Mannequins

Mannequins creep me out.  It's like when some people have an irrational fear of clowns.  My irrational fear is mannequins.  It's even worse when they are tattered and holding signs trying to fool motorists that an actual live person was hired as a sign waver.  I think mannequins are cheap and tacky PLUS they are creepy.  I always think they will come to life and somehow murder me in my sleep.

Now on a completely separate note and switching gears completely. 

A person I know from work is leaving for England on soon.  She's been having an affair for the last 7-8 years or so with some dude who if from there.  He's twice divorced with 5 kids.  Perhaps the third marriage will be the charm?  Anybody who is twice divorced definitely has issues.  It's NEVER one person's fault when a marriage goes hamajang (Hawaiian slang I stole from my daughter) no matter how perfect we view ourselves and want to believe responsibility rests totally on the other person.

Here's the problem.  She is still married.  One of her kids still lives at home.  She is going to England to meet up with Boyfriend as his son is getting married and Boyfriend wants to parade her around as his new spouse.  Great.  She is being initiated to the entire family. 

She finally had the guts to tell her husband.  She kind of told the truth about it minus the fact that she's been jetting off to foreign countries to meet up with Boyfriend over the years.  Deep down I know here husband knew what was really going on. 

Here's the kicker.  She told her husband Wednesday night she's taking off for England to meet up with Boyfriend.  She will return in home in two weeks so she and her still-legal husband and family can all take off for a family vacation.

WTF???

Let me get this straight.  She drops a bomb on her husband telling him she's having an affair and taking off to England next week to meet up with Boyfriend.  She then thinks she will come home like nothing happened and take off on a family vacation a few days later.

If I were Husband I would pack up her stuff and change the locks on the door when she leaves.  I would then follow up with a text message stating not to bother coming home as Boyfriend is ALL hers.   ENJOY.  and BUH-BYE...byeeeeeeeee

Overpopulation, Migration, and the Health of the Planet

I have a news flash for you.  People bring problems.  The more people, the more problems.  People who try to migrate (yes, that includes all us white folk from Europe) bring their problems with them.  None of it gets magically left behind.  We are all products of our culture and environment and we desperately attempt to cling to it for generations upon generations.  If not, then why all the labels of Swedish-American, Asian-American, etc., and the proliferation of DNA testing kits to "prove" where we come from?  Who really cares?

The earth is now swarming with an epidemic of humans who think they can out smart Mother Nature and other laws of the universe.

Trust me.  We're not that smart.

The earth has finite resources.  The earth is not disposable.  The more people, the more demand for precious resources.  The earth has become too overpopulated and fragmented to effectively govern.  We can thank the internet and modern technology for the shattering of any cohesiveness.  Back in the day we only had a limited source for news and information.  Today any asshole with a cell phone can touch off a near civil war.  Go ahead, site freedom of speech.  However, if I wanted to hear from an asshole I would have farted. 

There's a common theme with immigration happening these days.  People will get out to advocate for immigrants.  That's great.  However, they leave out the biggest issue - WHO WILL PAY FOR THEM?   Tossing a few dollars at them to mow your lawn does not count.  They will need a sustainable income.  We want our stuff for cheap, so we pay them less than slave wages and then get pissed when they live 15 to a house and drive an eyesore of a car that is parked on our street. 


I'm rambling.  I know. It's my blog and I'll write what I observe.  Move on if you don't like it. 

Migrating to New Zealand

I am in the process of completing forms for a working holiday visa for my daughter who is heading off to New Zealand.  Who knows, she may even take up permanent residency eventually.  She was invited there.  I guess that's a big deal because they don't just let anybody in. 

Now dealing with their immigration policies and rules they run a tight ship on how people enter their country.  You must have an employable skill, speak and understand English, and have the means to support yourself - including the means to leave the country (you may be asked to provide proof).  You can't be pregnant nor have a disease.  They even do a character check to make sure you won't harm New Zealand's positive reputation. 

Their policies are way different than ours.

New Zealand is the place people are trying to immigrate to.  Why?  Because it's clean, safe, controlled, and it lacks drama. 



 

Ghost Turds

I need to have something light to write about today, so I'm writing about ghost turds (no pun intended).  You know the packing material that consists of some type of synthetic pellets?  Somebody called them "ghost turds" and I just about fell out of my chair laughing.  I had never thought of that.  Apparently, somebody else thought the same thing and is marketing them.  Genius.

Separation of Families

Families are being separated.  The media is all over it.  Comparisons are made to the Japanese and how they were rounded up and put in camps during WWII much like the Mexicans trying to cross the border today.

Here's a bit of history that I bet you never heard.  We all are aware of the Japanese being put in camps.  Did you know that Germans and Italians were rounded up and forced into camps as well?  There's a term called "Chicken Carl" because many Germans were trying to hide their ancestry for fear of being locked up.  Germans changed the "K" in their names to use a "C" which was Americanized. 

Why do we only hear about the Japanese being rounded up and never a word about the Germans and the Italians?  Are only the Japanese worthy of sympathy and recognition of what they went through? 

Oh....recognizing German Americans and Italian Americans as being victims would take the race card out.  The media thrives on stirring up racism which they claim they want to stamp out.  They don't.  Peace and love are not good for their ratings. 

Hipster or Homeless? Hipster Repellent

Here's a game you can play with your friends. It's called "hipster or homeless."  Take the above image for instance.  Bets anyone?  Hipster or homeless? 

Hipsters.  The annoying young adults who think they've invented coolness.  Each generation has their form of 'hipsters' be it hippies, beat nicks, flappers, whatever.  Hipsters are not special nor unique however much they think otherwise. 

Hipsters have do have a quality like no other.  They find authentic diners, bars, and other old school hangouts (and I do even dare say they are trying farming after they turned their nose up at us hicks for years on end) and gentrify them. 

If your place of business is old school and void of hipsters, you are the hipsters next target.  They want "authentic" experiences but generally they are whiney pains in the asses and the next thing you know the pizza joint that has been around since 1962 is being asked if they have "gluten-free" crust.

Get the guns, NOW. 

There is relief from this invasion of gentrifiers (that's not even a word).  Hipsters HATE anything to do with the republican political party - especially Trump and the Make America Great Again campaign.  All you have to do for hipster repellent is to have Trump propaganda complete with the American Flag be your decoration of choice.  Don't forget the NRA sticker and gun rack on your oversized pickup truck. 

Non-hipsters don't get their panties in a bunch if other people have varied political and social beliefs.  They will be nonplussed by the pro-Trump decor and NRA sticker and won't even care. 

Third Party Booking Sites

Don't be tempted to book your airline tickets, car rental, whatever, through a third party booking site.  Why?  Because if you read the fine print most of the time you get that discount because you:
1.  Prepay;
2.  non-refundable.

That's just the start.  Once you check in you will be treated like a second class citizen.  Be aware that the confirmation number the third party site you used is NOT the same as a hotel or airline issued confirmation number.  Things can go hamajang with this, and they often do.  The scenario goes something like this.

You arrive at the hotel exhausted from your trip.  All you want to do is get to your room to relax.  The clerk at the front desk tells you they don't have a reservation for you.  HUH????  How can that be???  AND...the hotel is completely sold out.  But....wait.... you DO have a confirmation and a written one at that.  You argue with the hotel clerk about it.  The clerk stares you down and tells you that it's not their problem.  You booked through a third party site.  It's the third party's confirmation number, not theirs.  You need to clear it up with them.

Good luck with that.  

Hotels and airlines don't like using third party sites to sell their services.  Third party sites are insurance for bodies to fill their rooms and seats.  They only need your warm body there if they don't sell out.  Besides, the hotels and airlines pay a fee to utilize a third party booking site.  This is business.  When you book directly with the hotel or airlines it increases their bottom line.  Think of it like using a credit card opposed to paying cash when you purchase something.  The credit card charges the merchant a fee that is invisible to you, the consumer.  Of course airlines and hotels prefer "cash."

Plus, when booking with a third party website you tend to get stuck in the undesirable rooms or the butt sniffer seats on the plane.  

Graduations - Really?

I know many colleges are scrambling to squeeze the most money they can out of taxpayers, students, etc., now that they know we are on to them for the pyramid scheme they have created.  So many college graduates don't know how to DO anything.  Sure, they've read books and written papers.  Big deal.  How does that translate into a job where actual knowledge of an industry or occupation is required? 

Here's what I'm hearing from college grads.  Now that they've graduated with a PhD in underwater basket weaving, they have to go back to the junior college to learn basic business skills in order for them to get a job:  Microsoft word and excel, accounting, investing, and other basic business skills. 

It doesn't matter what job college grads get after graduation.  All jobs and careers focus around one thing:  Money.  You're doing yourself a HUGE disservice if you don't have the basics on that. 

Be picky about what you will actually learn when shelling out thousands upon thousands for college and burying yourself in debt that will take a lifetime to pay off.  More often than not, once you graduate the only opportunity will be working as a barista at the local coffee shop.  You don't need a pile of debt only to graduate to do that.  The best school out there is The School of Hark Knocks and my other favorite, Life Experience. 

Don't go to college because you think "it's the thing to do" and feel you need to hold to some social standard designed to make you feel like shit if you don't adhere.  If you want to go to college, fine.  Go for something specific.  Today there are so many opportunities to learn available.  Most kids going to college immediately after high school have NO CLUE what they want to do.  That's ok.  Live a little.  Get that life experience.  Get a job doing ANYTHING.  Give yourself a little time to figure it all out.

Please, PLEASE don't bury yourselves in debt because everybody else it doing it.  It's not necessary.  I'm very pro-education.  I'm against obnoxious debt in obtaining it.  Learning is a life long process so don't feel like you have to jam classroom hours into a four year window while you're still figuring yourself out.