Just a Monday at the beach!

So since I have most Mondays off from work, I like to come to the beach because it's so close to the house. I see all types out here including myself. Everybody's at peace, everybody's having fun, everybody's enjoying being themselves. Sure there's some that judge and some that just don't care, but by and large everybody has a great time. Some are playing volleyball on the beach some are actually good. Others are working on their tan or their shell collecting and then there's those guys that insist on surfing no matter what the conditions.

Flakes & Frogs, they come in all genders

Why is it that people, men and women, go to the trouble of setting up a dating profile, then spend hours reading profiles, emailing potential prospects for a date, then the hours chatting online or on the phòne to do one or more of the following:

1.  Show for just the free meal or drink 2,   Not show at all, even after confirming as close 15 minutes out from meeting time. 3.   Not look like their pictures  4.   Be someone totally different than any other interaction. 5.   And the list goes on.............

Some can actually show up, carry on with their mask then weeks later have it come off and be someone totally different.  So what's it all about?  Could it be a way to make themselves feel better about who they are?  You know like, "I'll show up and this guy or girl will want to spend time, money or both on me".  To somehow increase their own self worth.  I guess that's the thing that gets me the most.  So many individuals in society look to others to validate who they are.  So now we use dating sites to do it with that many more people.  My theory for the "no shows" is that they have created a dating profile of who they want to be, or sometimes who they really think they are.  Then when it gets right down to the brass tacks of it all, they are screaming "oh shit!, I have to show up and be that person for more than a 5 minute email". Yep, better bail!  Then there is the group that posts their age (or somewhere close) and pictures of when they were 20's or 30's. i just have one question-"WTF were you thinking?"  You either just wanted a pen pal or you're an idiot.  Dating site would indicate that at some point you will meet in person to go on, what's it called again?  Oh yes a DATE!  Then the ones that act different online or on the phone then they do in person.  I can give a little on this one for temporary, with people just being nervous and stuff......but when it goes on for a few weeks its all been a waste of time.  Speaks to people having a hard time being themselves with other people, especially someone that they want to have an intimate relationship with.  

Just one of my personal experiences:  I meet a woman on a dating site.  We emailed through the app a few times and it was interesting.  Then we met for breakfast one day and it was a good relaxing time.  I paid of course and we had some dates, and she would invite me to dinner at her house.  Now it all started kind of subtlely, she was doing some home improvements while we were seeing each other.  I was truly glad to help with the things that I had skills for and she wasn't shy about asking either.  If she was doing a task that I could have helped with but was necessarily my forte, then she really didn't seem to want me around.  If she needed a ride somewhere or wanted to go out though I was the guy she called....lol. I had moved some satellite cables for one of her projects.  Soon after, she said she couldn't see me anymore.  She accused me of lying to her about drinking and getting drunk when we weren't together.  Which i thought was absurd because I drink very little and not very often because of health issues.  Nonetheless we stopped seeing each other and I was completely okay with that since we had only seen each other part time for about 5 weeks and most of that was me working on her house for her or hauling her around town.  So fast forward a couple of months later........I was out of town visiting some friends and I get 2 missed calls from this gal, then a text message asking about the cables that I moved for her.  I gave her the information she asked for and figured that was the end of the conversation.  It went on though.  She asked "will I need special tools to move it again?"  I started laughing like you can't believe. You see after the accusations that she threw at me to not see me anymore, she needed my expertise again and was waiting for me to offer.  Instead I politely told her in another text message "Probably, be safe and take care". I never heard from her again.  If you listen to someone long enough they will tell you who they are.

I guess i will leave you with this final thought,  "Dating after 40 is like going to the dump and picking out the least broken piece of refuse"

Unreasonable People

I'm sure we have all had our times with unreasonable people.  I had an especially unreasonable customer the other day.  As most people know, I am a field technician for a large communications company.  Our procedure when we pick up a ticket is to call the customer and let them know we are on our way.  I did this and the customer did not answer the call. So I left a voicemail message for him and proceeded to the service address. Upon arrival I ran some preliminary tests and knocked on the door.  The door was answered by a young lady that introduced herself as the nanny.   She had no idea what the customer's issues were.  I told her, I saw some outside issues and would start there while she contacted the customer to find out more specifics.  After checking and correcting some items outside I returned to the door and knocked again.  The nanny told me that the customer wanted some new locations wired for new equipment.  I advised her that there would be a charge associated with services like that.  She said "Oh, I better let him know". I said is there anything not working?  She showed me to the master bedroom for a tv that appeared to have a stuck converter box.  I rebooted the converter box to resolve the issue.  Which it did, all serivices were back up and running successfully.   I then went in search of the nanny.  When I found the nanny, So she could show me to where the new locations for service needed to go, I was told that the customer said he would do the work and if there were any issues he would call me.  I said very well and left my phone number.  I also closed my ticket and left on to the next ticket. At the end of my day, the customer called me on my company phone, the phone number I had left with the nanny.  He proceeded to raise his voice and tell me I had fixed nothing.  As I tried to find out exactly what the issue was he continued in his raised voice and violent tone to tell me that I must not know what I'm doing  I assured him I had been doing this job for sometime and that the issue was, that the information I received about his problem was incomplete and very vague and I did the best I could with what I had to work with.  I offered to come back the next day and he agreed. The next morning I discussed with my supervisor.  She and I both agreed it would be best if I recused myself from this customer and just made a repair ticket for another technician to go back.  Which would make me take a hit on the metrics that the company measures us by.  Honestly, I was relieved.....lol  There is nothing worse than an insulting customer that not only created the issue with lack of communication but has no people skills to get done what they want.  So please remember, if you're not getting the service or goods that you think you should be getting, please exhaust all possibilities of patience and good communication before you just start getting insulting.  It won't get you what you want.  It will only get you the bare minimum.  Trust me, the service professionals that see a customer is frustrated with problems dealing with the service.  They just want to show up and be your hero, but when you insult them they lose all sense of caring about your problem.  Do you yell at the doctor on your first visit?  Probably not.  Even if your problem has been going on for some time, it's probably the first visit for your technician........ So be more reasonable until it becomes time to get credits on your bill.  

 

 

Obese, Average or Skinny? Part I

I'm actually just a little outraged lately about all the negative judgment flying around regarding body type. I spend a lot of my time people watching. Everywhere I go I notice people. Their body type, how they dress, who they're with, what they're doing, etc. I try not to judge them for their personal choices and mostly I find myself appreciating their choices and sometimes I have to understand that I may not understand the "why" of their choice but as long as it brings no harm to others I can, at the very least appreciate their individualism and courage to be just that, an individual expressing themselves. 

 

So what I would like to talk about is this overwhelming amount of people publicly attacking the group of what most would describe as the more "fit" of the population. Accusing them of setting unrealistic standards for today's youth. Creating eating disorders and so on. I don't agree with it. An eating disorder can work either way. There are so many factors that go into what we see in society as body type. Some are naturally thin or slight built while others are larger in frame and content with all types in between. It's all based on genetics, emotion, personal drive, knowledge just to name a few. 

 

When the "judgment mill" cranks up we have nothing productive to work with. We put each side on the defense and it makes for a lot of hard feelings and no where to go but down.  Like when someone does accuse a fit person of setting unrealistic standards. First of all they may not even have a choice. Genetics. Secondly, maybe they feel better at that weight and shape. For example most of my family is heavy with an apple body type. I don't fell good when I put on weight so I try to stay fit by being busy with my body not overeating etc. that works for me.  While yet others are fine being heavy and it works for them. So why should anyone judge anyone for it? 

 

The bottomline is if you are happy and comfortable where your body is at, no health problems to be concerned with, then rock on!  You don't owe anyone an explanation for how you look.  If you don't like it yourself then change it as much as you can.  There are lots of answers and help out there.  We will all be happier if we stick to judging ourselves, working on what we want to change about ourselves to increase our own happiness.  

 

So go take on the next day, make a conscious effort to look at the other side of endless possibilities for that person you're passing judgement on, deal?  Trust me, you'll be happier and so will they if you just accept them for who and how they are when you see them.

 

Judgment may very well make the world go round and round, but it doesn't give it any growth.  I don't know about each and everyone of you reading this, but for me, I want to grow more and more each day.  Growth has given me peace of mind.  Just knowing that we are all unique, "Just like everyone else". Lol

 

 

 

Las Vegas Bikefest 2016

For those of you that have never been, don't go. For those who have been and think its the "bomb", get a life. Having said all of that.....lol. I have heard for the last several years from friends and acquaintances that the Las Vegas Bikefest was a lot of serious fun.  It's usually the weekend after Street Vibrations Fall rally in Reno, Nevada. Each person Ive heard describe it, was usually telling me how "wild" it gets, how much there is to see.  This was always easy for me to believe because I try to take people at face value, somewhat trust their opinions and well, Vegas is known to take things from other places and make it bigger and flashier or is that fleshier....I get so confused sometimes.....lol. However, the Las Vegas Bikefest 2016 was kind of a bust.  It was a $15 per person admission.  Security had a problem with my wallet chain that is so short I can barely get money out of my wallet when I need to.  We then entered the "2" block event.  Only to find that about half of the vendors are food vendors. Then the other half of the vendors look like yard sale graduates looking for the swap meet.  Although there were about 5 truly professional vendors that were impressive with their wares.  For example, TES products has an awesome cover design for motorcycles, a very impressive product they have.  Check them out at www.tesproducts.com.  Of course, Mustang was there with their usual great selection of great seats, you can't go wrong with one of their seats.  Check them out at www.mustangseats.com There is one thing that we really enjoyed for the hour we were there was our visit to Hogs & Heifers Saloon.  The bar was a nice sized biker dive bar so to speak.  Every so often the bartenders get on the bar and dance a little river dance style dance.  During Bikefest they close off each end of the block and build a bar in the street for the ultimate street party. The people watching at this place is sublime!  Lots of material.  I was told that the vibe of the bar during the rest of the year was about the same as what we were witnessing too.  So if you're in town, check it out for sure! Aside from it being a nice boring freeway ride to get there, a bust for a rally, it was a nice bar stop on a long ride through Vegas baby!

My Friend Summer....

People come into our lives for a specific reason or reasons.  Some times it's years later before we realize the reason(s).  I also believe that animals come into our life for several reasons.  That is what this blog post is dedicated to, those animals that come into our lives.  More narrowly, dogs that come into our life, whether we are the pet owner, friend or just merely passing by for the moment.  

A dog is a little sneaky and maybe God planned it that way......  What I mean is who among us can resist a puppy, right?  They are so cute, cuddly and full of excitement that they just suck you in from the very beginning.  Then as they grow and mature they help us with all sorts of things, some of which we had no idea that they could actually help with.  Some things that are totally unforeseen events.  While others, we would have called you crazy, if you told us in advance "that your dog can help with that?"  It's true though, most every dog makes any situation better.  They are happy to see you, sniff you, go places with you at a moments notice.  They protect us, love us and even cherish the time they have to spend with us.. The joy and laughter produced by a dog just being there can't be imagined by anyone that has never experienced it.  

Today has been a rough day (March 5, 2016).  I lost a dear friend.  She was a beautiful yellow Labrador Retriever, named Summer.  Although, her name could have been "Shadow", lol.  

My girlfriend introduced me to Summer in July of 2015.  It was obvious right away that she was one of the sweetest dogs I had ever met.  She would come up, look at you right square in the eye and just adore her time with you.  As my relationship progressed with my girlfriend, so did my relationship with Summer.  After moving in with the both of them, I gladly took on and shared the responsibilities of feeding, loving on and walking her.  Some of my best times with Summer were on our walks together.  I always described her as the opposite of a "barn sour horse".  She was always excited to go on a walk, would even run down the street going out.  When the first sign of returning home would reveal itself, she would start pouting like the big dog she was!  Hanging her head low and walking noticably slower.....lol. Then we would have the one way conversation like a dad talking to his pouting child...you know like "Now you can't pout." "No one is going to want to take you on walks if you pout".  She was frustrating at times, like we all can be, but she was always a source of joy and happiness for all that knew her.  If I was kicking back watching tv she would always either come up and put her chin on my leg or especially if my legs were crossed, she would walk under my leg and lift it off of the other so that it would be resting on her when she laid down.  

Her excitement for the things she loved was obvious until the very end.  She loved people.  She wanted everyone to know that she loved them.  Even in her last hours, she had several around her loving her, but if you weren't there, she would come find you.  She would always do a quick little spin to the left just before you put her food down for her and just when she realized she was going for a W A L K.  Lol. She was a gamer though.  That dog was so smart and she would game with a person and they'd never know it.  My poor girlfriend would have to struggle to put her collar and leash on her for her walk.  I made it clear to this adorable four legged little girl right away that we weren't playing that game....lol. I would sit down, hold the collar all the way open with my hands and she would walk up and place her head through it.  We would go for our walk sometimes short and sometimes pretty long, it just depended on how she seemed to be doing on the walk(and the level of pouting, of course). 

Summer, you were an amazing lover, caretaker and friend.  I only knew you a short time, but you touched my heart so deeply!  I love you little girl, you'll always be in my heart and on my mind for all that you gave me!  I miss you already.  Have a wonderful time always, tell Kona I said hi, he was a great puppy too!

Easyrider Show - Long Beach CA 2016

Well this is the recap on the Easyrider show in Long Beach.  I took a vacation day to go to the show......paid my 20 dollars per person to go and what a disappointment!!!!  Never again.  A waste of time and money.  One vendor with apparel, one with gloves and yes the timeshare dude.....So I won't be returning to any of these Easyrider shows again.

Confidence vs Arrogance

So I am writing because I think there is a confusion about the meaning of these two words. 

The following courtesy of 

www.Merriam-Webster.com

Arrogance

 Simple Definition:

: an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter or more important than other people.

Confidence

Simple Definition:

:  the quality or state of being certain

Simply put I think that being confident is walking into a crowded room without feeling the need to compare yourself to anyone.  Just knowing yourself well enough to be yourself.  Society gets lost with the "keeping up with the Jones" mentality.  Which is all competition of material items.  Who cares?  If you have what is important to you and your family what more do you need?  So really, what we should all be doing is becoming more comfortable in our own skin.  Instead there is this overwhelming need to become more and more arrogant.  I guess its like the over abundance of the "Real Housewives" shows, reality tv and all the drama that comes with that.  It all started with Springer and everyone has followed in his footsteps.  There is always someone that wants to be famous that will do ridiculous stuff for minimum compensation. Just to say look at me, I'm better than you........

How much better would we all have it if we focused on our own confidence and and just stop competing for top "goofball"?  Doesn't it make sense to just like where we each are individually?  If we don't like it then we are the "only" ones that can change it, right?  So get on with it if that is the case.  Sometimes it's not easy, but it is soooo worth it!