I really dislike mindless television.
No ... that's not right.
I dislike what mindless television does to me. I dislike that I enjoy it so very much.
I used to have a problem with TV. I used to watch five and six hours per night. And it didn't matter what was on - I would get home, sit down, and turn the TV on. And then I'd watch until bedtime. Or past bedtime.
I'm not going to claim I never watch TV - because I do. I even watch some pretty mindlessly awful stuff. I love professional wrestling. I really enjoy watching TruTV (especially "World's Dumbest"). But I still spend too much time sitting in front of the TV, when I should be doing other things, such as blogging or editing.
I still allow it to screw with my priorities.
And I just don't like that.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Hospitals
I don't think anyone has ever liked setting foot into a hospital. I remember a decade ago when a friend's lung collapsed. Getting in to visit him was a real pain. I had to fill out paperwork just to visit a friend.
I found out later that I was the only friend who had bothered. His only other visitors had been family. Because his friends' dislike of hospitals was greater than their like of him. Even his closest friends stayed away.
Hospitals, to us, are places filled with sick and dying people - it's how they appear on television, at any rate. And that's the image that's stuck with us.
They small funny, they serve bad food, and you end up waiting for everything. The doctors don't always tell you what you think you need to know, and they seem to have their own language.
It makes the hospital a scary and bewildering place.
I found out later that I was the only friend who had bothered. His only other visitors had been family. Because his friends' dislike of hospitals was greater than their like of him. Even his closest friends stayed away.
Hospitals, to us, are places filled with sick and dying people - it's how they appear on television, at any rate. And that's the image that's stuck with us.
They small funny, they serve bad food, and you end up waiting for everything. The doctors don't always tell you what you think you need to know, and they seem to have their own language.
It makes the hospital a scary and bewildering place.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Sore Losers
I play a lot of games with a lot of people, and I'm actually really happy with the usual Wednesday gathering I attend because we've managed to stay free of Sore Losers.
You know the type - they finish a game and, if they don't win, they sulk. Or rant.
Or they feel the need to talk your ear off after the game about how if they'd done this instead of that, you wouldn't have won.
If it's a short enough game, you can sometimes play again to shut them up. But not always.
The worst, however, are the people who walk away to keep you from finishing the game. I really hate unfinished games. I've run into these in tournaments before - they'll reach the point where they are technically ahead, but it's clear to anyone with a brain that with two moves you'll be able to clear the board. And then they start stalling. And delaying. And not taking their turn.
Even in tournaments, games are just that: Games. Something you do for fun.
Seriously: Lighten up. Losing is part of the game, and learning to lose gracefully (and, for that matter, win gracefully) is part of growing up.
You know the type - they finish a game and, if they don't win, they sulk. Or rant.
Or they feel the need to talk your ear off after the game about how if they'd done this instead of that, you wouldn't have won.
If it's a short enough game, you can sometimes play again to shut them up. But not always.
The worst, however, are the people who walk away to keep you from finishing the game. I really hate unfinished games. I've run into these in tournaments before - they'll reach the point where they are technically ahead, but it's clear to anyone with a brain that with two moves you'll be able to clear the board. And then they start stalling. And delaying. And not taking their turn.
Even in tournaments, games are just that: Games. Something you do for fun.
Seriously: Lighten up. Losing is part of the game, and learning to lose gracefully (and, for that matter, win gracefully) is part of growing up.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Being Short-Handed
We fired someone at work a few weeks ago. She had a severe lack of detail-orientedness (and yes, I know, it's not actually a word). I fought against her firing for a very long time for several reasons, but I lost the fight.
And now we're short-handed.
At my office, we don't have enough work for three people, but we have too much work for two. We spent a couple of weeks not taking lunches regularly, and have FINALLY started to settle into a rhythm that works with two, but there's still more work than hours in a week.
And it's not the sort of work where we can do the job evenings and weekends. We have to work during the week.
So there are little tasks that are falling behind. That will continue to fall behind. Until we get someone new in there. And they'll take some training, which will put us even further behind for a while.
There's nothing likable in that scenario.
And that's where I am right now.
And now we're short-handed.
At my office, we don't have enough work for three people, but we have too much work for two. We spent a couple of weeks not taking lunches regularly, and have FINALLY started to settle into a rhythm that works with two, but there's still more work than hours in a week.
And it's not the sort of work where we can do the job evenings and weekends. We have to work during the week.
So there are little tasks that are falling behind. That will continue to fall behind. Until we get someone new in there. And they'll take some training, which will put us even further behind for a while.
There's nothing likable in that scenario.
And that's where I am right now.
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