I just got back from a wonderful trip to Disney World with Matt and his family. Although not the most relaxing trip, we had such a fun time just being kids and running from ride to ride and show to show.
There are a lot of dumb people out there, and Disney World was a showcase of a lot of them. I'm guessing most of you have been to Disney World at some point in your life, but in case you need a refresher on how a fast pass works, let me explain. You take your park entry ticket to rides and shows that have the fast pass option and stick it in these machines that give you a ticket for the ride you want with a return time (usually about 30-60 minutes from the time you get the fast pass). Once you can use your fast pass, you get in the fast pass lane and are typically on the ride within 10 minutes, regardless of the normal wait. Wonderful. Amazing. So we would get fast passes to the big rides and then go watch a show or do a smaller ride while waiting for our return time. Also note that these are available for anyone. No extra fees, special tickets or anything.
With that said, people would wait over an hour for a ride that they could get a fast pass for. Who are these people?? In some cases we would walk by over 100 people in the normal line and get right on the ride. I simply cannot rationalize waiting in line for an hour for something when I could come back in about an hour with a fast pass and get on the ride immediately. There are even descriptions of how to use the fast pass on every copy of the park maps. We never waited more than 15 minutes for any ride or show. Not only are you bored standing in line for an hour, but that is also time you could be spending doing other fun things. I don't get it. But as I walk by these people, I think to myself, I am smarter than you. And it feels good.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Capitalization
Whenever I read self-help/spiritual type books, I find it incredibly distracting/annoying when certain words are capitalized. Such examples include Oneness and Being and Essence. Bleh. It just makes the book seem so hokey. I mean I guess I get what the author is trying to do, but to me it's just distracting. I like to save capitalization for the beginning of sentences and proper nouns.
ASIDE: I'm not huge into the self-help type of literature, but every once in awhile it makes me stop being so stressed about silly little things, so I find that's good.
In a somewhat related note, I am that person on the current Stuff White People Like entry-the grammar freak. Grammatical errors are the first thing I notice when reading something. I think it's the engineer in me. To continue this stream of thought, I find I can relate all too well to many of the SWPL (sorry got lazy) blog entries. I just realized I also like to capitalize abbrievations/acronyms. I feel that that is acceptable. Also, once I throw myself out there as a grammar nut, I am now more aware/worried about people being more judgemental of my errors. Then I realize that the only people who would do that were probably already judging me anyways, so it's no big deal after all. See what the self-help books have taught me? Don't sweat the small stuff. ;) Easy in theory; hard in practice. I'm working on it though. Now I should get back to work.
ASIDE: I'm not huge into the self-help type of literature, but every once in awhile it makes me stop being so stressed about silly little things, so I find that's good.
In a somewhat related note, I am that person on the current Stuff White People Like entry-the grammar freak. Grammatical errors are the first thing I notice when reading something. I think it's the engineer in me. To continue this stream of thought, I find I can relate all too well to many of the SWPL (sorry got lazy) blog entries. I just realized I also like to capitalize abbrievations/acronyms. I feel that that is acceptable. Also, once I throw myself out there as a grammar nut, I am now more aware/worried about people being more judgemental of my errors. Then I realize that the only people who would do that were probably already judging me anyways, so it's no big deal after all. See what the self-help books have taught me? Don't sweat the small stuff. ;) Easy in theory; hard in practice. I'm working on it though. Now I should get back to work.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Homeless
So I was reading in Reader's Digest (stop judging me-I mainly read it for the jokes) about cities that are taking old parking meters and using them to donate change to the homeless. This is supposed to reduce panhandling while still giving people the opportunity to make a difference. For an example, read this:
http://cbs4denver.com/local/Colorado.news.Denver.2.557029.html
I, as usual, have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, seeing homeless people with their ratty clothing, missing teeth, frazzled hair and cardboard signs proclaiming their love for the Lord makes me incredibly uncomfortable, so getting rid of pan handling is a definite plus in my book. However, seeing these people every day when I drive to work does make me aware that they are real people. Simply dropping some loose change into what looks like a parking meter makes me feel like I'm doing something "good" without having that uncomfortable interaction with the homeless. However, because actually seeing a homeless person is undesirable for the average American, the homeless might get more benefits because people would actually drop money in a meter but not into a used McDonald's cup. This also removes some question as to what the homeless person will purchase...alcohol/drugs... (you know you've thought that at least once in your life and if you haven't, well, I'm impressed), so I guess after listing the pros and cons, I'd say it's at least a nice effort.
On a some what related note, whenever I see a homeless person, I wonder how they got to that point in their life. Did they attend school until they were 16? What were their families like? Did they ever try to find a job? They most likely weren't born homeless, so what happened to their old home? Did they get kicked out of the house when they were teenagers? These are just a few examples.
Have a lovely Tuesday everyone, and the next time you see a homeless person (if you are in Miami that will probably be on your drive home) maybe he/she will make you stop and think a little. With that said, I would like to note that I do not give out money to panhandlers, but it does make me wonder what is happening to our society.
http://cbs4denver.com/local/Colorado.news.Denver.2.557029.html
I, as usual, have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, seeing homeless people with their ratty clothing, missing teeth, frazzled hair and cardboard signs proclaiming their love for the Lord makes me incredibly uncomfortable, so getting rid of pan handling is a definite plus in my book. However, seeing these people every day when I drive to work does make me aware that they are real people. Simply dropping some loose change into what looks like a parking meter makes me feel like I'm doing something "good" without having that uncomfortable interaction with the homeless. However, because actually seeing a homeless person is undesirable for the average American, the homeless might get more benefits because people would actually drop money in a meter but not into a used McDonald's cup. This also removes some question as to what the homeless person will purchase...alcohol/drugs... (you know you've thought that at least once in your life and if you haven't, well, I'm impressed), so I guess after listing the pros and cons, I'd say it's at least a nice effort.
On a some what related note, whenever I see a homeless person, I wonder how they got to that point in their life. Did they attend school until they were 16? What were their families like? Did they ever try to find a job? They most likely weren't born homeless, so what happened to their old home? Did they get kicked out of the house when they were teenagers? These are just a few examples.
Have a lovely Tuesday everyone, and the next time you see a homeless person (if you are in Miami that will probably be on your drive home) maybe he/she will make you stop and think a little. With that said, I would like to note that I do not give out money to panhandlers, but it does make me wonder what is happening to our society.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Unhappy Drivers
I think one of my least favorite things about Miami is the driving experience. I would seriously consider using public transportation if it was not so terribly inefficient/a straight line following US1, or I would even ride a bike if I wouldn't have to fear being run over/constantly honked at. However, since I cannot utilize either alternate mode of transportation, I'm stuck driving. People here are so mean when they get behind the wheel, and I'm starting to become one of them. I don't honk at people, but I definitely find myself mumbling (or yelling) about the stupid asshole going 10 miles an hour in the left hand lane or the shithead who cut me off without using a turn signal. I am going to start a "honked at" count since I get honked at at least three times a day for doing nothing out of the ordinary. It just starts to get old and annoying after awhile. Sometimes I'm afraid my body will take over in an outrage and just throw the car in reverse and slam into the person that is honking at me for not going 0-60 in 1/2 a second when the light turns green.
Seriously what is wrong with these people? But more importantly, what is wrong with me, and why am I still living in a place that only stresses me out? I've been thinking a lot lately, and I think I just need to get out of this town. I guess I'm just not cut out for the city life. I'd rather take my hiking boots and camelbak and just go tromping through the woods than go shopping or clubbing. It's interesting how something as silly as terrible drivers could make me realize how much Miami just isn't the place for me.
Well I guess I should get back to "work." Speaking of, I am debating whether or not I want to stay at the company I work for. The money potential is pretty substantial, but I think I'd be happier doing something different. The problem is, I haven't really tried anything else in the engineering field, but I think I'd like to. I get stuck feeling like it's kind of too late to start switching things up, but then again, this also seems like a good opportunity to do so before I get myself in too deep. I'd probably have to have some sort of potentially non-paying internship with a firm before I could get a real job, and this makes me nervous. Any thoughts?
Seriously what is wrong with these people? But more importantly, what is wrong with me, and why am I still living in a place that only stresses me out? I've been thinking a lot lately, and I think I just need to get out of this town. I guess I'm just not cut out for the city life. I'd rather take my hiking boots and camelbak and just go tromping through the woods than go shopping or clubbing. It's interesting how something as silly as terrible drivers could make me realize how much Miami just isn't the place for me.
Well I guess I should get back to "work." Speaking of, I am debating whether or not I want to stay at the company I work for. The money potential is pretty substantial, but I think I'd be happier doing something different. The problem is, I haven't really tried anything else in the engineering field, but I think I'd like to. I get stuck feeling like it's kind of too late to start switching things up, but then again, this also seems like a good opportunity to do so before I get myself in too deep. I'd probably have to have some sort of potentially non-paying internship with a firm before I could get a real job, and this makes me nervous. Any thoughts?
Monday, May 5, 2008
Back to Blogging
I took a brief blogging hiatus; life just gets so crazy sometimes. However, things have calmed down, and I'm bored at work again. Unfortunately I don't really have much to say today.
I recently bought some gum. (Hear me out.) I'm at the check out line at Target, looking for my normal pack of Extra peppermint gum but couldn't seem to find it. Finally, I realized that the strange looking Extra box that I thought was mints was actually the gum. Instead of the tear off the top packages, Extra has jumped on the cardboard box bandwagon. The pieces are still in the same foil paper and the same size, but now they are in this weird little box. I'm having mixed feelings about this marketing ploy. I liked my old packs of gum just the way they were, even if towards the end they got a little smashed and some of the sticks would fall deep into the depths of my disorganized purse. I also thought that maybe they were trying to compete with Orbit until I found out that they are owned by the same company. The gum was already popular. Why did they change it? I mean, the box is kind of neat. If I decide to only have half a stick of gum, the chances that the other half will still be usable (in other words not fall out and get lost/covered in purse crap) are much higher b/c the box allows easy accessibility to the half stick. As with most new products, I'm sure I'll love the box eventually and forget I ever had to rip off the top of my chewing gum packs. Now that I have discussed the pros and cons of chewing gum packaging, I should probably try to find some work to do. Happy Monday.
I recently bought some gum. (Hear me out.) I'm at the check out line at Target, looking for my normal pack of Extra peppermint gum but couldn't seem to find it. Finally, I realized that the strange looking Extra box that I thought was mints was actually the gum. Instead of the tear off the top packages, Extra has jumped on the cardboard box bandwagon. The pieces are still in the same foil paper and the same size, but now they are in this weird little box. I'm having mixed feelings about this marketing ploy. I liked my old packs of gum just the way they were, even if towards the end they got a little smashed and some of the sticks would fall deep into the depths of my disorganized purse. I also thought that maybe they were trying to compete with Orbit until I found out that they are owned by the same company. The gum was already popular. Why did they change it? I mean, the box is kind of neat. If I decide to only have half a stick of gum, the chances that the other half will still be usable (in other words not fall out and get lost/covered in purse crap) are much higher b/c the box allows easy accessibility to the half stick. As with most new products, I'm sure I'll love the box eventually and forget I ever had to rip off the top of my chewing gum packs. Now that I have discussed the pros and cons of chewing gum packaging, I should probably try to find some work to do. Happy Monday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)