I’ve decided that among the many things about life that I will never understand is why I seem to be the only person in the world who only needs to accomplish very simple tasks whenever I venture out, tasks that require only a minimal investment in time on my part and the part of the person helping me.
For example, yesterday I went over to the bank to deposit a check. I could have done so via the ATM, but when it comes to deposits I just prefer to do make them with the assistance of an actual person. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but that’s just the way I am.
In the bank there were two people ahead of me, each being waited on by the available tellers.
Neither one of them was doing anything simple and straightforward like depositing or withdrawing money. Instead they were engaged in some sort of complex and time-consuming financial transactions that seemed designed solely for the purpose of making me have to wait in line.
Even after he was finished with whatever he was doing, the guy whose spot I eventually took wasn't really done, as he needed to access his safety deposit box. Fortunately that involved having someone else help him, which is why I was finally able to advance and, in less than a minute, be out of the bank.
Even the woman who came in after me had some sort of complicated transaction.
The same sort of thing happens when I’m in line at the grocery store. People always have some sort of arcane combination of coupons that require calling in a forensic accountant to sort out whether or not it’s a valid attempt at saving ten cents on Preparation H, or who want to use the Debit/Credit Card machine to enact a financial transaction even more complex than the ones they attempted ahead of me in line at the bank.
Meanwhile I’m standing there with two items which I’m going to pay for with cash trying not to go off like the ticking time bomb that I am.
Even when I do pay with my check card, it’s still not that complicated and doesn’t take me nearly as long as it would if I were someone in line ahead of me.
How do people manage to make their lives so complicated that the simple act of buying groceries can become such a challenge for them, and why are there so few people like me who manage to keep it simple?
I suppose there are all kinds of factors that lead people to these circumstances, but ultimately I still don’t see how it can happen.
One major component that I do see, though, is an overall lack of empathy and courtesy. When I’m ahead of people in line, I do what I can to keep it short so that the person behind me, who probably doesn’t want to wait any longer than I do, can get moving and get on with his or her life.
People ahead of me don’t seem to think like that. There’s very much an attitude of “I’m going to take my sweet time doing this, and to hell with everyone else.”
Those are the kinds of people who demand price checks on every item as it is being rung up just to make absolutely certain that everything is scanning at the correct price, but who will still argue over the price at which every item scans rather than just paying the extra ten cents and letting the line move, then taking their complaints to the service counter where these issues are actually handled.
Anyway, that’s my little rant for right now. Just one of the many reasons that I’m so reluctant to venture out into the world.
Speaking of which, we are currently in the midst of another of Northern Virginia’s deadly winter storms.
Why, by the time it’s over, there may be as much as seven whole whopping inches of snow! It’s the end of the world! Too bad I didn’t stock up on supplies when I had the chance. Now I’m doomed, though there may be the slightest chance that somehow I’ll manage.
After the lengthy streak of warm, spring-like weather we’ve had, the ground is hardly conditioned to actually accept much in the way of snow, and the way it seems to be going right now the snow is having a hard time sticking to anything other than the cold metal and plastic of cars.
Of course, I’m sure our crackerjack road crews will do absolutely nothing about it until sometime tomorrow afternoon when they have the assistance of sunshine and above-freezing temperatures…
I have to say that I’m really digging this wireless keyboard. As I’m typing this I’m leaned well back in my chair with the keyboard resting comfortably on my lap. With the help of the “Zoom Slider” I can easily increase the font size so that I can clearly read this as I type. I highly recommend buying one of these to anyone. I got mine from http://www.chiefvalue.com/.
The only complaints I do have about the keyboard is that it doesn’t have a “My Computer” button the way my old keyboard did (a key that would open the “My Computer” window), and there are no lights on it to indicate that things like Num Lock or Caps Lock are turned on.
If you hit those keys, you do get an onscreen prompt that tells you it’s been turned on/off, but that doesn’t stay up as a constant reminder (nor would I really want it to), so it’s easy to forget if you’ve turned one of them on or off.
As for the “My Computer” button, it’s not a major issue, but I think it’s some they easily could have included.
Still, overall I highly recommend it.
There are a few things I want to attend to this afternoon, but I may be back later.
Eventually I will write up some of the entries I keep promising, and I’ll have more to say about my latest rejection, but for now I’ll leave you wanting more.Or, you know, not wanting more. Whichever.
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