September 6, 2017

Airing of Grievances (September 2017)

I know there are people out there who have very serious problems right now...those displaced by hurricanes or those who are in danger of being kicked out of the only country they've ever known. But these are just a few things that have bugged me lately, in a more or less first-world kind of way.

1. When people say they "eat clean". I despise this term so much. It can mean different things to different people and, for most of the world, it literally means their food isn't dirty. I feel like the people who use it are trying to sound superior to those around their internet presence, especially when they throw in "extremely" as a modifier. Sure, maybe they're not trying to sound superior (who am I to judge?), but that's not something that comes off clearly in a 200 character comment on Instagram simply because other people can't read your tone.
Also, I get that it's all-encompassing and saves time when trying to describe your eating habits but "I try not to eat processed food" sounds so much better if you want people to like you. Because, like clockwork, the "80/20" calculation gets thrown around as soon as someone says they eat "clean".  If you're going to use that in defense of your eating habits, I want to see actual mathematical ratios written in a notebook so you can prove that you "eat clean" 80% of the time. I can't figure out how someone judges what those amounts are.
Please. Just eat food. Anything that takes that much thought isn't sustainable.

2. Office Max. I stopped in there a few weeks ago to look at some planners and I noticed they had the exact same Blue Sky line as Target at over twice the price. Office Max, this is why no one shops at your store. Give me a Target or Wal-Mart any day.

3. University registrars. Back in 2013, we were ripped off by MS&T in Missouri. I don't remember why or how or whatever the circumstances may have been but I think (Scott tells me) I posted something on Facebook or on here and the president of the university actually reached out to Scott to try to resolve the issue and we never did get our money back. Again, I don't remember the circumstances.
Something similar happened at the current school Scott is enrolled at...they wouldn't give him in-state tuition rates. He's an Alaska resident and, as a member of the active duty army (no matter what you're trying to do), you get in-resident benefits of ANY state you live in. It's one of the perks of the military life. They were refusing and this refusal would actually ruin his whole career because what he's doing now is very important to our army life...it was a stressful week when this was going on and they eventually backed down but he should not have had to tell them he was going to get a lawyer because they were violating an actual law. (It wasn't about us just paying to make up the difference; the army is paying for this program and we don't get a say in that.)
I *think* the problem is officially resolved but you never know when you're dealing with a combination of the army+college. It's putting two things together that are known to cause difficulty to anyone they encounter.

4. When people wear boots/pants/sweaters/scarves in August because it's #fall. It's not fall. It's 90 degrees out and I am seriously judging you.

5. When teachers call students "babies". "Low babies", "high babies", or anything "baby" related. Drives. Me. Insane. You can't nudge students into responsibility and accountability when you treat them like they have no bearing on their own intelligence. For non-teachers: "low babies" are kids who aren't at grade level, "high babies" are above grade level. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.


Oh, flip-phone era LC. Who else misses those days?

Any grievances to air?


6 comments:

  1. now that school has started, i remember why the school year annoys me - PARENTS who don't follow the rules when dropping kids off (and stop IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET blocking traffic) and little shit kids who are rude AF and start shit on THE 2nd day. like give it a rest you little pricks; you have all year to be a brat. let the first week be smooth sailing for the rest of the kids!!

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  2. Ugh, bummer about Scott's school situation. We should be bending over backwards for our veteran's/active duty military. So dumb. Hope you have it figured out! Sending good vibes.

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  3. I feel the same way about Office supply stores. They are SOOO expensive & you can find everything they have at Amazon for half the price.

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  4. That college situations sounds frustrating! Hopefully it's all resolved now! It can be surprisingly challenging to get colleges to follows laws and/or their own policies. My brother is hearing impaired, was told by the student services office the policies that the school had to help hearing impaired students be able to understand their classes--various things like reserved front row seats, transcripts of lectures, headphones + prof speaking into a mic. One of his professors absolutely refused to comply with the school's own policies for hearing impaired students, and my brother tried talking to several people to get the situation resolved, but it wasn't until my grandpa, who's a lawyer, heard about the situation and walked into the office as my brother's lawyer that anything happened. They put an entirely different professor in to finish teaching that class. Apparently lawyers are the magic word.

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  5. The whole "eat clean" comments just annoy me. I don't get it the hype. Like you said, just eat the food!

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  6. Um wow. I've referred to my students (even 6th graders) as kiddos, but never BABIES. It's school not day care! ;-p

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