Crazy Drivers

“You moron, get off the road!”
“Where the hell did you learn how to drive?”
“Any slower, are you driving Miss. Daisy?”

These are probably some of the “nicer” comments you’d encounter between two driver’s yelling at one another. What really ticks you off, regarding “horrible, inconsiderate drivers?”

I had an instance today where I was cruising along the highway and “Mrs. Civic” has the thirst to invade my lane! Hello, engineer’s were nice enough to design a lane indicator stick, use it please! I mean, does it really require that much effort to signal, despite the fact that it’s located at the tips of your fingers. Oh I forgot, it must be the blind spot that’s atrociously challenging, c’mon honey! Just my 2 cents about today’s incident.

But wait people! It’s not just the lane changers, it just doesn’t end there…there are more! Call them whatever you want:

- road hoggers
- natural slow pokes
- honkers (for no reason)
- the one’s on the cell phone and are swirling all over the road
- one’s afraid of the concrete barrier and are literally almost in your lane
- one’s who still don’t comprehend the “right of way” and are just holding up everything
- the drivers’s who allow almost everyone into your lane and delay traffic
- the one’s afraid of bikers and again, are almost in your lane
- tailgaters

What about the driver’s that don’t allow you in their lane. It’s like it’s against their morals or something! Why do our fellow driver’s have to be so selfish? I know the world is moving at a fast pace and people have to get to their respective destinations but where is common courtesy today? Is it extinct? Do they not make it anymore?

What ticks you off? Share your experience? Have you ever been in road rage?

Assumption

Travis Dane once said in his movie, Under Siege 2, “assumption is the mother of all F-ups”. Damn was he right!

In our society, we presume things and that’s the problem. Whether it be in the workplace, amongst husband/wife or even with friends. Assumption is a dangerous entity in all every circumstances resulting in stressful times.

One can get fired if he/she doesn’t research the required information before executing a task. In one of my previous jobs, I vividly remember a fellow employee being “released” because he didn’t research through enough material before working on a certain project. In the workplace there is a certain protocol of doing things and assumption is not one of them.

A happily married couple can separate despite years of trust just because of a silly assumption. There are married couples out there that have torn their lives without investigating the reason.
“If he came back from late from work then he must be having an affair”. Someone might even see you, “having lunch/dinner” with a client and is immediately targeted as a cheater, unknown to the fact that the person was with a client.

Finally, friends can be lost when they begin concluding things amongst their “group”. I won’t even go through details cause every circle of friends rides this wagon, we all know.

How can we prevent assuming things? Research you information, find evidence for your reasoning and communicate with people. These simple steps can easily prevent making or breaking a job or saving a healthy relationship. What steps do you use?

Lead The Way…

Is the Extended Warranty Worth It?

How many times have you been suckered into “buying the extended warranty” (on small technical items) from an aggressive salesperson? Sales reps will suggestive sell till the cows come home! Some seasoned reps won’t even bother cause they know the answer is no. Extended warranties can be tacked onto anything and everything, as even a measly pack on pack of headphones (believe it or not). C’mon dude, go make your commission somewhere else, your mind yells.

Truth is, these sneaky sales reps make commission off every extended warranty sold. But, how many times has this “piece of mind” actually revitalized your product? Is it worth it? Is it a cash grab for businesses? Truly, this is where companies actually make their money, it’s their biggest chunk of revenue. As a matter of fact, about 80 cents of every dollar spent on extended warranties goes straight in to the company’s pocket. The remaining 20 cents goes into insuring your purchased product.

However, some people may agree that it’s wise to buy extended warranty for a long-term purchase, such as a television or a fridge. Seeing that the item goes wrong after a year then you can have your product revitalized, at no cost. Happy ending you think, cause getting that service person to your place was no problem but once they start dictating their “separate” charges, then your temper starts flaring! Gotta be careful cause not everything is covered.

There are some people out there that would ride out their product’s lifespan until an issue is discovered and then have it “refreshed”. Maybe a workable decision, what do you think?

Did you know that 3 out of 10 people purchase the extended warranty. Have you ever “invested” in an extended warranty? Is it worth it?

Climbing the Corporate Ladder Without Brown Nosing

Tired of seeing that one employee waltzing into work carrying a coffee for himself and another one for the project managers. “What an ass kisser”, you think to your self. The general assumption is that if you kiss your boss’s butt then you’ll escalate the corporate ladder faster than others and shelter your employment. I don’t think so!!!

In the corporate world, the employee is a mere utensil. As soon as that utensil is old or no longer required, it’s disposed. Sad, but true. Kissing the boss’s butt may satiate yourself but genuinely your boss will generally play along and think, “how weak is this person?”. This may direct to small hollow projects, nothing else.

I’m not a CEO but here are some traits I’ve cultured over the years that might avert you from kissing butt:

1) Don’t get implicated with the groups of people known to point fingers at one another. Ultimately, your day might come and the likelihood of progression will evaporate. Try to be a dedicated subject to the “untouchables” in the office and deem in “what’s best for the company”.

2) Drive to avoid back biting anyone inside or outside the company. Eventually, you may reflect that your confidential secret with a co-worker is safe but, it will leak. This is what co-workers look for and what gets people in danger. If you have a concern to indicate, than confront the person, it’s a more respectable characteristic.

3) Attempt to receive the big glorifying projects, rather than the small, measly projects. A relentless, job hungry employee is what employers admire. The attitude of “crave to acquire and succeed” will definitely turn some heads in upper management, so show some hunger!

4) Creating a log of the different types of jobs you’ve done is indispensable. In due course, this would be useful to present to your boss come “review day”. It also exhibits a sense of responsibility and can be used to trail a critical mistake before the finger is pointing at you. Employers like truthful workers, so even if you were at fault, the employer will have more respect for you when admitting.

5) Always try to get ahead in learning more about what you do as a company. Challenge to augment your skill level so you may realize your goals in a shorter and proficient amount of time.

Now how about a paycheck for a job well done rather than a job brown nosed!!!

The “Dreaded” Dollar Store

Do you think you can find a “steal of a deal” for a measly one dollar? You may want to re-evaluate your decision before entering that store!

From the late 90′s (in Toronto) there has been a huge saturation of “Dollar Stores” popping around town. Now, it just seems to be a standard when new commercial developments are being constructed. However, their popularity has increased so significantly that you’ll even see these dollar stores in big shopping malls now, and man are they busy!

I’m not out hating these stores but at times it frustrates me when someone mentions “getting a deal”. Don’t get me wrong, there are some things that are worthwhile purchasing; such as, greeting cards, storage boxes and even stationary items (just a few). However, I see people walking out carrying “quality limited” kitchenware, shampoo, hand towels and even headphones.

Some tips I’d suggest:

1) If it doesn’t give you the number of ounces under a glass then your chance of having the glass broken is too good.

2) If there is any foreign language on your bottle of shampoo other than english or french (Spanish in the US) then I would hesitate on what’s really inside that bottle. It is shampoo but probably not the real thing.

3) We all know that electronics are always CSA approved so if you don’t see that CSA stamp on that package, don’t buy it.

These are just some “lessons” people have learned over the years so please absorb these tips before embarking on your next adventure to the “Dollar Store”. It may cost you a buck or two, so spend it wisely, after all it is your hard earned money.

Review: Blog Topic Generator

Can’t think of a topic to blog about and having one of those nights just pondering away. Well, I’ve got the perfect remedy for all you bloggers!!!

My apologies if anyone’s curiosity has already led them to this site but I stumbled upon it right now. The website dictates exactly what it says, it’s a basic blog topic generator that perhaps may have you researching away, if you accept the challenge on what topic is generated for you.

You can choose what category to generate a topic from, such as: religion, technology, arts or whatever stimulates your blogging appetite. Simple and straight forward!

The website’s address is:

http://www.blogtap.net/blogtopicgenerator/

Enjoy!