Facebook Statuses that I'm tired of seeing

Do you keep some people on your Facebook friends list because it's kind of entertaining to watch all the drama? I do. There are a few general categories of Facebook statuses that I think have no business being on Facebook at all. When I rant on my blog about something that annoys me... I usually get high traffic on that post. If you're reading this, thanks for feeding the thing inside me that gets annoyed and needs to make fun of stuff :-P The following list is in no logical order (I will type them as they appear in my head):




1. Vague / Very General

I see this type of status a lot. They're pretending they don't want to talk about what's bothering them but it's pretty obvious they have a specific event in mind. Examples could include:

-Why can't all men just grow a pair? So tired of jerky guys... (lots of girls post something vaguely similar to this)
-Can I add any more problems to my already stressful life?
-Today is just awful
-Tired of all the drama
-Anything related to pain, sickness, illness (I understand once in a while. It gets really annoying when it's all you post about. I'm not your doctor so I really don't see a reason why I should care)

If you have something bothering you but you think it's too personal for Facebook... you're right. It is. Posting a vague status that is going to cause everyone to question what the specific problem is or offer you support / advice is just really needy. If you need someone to talk to about your problems... go talk to someone. Text them. Call them. Go talk to them face to face. If that's how you vent... fine. Don't think a vague Facebook status is somehow the same thing.

2. Political Views

I can tell you right now that we are not friends because our political ideologies match up perfectly. That's not how I make friends. I assume you have at least a few views that are different than mine and that's great. It makes us both individuals. When ALL you post about is your views or links or hate statuses about Obama, Romney, Democrats, Republicans, or anything else political... it tends to get annoying. Your link to why Paul Ryan is the devil won't convince me that he is... even if you post it 800 times. I live the way I do, have the views I do, and if enough unbiased evidence is presented, I reserve the right to change my views. I don't think very many people understand what unbiased means. When earning my history degree we would critique articles which held obvious forms of bias. We would point to their career, their family life, their employer or patron, their interests and passions, and anything else we could think of when we were looking for a way to discredit them. It's pretty easy to discredit YOU as a biased source when all you post is Obama hate links. Stop doing it because it's annoying... or feel free to keep doing it and I will try to ignore them. Either way works... this is America.

3. Promotional Ads

If you're on my Facebook friends list... I probably think you're alright most of the time. You're cool enough to talk to and it's probably worthwhile to me to see what's going on in your life. I don't, however, care enough to buy some random product you pitched on there. I was guilty of doing this and so I tried to separate it from my Facebook page as much as I could. You all know I have written e-books and history articles that are for sale on Amazon. I've tried to move as much of that promotional stuff as I could to my Facebook author page and my blog. When my stuff has free promotional periods... I post about them on websites that are for that instead of on my Facebook wall now. I would hate to become annoying. If you do this, I understand if you are pitching a product you enjoy or that you think is really cool. It only starts to get annoying when it's the only thing you post about and I start to have doubts as to whether you enjoy whatever product or service you're posting about or if you're just getting a cut of the profits.

4. Motivational Speeches

These get really annoying when the person you are trying to motivate is yourself. Let me start with a few general examples:

-I know now that I deserve better.
-Hate on me all you want but I will reach my goals.
-I've been through a lot but I'm determined to succeed.
-Anything related to how often you are at the gym.

If your status is just you talking to yourself... go find a mirror. I don't understand why something that people would call vain or conceded if someone said it verbally is somehow acceptable when typed on a Facebook wall. I'm not talking about specific accomplishments that you worked hard for because I will join in on congratulating you. What I mean is it's sad when your self-worth is directly tied to how many people like / comment when you give yourself a pep-talk. If you need to give yourself some extra motivation... leave yourself notes around the house. Psych yourself up when you're driving alone in your car. Play some energetic music. Do whatever you need to do. Self-motivation, however, should not be tied to social media.

5. Everything You Did Today

I like knowing what's going on in everyone's lives. I mean that in a very general way. When you share on Facebook every time you go to the bathroom, watch something on T.V., eat, go to work, go to sleep, etc., I start to wonder if you're angry with me for not stalking you. I get sick of seeing the gym on there too. If you were at the gym at 5 a.m. in the morning... that's great. I was sleeping. I didn't wake up to post a Facebook status to let you know that I was sleeping at 5 a.m. Guess what? I jog and go for bike rides. I don't let you know about it every time my ass touches the seat of my bike. So I like you all... but apparently not like some of you want me to because I really don't care about the details of everything you do every day... unless you are a hot girl and then there's the exception. :-P

Conclusion

So there you go. Am I going to get on your case whenever you post about one of the things on my list? No. I just recommend that you avoid doing one of those five things if you notice that's what you're doing very frequently. Use your common sense because it's a gift that is starting to become less and less common. I also hope that no one takes what I posted here as any sort of personal attack because I have lots of examples in mind from a variety of sources... I'm not targeting anyone specific. If you think I am... that's probably just your guilty conscience because you frequently post about one of the things on the list. Thanks for reading another one of my rants and please click on the link below to watch a video about how Joe Biden ruined the economy and has a creepy smile. Just kidding...

How to Have a Good Time

My last post about non-contributing contributions had a lot to do with some of the things I can't stand about a lot of people. I figured I'd take an opposite approach in this one and, instead of venting, I'd like to try to give you something to think about that will possibly help you have more fun in your life. It's part of life that you will have bad days and that work, school, family, friends, and/or whatever you ate for lunch will make you angry at times. Here's a tip to make life easier (and I'm not a hypocrite because I'll admit that I'm still working on this myself).




TAKE THINGS IN GOOD HUMOR

I have a good example for this one. Usually celebrities have to deal with all sorts of hate, ridicule, and people making fun of them. A lot of them don't take it very well. The news picks up stories all the time where a celebrity just snaps and beats up a camera man. I understand that it's probably pretty hard, especially for younger celebrities. I don't think any of us can really blame them since we don't know what that's like. Everyone has a breaking point.

I was in a mood to check out some Youtube videos after work today before going on a bike ride (while I try to exercise regularly, I have become a jedi master at procrastination when it comes to jogs and bike rides). I stumbled upon the following video:

Watch it because it's hilarious. It's a Bad Lip Reading video of Michael Bublé's "Haven't met you yet." I'm gonna go on record here and say that I'm a fan of Bublé. I'm a fan of rat pack music in small doses (especially Sinatra) and he kind of reminds me of that style. Bublé's Christmas album is also really good. Now Bublé had the option of being pissed off and getting all mad about this video. When he watched it, however, he took it in good humor and actually posted a video response on his Youtube channel talking about his favorite parts. He laughed about the whole thing. Here's his response video:

When someone makes fun of your life and accuses you of killing Russian unicorns and drinking fire water, you have a choice. You can get mad or you can laugh about it (because I doubt most people could have a neutral reaction to this). Props to Mr. Bublé for just laughing it off.

FIND REASONS TO LAUGH

Horrible stuff that happens to you is hard to laugh about when it's happening. Or is it? It may be easier to get mad about it right then but keep in mind that it will eventually make an entertaining or a funny story. Lots of my stories about the Philippines are that way. They weren't very funny at the time but they make me laugh now. Why not just move up the timeline? Have a good time even when you're having a bad time. When you're in a horrible mood, don't let yourself get so angry that you can't find reasons to laugh. I've pissed off my share of people and I sometimes try to make them laugh right after I've made them angry. They'll seriously try to fight the smile, grin, or laugh that comes naturally and I find that funny so it usually makes me laugh. Good times are the best possible cure for bad times and I think anyone has the choice of turning bad times into good.

THERE ARE BOTH STUPID AND WITTY PEOPLE ALIVE TODAY

There are a lot of stupid people alive today. A lot of them are also lazy. It can be frustrating when you work hard and study to not be either of those things. Keep in mind that there are tons of witty and brilliantly creative people alive today. Want proof? Search Youtube for a while. Check out some Kickstarter projects. Read some blogs. Find out more about the people in your life that you don't know a ton about yet. There are people alive that can make you laugh, cry, think, vomit, or motivate you. There are some that can make you do ALL of those things. Maybe even simultaneously. That honestly sounds like the most amazing bodily function I've ever described. Sorry... getting off track here :-P My main point is that with all the people who make life difficult, there are still many who can make your life easier, more meaningful, more entertaining, and just better overall. Find those people and become their friends.

CONCLUSION

I kind of feel like every thing I said is stuff you already know. Sometimes we need to hear things that we already know a bunch of times to actually implement them in our lives. So I'm gonna say it... but it's up to you to make it happen - have a nice day.

Non-contributing Contributions

It was a long day at work and I kind of feel like blogging. First off, I wanted to say that I released a new 10,000 word short in the Jehovah and Hades series where they help the federal government track down a descendant of Hyde. You can check it out here: Jehovah and Hades: Federal Case. Now that I'm done with my shameless plug for my e-book, let's move on to what I want to talk about.




There have been a few things lately that have made me annoyed- two issues that it seems just about everyone jumped all over. I'm not mad because I'm on one side or the other and I'm going to attempt to keep my opinions on both issues out of this blog post. What annoys me is how people react to these issues.

KONY 2012

So a while back everyone on Facebook jumped on the Kony bandwagon spreading a youtube video that went viral almost instantly. I understand that it sucks. Here's what bothers me. Spreading awareness of Kony here in the U.S. doesn't actually do shit for the people in Africa. Joseph Kony is still alive... I'm pretty sure. Let me go check google.Yup... he's still alive. The video has been viewed over 91 million times as of June. The problem I have isn't that everyone wants him stopped. I think deep down that everyone feels that spreading the video around on their Facebook is actually doing something to stop him. It isn't. You don't need to feel like you did something amazing by informing other people about Kony. I also don't think everyone is very informed about this issue since many people I've talked to have heard of Kony but have no idea who the hell he is. What bothers me most is something I saw recently while driving. Above the highway here in Utah, people like to take plastic cups and put them in the fences to spell out things. It usually says stupid bullshit like "Happy Birthday Rodrigo" or "Welcome Home Elder ______." Stuff that you should just say in person and not with cups. There was a day where I was on my way to class when I saw "KONY 2012 :)" spelled out in cups. Why is there a smiley face after that? Did the cup writer even know what the crap they were doing? If they ever catch Kony, I think lots of people will feel deep down that they somehow helped. You didn't. I'm betting the Africans will eventually take him down themselves and the fact that you were "aware" of him didn't do anything to help the situation. (It also has come to my attention that some people were actually trying to gain a massive following to provoke the U.N. or a group of countries to move in and help. While that sounds noble, I don't think that was the intention of very many compared to how many people linked to the Kony video.)

CHICK FILET

The owner of Chick Filet came out against homosexuality. I don't want to get into how far he went or whether he was right or wrong. What I want to talk about is how dumb everyone sounds when they react to this in certain ways. I want to reiterate that doing some small, stupid action does not mean you contributed to a cause. There was a massive wave of people who flocked to Chick Filet to order chicken sandwiches. The only cause you supported when you did that is American obesity. Eating a chicken sandwich doesn't take away the rights of a homosexual. Eating a chicken sandwich doesn't do much of anything except make you fatter and make Chick Filet richer. Chick Filet does not use the proceeds from your chicken sandwich to hunt down and kill gay people. That's what the proceeds from the milkshakes are for... just kidding. You think you took a stand that day when you waved your chicken sandwich in the air and said, "I don't like gay people or support their right to get married." You didn't. If you want to accurately announce your cause... you should have waved your chicken sandwich in the air and declared, "After this meal, I will weigh 2.7 pounds more than I did when I got here... unless I have a massive bowel movement some time in the near future." On the opposite side, there was a story I heard in the news about a guy going through the drive through, ordering a water, and then yelling at the guy at the window about his company's stance. Buddy- you didn't do anything either. The guy in the drive-through window is a barely above minimum-wage employee of Chick Filet. You have no idea what his views are. Assuming he thinks the exact same way as his company's CEO is ridiculous, ignorant, and stupid.

CONCLUSION: DO SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT

There's a lot of people nowadays who think they deserve praise and to be told how awesome they are any time they do anything. Guess what? You may not do something every day that is praiseworthy. I may feel better on occasion saying that my day at work was hard or that studying for the LSATs takes up time, but I don't need anyone to tell me how awesome I am every day. Have some self-confidence. Here are a few things I expected some minimal amount of praise for over the past year:

-getting my bachelor's degree
-publishing 9 history articles / short stories on the Kindle and other platforms
-getting even better at fixing computers and home theater systems
-staying debt free (I haven't paid interest on a credit card. Ever. I'm 26. I also paid cash for my car and home theater system. The only thing I've ever paid interest on in my life is my house)

That's about it. Sorry if it kind of sounded like bragging. Actually the last two were just ongoing accomplishments and I don't really need to be praised for them. I'm just proud of myself for keeping them going. You'll notice I didn't include all the times I ate a chicken sandwich or put cups in a fence. I work hard for things that I think deserve praise. Here's the kicker: I don't do things to get praised or get a pat on the back at all. I'm going to go to law school because I want to. I got my history degree because it helped me move toward my law degree. I've been writing on the side for over a year now in my free time to eventually bring in a decent side income. I didn't do any of it so that I could be told how wonderful I am. That's what really bothers me. Someone has a hard day at work? They leave a vague, sad comment on their Facebook wall and then need twenty comments on Facebook telling them how awesome they are. Someone went to the gym that morning? Announce it to everyone... of course they need to know how much better you are than them. Why don't you go ahead and make some goals instead? Work hard towards accomplishing them. It's fine to ask for support, but you don't need to get praised every day that you work toward accomplishing something big. Do you think I got a "you're the bomb" speech every time I went to class or work? I think that pretty much makes my point so I'll go ahead and end this rant here. Here's my final point: Do something worthy of the praise you think you deserve. If you're already working towards some big goals in life, I salute you.