TV - Its the Wave of the Future!

Recently I gave up cable.  It just got harder and harder to justify spending over $100 for programming in a variety of languages, none of which is probably seen by it's intended audience.  TV was always a distraction, a white noise for reading, playing games, cooking, or any number of things people do when they aren't getting laid or sleeping.  And it's one of those things that you look at and go, "I wish my life was like that", while beached on the couch, rotting.

That being said, I fucking love the shit out of TV.  It's so much FUN to watch, to find new shows to engage and get wrapped up in.  Sure, my parents were like yours and told me it'd rot my brain, but I blame that on being en utero during the '70's more than watching Dr. Who one too many times.  TV can't rot your brain, it feels too good to do any real harm.  Anyway, being  the unemployed, self-loathing, lazy person I am, I sift through Netflix for shows that I never had the time to watch before, on account of my being gainfully employed. I think Netflix has saved cable TV.  I'm watching shit I would have never been able to catch normally, or that I just would frankly be too above watching on a weekly basis. I am a very busy person, after all. 

So huzzah for Netflix!  

JP

Love Those Pearly Yellows

Today I bought some toothpaste.  I had been out of the goopy shit for three days, and realized it was time to actually remember to go to the store when I caught myself rooting through my trash for the mostly empty old tube to squeeze what life I could out if it and onto my brush.  Kind of sad, when you think about it.  But man, did it ever feel great to scrub my teeth!  Sometimes you miss the little things in life when you are just too lazy to provide yourself with them.

What bothers me a bit about shopping for toothpaste is the 800 choices we as free Americans have.  Do I go with the activating bubbles, or is the stripe down the middle really the best?  How about the intense foaming action?  Maybe the tartar control with whitening.  Kind of makes my anxiety flare up, and I stop myself from heading down to just grab some baking soda and use that instead.  Worked for our grandparents.

Day of the ListMaker

Certain things bother me.  Things that most people either enjoy or just don't think too much about.  But I can't help it - I have a long list of quirks that, aside from making me who I am, segment me from most people.

I have a problem with nice retail people.  When I go buy something - food, clothes, KY, etc - I like to get lost in my mind.  Walking around looking at stuff and thinking about my day is something I enjoy when I shop.  And since I am a rabid consumer, this happens often to me.

In my mind there are several levels of what I call "Retail Kindness".  At the bottom you have the Starfish, those people that are just rude assholes.  Nobody likes them.  Next is the Sub-human, who can barley figure out how to tear off your reciept and hand it to you.  Most of us can deal with this person, though we mock them in the car.  One level up is the John Q type, fairly normal and nothing fancy.  These people will just say "hi", "thank you", and "have a good day".  My favorite person to hand my cash to.  Then you get to the Medicated ... those folks that are just way too happy to be asking you if you want black or pinto beans like it is the best part of their day.  Awful, but tolerable.  The top on my list here is the ListMaker, who wants to hear about every aspect of your day.  Dude, don't ask me if I am off today or if I work locally.  Just put my chips in the bag there and leave me alone.

Why can't more retail folks be the John Q type and just limit conversation to the task at hand - serving me?  Not that I need to be praised and celebrated as a great person, but I just want to fulfill my role as a consumer and make a purchase, not give you a rundown of my day and my intentions with the product I am buying.

I dunno, maybe I'm alone in this, but overly nice people creep me the hell out.