised price. Why? Well, apparently there are two types of stores, corporate and franchise. One is owned by the company and the other just has the name and product licensed to them. As such, the franchise stores can decide on their own what to price the products at.

Imagine my chagrin the first time I walk into our local Little Caesars store and ask for a Hot & Ready and expecting to pay $5.99 and then get charged $6.99. Yeah, that’s right, pure shenanigans!! When questioned why the response was “We’re a franchise and we don’t have to sell pizza at the corporate and advertised price.”

Well, okay then, Ms. Snotty McSnotterson.

From then on, let’s just say the pizza didn’t taste quite as good…and I drive out of my way to find a corporate store.

Yes, I realize it is only a $1 but it is the principle of the whole thing that bugs me. Anyone else do something simply for the principle of it?

I just knew it

Posted on September 10, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Bas Masseus on Pexels.com

Ever had that moment of regret where you knew better but did it anyway?

Ever had that moment where your mind tells you, You’ve done this before and it didn’t work. Don’t do it again.

Why do we not listen to our inner voice? Why do we choose to ignore all the red flags and past experiences we have had only to find ourselves in a familiar place with familiar regrets?

My eyes are telling me that. They have been telling me that for at least a week, probably more. Maybe about a month. I should probably do something about it.

I was at Costco a while back and I was in need of contact solution. Many years back I had messed around with trying different brands, only to find that the Bausch & Lomb really WAS the best. So, I haven’t ever deviated from that brand since.

Well, dang it, my eyes observed a deal in the Kirkland brand solution (even though it has been tried in the past). Three bottles of solution for half the price the stuff I normally buy. Maybe it’s time to try it again. Hey, it’s made by a name brand company but just bottled under the Kirkland name. It can’t be as bad as I remember.

My inner voice needs a beating.

Seriously, someone needs to beat that guy up. He tells me not to do it and then turns right around and rationalizes doing it. Way to watch out for my me, inner voice.

My eyes are not as comfortable as they have been in the past and they can definitely tell the solution isn’t the same. My eyes are dried out and they always feel like they do when I am tired and as though I have worn my contacts for several days without taking them out.

Stupid inner voice. I gotta stop listening to that guy. No, I need to start listening to that guy. Wait, I can’t do both.

Inner voice, what should I do?

Lack of memory

Posted on September 9, 2019 by backuphill

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Rain.

We have it here in the Pacific Northwest about nine months of the year. Yeah, it’s probably less than that, but it sure feels that way at times. Anyway, it’s something we have a lot of and we spent a good portion of our year getting it.

So why, when summer ends and the rain returns, do NW drivers have such a hard time remembering how to drive in the stuff? It’s not like it’s a mystery and it isn’t a new skill that has to be obtained. This should be “old hat” by now!

Seriously, people, get a grip on that steering wheel and slow down. It won’t hurt you unless you’re stupid…

Maybe what little optimism I have is being too generous.

I keep hoping.

I’ll stop.