Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Unmovable, the Ignorant, and the Rude.

      I often hear from people that I come off cold or bitchy. I have to assume this is because I don’t put on an act for people. I won’t ask how you are if I don’t care because I don’t think about it because, well, I don’t care. Conversely, if I do ask you know that I really care. It’s funny how in our society I am considered a rude person for not wanting to have conversations with every single person I come in contact with all day every day but I seem to abide by more common curtesy rules than everyone else. To me it is the people that choose to ignore these unwritten common sense rules that are the callow. 
     For instance, there are the people who walk down the side walk two or three people wide and don’t move into single file when a person coming the opposite direction passes. Once a girl told me that while she was walking on campus and there was a group of immovables coming towards her she would lock her arms, stiffen her body, bury her head down looking at her cel-phone and just barge through them. I applaud her bold move to stand her ground. 
     While waiting on a table at work the other night, I had a tray full of drinks in my left hand. I was standing still and girl ran into me from behind knocking all my drinks over, spilling off my tray and onto one of the guests at my table. All of her friends laughed, as if something so rude could be funny and then she said “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.” No, I don’t believe that. I believe she didn’t want to see me. I was so angry I had a raging fire in my eyes and I turned and looked at her and said “Standing her?!?! You didn’t see me STANDING here?” She didn’t just bump me, she ran into me hard and hard enough to knock over a tray full of drinks. Costing me time, the bar money, and the guy in front of me comfort, for the moment.  
     Wake up people, this is life. This isn’t a game this is REAL life. Things happen. Things YOU do will cause a chain reaction and people don’t pay attention when they are doing something as simple as walking! Why can’t people simply think before they act and put slightly more effort into awareness. 
     What about the woman who blatantly cut in front of me at the movie theatre and acted as if she didn’t know? You don’t cut in a line without knowing. This isn’t second grade ma’am, your well over 40 so learn how to stand in line and wait like the rest of us. Or the woman that came into a movie 15 minutes late and then asked me to move so her group could sit together. Let’s see I got here 20 minutes early, picked out my seat and have my drink and popcorn situated and you want me to move. How rude, why can’t your group break up? If you wanted to sit together so badly, you would have made it on time. 
     There are people who talk down to me constantly because I am just a waitress. I don’t suppose they remember that to me they are just a customer. What gives you the right to be rude to me simply because I am a waitress?
     Think about these things the next time you judge someone to be rude because they are probably less rude than you are. 

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Guess I'm Not an American



       I was disgusted the other day when I tuned into a local Mississippi talk show and the two “conservative” talk show hosts were talking about the food eating contest they were holding at a fair. Shows like “Man vs. Food” and restaurants that offer challenges for largely portioned meals are simply glorifying the gluttony of today’s Americans . There is a certain pride that people take in their overindulgence and grossly obese bodies that astounds me. 
        The more I curb my own eating habits the more I am disgusted by the acceptance of overindulgence.  For instance, I stopped eating pork a year and a half ago and since then I have taken noticed just how much bacon is on or in food items like hamburgers, pizza, pasta, dips, salads, salad dressings, sandwiches, seafood, and the list goes on and on. Processed meats can increase the risk of heart disease by 42 percent and diabetes by 19 percent. Bacon has four times the amount of salt than unprocessed meat. You can add bacon to something at almost any restaurant. 
       As children, most are encouraged by parents to “clean their plate,” and even punished if they do not. Gone are the days when food was scarce and you ate when you could. America now over produces and as a result over consume because it is there. I am happy that my parents never forced us to clean our plates because as an adult I don’t have guilt when I don’t. Actually, I like enjoy the thought of having leftovers. 
       My personal belief is “everything in moderation.” Of course bacon is good for you but having bacon every Saturday morning with breakfast becomes a treat instead of a condiment. It would seem crazy to eat ice cream three meals a day but for some reason I can’t understand it’s okay to eat three fried meals a day or high calories fast food for every meal. Even more disgusting to me is watching parents pour sweet tea into their children's bottles or sip cups. All this is doing is perpetuating the obesity problem. 
      Shocking to me is that parents will feed their children crap. Parents only choice are not high fructose corn syrup sodas and poisonous saccharine loaded diet sodas. What happened to water? Why not a healthy vegetable wrap instead of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or macaroni and cheese? The excuse that their children won’t eat healthy food is simply the parents laziness. They don’t want to work with their children and teach them healthy eating habits. 
       People are concerned about what type of clothes they are seen in, the make of car they drive, shoes they wear, and skincare products. Why is it acceptable to be more concerned with the television sitting in a living room than the contents of the food we put into our bodies. Most people haven’t a clue about the ingredients of items they consume and that’s okay to them. I’m tired of the excuse that it’s expensive to eat healthy. Life is full of sacrifices and I think living a healthy life means making sacrifices. 
       American’s already spend such a low percentage of take home pay on food especially in comparison to other countries. Yes, it is sad that a frozen pizza is cheeper than organic vine ripened tomatoes but the i-phone in hand might have helped pay for a healthier lifestyle. For me, it’s time to take a stand and make a sacrifice for life. I think American’s are like sheep when it pertains to their food; go along blindly and silently.
        I wish I could grab people and shake them awake and open their eyes, but for some reason people are very defensive about their unhealthy eating habits. It’s easier to keep my mouth shut then try to sell them what they aren’t in the market for. Not only are they not open to changing their life but they are unsupportive of me changing mine. One time a customer asked me how a new item on our menu was and I replied, “I haven’t had it because I don’t eat meat.” His response was, “Well that’s just not American.”
       Someday, I believe, history books will reflect on a time when America sickened themselves with food. Just as we look back and think, “They used to allow smoking on airplanes?” Future generations will look back on these generation’s gluttony in disgust. Until then, it’s time to vote with my dollar for healthy, organic, and local foods. 

Monday, October 4, 2010

It's Your World and I Just Live in It.

Remember the show “Whinnie The Pooh”? How could you forget right? Now, consider who your favorite character was. Pooh? Piglet? Tigger? Perhaps even Roo or Owl. I admit as I child I loved Tigger and Piglet. But as an adult I find myself drawn to and identifying with Rabbit. 
      Rabbit, the ornery and cranky, anal retentive kill joy. He was the fun-suck of the show, remember? I’m pretty certain that now I am Rabbit in a Hundred Acre Woods of a world. Rabbit just wanted to farm, grow his carrots, and be left to his work. However, he was constantly bombarded with his neighbors shenanigans. But Rabbit is the douche at fault, or at least that is what children are left to glean from the show. 
     There he is hard at work farming and trying to make a solid life for himself. Rabbit never fell back on the government assistance. He did not visit the WIC office or have an EBT card. He just wanted to work, that’s all ...work. And work he did until those adorable bumbling idiots came around to botch all his efforts. 
     But why is it we are supposed to love and adore the half wit lazy cuddly little chubby all stuffed with fluffy? What about Rabbit? Everyone around him is running around acting like a jerk and mucking up his achievements. Just leave him alone and give him credit for all his hard work. 
     “Sheep Brains” as a co-worker of mine describes it. People have sheep brains and boy is he correct. Worship and love the silly, funny, and adorable teddy bear but not the stick in the mud, hardworking farmer, eh?
     I work hard, every night as a cocktail waitress. It may be a “white trash job” but I do it well dammit and I do it with integrity. So why am I rewarded with one dollar tips and  a-holes puking on the floor or blowing their ass out in our bathroom all over the wall. This is real life people. Stop waking up to smell the roses. Wake up and live.
     I tell you people,” Hi I’m Rabbit and I live in the Hundred Acre Woods. Nice to meet you fools.”

It's Time to Dress Like an Adult

    Trend I am ready to die out: Nike tempo shorts & UGG boots. True, Nike Tempo shorts are perfect for exercising and UGG boots are warm and comfortable. But not together. I’m talking to you Alpha Phi Beta Kappa Zapppa, whatever you are. UGG boots, Nike tempo shorts, T-shirt, I’m going to prom makeup, and bump it- it’s like schizophrenic fashion. 

     Make no mistake. I love makeup. I love everything about it, putting it on, looking at it, taking it off, but you’ll never see me pairing a smokey eye with a sports bra and sweatpants. Makeup is an accessory and this crazy overdone face just doesn’t go well alongside dress down attire. So take it down two notches. Most of those same girls have gorgeous skin any ways and really don’t need the makeup.

     Next, lets get to the Bump It. I get it. Not everyone can have my thick luscious flowing hair, but enough about me. Bump Its have their time and place and do a great service for everyone who needs a poof quick, fast, in a hurry, that will last all night. That time and place is not when you’re having lunch in an Applebee’s wearing running clothes. 

     I really do not understand the obsession girls have with these Tempo shorts. Because of the over use and abuse of these amazing shorts I have decided to boycott them as I don’t want to be associated with the idiots who wear them 24/7. I instead opted for some Underarmor shorts that are exactly the same, were 1/2 the price, and I wear them responsibly; when I’m exercising. Let’s not forget the fact that these girls wear these all day every day and they have built in underwear and that just seems unsanitary. 

     More disturbing is the fact that they are paired with UGG boots. If you’re going for the sporty look please leave the UGG boots out. Instead, try your UGG boots with a comfortable sweater and some skinny jeans. UGG boots and tempo shorts look as stupid together as flip flops and corduroy pants with a winter jacket; ridiculous. 

     Last December a girl asked me to turn the air down. I assessed her outfit, a t-shirt, tempo shorts, and UGG boots and promptly told her “no”. It’s December put on a coat and some pants for God sakes. If you’re dumb enough to wear that outfit you deserve to freeze and I hope you die of hypothermia so we can burn your hideous outfit. 

     This is by far the fashion trend that makes me angry in a place deep inside that makes me want to run these girls over with my car. The only thing that makes this fashion trend worse is the fact that sometimes it is accessorized with tights. Tights! How absurd do you look wearing tights with those?
Who started this trend and when will it end? Take that costume out of your repertoire and replace it with something more sophisticated, you are in college after all.