Culture

What you say vs. what you do

Posted on by backuphill

 

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There are lots of people out there these days that say one thing and do another. We would like to think that “our word is our bond” but that isn’t really how it works any longer. “The handshake” used to be all you needed, now it means almost nothing.

“Your actions speak so loudly that I can’t hear what you are saying.”

You say you will do this. You do that.

You offer a service. I pay for that service. You don’t provide said service.

There is nothing more irritating than people who don’t do what they say they will do.

Don’t mind me, trying to get anywhere…

Posted on by backuphill

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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…

 

“Free” garbage

Posted on by backuphill

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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

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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

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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.

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The land of accusations

Posted on by backuphill

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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

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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.

 

Oh, you must be exempt from traffic laws

Posted on by backuphill

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Wanna know who is exempt from traffic laws? Cops, apparently.

You see them speed all the time on the highway. You see them make a flagrant u-turns in traffic. You see them park on the side of the road (especially on overpasses) with a portion of their vehicle in traffic. You see them park in “No Parking” or “Fire” zones. You see them park on sidewalks. You see them using their computers and their cell phones while driving. You see them not use their signals properly. So, they must be exempt, right?

I was always under the impression that the only time they were exempt from traffic laws was when they had their lights on and were responding to a call. They don’t even have to have their siren on, but they at the very least had to have their lights on. Otherwise, I was under the impression they should act as though they are the same as any other citizen. Well, we clearly and regularly don’t see this happen, right?

So what gives? I have never had a law enforcement official clearly explain this to me. When asked if they are exempt from the law, they say no but they can’t explain why it is acceptable why they violate traffic laws on a regular basis. Anyone got an answer?

Fleeing followers on Instagram

Posted on by backuphill

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Growing an Instagram account can be tough. Getting people to follow you, to share you, to like and comment is down right challenging.

What really sucks is that you start to see some results and people are beginning to follow you and then they flee – unfollow almost as fast as they followed you. At first I was being courteous and following them back, but I soon learned that these accounts were following my account just so they could get a follow and then they would unfollow my account.

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Well, if that doesn’t just burn ya up, I don’t know what will. People work really hard to create good content so the can get followers and really make an effort to do it via a legit method (I mean I get spam offers for “follower generators” all the time). Kinda makes ya mad, ya know?

Is that really how people get followers to their accounts? Spam follow accounts and hope they follow you back?