Rules for Sharing

Why do people think they need to share everything that is seen or read on Facebook?  There should be hard and fast rules about sharing.  For instance, if you read or see something extremely funny, share it.  Others might think it's funny too.  You may just brighten someone's day with your funny share.  But, bear in mind, if people have told you that your sense of humor is questionable, it's probably not a good idea to share something that you think is funny.  (It may not be as funny as you think.)  If you read something educational or interesting, share it.  A recipe, a workout routine, political information - all of these are examples of shares that would be educational or interesting.  Next, pictures of your family, yourself, your pets - share these.  People that are friends with you and your family members like seeing these pictures.  That is a great way to stay in touch and communicate.  So, what are some rules that address what NOT to share? Rule #1:  Do not share things that are distasteful and inappropriate.  For instance, a man sharing a cartoon of an older woman with saggy breasts, not cool.  Rule #2:  Do not share pictures of a friend's friend when you don't know the person in the picture that you are sharing, nor do any of your friends except for the one friend who is friends with that person.  In other words, don't share pictures of random people from someone else's page.  Geez- that's just weird.  Rule #3:  Don't share things that confuse people.  For instance, if you have no grandchildren, don't share a post about how wonderful it is to be a grandparent.  People are going to think, "Did I miss something?"  Again, weird.  Finally, don't share political posts from both sides.  Do you even know what you stand for?  In other words, you can't share posts from both the NRA and gun control enthusiasts.  Again, CONFUSING.... Now, if you can't abide by these rules (and I'm certain that I forgotten some) then the finally rule is this:  NEVER TOUCH THE SHARE BUTTON!

Why Are People So "Thirsty" at Airport Security?

People need to calm down while going through airport security.  We have all gone through the steps - we know how it goes- place your luggage on the conveyor belt, put your laptop in a bin separately from your other things, place the rest of your items (jacket, shoes, purse) in another bin and send it all through.  Patiently, I wait for the person in front of me to place all of their items in the bins and on the conveyor belt.  Ah, now it's my turn.  I take my small carry-on bag and place it on the belt.  I reach to grab a bin for my laptop and some eager passenger behind be plops his bag down.  I look at him as if to say, "What the H do you think you are doing?"  He moves his things back.  I place my laptop in the bin, reach to grab the bin for the rest of my things and "plop!" goes his bag again.  I look at him and say, "you need to calm down, buddy."  Again, he pulls his things back to allow me to finish putting my things through security.  This has happened on more than one occasion.  Are people clueless to what's going on around them? Is it that serious?  Are you going to a fire after you get through security?  What's the rush?

Why Do People Think Plants Have Feelings?

Why does anyone have to spend 5 minutes of their life explaining to someone that plants aren't people, only to be unsuccessful?  I can understand explaining to a 5 year old the difference between a person and a plant, but to a  grown person?   I shouldn't feel like a murderer because I throw out a dead annual plant.  Do you know what the word annual means with regard to plants?  It means that it completes its life cycle from seed to death in one year.  Yep that's right! It dies.  It has a lifespan of 1 year.  The fact that I do not mourn the death of a plant that is supposed to die in November in Chicago, Illinois where it's cold, is not unnatural.  Why are you looking at me like I am a bad person? And then you try and tell me that plants have feelings?  That's creepy.  I have a plant in my bedroom.  If plants have feelings, I don't want that plant in my bedroom anymore.  What is that plant feeling while I am stepping out of the shower or changing in front of it everyday?  Plants do not have feelings.  Finally, I would like to address the comment "I have a problem with death."  I think most people have a problem with death.  Again, it's a plant.

Why Are Passwords So Mystical?

Everything needs a password nowadays and the passwords we used in the past are no longer secure.  Passwords now have to contain more than 8 numbers/letters/capitals/special characters.  No wonder we forget our passwords.  Why does everything need a password anyway?  Is someone really going to hack into my teacher resource account and steal lesson plans? Of course the easiest thing to do in order to keep all of your passwords straight is to use the same password for all of your accounts - but we are told that is not secure so we change up our passwords.  What happens?  Can't remember passwords.  Now we have to answer the prompt questions so they can send us a link to get in to re-establish our password that we forgot.  Let's talk about those prompt questions.  Here are some of the prompt questions I have seen:  Who was your favorite singer in high school?  My favorite singer in high school? I have no idea who my favorite singer was 38 years ago, or if I even had a favorite singer 38 years ago.  Was it the BeeGees?  KC and the Sunshine Band?  Andy Gibb?  Boston?  Foreigner?  How about this one - What is the name of your favorite pet? I don't know about you, but I liked all of my pets.  That's like asking who your favorite child is.  How Rude!  Even this one - What is the name of your High School?  Of course I know the name of my High School, but did I capitalize it? Did I write the name and then "high school" or did I just write the name?  This makes me anxious and irritated when I am already anxious and irritated that I lost my password in the first place.

Why Do People Ask for the Agenda?

Why do people call their spouse as they are traveling home from work and ask them what their agenda is for the evening?  Or ask their spouse (who happens to be a teacher) what their agenda is every morning during the summer?  Let me tell you once and for all... the agenda is the "NO AGENDA" Agenda.  Got it?  Some of us live our entire professional lives by agendas.  Do you think we want or need an agenda every evening?  What's YOUR agenda?  Do you really need to have someone give you an agenda every second of the day?  You need to come up with an agenda for yourself so you can stop asking me for MY agenda.  You want to know what's on my agenda?  I will tell you what's on my agenda - telling you that I don't have an agenda.  That's what's on my agenda.

Why Do People Make Their Babies Look Like Food?

Why do people dress their babies up to look like food for Halloween?  I have seen babies looking like tacos, sushi, spaghetti, sub sandwiches, you name it.  Sometimes its not even food.  I saw a baby dressed up like a marijuana leaf.  Really? Are you serious? That baby is going to be mad at their parents when they grow up and look at that picture.  Not only are they dumb costumes, but the babies look severely uncomfortable in them.  So nice that people are entertained at their baby's expense!

What's With the Public Birthday Parties?

Why do people have to celebrate birthdays in public?  Have you ever been sitting at a restaurant sharing a nice meal with your family or friends, and all of a sudden the staff breaks out in the Happy Birthday song?  You have now been forced to become part of a birthday celebration of a complete stranger.  You have to interrupt your relaxing evening in order to share in the glee of someone's birthday that you have never met.  In my opinion, if you want to celebrate your birthday, do it at a private party in a private home and invite people that can decide yes or no if they want to attend your party.  People should not be forced to be a "guest" at public birthday parties.  That's all.

Train Commuters

There are two types of Train Commuters.  One type of Train Commuter is the Independent Thinker.  He or she spends his or her time on the train reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, and working on a laptop.  The other type of Train Commuter is the Group Thinker.  He or she spends his or her time on the train talking to other Group Thinkers, trying to figure how they are going to think about issues.  The issues are usually unimportant, such as discussing their minor health problems or gossiping about other people's lives.  If something happens either on the train, in someone else's life, or even out in the Great Big World, the Group Thinkers all come up with the same deduction.  That deduction is seldom based on logical information.  When speaking with a Train Commuter Group Thinker outside of the Commuter Circle, the Group Thinker will often times begin a sentence with,"a woman on the train said..." or "some women on the train ..."  Hmmm... the Group Thinkers often times work for the Independent Thinkers.  Wonder why?

I need to fix my face.

I have been told on more than one occasion to "fix my face".  I must have one of those faces that communicates what I'm thinking.  Sometimes when people are speaking either to me or near me, I can't believe that certain things are actually coming out of their mouths.  I'm sure everyone has felt the same way, it's just that they don't actually show it in their expressions.  Maybe that's not so bad.  It certainly does save a lot of time and energy that you don't have to tell people that what they are saying is simply ridiculous.

Fuzzy Math

I understand that not everyone is good at math.  Maybe a famous writer might need an accountant because his or her forte' is writing, not numbers.  Maybe an artist isn't so hot at math.  Math is a left brained function and creativity is a right brained function.  I get it.  Creative people get business managers and accountants, or at least a mathematically inclined family member to help with their finances.  But of course I am sure that no matter how abstract and creative they are, they can at least subtract 1 from 180.  (That equals 179 right?)  So how is it possible that a CFO that is in charge of ALOT of money and who probably makes a good dollar, cannot subtract 1 from 180?  Shouldn't a CFO (business manager) have decent math skills?  Shouldn't someone in charge of MILLIONS of dollars have simple, common sense number sense?  Mind-boggling! (oh yea, and stop giving me that deer-caught-in-the-headlights-look!)

Why Do People In Charge Make Others Do Ridiculous Things?

Why do people that are in charge of a situation make decisions that make others uncomfortable? Ridiculousness may be in YOUR comfort zone, but not in others. Take seat assignments at weddings, for example. So you want to split people up that all know each other so everyone can sit by people they don't know and make new friends? This isn't kindergarten. We don't want to make new friends that we will never see again. Especially your whiskey-drinking, New York Times-reading future in-law snobs. ARE YOU SITTING BY A BUNCH OF STRANGERS? No! You are sitting by people you know so that you can watch the rest of us as we attempt conversation with people we don't know and will never see again. Weird. As a guest at a wedding, I want to sit by my friends and family. I like my family and friends. I spent time and money to come to your wedding, I gave you a nice gift, at least let me sit and eat with people that I enjoy being with. I think "I'm going to split everyone up so that they meet new people" is code for "I don't want to take the time to prepare a seating chart so I am just randomly going to put people anywhere". That's what I think. 

Why are car mechanics so possessive?

Why do car mechanics think they own your car? I went to the car dealer today to get my oil changed. I will admit, I was a little over the 3000 recommended mileage since my last oil change. I've been busy. My car gets very good care. I get my oil changed on a regular basis. So what, I was a little over this time. When the service advisor put me into the computer and saw that I was over 3000 miles, he peppered me with all kinds of questions. "Have you been going somewhere else for your oil changes?" "Why haven't we seen you lately?"  I felt like I was talking to Tony from the Seinfeld episode, "The Bottle Deposit". I started to get worried. Was he going to turn me in? Was he going to kidnap my car like Tony did to Jerry's car? So what if I had taken my car somewhere else for an oil change? I did confess that a tire company was now rotating my tires. Why should I feel guilty about that? Geez! It's not that serious!

Why Do People Join Clubs?

Why do people have to organize and join clubs to participate in activities?  I have retired friends that join book clubs, garden clubs, and other clubs.  I don't get it.  What goes on at these club meetings?  As far as I know, they have Presidents, keep minutes, the whole shebang!  For example, let's talk about the garden club.  Why do you need a garden club?  What are you doing at this garden club meeting?  Do you vote on which flowers to plant in your garden?  Why do we all have to plant the same flowers?  Are you learning about plants and flowers?  Don't we have the internet for that?  Why do you have to have a formal meeting for that?  What happens if you want to plant something and get voted down?  Can you still plant it or will you get in trouble? Do you have to have the prettiest lawn to be President or respected in the club?  What about the book clubs?  So you all read the same book and then talk about it.  How long can you talk about a book you are reading with other people that are reading the same book?  Seems like high school literature class to me.  I don't want to go back to high school lit class.  Sounds like a book report to me.  NO THANKS.  Don't get me wrong - I love to read.  I just don't want to have to report about it.  What happens if I want to read more than the assignment?  Will I get in trouble?  What happens if I don't read the assignment?  Will I get in trouble?  Should I skip the meeting?  That's too much pressure for me.  As a soon-to-be-retired teacher, I don't want to join a club where people tell me what flowers I have to plant or that I have to do book reports for.  Now, a Wine Club is something that sounds fun.  I think I could join that club.  Whenever we meet, we drink wine and pair the wine with cheese, fruit, and truffles.  That makes sense to me!

Why Do People Think They Are The Boss?

Why do people with dogs think they are the boss of their home?  Everyone knows that when you have a dog, that your dog is the boss.  Oh you may think you are the boss.  You may make up rules for your house that you expect your dog to follow, but everyone knows who the boss is.  Your dog may fake you out by pretending that he is listening or following your rules, but that' s just to get you off his back.  The minute you turn YOUR back (and eventually you will) he does what he wants.  And he probably talks about you behind your back to the other dogs.  At minimum, he's thinking to himself, "Who do you think you are?"  When you are scolding him for not following the rules, all he is thinking is "I wish you would shut up talking to me" or "Isn't it time for you to go to work or something?"  Have you ever really seriously thought about it?  You are going to work all day, FOR YEARS with no expectation of your dog ever contributing to the household at some point in their life.  You make him comfortable, feed him, exercise him, play with him, etc. while he gets to lounge around the house FOREVER!  Sounds like a pretty good gig!

Why Do People Make a Big Deal Out of Birthdays?

Why do people have to make a big deal out of celebrating their birthday? So What?  You lived another year.  Is that all you did?  Why are you so obsessed with that one day?   Is it so important that once a year your friends and family have to stand around and sing to you, eat at a restaurant that only you like, and buy you things that you don't need?  Are you so starved for attention that you have to force people to recognize your birthday?  Personally, I'm at the age where turning another year older is not cause for celebration.  Now make me a year younger every year on my birthday and I will begin to celebrate!

Why Do People Stick Out Their Tongues?

Why do grown adults stick out their tongues for pictures?  Do they know how disgusting the tongue is?  Don't get me wrong, the tongue serves many purposes.  But it's not pretty.  If you think about it, it's like a very short, very fat snake attached to the inside of your mouth.  It's best to keep it hidden inside your mouth out of sight to do it's job.  I think people think that it makes them look like they are having a wild and crazy time so when the cameras are rolling, the tongues start coming out.  Trust me, having your tongue hanging out during a picture does not enhance the picture.  Leave it in.

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Why Do People in Sales Torture People?

Why do people in the sales industry tease and torture consumers? Whether they are selling airline tickets or blush blazers, they put out a product "for sale" to get you interested, only to take it away! How can an airline sell you a ticket, give you a reservation, then change your flight to a different day because "oops, we oversold"?  Then when you become irritated because you have to cancel your trip, they act all shocked and appalled like, "What? You're angry?" Don't they realize that the reason people make reservations for specific days is because they have to be there on that day? The important part of taking the reservation is keeping the reservation. "Oh, just tell the hostess of the party you are attending to change the day of the party because we screwed up and overbooked". Idiots!!  And what's with the scarcity of blush blazers in size 2?  A large franchised store comes out with a new line of blush blazers and within a week all size 2s are sold out across the country? And you're not making any more? You've got to be kidding! 

Why Do People Leave Their Calendars Unattended?

Why do people allow "Calendar Gremlins" access to their calendars? Don't they know that these gremlins are involved in trickery? Calendar gremlins are the only explanation I can think of to account for meeting dates mysteriously being removed from one's calendar. I see someone put a meeting date on their calendar, I hear that same person agree to a date, yet when we talk about that same meeting date a few weeks later, the date has been removed and according to the other party, the meeting date never existed. That disturbs me! Did a gremlin get a hold of your phone, remove the meeting date, and wipe your memory?

Why Do People Do That To Babies?

Why do people put turbans on their babies? Have you seen those things? They make the babies look like old women! When those babies grow up they are going to be angry when they see  pictures of themselves in those horrible looking crocheted turbans with matching ugly dresses! Please don't do that to your baby! 

Why Do People Like Bad Things?

Why do people hit "Like" for things on Facebook that aren't likable? If your dog dies and you post it on Facebook, people should not hit "Like". That's like saying you like that the dog died. Or if someone posts a news article about a bad traffic accident and someone hits "Like", that's like saying that they like that there was an accident. I don't get it. Only say you like it if you really like it.