Tag: general grumbling

Prescriptions. Shop Around

The pills on the right are the exact same pills as the ones on the left. But the pills on the right cost me more than $300, while the pills on the left cost me $60.

The pharmaceutical industry is causing real harm to the hard working people living in the United States. Healthcare (even for cats) is not affordable. And it could be. It very easily could be.

This cannot stand! Packaging out of control.

I ordered three boxes of tiny binder clips, along with other items. The binder clips lagged behind and rather than hold the entire order to come in one reasonably sized box, I got this large box, a catalog, and a bunch of plastic filler material. 

This is a tremendous waste. I’d like companies to be charged for over packaging in this manner. I’d like to be able to check a box indicating that my items don’t need to be in pristine shape. They just need to get to me.

Single stall etiquette

My current building has two single stall bathrooms on each floor. (This is not really enough bathrooms for the number of people on our floor, but that is not the point of this post.) Let’s talk about some things I’ve seen in my 2.5 years of sharing single stall bathrooms with many people from many offices.

It is my firm belief that in a single stall situation, the toilet seat should ALWAYS be returned to the down position. This is because 50% of the population always has the seat down, and the other 50% of the population sometimes has the seat down. With the always, plus the sometimes, that means the majority of the time, that seat is down. The 50% of the population that does not lift the seat should not be involved in lowering because someone didn’t return it to its proper position.

This.  Bits of toilet paper sitting next to the toilet. What is this?  I understand that those toilet paper dispensers sometimes only dispense tiny bits of useless toilet paper, but why then is it dropped on the floor? The toilet bowl is right there. The person is probably sitting on it. Also, just out of view of this photo is a large trash can, yet another place to drop tiny pieces of useless toilet paper. The floor is not the receptacle for this item.

What happens is that every time I use the bathroom, I pick up the 1-7 pieces of toilet paper on the ground and drop them in the bowl before doing my business.  And I marvel yet again as to why people think it’s okay to drop the paper on the ground.

But the door is closed now? And it’s 10 a.m.?

The Fred Meyer near me added a big red sign to it’s front door. My first time encountering it, I slowed, confused at its message.

I’m not sure who is in charge of getting such a sign made, but I wish they would have slept on the syntax before approving. Because the door is closed for much of the day. It’s an automatic door that opens when people walk up to it. It won’t just close at 8:00 PM, it will close repeatedly. And open too.

The word I think the person was looking for was “lock” rather than “close.” The message is that you will not be able to use this entrance between eight and eleven p.m. So it’s not just that the door is closed, it’s that it will be locked.

And now that sign bugs me every single time I visit the store.

My next picture will be a blockbuster

This is from a review about the new King Kong movie, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts.  He directed Kings of Summer, which I adored.

Here’s what he said.  “No one saw [Kings of Summer] which was heartbreaking…So I decided I wanted to make a big movie, because I wanted people to see the next film I made.”

Here’s what my #52womeninfilm project taught me.  Women make movies all the time. And no one sees them. And they don’t get the choice of their next picture being a big film.

I’m happy for Vogt-Roberts being able to make a big film for his next movie.  But I can’t help thinking about all the women directors who would also like their next movie to be a big film and don’t get that opportunity.

Then later, this list of “untested” directors.  What do they have in common?

“Vogt-Roberts says he landed the gig because the producers like how he had turned the woods in ‘The Kings of Summer’ into a veritable character in the film.”

And I would also venture to guess that the producers (four male, one female) liked him because he reminded them a little of themselves.  Which is why Hollywood is the way it is.

Less coverage of the Rose Festival Princesses

Whereas in previous years we’ve gotten a picture of the Rose Festival Princess contenders for each school, now we only get a picture of the winning princess.  

I can’t say I’m a fan.  I liked to see the finalists from each school. Now they are a list of names.

And yes, complicated feminist feelings re: Princesses, but I’m someone who enjoys the Miss America Pageant, so there’s that.  At least with this, it’s not a beauty contest, but is based on accomplishments.  Plus they get scholarships, a mentorship and free clothes.