People and coffee

Ah, coffee. Who hasn't heard of it? Better yet, is there a person alive that doesn't drink or hasn't ever drank it? Personally, I don't, but I know a lot of people that do.

As a side note, I'd like to point out that people who drink coffee on a regular basis (and are even addicted to it) have no grounds to judge people who take drugs, as caffeine is a drug, albeit a legal one.

Anyway, what I don't get is the odd culture of coffee people. Starbucks has normalized coffee to the extent that people who usually don't drink coffee find themselves dropping $50/week on those "delicious non-fat, half-caf soy lattes with room." Coffee has become commonplace in society and with that normalization comes a lot of problems.

The other day in my Economics class, my teacher was talking to the class and said something. Before that, I'd heard this girl talking about how she'd almost self-destructed because the bottom of her coffee pot was broken and couldn't make coffee that morning. After my teacher said something (I don't quite remember what), the girl raised her hand and asked, "Did you just ask if there are people in this class that work at night?" The teacher said no, and her response was, "Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't had my coffee yet."

This worries me on more levels than one. First off, it worries me that people are becoming too reliant on coffee to get their day going. I know it's possible to start one's day without coffee (even waking up before the sun) because I do it every morning. Secondly, it worries me because of what people who haven't had their coffee can do and would excuse because of lack of coffee. I know that asking a seemingly stupid question isn't that big a deal, but how long before someone gets in a wreck at 6AM and says, "Oh, I'm sorry officer, I haven't had my morning cup o' joe?" It may never come to that, but just imagining the possibilities is scary enough.

Along with people being stupid without their coffee are people who get cranky in the morning until they have coffee. Two words: DRUG. ADDICTS. As caffeine is a drug, people who are irritable when they don't have their daily dose of it are suffering from withdrawal. This in no way excuses people being assholes in the morning, but it does explain a lot as far as the mystifying behavior of the Coffee Addicts.

Another thing I've noticed is that the increased demand for coffee has led to places like Starbucks getting away with charging outrageous prices for that "caramel mochalatta zebra soy latte that you just HAVE to have." I mean, I used to go to Starbucks, but since I stopped drinking coffee, I've realized that, at $5 for a SMALL latte/chai/whatever, one can easily drop ~$50 every two weeks going to Starbucks every day. That equates to a whopping $1300 dollars a year. Seriously, if a smack to the face won't get coffee addicts off the stuff, maybe the math will.

And no, I don't have anything against soy lattes, but soymilk is disgusting.

So, I figure that there's no harm done if I don't drink coffee, it's just dealing with everyone else who depends on it to get their day going/keep them from being cranky/keep them from doing something stupid in the morning that's going to be the challenge.

People and snow

Pretend for a moment that it's 1000 B.C. and you live in sub-Saharan Africa. For some reason, you make a trip north and happen to travel in winter. When you get to the proper latitude, you notice a strange thing: cold, white specks falling from the sky and accumulating on the ground. You've just seen snow for the first time, and it seems like a strange, yet wonderful thing.

Cut to today. It's been snowing every winter at the mid and high latitudes since the dawn of time and yet, every winter, it's the same thing.

People seem to undergo a psychological change when snow starts falling.

Now, I'll admit, this winter has done a poor job of snowing like it always does, especially when you consider where I live, but that does nothing to change the fact that people start exhibiting strange behavioral patterns when the white stuff falls from the sky.

I'll start with attire. When it's cold and snowing, you'd expect everyone to be wearing coats, gloves, hats, and layers, right? When it was snowing this morning, my first thought was that I'd need my winter coat when I walked to class; however, it astounded me to see people dressed in sweatpants and hoodies. Now, sweatpants, I have no problem with, but hoodies? Hoodies aren't designed to be worn in snow; sure, I'll wear one when it gets cold out, but I'd never wear one when it's snowing. Perhaps the funniest thing was that the people I saw wearing the hoodies started complaining about how cold it was as soon as we got out of the building. Seriously? I chalk that up to a lack of common sense.

Next, there are the drivers. You'd think that when snow starts a-fallin', people would be a tad more careful considering wet roads increase braking distance; nope. People drive as they normally do, plowing through the snow whether they own an SUV or not. You know, I think it might be that people think that, just because they have snow tires, they can drive like normal. -shrugs- All I know is that when snow first touches the roads, I'm definitely more careful about walking around outside and crossing the street because people tend not to be careful while driving in snow when pedestrians are present.

Finally...well, I guess there is no finally, unless I come back later and update this blog.

So, I guess I'm stuck laughing at the idiots who didn't dress for the weather and dodging cars that overestimate their car's braking distance.

People who take the Internet too seriously

The Internet. It's a magical thing; I mean, who wouldn't be fascinated by a piece of technology that, with a few clicks, connects you with millions of people and a plethora of information that would take a kajillion years to go through, even with a super fast computer? I know I am. You can talk to people on the other side of the globe, find hilarious jokes, and even post your opinions on blogs like this one for complete strangers to read.

Ah, but the 'Net is a double-edged sword. For every one person who uses the Internet for things like art, music, and porn, there are a hundred thousand other people I've noticed who take it way too seriously.

I mean, it's one thing to post artwork/stories/etc. on sites like deviantART or fanfiction.net for other people to look at and criticize. How does one become a better artist/author/other? By listening to the constructive criticism of other people and learning from one's mistakes. That is perfectly normal, in my opinion.

However, one does run across the person who thinks that everything on the Internet is to be taken seriously and reacts as such. I know this sounds like an extreme case, but it happens. Rather than take everything they read/see on the 'net with a grain of salt, they take everything personally.

Perhaps the biggest example that springs to mind is Internet bullying. Since the advent of social networks like MySpace and Facebook, plus the fact that accessing the Internet is easier than breathing nowadays, we have seen a spike in Internet bullying, but what is it? It's basically what happens on the playgrounds of school, except over the Internet. Insulting messages, inappropriate pictures, all of it is intended to do the same thing as bullying, except a million times faster and seemingly more effective; however, I don't wish to make this blog about Internet bullying.

In this age where Internet access is commonplace, the line between the 'net and reality seems to have blurred. People "fall in love" after meeting in an online community, nerds think they're "ZOLTAR, MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE," and two people can have an online grudge against each other simply because of a few foul words that were exchanged between the two.

I call to mind a forum that I frequent. I can't tell you how many times I've seen members take things way too personally (I used to be like that) because they spend a majority of their time there. Hell, I've "gotten into it" with another member there over a thread that I made; he called me "immature" and made a special place in his signature for insulting me (I feel stupid for doing so, but I did take the bait and did the same thing).

Over the last few days, I came to a realization: THE INTERNET ISN'T REAL (of course I know that the Internet isn't real, but I mean as far as this blog goes). While I do enjoy talking to people I meet online, I really shouldn't care if someone thinks I'm stupid or immature, simply because the opinion of that one person doesn't represent the opinion of everyone who uses the Internet.

I think part of the reason that people take the Internet too seriously is that they don't have this objective view of it. I'm not saying that I'm better than anyone on the Internet because I do, but it makes me more able to deal with stupid messages like the one I mentioned earlier on in this blog and the like because I can step back and say, "Hey, it doesn't matter because I can delete the message." I think that, sometimes, people forget that they have a lot of power over what they read/see/hear on the 'net. Delete buttons, search engines, and such are designed to let the user control their content for the most part, and forgetting that one has this power can blur the line between the 'net and reality. Yes, harassment is an issue no matter what form it takes, but places on the 'net where people can be harassed usually have some sort of "authority figure," such as a moderator, to take care of that. That's what they're there for, and usually, they know the appropriate steps to take if harassment occurs.

So, peoples of the Internet, I implore you; stop taking everything the Internet so seriously. It's just the Internet, after all.

Why people don't like to open doors

First of all, if you're wondering what the picture's all about, it's Psyche opening the door into Cupid's garden. There ya go.

Anyway, I've noticed an interesting behaviour in students that attend the university I go to. Most of the time, it's in between classes, but what could I be talking about?

It would seem that people don't like to open doors.

I'll give an example to show what I'm talking about. Let's say Person A is walking somewhere, and Person B is about twenty feet behind them. Now, Person A opens the door to a building, and Person B runs to catch the door before it closes.

Yes, there are times when one wouldn't have to open the door because one is walking directly behind someone, but twenty feet away?

It leads me to believe that the students at my uni find opening doors an inconvenience and will do anything, including scrambling for a closing door, to avoid doing it. I mean, why else would this occur?

Now, I'll admit, opening doors is probably one of the most mundane activities one can perform, but when one actually thinks about it, doors are pretty much an amazing invention. I mean, you hear about people with special abilities that can walk through walls or look at a ghost going through the wall and think, "Man, I wish I could do that!" Well, you can. Just open a door. Perhaps if more people thought about this, opening a door would seem like a magical activity and bring back some of the wonder often lost in today's world.

I digress. In any case, it seems odd to me that people would rather run for a closing door to avoid having to open it, rather than not expending the extra effort to run and opening it? Maybe it's a warped version of laziness, maybe it's just people trying to get a small amount of exercise in this hectic world of ours; whatever the reason, I don't get it.

So, perhaps I'll peddle my wares around campus as a doorman; who knows? I might just make a killing.

Why So Weird was cancelled

Okay, so if you haven't heard of it, So Weird was a show that used to be on the Disney Channel back in the late 90's. It was about a girl named Fi Phillips that toured the country with her rockstar mom, brother, a roadie, a tour manager, and their kid. Not only that, but she encountered paranormal phenomena on an almost seemingly regular basis. From Will 'o the Wisps to banshees, she saw it all.

Then, Disney Channel proceeded to wreck the series because they thought it was getting "too dark." So, they brought in new producers, new writers, and the all-new, brighter, more colorful So Weird with blond, up-and-coming Canadian actress Alexz Johnson in place of Fi. Of course, paranormal stuff happened to her, too, but it wasn't as exciting.

Personally, I think Disney dropped the ball on that one, as the practice of cancelling programmes regardless of how popular they were was running rampant at the time. The once-awesome series went out with a clip show, and now there's not so much as a box set out to remember it by. Thank god for this saint of a person who uploaded the episodes to YouTube. Go to http://www.youtube.com/soweirdtv and check it out.

Anyway, I don't get why Disney decided to cancel the programme, as it was amazing the way it was. I guess Disney's neverending quest to be the premiere source of family entertainment got in the way. Whatever it was, it happened and now it's gone, save for YouTube.

I guess one has to take the changing tastes and times into consideration when debating this, as perhaps the swing toward the more boy-band-centric 2000 comes into play. It's a complicated business, as perhaps the "College Hippies" were right when they said that "the Corporations are taking over the world, man." It's odd that boy bands are created by corporations, but I digress.

Perhaps we'll never know why Disney cancelled So Weird, but thank god for YouTube.

Mall parking lots

Well, it seems like malls where I live are pretty cool. I mean, there are stores like Build-A-Bear, the cookie place, and pet shops, not to mention food courts with places that actually serve decent food (one mall has a restaurant with fish tacos that I absolutely love). Sure, the malls are great, but...

...well, it's pretty much the damn parking lots.

One of my friends and I decided to chance a visit to the local mall because she wanted to pick up her favorite hand sanitising spray (it's orange-vanilla scented, but I swear, it smells like the Orange Tylenol Cold & Flu). Anyway, as soon as we got into the outskirts of the parking lot, it was madness.

Apparently, the laws of traffic are lightly regarded, at best, and stop signs seem to be nothing more than decorative signs placed there for mall security's amusement. Disregard for parking lot speed limits runs rampant, and two types of people seem to be dominant: the "I've got to get to that sale in [such-and-such department store] RIGHT NOW," and "I've got to get out of here because I spent too much time looking for that top they advertised." Those kinds of people are hell to be around, even more hellish to drive around.

So, I guess what I don't get is why people, who seem to obey traffic laws for the most part outside of the parking lot, seem to deliberately flout those same laws within the confines of the parking lot? Is that top/pair of jeans/perfume/cologne/whatever REALLY worth almost killing you/your kids/your spouse/everyone around you? Apparently, as people seem to be in a hurry regardless of whether they're coming or going.

Apparently, this phenomenon is extremely bad on the weekends, when soccer moms and single dads have the opportunity to get the kids out of the house and tote them around at the mall, where they look in window displays, admire things they can't afford, and daydream that somehow, through some minute miracle, they aren't lugging around several screaming children who want nothing more than an ice cream cone or cinnamon bun.

Anyway, I wouldn't normally have a problem, except for when I'm almost killed trying to run in for hand sanitiser. I mean, come on people, it's the mall.