Trust without borders
11 years ago
Forget all the hate lists. The only thing I truly hate in life is when people interrupt me.
- Working in a city that is on the water where in the summer, the bridges go up every half hour whether or not there's a boat that needs to go under the bridges. Then, traffic backs up for about 20 minutes.
- Having a job where you are viewed as a kid. I do the kind of work that someone would pay an outside company $80 to $100 an hour to do, but I make what a kid fresh out of high school would make. And everything is always "good experience" for me, even if it's something that I've been doing for years or that nobody else has any clue how to do!
- Women in $65,000+ SUVs. They don't know how to drive and they usually think that because they have such an expensive vehicle, the rules of the road don't apply to them. I just want to throw bricks at them sometimes.
- Anyone who thinks that me being quiet in the morning means I'm in a bad mood. Maybe I'm just tired. I work full time, go to school, drive 40 minutes each way for work, have a boyfriend, friends, and a dog. Or maybe, I just don't like how you think it's absolutely vital that you come over to my desk and attempt to engage me in conversation about something I have absolutely no interest in!
- People who think that just because I've expressed an interest in one particular thing - like perhaps a movie whose target audience is 8 to 12 year old boys - I must be interested in every single thing that could somehow, on any level, relate back to the before mentioned thing.
- Tactless people. I know a lot of them. And in all seriousness, I've reached the point with some of them where any respect I may have once had has severely decreased. It is hard to watch someone pretty much be a perfect example of a horrible human being and yet still they expect you to respect them. I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen. And to further add to that, it only gets worse when the tactless person is also a good combination of the other types of people I don't like. There's nothing worse than a tactless person who thinks they know everything about me and who I am (even thought they really know nothing about me) and acts like they are a shining example to others and demands that I respect them.
- Bridges. Because of this. This morning, I told my mom that if I die because of a bridge, I fully expect her to sue every single person she can. And, if my death occurs on the Zilwaukee Bridge, I expect my family to pretty much own Michigan!
- Unorganized work spaces. My desk at work is spotless. And I keep it organized. And I keep everything else that I'm responsible for organized. Shipping materials, binding materials, assorted office products. They are all nicely organized. So why can't others return the favor and try to keep their areas - or even just things other people need access to - organized!
- When I'm given a computer to fix and there is no rhyme or reason as to how the files are organized. Maybe it's because I like to keep things organized, but seriously, why would someone just save things under random names and in random places on their computer? Do people not realize how hard that makes things for me?
- When places I like go out of business. For example, yesterday Aharon and I planned to have a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant, Steak n Shake. We hadn't been there in a month or so and I had sold some makeup so we had a little extra cash on us. So, we get there, only to find out that they went out of business the day before. I cried a little standing in the parking lot. It was the saddest thing ever. I'm still sad and I probably will be for a while.
- Power outages. Especially ones that last for 7 or 8 hours. And even more especially, ones that happen on a day when all I really wanted to do (because of my sorrow over Steak n Shake) was watch the reruns on NBC. Because that's something I look forward to on Thursdays.
- Customer Service. It really doesn't matter what company or anything like that. So insert your least favorite here: _______ Customer Service. Because I have found that the vast majority of them really don't want to do anything to make your life better. A week or so ago, I had to call Xerox Customer Service because of problems with Madison Heights' copier. Basically, she told me she couldn't do anything, but she paged a technician for me. The technician called and told me that she couldn't do anything for a couple of weeks but "here's what I could do!" What's with pushing their jobs onto me? That sucks!
- America's obsession with celebrities. It's such a waste! Every day, I wonder less and less about why the rest of the world hates us. Maybe if we had a bigger interest in real issues, the rest of the world wouldn't want to see us dead.
- Caffeine, but only because it's a diuretic. Otherwise, I love caffeine and I need it to survive. But I hate having to use the restroom like every 15 minutes.
- The fact that people are saying that with the recent hot weather, we are in a heat wave! I can't remember a single summer where we haven't experienced at least a week where it was in the 90's every day. Come on, people! This is Michigan. Get used to it!
- People who can't carry on conversations. This does not include quiet people. I have no problem with them. I'm talking about people who want to talk you to death but don't really care about what you have to say. Bonus points if the person will talk over you when only the two of you are involved in a conversation.
- Ice cream trucks in the city of Memphis. Mostly because no matter where they are within the city limits, I can hear their annoying music. And the music they play is truly annoying. I don't know why kids are drawn to it. If I was a kid I would cry. But then again, I don't like ice cream.
- City wide garage sales. Or as my dad calls them, "Pre-landfill sales." Enough said.
- Forgetting my lunch. Especially when my lunch also had my breakfast in it.
- The fact that it took me a week to come up with enough things to fill this list!
For the record, I invented "like woah" in 10th grade when I was talking to Kadie and got distracted and said, "Cause I'm just like woah." Nobody else had anything to do with it.
The end.
The end.
1. Dell Computers. The actual computers Dell makes and the company itself. Because Dell makes crappy computers and doesn't put them together right.
2. Those dumb voice mail systems that give you like 5 seconds to leave your message and then they start talking over you and you have no idea how much of your message recorded and they just make you too angry so you give up and just leave a dumb partial message. Actually, you don't even know if you left a partial message because who knows if the system was ever even working!
3. Mud. It's really dirty. I don't like dirt. Especially when it magically comes through the roof of my car.
4. When characters on TV shows that I like do stupid things. I know they aren't real, but it makes me angry when the shows don't go the way I want them to.
5. The fact that Lost hasn't solved anything yet this season but they've added at least 2 new random characters and Sawyer summed that up last week when he met the one girl and said, "Who the hell are you?"
6. All those TV shows that will be the downfall of American youth: The O.C. (I know, I know...it's been canceled.), Laguna Beach, The Hills, etc.
7. Myself when I say dumb things because then everybody laughs at me. Because I'm really not dumb, but it just seems like whenever I do manage to say something dumb, people are there to observe it.
8. Printers that don't work. Because they create more work for me and not for the person who is doing the actual printing. And for some reason, the stuff that I do isn't important and so instead, I should go hit the "Start" button for each and every single page that needs to print out of the dumb printer.
9. Scene kids.
10. The fact that really cute puppies have to grown into slightly-less-cute dogs.
11. Cleaning my room. I really don't care that it's messy, but yet it makes me angry when it is. But...I can't be bothered to clean it.
12. The USPS. Not for any particular reason as of late, but just because it still sucks. It hasn't improved any over the years. So...it still sucks.
13. Little kids in an R rated movie. It's rated R for a reason. And seriously, those freaking employees don't even check IDs because last night, there were two kids who walked in without any adults and who couldn't have been over 13. That's more of the reason why American youth are corrupt.
14. Daylight Savings Time. It's so stupid. We have electricity now, so there's no need to have the sun up longer during the day. And the whole excuse about it being for energy conservation...someone explain that to me because I'm pretty sure that once you start trying to explain the reasoning behind that, you'll find out that it's all a lie. The sun coming up later in the day and setting later in the evening won't make any difference on energy consumption. What would make a difference is if people like Al Gore didn't use as much electricity in a month as most people use in an entire year. So there.
15. Speaking of Al Gore, self-righteous politicians. I don't need to explain that one.
16. Jennifer Granholm.
17. Anyone who voted for Jennifer Granholm.
18. The fact that any customer service phone number transfers you to someone who does not speak English as a first language, or maybe even as a second language. And then they can't understand what you are saying and you can't understand what they are saying and it basically just makes you super-angry because everyone goes off about how bad the US economy is and yet everybody is outsourcing to some middle east country.
19. Police officers driving Dodge Chargers. I know they look cool, but they are super-expensive. And I think it would be a better idea to buy cheaper cars for the police officers and use the money that would have been spent on the chargers for something like road repairs. Because then, in a wonderful turn of events, less money would also be spent on repairs to the cars because of the roads being crappy.
20. The fact that no matter how long you put off the purchase of some expensive piece of equipment because you know a newer version will come out after you order the older one, it never fails that when you finally give up and make your order, a newer version will come out without 3 months. :(
2. Those dumb voice mail systems that give you like 5 seconds to leave your message and then they start talking over you and you have no idea how much of your message recorded and they just make you too angry so you give up and just leave a dumb partial message. Actually, you don't even know if you left a partial message because who knows if the system was ever even working!
3. Mud. It's really dirty. I don't like dirt. Especially when it magically comes through the roof of my car.
4. When characters on TV shows that I like do stupid things. I know they aren't real, but it makes me angry when the shows don't go the way I want them to.
5. The fact that Lost hasn't solved anything yet this season but they've added at least 2 new random characters and Sawyer summed that up last week when he met the one girl and said, "Who the hell are you?"
6. All those TV shows that will be the downfall of American youth: The O.C. (I know, I know...it's been canceled.), Laguna Beach, The Hills, etc.
7. Myself when I say dumb things because then everybody laughs at me. Because I'm really not dumb, but it just seems like whenever I do manage to say something dumb, people are there to observe it.
8. Printers that don't work. Because they create more work for me and not for the person who is doing the actual printing. And for some reason, the stuff that I do isn't important and so instead, I should go hit the "Start" button for each and every single page that needs to print out of the dumb printer.
9. Scene kids.
10. The fact that really cute puppies have to grown into slightly-less-cute dogs.
11. Cleaning my room. I really don't care that it's messy, but yet it makes me angry when it is. But...I can't be bothered to clean it.
12. The USPS. Not for any particular reason as of late, but just because it still sucks. It hasn't improved any over the years. So...it still sucks.
13. Little kids in an R rated movie. It's rated R for a reason. And seriously, those freaking employees don't even check IDs because last night, there were two kids who walked in without any adults and who couldn't have been over 13. That's more of the reason why American youth are corrupt.
14. Daylight Savings Time. It's so stupid. We have electricity now, so there's no need to have the sun up longer during the day. And the whole excuse about it being for energy conservation...someone explain that to me because I'm pretty sure that once you start trying to explain the reasoning behind that, you'll find out that it's all a lie. The sun coming up later in the day and setting later in the evening won't make any difference on energy consumption. What would make a difference is if people like Al Gore didn't use as much electricity in a month as most people use in an entire year. So there.
15. Speaking of Al Gore, self-righteous politicians. I don't need to explain that one.
16. Jennifer Granholm.
17. Anyone who voted for Jennifer Granholm.
18. The fact that any customer service phone number transfers you to someone who does not speak English as a first language, or maybe even as a second language. And then they can't understand what you are saying and you can't understand what they are saying and it basically just makes you super-angry because everyone goes off about how bad the US economy is and yet everybody is outsourcing to some middle east country.
19. Police officers driving Dodge Chargers. I know they look cool, but they are super-expensive. And I think it would be a better idea to buy cheaper cars for the police officers and use the money that would have been spent on the chargers for something like road repairs. Because then, in a wonderful turn of events, less money would also be spent on repairs to the cars because of the roads being crappy.
20. The fact that no matter how long you put off the purchase of some expensive piece of equipment because you know a newer version will come out after you order the older one, it never fails that when you finally give up and make your order, a newer version will come out without 3 months. :(
After two amazing weeks in Quito, Ecuador, I am home again in one piece. It is very strange being back in the States, and I guess I'm almost having a hard time adjusting to it. I really liked being in Ecuador, even though it's a third world country. I adjusted to it very quickly, and now the hard part is adjusting to life back home. Anyway, for now - because I really should be sleeping - I'm just going to write about my trip overall, and then within the next couple days I will try to write more details and get some pictures up. It's hard when you've got schoolwork that you should be concentrating on.
Thinking of the trip as a whole, the best word that comes to mind to describe it was amazing. There were things about it that made me sad, things that made me laugh, and things that made me ashamed of the way Americans live, but yet it was all amazing.
One of the best parts for me was meeting and getting to know 4 kids who lived down the road from our work site at the church. The oldest two were twin boys, Jesus and Zed, then their sister Genesis, and the youngest boy was Jahid. Those 4 kids were one of the best parts of the trip for me. When I write more about the trip I will definately talk more about them, but I can't stay up too late now to talk about it. Meeting those 4 and getting to spend time with them and get to know them as much as I could through the little Spanish I know was just amazing. It was so hard to see these kids who show up to play soccer with us every afternoon in ripped up clothes that barely fit them and dirt all over their faces. But you know what? They just need somebody to love them and I can honestly say that's what we did. We showed them God's love. When the trip was winding down and we had to say goodbye to them, it was one of the hardest - if not the hardest - part of the trip.
On the Wednesday before we left to come home, we were talking about the things we had learned on the trip. While I was listening to everybody and soaking it all in, the song "Twenty-four" by Switchfoot came to me, and since then it has been the song I think of whenever I try to even begin to explain what the trip was like.
"I want to see miracles, see the world change. Wrestle the angel for more than a name. For more than a feeling, for more than a cause I'm singing Spirit, take me up in arms with you. You're raising the dead in me."
Later on, I'll write about each day individually and explain more of why that song means so much to me now, but I do want to say that we saw miracles and we saw the world change right before our eyes, and I will never be the same because of it.
Of course, living with 18 other people very closely for two straight weeks in a country where you don't speak much of the native language means you spend a lot of time with the people you are traveling with. That was the hardest part of the trip for me. You really get to know people for who they really are. In some cases, that was great and in other cases, it wasn't. You have no choice but to find out who spends too much time in the bathroom and who seems to disappear when there's work to do. You see who is the most selfless and who is the most selfish. You find out just what your own personality is really like when you're tired and stressed, and you find the people who can tolerate that and the people who can't. It's hard to come home without hard feelings toward at least a couple of people, even though I know I shouldn't. I know that God had all of us together even though I don't really understand why, or even though I think that some people have a lot more growing up to do before they can handle the situation we were in.
It's tough to be away from your loved ones and have to spend time with people who you normally don't spend time with. But, it is interesting when you get sick of the people you thought you'd spend your time with and you really grow to appreciate people you never spent much time around before. And of course, not everyone's behavior is a surprise.
But anyway, it's almost 11 and I have to go back to work tomorrow morning. I'll write about each day later on.
Thinking of the trip as a whole, the best word that comes to mind to describe it was amazing. There were things about it that made me sad, things that made me laugh, and things that made me ashamed of the way Americans live, but yet it was all amazing.
One of the best parts for me was meeting and getting to know 4 kids who lived down the road from our work site at the church. The oldest two were twin boys, Jesus and Zed, then their sister Genesis, and the youngest boy was Jahid. Those 4 kids were one of the best parts of the trip for me. When I write more about the trip I will definately talk more about them, but I can't stay up too late now to talk about it. Meeting those 4 and getting to spend time with them and get to know them as much as I could through the little Spanish I know was just amazing. It was so hard to see these kids who show up to play soccer with us every afternoon in ripped up clothes that barely fit them and dirt all over their faces. But you know what? They just need somebody to love them and I can honestly say that's what we did. We showed them God's love. When the trip was winding down and we had to say goodbye to them, it was one of the hardest - if not the hardest - part of the trip.
On the Wednesday before we left to come home, we were talking about the things we had learned on the trip. While I was listening to everybody and soaking it all in, the song "Twenty-four" by Switchfoot came to me, and since then it has been the song I think of whenever I try to even begin to explain what the trip was like.
Later on, I'll write about each day individually and explain more of why that song means so much to me now, but I do want to say that we saw miracles and we saw the world change right before our eyes, and I will never be the same because of it.
Of course, living with 18 other people very closely for two straight weeks in a country where you don't speak much of the native language means you spend a lot of time with the people you are traveling with. That was the hardest part of the trip for me. You really get to know people for who they really are. In some cases, that was great and in other cases, it wasn't. You have no choice but to find out who spends too much time in the bathroom and who seems to disappear when there's work to do. You see who is the most selfless and who is the most selfish. You find out just what your own personality is really like when you're tired and stressed, and you find the people who can tolerate that and the people who can't. It's hard to come home without hard feelings toward at least a couple of people, even though I know I shouldn't. I know that God had all of us together even though I don't really understand why, or even though I think that some people have a lot more growing up to do before they can handle the situation we were in.
It's tough to be away from your loved ones and have to spend time with people who you normally don't spend time with. But, it is interesting when you get sick of the people you thought you'd spend your time with and you really grow to appreciate people you never spent much time around before. And of course, not everyone's behavior is a surprise.
But anyway, it's almost 11 and I have to go back to work tomorrow morning. I'll write about each day later on.
9:30 on Thursday night. In 48 hours, I will be in Ecuador. I honestly can't believe it's just about time to leave already. I mean, it was kind of intimidating to think about when I first signed on for this, but then I kind of came to terms with it. And then about a month ago I freaked out again. But sometime during last week, I relaxed a little and started thinking about how much fun this really could be.
This is going to be a life-changing experience. I can't say it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience because I'm still young and could very easily do more trips like this in my future if that's what God has for me. But since this is the very first time I've ever just stepped up and followed something blindly, yet knowing that I was supposed to go at the same time. It's really a lot to think about right now.
I'm not ready to leave by any means. I do not know how I am going to get through two weeks without Aharon. We have never spent more than three or four days apart and even then, we talked at least twice a day every day. This is going to be very hard on me, and I'm not going to try to sugarcoat it or pretend like I am okay with it because I really am not. I am not okay with being without him for two weeks. It is going to be incredibly hard on me and honestly, I think it will be the hardest part of the trip for me.
But I am still very excited about it. I'm going to get to do something that most people my age have never done before. I am going to experience a culture completely different than my own, which I think is something every American - especially my generation - needs to do. We are too soft here in our little wonderful county. Life's too easy, even for the people that have it really hard.
I'm getting off track. My point is that I'm leaving Saturday morning for a country that I know very little about and hardly can speak the language. I am leaving behind my parents, brothers, friends, and Aharon. I am taking two weeks off of work (which I can not afford to do), and I am missing two weeks of classes right in the middle of the semester. But yet, at the same time that all of that is going through my head, I am so excited to actually go. I know I will be very homesick and probably cry a lot, too, but I am ready. And looking forward.
P.S. And it's totally awesome that it snowed today!!!!
This is going to be a life-changing experience. I can't say it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience because I'm still young and could very easily do more trips like this in my future if that's what God has for me. But since this is the very first time I've ever just stepped up and followed something blindly, yet knowing that I was supposed to go at the same time. It's really a lot to think about right now.
I'm not ready to leave by any means. I do not know how I am going to get through two weeks without Aharon. We have never spent more than three or four days apart and even then, we talked at least twice a day every day. This is going to be very hard on me, and I'm not going to try to sugarcoat it or pretend like I am okay with it because I really am not. I am not okay with being without him for two weeks. It is going to be incredibly hard on me and honestly, I think it will be the hardest part of the trip for me.
But I am still very excited about it. I'm going to get to do something that most people my age have never done before. I am going to experience a culture completely different than my own, which I think is something every American - especially my generation - needs to do. We are too soft here in our little wonderful county. Life's too easy, even for the people that have it really hard.
I'm getting off track. My point is that I'm leaving Saturday morning for a country that I know very little about and hardly can speak the language. I am leaving behind my parents, brothers, friends, and Aharon. I am taking two weeks off of work (which I can not afford to do), and I am missing two weeks of classes right in the middle of the semester. But yet, at the same time that all of that is going through my head, I am so excited to actually go. I know I will be very homesick and probably cry a lot, too, but I am ready. And looking forward.
P.S. And it's totally awesome that it snowed today!!!!
After almost getting slammed in to this morning while driving to work, and after noticing other things about drivers this week, I have made a list of Rules, Reminders, and Recommendations for Michigan Drivers. Read it and learn. Or get angry. Or don't care at all. The choice is yours.
1. You know how, at least in Michigan, when there's going to be a lane closure or a traffic shift on a multi-lane road, they put up that huge flashing sign with the arrow that means, "You're going to have to get over eventually so why don't you work on that now?" Well, a lot of people think that the traffic barrels that come right before the sign are the signal to switch lanes, not just seeing the sign from like a mile away. That's not cool. Do not wait until you have to switch lanes. Because by doing so, you make people angry.
2. If you're going to be a jerk and change lanes at the last second, at least take the half a second to look out your window and make sure that a car - specifically my car - is not right next to you. Because if you don't, you will make people angry and the one person that you hit really angry.
3. Just because you drive a semi truck does not mean that you can make up your own rules. It also does not mean that you can yell at people when you - yes, you - cause trouble by making up your own rules.
4. There is no need for me to turn my brights off when I'm driving home from school at 11 pm on I-69 and you are coming at me from the other side of 69. Do not flash your brights at me. If yours aren't hurting my eyes, mine are not hurting your eyes. So save yourself the trouble and don't flash your brights at me 25 times because I am not going to turn them off. If a cop wants to write me a ticket, fine. I don't care. Stop annoying me.
5. The opposite is true on back roads. Just because there are no street lamps does not mean that you can leave your brights on while you drive right past me. And not just right past me - so frickin close to me that I can actually see who you are.
6. Speed limits are in place for a reason. Although, when the speed limit is 55 or higher, I consistently do 5 over. But, that doesn't mean that on an expressway (696), you should think Mario Kart DS and drive with the sole intention of passing every single person who gets in your way. It is not okay to do 10, 15, and even 20 over.
7. There is no need to slowing inch forward at a red light. Seriously, it's not a race. (Again with the Mario Kart!) Inching forward seconds before the light turns green is not going to give you an awesome advantage over the person next to you. Stop doing it, because it makes me angry. And it fakes people out.
8. When you are lost, go slow consistently. Don't get going really fast and then slow down at a cross street only to find that it's not the one you want and then get going fast again.
9. Don't rev your engine at me. Ever. I. Don't. Care. And for that matter, don't turn your system up when you are stopped next to me, for two reasons. One, my boyfriend's is louder and two, I like my boyfriend better than you.
10. If you see a stop sign, please stop. I am sick of almost hitting stupid 16 year old drivers who think that a stop sign means "slow down." A stop sign means stop. Come to a complete stop before you pass the sign and take the time to look and make sure there isn't any traffic approaching. Also, please don't assume that the car driving down the road toward you also has to stop and thus pull into the intersection when I'm almost there. There is such a thing as a two way stop. In fact sometimes, there's only one stop sign. Who would have thought?!?!
1. You know how, at least in Michigan, when there's going to be a lane closure or a traffic shift on a multi-lane road, they put up that huge flashing sign with the arrow that means, "You're going to have to get over eventually so why don't you work on that now?" Well, a lot of people think that the traffic barrels that come right before the sign are the signal to switch lanes, not just seeing the sign from like a mile away. That's not cool. Do not wait until you have to switch lanes. Because by doing so, you make people angry.
2. If you're going to be a jerk and change lanes at the last second, at least take the half a second to look out your window and make sure that a car - specifically my car - is not right next to you. Because if you don't, you will make people angry and the one person that you hit really angry.
3. Just because you drive a semi truck does not mean that you can make up your own rules. It also does not mean that you can yell at people when you - yes, you - cause trouble by making up your own rules.
4. There is no need for me to turn my brights off when I'm driving home from school at 11 pm on I-69 and you are coming at me from the other side of 69. Do not flash your brights at me. If yours aren't hurting my eyes, mine are not hurting your eyes. So save yourself the trouble and don't flash your brights at me 25 times because I am not going to turn them off. If a cop wants to write me a ticket, fine. I don't care. Stop annoying me.
5. The opposite is true on back roads. Just because there are no street lamps does not mean that you can leave your brights on while you drive right past me. And not just right past me - so frickin close to me that I can actually see who you are.
6. Speed limits are in place for a reason. Although, when the speed limit is 55 or higher, I consistently do 5 over. But, that doesn't mean that on an expressway (696), you should think Mario Kart DS and drive with the sole intention of passing every single person who gets in your way. It is not okay to do 10, 15, and even 20 over.
7. There is no need to slowing inch forward at a red light. Seriously, it's not a race. (Again with the Mario Kart!) Inching forward seconds before the light turns green is not going to give you an awesome advantage over the person next to you. Stop doing it, because it makes me angry. And it fakes people out.
8. When you are lost, go slow consistently. Don't get going really fast and then slow down at a cross street only to find that it's not the one you want and then get going fast again.
9. Don't rev your engine at me. Ever. I. Don't. Care. And for that matter, don't turn your system up when you are stopped next to me, for two reasons. One, my boyfriend's is louder and two, I like my boyfriend better than you.
10. If you see a stop sign, please stop. I am sick of almost hitting stupid 16 year old drivers who think that a stop sign means "slow down." A stop sign means stop. Come to a complete stop before you pass the sign and take the time to look and make sure there isn't any traffic approaching. Also, please don't assume that the car driving down the road toward you also has to stop and thus pull into the intersection when I'm almost there. There is such a thing as a two way stop. In fact sometimes, there's only one stop sign. Who would have thought?!?!
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