This is not your living room!!

This is a public service announcement for those who ride public transportation.  The train, bus, ferry or whatever form of shared public transportation you take is not … I repeat … NOT YOUR LIVING ROOM!!

I cannot tell you how often I have been on the subway and rolled my eyes or shook my head at people acting like they are in the privacy of their own homes. 

How many times have I seen women putting on their makeup on the train?  Way too many times to count, and way too many times to be ignored!  Your elbow practically hitting me in the face as you try to swab on your mascara while sitting next to me is not my idea of a morning commute!!  The powder you’re dusting all over your face … guess what?  It’s also landing on my shoulder!  Seriously, it takes all of 10 minutes at most to put on your makeup at home.  So, come on now, wake up 10 minutes earlier and get ready in your own bathroom or at your own vanity mirror!!  Believe me, those extra ten minutes of sleep aren’t doing you enough good to annoy everyone around you on the subway!

Another thing to NOT do on public transportation … eating!  Having your morning coffee on the train is ok, I guess.  Although I’d prefer you do that either at home or when you get to work.  But, as long as you don’t have an over-filled cup that keeps splashing onto me, I’ll let it slide.  And that is also as long as you have a good grip on it!  Because if you drop it and it lands on me … you’re gonna be paying my dry cleaning costs! 

I’ll accept the occasional candy bar.  Not the type that crumbles, though.  More than that … not acceptable. 

That bag of greasy Micky-D McNuggets that you are pulling from … not only is the grease smell gross, but now all that grease is covering your fingers!  And seeing you wipe your hands on your jeans … well, no words… simply no words!!  And Oh My God… do not touch the pole with those grease-covered fingers!!

If you go the “healthy” route, thinking it’s going to be ok to eat that yummy, juicy apple … guess what?!  With every bite you take, apple juice sprays on to everyone around you!  And it’s just so not attractive to see it dripping down your chin, which you then clean away with your sleeve.  Plus, your smacking gums can sometimes be heard over the music coming through my headphones, as I try to drown out rude people like you.

The potato chips … I get the greasy crumbs in MY lap while you eat them sitting next to me.  Same goes for the “breakfast” bar crumbs. 

The other day I was sitting next to a woman who pulled out a container of oatmeal that she had brought from home.  She then proceeded to mush it, tap it, spoon some up, shake some of what she put on the spoon off, tap again, put more on the spoon, a little less, uh oh, too much less, a little more, just a touch less … eat.  This was with EVERY mouthful!!!   And she was doing all this mushing, tapping, on, off, on, off, tap, on, tap, off, etc. with the arm that was on my side, so she kept hitting into me with every move!  Thankfully it was just a small container of oatmeal and not a Swanson Hungry Man Dinner!!

Another thing that should be saved for when you are home … nail care!!  Do not clip, file or paint your nails while on the subway!  Ok, so you snagged your nail on something, and you pull out the file and QUICKLY (the important qualifier being QUICKLY) file it down so it doesn’t snag on anything else.  That one I’ll give you.  But just because you have the file out … the other 9 nails don’t need the same attention!  And clipping?!  Um, no!  Just NO NO NO NO NO!!!  Nail polish?  Again, a big fat NOOOOO!  That smells a million times worse to people than those McNuggets!!  It’s an enclosed space.  So, unless you ask EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the car (or who will enter the car for the next 10 minutes, since the smell lingers) if they are ok with you doing your nails … don’t!

Another thing that people do on public transportation as if it were their living room … spreading!  You paid for a ride.  ONE ride.  That payment entitles you to get on, maybe to even get a seat, if you’re lucky.  What it doesn’t entitle you to is to spread!  Unless you paid twice, your bag doesn’t get a seat! This no-spread rule also includes your legs … sorry guys, but NOBODY is THAT big down there!  And don’t roll your eyes and suck at your teeth when you’re asked to scootch over a bit to allow someone to have a full seat, while you had previously spread to take up one and a half.

And seriously … GET YOUR FEET OFF THE FURNITURE!!  That may be allowed in your home, because at home, you’re probably (hopefully) not putting your feet up on the couch while your shoes are still on!  And it’s not allowed on public transportation either, where others have to sit where you shoes … which have walked through who the heck knows what … have been!  And this goes for the little kids too!  Yeah, your kid wants to look out the window, yeah it’s going to keep him distracted and entertained.  So you let them stand on the seat to do that.  Guess what, your kid is also stepping in stuff I don’t want to be sitting on when I take that seat after you get off!

The only thing I will say that you definitely SHOULD do as if you were home … TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU AND THROW IT IN A PROPER RECEPTICAL!!  The train, bus, ferry, subway platform, sidewalk, or any other public space is NOT your personal trash can!  If you throw things in the proper place at home, do the same when out in public.  If you don’t I’m just going to assume that your home is probably a disgusting garbage dump! 

Ok, I’m done.  Now go out and behave like civilized people!! 

Technology --- Friend or Foe?!

The other day I got a text from a friend.  What he said in his text isn’t important.  The point I want to make is how easy it was for him to reach out to me to be in contact.  He had something that was he felt was important to talk with me about, so he quickly sent a text and just as quickly got an answer.  This happens every day, every hour, every minute, every second.  No, not on MY phone specifically, but on all our phones and computers and other electronic devices, collectively. 

If someone took a time machine to present day from the not-so-distant past, they would be shocked!  You see, I grew up in a time before cell phones.  Before computers.  A time when you had to be tethered to the phone that was either placed on a table or hung up on a wall by a cord.  And yes, we had cords that were long enough to walk around.  But then we had to deal with them getting all tangled.  I even grew up with the phones where you actually had to spin the dial to make the call! And all this wasn’t THAT long ago.  I’m older, but I’m not OLD.

Back then it was always a struggle as to who could be on the phone and for how long, because you had ONE phone line in the house for EVERYONE to use, and someone else was always waiting for a call or had to make a call.  I remember how exciting it was when I was in high school and got a phone number for me and my sister to share.  Now I only had to fight for time on the phone with just one other person.

And forget making a call during the day, if you happened to have someone to speak to in another area code!  Because you had to wait until after 9 p.m. when the rates went down. And even then you were told to keep the call short, because “Dad isn't working just to keep the phone company in business!”

If you had some really urgent news to tell someone, you had to either wait until you saw each other in person, or try to catch them when they happened to be home.  Because even answering machines didn’t become popular until the middle of the 1980s!  So, urgent as we see it nowadays was a lot different from when I was a kid.  Telling  your friend the blow-by-blow of a fight you had with your boyfriend was something that just had to wait until the next day in school!  And then you would sneak writing a note in class that you would pass to them in the hallway for them to read in their next class!

My sister, who is a teacher, catches her students on the phone all the time. They always wonder how she can tell. She is constantly explaining that nobody looks at their crotch and smiles/giggles for any other reason!  Well, hopefully they don’t.

And guess what, this was all better than when my parents were growing up, and had a “party line” that they shared with several neighbor families.  You’d pick up the phone to make a call, and there’d be your neighbor Alice talking to her sister Blanche about the latest goings on in the old neighborhood.  Talk about frustrating!

One thing that was good about back when I was a kid … lives were more private.  Things weren’t posted on the internet (by ourselves, I might add) that filled EVERYONE in on EVERY little thing happening in our lives, from the big stuff like getting engaged/married, a new job and having kids to the small thing, like what you ate at your last meal, what movie you are about to see, or that person that annoyed you on the subway.

As technology has developed, we have been able to advance to a time where people can be in touch … instantly!  And constantly!  And for any reason, whatsoever!

But it’s gotten to the point where people are so addicted to being “in the know” at all times, that they are missing out on what is happening right in front of them.  How many times have you been out to eat and the first thing you do is take your phone out of your pocket or bag and put it in front of you on the table?  Have you ever stopped to count the number of times during one meal you check your phone to see if any new message has come in or if there is anything new on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat? Try counting sometime.  Or have a friend count for you, since you probably aren't even conscious that you are doing this.

A few months back I was out for lunch by myself.  I was sitting waiting for my meal, and instead of surfing Facebook, like any normal person would do, I decided to people-watch. There was a couple sitting at the table near me.  I watched as he spent the entire meal either texting/emailing or on the phone talking to someone.  Yes, he was having a conversation, but not with his girlfriend, who was sitting right across from him.  But, his girlfriend didn’t seem to mind, as she spent the entire meal on her phone as well.  Meanwhile, I spent the meal watching the two of them and thinking how sad a scene I was witnessing.  How is that a relationship?  Is every meal like that?  Why even bother to meet up for the meal if you aren’t going to spend any of the time actually being together, actually talking to each other?

And these two aren’t unique.  This is how it is out there, this is the norm!  So, here’s my proposal to you!  You didn’t think I’d propose so quickly after meeting you, did ya? ;-) The next meal you go out to with friends or family, make an agreement that for that ONE meal, nobody will pull out their phones.  You will only engage in conversations that are IRL and with the people who are actually there!  Then let me know if you were able to accomplish this.  Restore my faith in the human race!

If you can get through this one meal doing this, try to do this for at least one meal, at least once a week.  If you can get through that, then maybe we can get back to mealtimes the way they used to be, where we spent that time catching up with each other.

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely don’t want to go back to how it had been when I was a kid.  I do appreciate being able to have access information and those who I want to be in contact with whenever I feel like it.  But I also do miss the old days when things were more intimate, when we spent real time with each other, enjoying each other’s company and catching up. That has gone by the wayside with the development of modern technology. But with some minor changes, we can get back to that and closer to each other as a result!

KEEP AMERICA GREAT!

So, it’s been three and a half weeks since a certain Cheetos-colored individual took office.  This individual is also known simply as “45”.  I think I prefer 45, because I actually like the taste of Cheetos, but this Oompaloompa leaves a VERY sour taste in my mouth!  Nothing at all like a Cheetos.  I, personally, will never put the title “President” next to that man’s name, even if I do use his last name to speak of him and my distaste for his agenda.  As the hashtag goes, he’s #notmypresident!

In the less than one month since 45 took office, he has scrawled his name on a number of documents meant to push through his own agenda.  You know what I’m talking about, the agenda that his supporters wanted.  Or so they thought.  http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/02/every-terrifying-thing-that-donald-trump-has-done.html

I have one friend who actually voted for him (I actually know more than one person who voted for him, but I only know of one with whom I can have a rational discussion with about what 45 has been doing since taking office).  Every time either I or one of my other #notmypresident friends mentions something to our 45 supporter friend that was on the news (but, of course, not on FOX news), this 45 supporter friend is a bit surprised, and says that he hadn’t heard about that.  And he will even admit (at times) that he’s not really in favor of what 45 has done so far.

I think a good number of 45 supporters may feel the same about some of the things that 45 has been doing since taking office.  But I think they are so embarrassed by being duped by this con artist, this charlatan, this swindler, this fraud, but most of all, this dangerous individual … that they are just keeping quiet … or even worse, they are doubling down on their support. 

I mean, if you really and truly support 45 and the actions he has taken so far and intends to take in the future, then you are telling us that you are a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, pathological liar … or that, at the very least, you support such a person! 

A lot of people who support 45 have said that the Women’s March didn’t really DO anything.  That it was a waste of time and that we were just being “crybabies”.  They want us to believe that over 3 MILLION people worldwide showing up and raising their voices didn’t mean anything. 

Supporters of 45 will say that going online and signing a petition or changing your social media profile to show you stand in support of what you believe in won’t change anything.

Or they may say that if you are against the Muslim Ban (from 7 countries that weren’t where the terrorists were from to begin with … but which don’t have business dealings with 45, so what does he care if he blocks them or not), that you’re anti-American.  And I don’t even want to think about what they will say when people show up for the rally in Times Square on February 19th to show solidarity and support of our Muslim brothers and sisters.  http://www.ffeu.org/blog/2017/2/8/i-am-a-muslim-too-rally  I’ll be there, will you?

Or the people supporting 45 will claim that speaking out against spending billions ($10 to $12 billion estimated) of tax dollars (because we all know that Mexico ain’t footing the bill!) on building a wall won’t stop him from going forward with this plan.  And never mind that the money to do this means other more deserving government funded programs will struggle or even fold, because 45 promised a wall to the bigots and racists of this country!

Supporters of 45 will say that being up in arms over his attempt to take away the availability of health care from millions of people without an alternative plan in place is wasted breath.  That Obamacare was horrible to begin with.  Say that to the 20,000 to 45,000 people who have died every year due to a lack of health care coverage before the Affordable Care Act went into effect!  Oh wait, you can’t … BECAUSE THEY DIED!!!

To those who say that doing all these things and more is a waste of time, I say to you ….

The United States of America is great (always has been and will continue to be) because we have the RIGHT and the ABILITY to speak up.  We ARE able to contact our representative (https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials) to let them know how we feel and that if they don’t feel or act the same, that we can put new representatives into office next time (http://www.mytimetovote.com/2017-Primary-Election-Dates.html).

America is still and always will be an amazing nation, because in this country we are allowed to join groups like INDIVISIBLE (https://www.indivisibleguide.com/) to find out what you can do to make your voice and your heart heard.

In America, we can raise our voices in a literal way but also in a figurative way by joining in the first National Strike against 45, which is planned for next Friday, February 17^th http://strike4democracy.com/  Because, even if you must go to work (because nobody is asking you to risk being fired), you can at least not buy ANYTHING that day!  You can make your view heard by controlling your wallets.  Because we all know, money talks!

And since money talks, in this great country of ours, we can be more cognizant of where we actually do spend our money.  We can support businesses that are on the same page as we are, when it comes to our viewpoints.  https://grabyourwallet.org/  

Yes, America is a GREAT nation.  Always has been, and one orange-colored racist isn’t going to change that!  Because, as long as we all are cognizant, vigilant, diligent of what is happening, as long as we speak up and take action, we can ensure that this will remain a GREAT nation, and not the dictatorship that a certain Oompaloompa and his racist, billionaire-club cronies want to create.

(My apologies to Willy Wonka.  I know it’s insulting to you and your orange colored assistants to use this term in describing this guy, but it really fits, at least color-wise!)

Blizzard? What blizzard?

New vlog post. Not dating related. I know, I have to finish that series! But check out this one in the meantime!


https://youtu.be/LzT_kZPCh9g