I am wondering to myself just how far people are going to go to exert their opinion and lifestyle upon everyone else, because for me personally it is driving me crazy being ruled and regulated to death. Actually I think I would rather be dead, than have one more person gripe about something I have done. At least then I would have some rest from all those things I have to do and rules I have to make sure I follow. Maybe it is because I live in a big city…and city life is a bit pressured to start with, and that is why everyone has to make they’re gripes known. To me so much of what people mouth off about is unnecessary. I’d like to ask them, why does it bother you so much? And speaking of mouthing off, here are a few gripes of mine that really do not involve anyone except me and my environment.
I got a clue about how it was going to be in my new living environment when I pulled into the complex, through a 24 hour around the clock manned guard gate, with signs at every turn saying “No pets of any kind allowed on the property.” I thought it was an odd having so many signs. Couldn't they just tell you that when you moved in? And why was it plastered everywhere? This one is priceless......I came to find out later that this girl was a lawyer. When I was moving in, I was asked by a neighbor to stop moving in, because I was making too much noise. It’s such a quiet complex that you can literally hear a pin drop, and the doily we used against the cement and the stairs did make a bit of a noise. But not enough to complain about. Was I supposed to tip toe around while dragging furniture and boxes up and down stairs?
I started to personalize my new place, placing an garden angel and a flower pot outside my front door. Keep in mind I live within a courtyard, at the back of the complex, upstairs where only the immediate tenants can be exposed to it. Again……I was asked to remove them. Two flower pots no less! I sat there in my stark white walled apartment also knowing that my lease agreement stated I could not paint the walls without permission. From the looks of this place, no one had ever attempted to decorate past the Navajo white walls. Great. Later on, I became more suspicious as they manicured the grounds what seemed to be every other day. Clipping all the blossoms off the bushes, and constantly mowing the lawns. I found out that to conserve water, they were going to re-landscape within the courtyards of which our apartments surrounded. The grounds of the apartments were lush, healthy and beautifully green and flowery for being in a desert metropolis. Huge trees, with fabulous hanging branches. Things were grown in, and it was a very pleasant place to pass through as I came and went from my day. But man can never leave well enough alone, and they tore every last plant, flower and shrub out down to the bare brown dirt. They even pulled out small trees, all of it healthy and none of it dying. They replaced it with desert plants and stones, covering the majority of it up with bricks, creating a less than palatable picture of starkness as I come and go from my day. Today I came home to a huge note on my door, telling me not to leave my discarded mail on the top of the mailbox’s. Well God forbid, something be out of place here. Who did I offend now? They didn’t even sign the note! Its not even like the area is full of trash….and there is no trash can provided so why is this bothering them so much?
In the place I work, (it’s a retail environment), I am constantly surrounded and interrupted by customers, their personalities and demands, everyone telling me their boring stories or gripes, and I can barely get my work done. Today, I had a splitting Migraine type headache, which I am prone to. A customer came in, and wanted to chat and be jovial with me, and I was courteous but not overjoyed. I told him I had a bad headache, and his reaction was one of “tisk tisk”, I thought what the f#*k kind of reaction is that? Am I supposed to live in denial for the sake of face? The adult answer to distress of any kind in today’s world is SUCK IT UP! Personally I think that is just wrong!
How about all the Internet sites you visit? What is with needing to login with a password (sometimes with other personal information) just to view the site or read the material. The local paper in my town is big, and of course you can read the paper online. But you cannot do that unless you “join” by logging in. Name, address, things like that….and then you can read the paper online. What kind of bullshit is that?
I’ve been looking for a job lately, you know what a fun task that is if you have read my unemployment post. Talk about rules and regulations there….just look at the job application. You can’t even talk to anyone until you have filled out the useless application. You can have a resume, that everyone insists is your calling card but you still have to fill out the application. I think employers do it backwards. They want every bit of it, every crevice and section filled out. And truthfully too! Now if you put the truth down, such as why you left your last job, or your salary at your last job, they will use that against you! And those contrived answers they want to hear! What happened to all that “being an individual and you are special” crap they taught you in school? That doesn’t mean squat in the real adult world.
How about the homeowners associations? Those people who make up ridiculous rules like parking your car a certain direction if parking on the street or better yet not being able to park it in your driveway!! Not being able to color outside the box when choosing a color to paint your house. Or not being able to fly flags on your house? Or have a basketball net in your driveway. Or like where I live, you can have patio furniture on your patio, and one live plant, but you cannot have fake plants. You cannot have bird feeders hanging up but you can have a hummingbird feeder hanging up. And you cannot have a bike stored on your patio. I want to know why not? What’s the difference between ugly patio furniture and a bicycle?
And lastly, but not least...Lets take the Police and the Obey the law types. People that insist you wear a seat belt because it’s the law. WTF????? Or a helmet when you are riding a bicycle. Or the mandatory Insurance law. I want to know why? Like people don't have enough unnecessary shit to pay for. Especially if you are working a minimum wage job and trying to pay rent too. Rents are high! Car insurance is not my highest priority. My electric bill is! I told some people that I got a ticket the other day. Their first question was “were you speeding?” and when I said, well I can’t drive the speed limit…they looked at me and commented like I was a child molester or something! Like I had committed the ultimate crime against humanity and slaughtered children and old ladies or something. What a bunch of sheep I thought, surely these people don’t drive 55 on a four lane freeway? I laughed myself silly, just thinking how these people just give up their freedoms in a land that is supposed to be revered for its freedom for the people. What a load of CRAP!
"None of us are free. Everyone is chained, none of us are free"-Solomon Burke*
