Fool on the Hill

I've been a Beatles fan even before I even realized who they were. This song has always been one of my favorites, but I must admit that the meaning didn't hit home with me until many years later.

My interpretation of the lyrics (and maybe I'm totally off base) is that people with sizable egos are running around like crazy wasting tons of energy, and the Fool on the Hill quietly realizes their misconceptions of greatness and doesn't engage in any it. The Fool knows..... but people just aren't ready to deal with it -- that's why the Fool is shunned.

Public Restrooms

I detest public restrooms. I try to plan around *not* using them. Usually they're gross, out of toilet paper, etc. For the life of me I can't imagine how some women manage to piss all over the toilet seat, and then LEAVE it for the next person. GROSS. Then there are those who like to leave their 'evidence' floating around for the next person. Are these people complete pigs? What do their homes look like? At least flush the damn toilet!

Cute as a button

No, Quiet Rage isn't all about bitter rantings;)
Isn't this baby CUTE! She is the granddaughter of one of my friends. If your heart doesn't melt looking at this, then there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with you.

High School Drop Out Rates

There is much distress amongst the educational community in regards to the high school drop out rates, especially here in California. According to statistics (if you believe them) some 20% of students drop out of high school. There are lots of theories as to why students are dropping out, but here's mine: Students are rebelling against the bullshit that is being crammed down their throats. They are rebelling against the beauracratic, paper-heavy, form filling, report writing, meaningless crap that is being flung at them.

We are failing THEM, they're not failing US. They HATE school, and can you blame them? We treat our teens like maximum security prisoners with no rights. We tell them exactly what to do at every given moment over-orchestrating their lives and their schedules, and then we wonder why in the hell they can't think for themselves once they graduate!

Well, I guess they are thinking to some extent -- there's more to life than sitting in a boring classroom listening to some over-tenured-ready-to-retire-bitter teacher blathering on with information that will never be useful.

YOU'RE OUTTA HEEEEERE!!!!!

This lovely lady coach from the California Spin managed to get herself evicted from the semi-championship softball game in Napa today. Why? Because she just couldn't shut up and deal with a call from the ump. Argue, argue, argue..... sorry, sweetheart, it just doesn't fly. If a reality tv show springs up titled "Coaches Gone Bad" this will be on the first episode. Totally Jerry Springer material. This is the ultimate White Trash Theater!!

How embarassing for the team. Some of the girls had their faces in mit for shame that their coach was acting this way. so sad... I expect to see this coach fight with Tanya Harding at the next tournament;) Money can't buy this kind of entertainment! I definately got my $3.00 worth.

Way to set the example for women in sports! Love the shot where she's spitting at the ump. I bet she's the "dominant" in whatever whaky relationship she's in;)

GET OUT!!!!!!

Every have one of those days where you're just not in the mood to see anybody, but everybody keeps on coming through the front door? Today was one of those days.

I had a *rare* day off of work, and I thought I would use it to clean the house, do laundry, etc. However, there has been a constant stream of people coming in and out of this house. It's my son's friends, my daughter's friends, neighborhood kids, inlaws, cousins, you name it, they all want to be HERE!

All I want is some peace and quiet to myself to actually get some things done. I've been tripping over bodies all day long. Not only am I tripping over bodies, they all come in through the door with their SHIT. Inevetiably, somebody forgets something. You should see the pile by my front door of shit that people have forgotten over here.

Then the phone call.. "Have you seen my (fill in the blank) I think I forgot it over at your house."

Well, good luck finding anything. I have so many damn kids and people coming and going I have no idea what belongs to who. I probably got sick if it lying around the house and asking who the owner is, got pissed off and threw it away or donated it to charity.

New Business Model: The Anti-Whiner

I'm going to go into business for myself eventually. As the thoughts of how it will all come together spin through my mind, I still struggle with how to strategize for one essential that is both a blessing and a curse: the customer.

In our current business mode, whiners are rewarded. We've been wrongly brainwashed that "the customer is always right." bullshit. The customer is whining to get a discount and/or something for free.

We've all been subject to listening to these whiners get upgrades, discounts, whatever, because they complain loudly enough and obnoxiously enough where it catches the ear of others around. Management goes into a tizzy trying to accommodate the whiner; and therefore, the whiner gets rewarded while everybody else who is NOT complaining/whining gets ignored. All of the non-whiners, who outnumber the whiners, feel this resentment in the differential treatment. This practice MUST be reversed.

My business strategy will allow my employees to evict the whiners off the premises, and then immediately go to the non-whiners who were subject to the temper tantrums of the whiners to offer something a little "special." The non-whiners will pick up on you handled the whiners and will be silently cheering you on that FINALLY somebody had the guts to tell them to "shut up and get out."

I feel the business model will be successful, because who wants a clientel of high-maintanence whiners anyway? The non-whiners will return and in greater numbers -- they are the client base you want to build upon anyway.... However, the product/service offered must be of quality and service good, otherwise it will fail. You don't want to give the whiners any justification.

Bottled Water

I received an e-mail today from my dad that got me thinking about something. Actually, I'm surprised I didn't of thinking about bitching about this before. I have to admit to some guilt on the subject I'm about to rant about. Yes, even Quiet Rage commits acts of social annoyances/stupidity that need to be corrected. Here it is: Bottled Water.

If you would have told somebody 25 years ago that people would pay a premium price for something they can get so much more cheaply out of their tap, they would have told you that you're looney. Think of the insanity of this! Do people have so much money they can piss it away (no pun intended) on bottled water? This stuff isn't cheap, people, when you begin to add it all up. The greater crime is all the pollution the empty plastic bottles cause. People are paying a lot of money for a disposable bottle. Stupid.

Fill up your re-usable water canister with tap water. Your wallet will thank you and the environment will thank you.

Never Enough

Tell me of somebody who believes they have enough money. Nobody. The same goes for any government or taxing body. I can guarantee that whatever you give them will never be enough. It's like trying to feed an insatiable monster where the more you feed it the hungrier it gets. Taxing agencies will always spend more than they collect and have their hand out to you begging for more.

Enough is enough. There is so much waste and unaccountability. It's disgusting.

Going to the Movies

With the tightening economy, many Americans are opting out of the typical 'dinner and a movie' gig. Personally, I gave up going to the movies years ago. Here's why:
1. Paying $12.50 per person for a crappy movie that will be out on DVD in a few weeks;
2. Paying $20 for watered down soda, and chemically smothered popcorn;
3. Getting my seat kicked by an obnoxious brat while his mother (or father) yaks on the cell phone;
4. People who have seen the movie before and announce what's going to happen next;
5. People who get up and down constantly to get snacks, go to the bathroom, etc.;
6. Being near a gaggle of teens who spend the entire time texting each other and giggling.
The list goes on and on. I could never figure out *why* people paid to be annoyed by other patrons. I have yet to feel deprived of not being the first to see any particular movie and by waiting for the DVD. My popcorn is better, and I can pause the movie whenever I wish to use the bathroom and not miss anything.

Worried Customers Ask: Is my bank safe?

That's the headline of today's Santa Rosa, California Press Democrat. My answer is: What the fuck do you think?

The article goes on how customers are walking into their banks and asking these questions to the bank officers and employees. ....and the worried bank account holders expect an honest answer from them after these same institutions have lied to them and coaxed them into financial products that were not in their customers' best interest?

We're supposed to believe our media and government spokespeople on the statistics and figures they present to us regarding the economy are accurate after we've all been blatantly misled? The rats have abandoned the ship -- and they're trying to have us be the ones to sink with it. Helloooooooooooooo???!!!

We have all been bullshitted for so long, nobody knows the truth anymore. We have been bamboozled with impressive, intelligent-sounding, financial voodoo math formulas that were merely a smoke-and-mirrors ploy meant to distract us from what was really going on in all sectors of the financial markets -- greed, greed, GREED!

If something is complicated and difficult to follow, like the voodoo math used in calculating and creating complex loans and other financial investment vehicles, rest assured it's NO GOOD. It's all confusing for a reason, folks, because they don't want YOU to figure out that YOU'RE getting RIPPED OFF AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF!

Here's your mantra for the day: SIMPLE IS GOOD.

I Told You So...

Back in February I warned of Washington Mutual Bank being run by a bastion of greedy cluster fucks who didn't know what they were doing, and didn't care that they didn't. I then painted the same scenario regarding the financial institutions all across America. Washington Mutual stock has lost about 90% of its value over the past 12 months. Many more banks are to follow, rest assured. I also advised investing your money in your mattress. Why? Because you simply can't trust anybody to manage your money for you. People are always careless with other people's money. It's that simple.

This last week we have witnessed bank runs. Interesting. We have not seen that since the Great Depression. In the meantime we have the government telling us not to panic. Bullshit. Here's the scenario: The Titanic is sinking and the government is running around arranging deck chairs and playing nice music.

Yes, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. However, citizens are pleading to the 'government' to save us and to regulate things. I've got news for you all: The government can't do shit for you. Unless you can wipe greed out of humans, it will never change. I've yet to see a law against greed, but I'm sure they will try. Just like laws about talking on your cell phone while driving, but that's another rant.

Bankrupt: The 2nd Great Depression

The American economy drives the world economy (for the moment at least). The American economy is driven by consumer spending. Consumer spending is driven by the purchasing power of American citizens.

Guess what. We're broke.

American consumers have no more purchasing power. Period. We've maxed out our credit cards, mortgaged our homes, and sold our souls all in the name of capitalism. There is nothing left to bargain with.

We are no better off than we were in the 1930's. The Great Depression is just far enough out of our memory where I think we are doomed to repeat it again.

Downward Slope: Aging in America

Our culture is obsessed with youth, beauty, and bright, shiny objects. Americans, in general, don't respect our elders and learn from their life experiences. We ignore them and dismiss them as "over the hill" or "out of touch", etc. Our culture is so smug with youthful arrogance that anything done the "old fashioned" way is simply labeled as outdated crap, and we must adapt to the "new" way of doing things or risk being socially shunned.

Are we better of now than we were back then? We have more material stuff these days, but we are poor. It seems the farther out we go with the 'new' way of doing things, the more we slowly discover that the 'old' way of doing things was just fine the way it was.

Fireworks in California

Maybe I'm just a dumb-ass, but I can't figure out why the sale of fireworks of any kind are allowed in our tinder-dry state of California. Never mind that we've been breathing smoke from surrounding fires for almost a month now. Never mind that peak fire season isn't until October and it's only July. Never mind we have no water or manpower to speak of to put out the fires.

Perhaps the dumb Norweigans in Minnesota have something on the Californians. Minnesota doesn't allow the sale of fireworks of any kind, and I guarantee you that it's a LOT greener there than it is here. Plus, with 10,000 + lakes they have a hell of a lot more water than we do. There is no category for "safe and sane" fireworks in MN like they try to do here in CA.

The political cry resenting the proposed banning of fireworks is coming from the yuppie scum trying to use the sale of fireworks on the corner lot to pay for Johnny's state championship sport tournament. Bullshit. If the yuppie scum want to send their kids to soccer-championship whatever, they can foot the bill for it themselves without risking the rest of the community already in a high fire alert danger zone. OR think of a fund raising event that won't potentially set the entire state ablaze.

Staycation: Take a Trip and Never Leave

This is the first summer in a long, long time we do not have travel plans. Thank God. Just getting ready for a vacation needs a vacation with all the preparations, planning, packing, traveling, etc. Just thinking about it exhausts me.

Getting away from it all is easier than we think. Just turn off the computer, turn off your cell phone, and unplug your house phone. Make the settings where people *can't* leave messages. If it's important they will write you a letter or call back upon your return. See, it's really interference from other people we are trying to get away from when we go on vacation. Other people can be a tremendous source of stress.

Try taking a two-week "staycation." Go ahead and tell everybody you're going on vacation, which you are, but who ever said that going on vacation involved actual travel? Once your vacation is announced, people who have decency should leave you alone for a couple of weeks. Those who don't are the annoying bastards you really need to get away from. If they continue to attempt to bother you while you're on vacation, ask them what part of 'vacation' they don't understand, and promise them profusely that you'll get back to them on the 12th of never upon your return.

When you're on staycation, sleep in, go out to dinner, read a book, do things that you normally wouldn't do otherwise. You'll be amazed at how refreshed you feel. You'll sense your stress level plummeting.

You may never want to plug anything back in again.... It's peaceful bliss.

Christmas in July

It's hotter than Hades here. Summer officially started less than two weeks ago. So, in walking into local department stores looking for clothing to match the triple digit heat, what do you think they have? WINTER CLOTHING!

I, for one, am SICK or retailers rushing and blurring the seasons. They have Christmas crap out during the summer, and summer crap out during the Christmas season. They rotate their shit at such an ad-hoc schedule, nobody knows what day of the year it is.

Retailers: Pay attention! Here's a CLUE. We want SUMMER stuff during the SUMMER months, and WINTER stuff during the WINTER months. I have no use for a Christmas tree and ornaments in July. I have no use for ski boots in August. I don't care if you call it the "pre-season in store special." It's still winter crap when it's 103* and all we want is stuff that is actually useful to us NOW -- not 6 months from now. Retailers: your job is to give us a variety of goods we can purchase and use immediately. What do you think he internet is for? DUH

Take Control of Your Life: Just Say NO

I am a 'people pleaser' by nature. Maybe that's why I need this bitchy blog to vent. We all can only take so much, right? Sometimes I can't grasp the simplest concepts -- just saying NO to unnecessary demands of my time. My friends and family have been telling me for years to just say NO to things. I always thought it was easier said than done. My reply was always, "I know, I know, but I need to attend/donate/volunteer because......"

Bullshit. You don't "need" to do anything. I only wish I had heeded the advice earlier in my life.

Once you begin to use the powerful "no" word, people will not like that you are no longer a doormat for their agenda. Who cares. Nobody has the right to fill up your calendar for you. Nobody has the right to extort money and time from you -- even if the word "charity" and " community volunteering" is used to disguise the extortion.

If you truly want to participate in something, then by all means, go for it. If it makes you feel stressed, than delete it from your thoughts permanently. You do not need to make excuses for not participating in anything. A simple, "No, thank you. This doesn't work for me right now." is all that is needed.

Do NOT allow people to bully you into submission or into offering detailed explanations as to why you're choosing not to do something. It's none of their business.

I've begun practicing this concept of saying "no" this year. I've said "no" to coordinating two major charity volunteer events that also involve my work. My choices were not well received, but then I could feel the anger arise inside of me because of what was simply expected of me to voluntarily give on top of my work responsibilities. The initial twinge of guilt quickly passed.

The reduced stress and the peace is well worth it.