Things that bug me

I’ve been bothered lately by a few things – some are earth-shattering (or should I say moon-shattering) and others add to my confusion about the world – and the thin veneer of the quality of life in these United States.

Moon shot – okay, with bated breath we waited for the spectacular video of the collection of dust – in search of water on the moon – we plowed a rocket into the moon and it became a nothing story.  I mean, it crashed and the mission was over.  I used to watch the launching of men into space and the cheer of the workers in the control room affirmed success or the concern on the faces on those in front of monitors showed us a problem.  I watched a video of the control room and a cheer went up – and everyone packed their bags to go – one man even saying no to a high-five from a co-worker.  What’s with that?  Bust.

Start your car with your phone – waste gas much?  What is it that people cannot get into a cold car or a hot car?  You need the FREE app, but you also need to spend $500 on a new Viper Security system or upgrade the one you have for $300 – plus $30 a year for service.   What we need are methods to conserve fossil fuels, not make new avenues for demand - like the plug-in air fresheners.  I don’t get them either.

TV commercials:  1.  Shoes sitting around a table and talking about price - we’re not that stupid.  2.  Quest phone ads showing buxom beauties dressed in tight lace tops and low-cut jeans fake-talking and fake-laughing into the phone. Meet singles in your area – do you think they all look like that?  I could be a middle-age trucker smoking a cigar typing in his underwear.  Geeze – give me a break. 3.  Those pipe ads for problems going to the bathroom – without control.  The graphics are awesome, but this is going too far.  I think of rusty smelly pipes that smell like urine.  4.  Any car commercial – don’t want a new one – don’t need to buy one no matter if the guy cries when he is driving Pell mell down a mountainside – or a woman in high heels pressing the petal down – nope – looks very uncomfortable.  5.  iPhone commercials – same as cars – I don’t need a funny mouth with teeth, a groundhog game – just make the sure the phone works.  6.  Geico – the non-lizard ones – with the stack of money – esp. when it calls the woman – no fingers – can’t dial – stupid.  7.  Women cleaning, talking on the phone, buying things in the store, cleaning up after kids and not telling them that spilling milk on the floor is wrong, looking at men adoring – just the whole way advertising images women.

Eating out:  It’s not a luxury anymore – it’s become a part of the american family necessities -even if is McDonald’s.  I watch the Olive Garden commercials and wonder how people can eat all of that stuff they put on a plate.  We see people enjoying themselves and friends while eating and drinking.  Going out to eat is a mine field - quality of food, how clean IS the kitchen, service, conditions of the bathrooms, to name a few.  Watch Fight club sometime – while you are shelling out your money – the people waiting on you are making minimum wage – I worked in a fancy hotel once – I know what goes on in the back.  So help me if I had to strain someone’s oatmeal 17 times – I’d puke.  True story.

Billboards:  Graffiti, that’s all they are – on the way back from Florida, I saw tens of billboards offering truckers and travelers massages from Asian/Hawaiian/Latino girls at truck stops.  Lots of “spas” in that area. I thought.