The Pilot: Save or Sink?

PEOPLE AND THINGS THAT ARE ANNOYING &/OR FRUSTRATING
AKA P/T TA A/F*

*pronounced \ˈpit-taf\

Part I: Inspiration from a "Family Vacation"

So many of you already know that I was on a "family vacation" for about a week in Florida. I put that in quotes because I truly believe that these words should never go together...

Supposedly the whole Orlando-Disney World/ Universal Studios package is commonly described as a "dream vacation." But, this past week I have struggled to find one event to be associated with a good dream.

******

Orlando, Florida is mostly a retirement/tourist area, so there are tons of people. And what does tons of people mean? --It means an intolerable migraine for me, but an enjoyable blog post for you.

*****

The Road Trip:

OK first and foremost, make sure if you ever go on a road trip to make sure that the people you go with are tolerable... I went with my parents and my two younger cousins. *sigh* Let's not talk about them, because I might pull out every strand of hair out of my head...and I can't afford Bosley Hair Restoration... So, let me just complain about everyone else besides my family.

1. People who drive slow on the left/fast lane- Why is it that some drivers insist on driving the exact same speed as the car in the right lane? This royally pisses me off because people apparently cannot comprehend this sign:


Maybe it's the caps that messes people up.... Caps usually indicates yelling or shouting, so maybe people are not submissive to authority... Whatever the reason, here's the bottom line: Get over!

*****

A day at the amusement park:

During my time spent in Florida the weather can be described as many things, but only one thing comes to mind...hot. Even though it is natural for people to sweat due to the heat, I still believe that people should understand how to keep their hygiene in check...

2. People who have unbearable body odor- C'mon people is deodorant and/or anti-perspiration really too much to ask for?

I understand that when doing strenuous activities or being out in the sun leads to sweat and sometimes sweat leads to odor. But, there is a line between a natural odor to foul stank! If a person walks by and it causes another person to grimace...I'm sorry, but that's disgusting. And with all of my luck, I seem to always be in line behind these said people. It's true that after time one gets used to the smell, but with just a little breeze of air or wind... that pungent smell comes right back. I seriously almost passed out after 25 minutes of standing in line. The biggest shocker is that these people have no knowledge to the stench they are passing to my nostrils. If you think I am an oblivious scent pollutant, PLEASE TELL ME....So I can scorch my skin to scar close all of my pores...

3. People who hold hands in high-traffic/volume areas- The whole "couples" thing is cute and all, but it is not necessary to stay attached 24 hours of the day.


I mean loads of cash is spent to separate Siamese/conjoined twins, so I think letting go of your girl/boyfriend's clammy hand for 2 seconds won't cause a spontaneous combustion. With the thousands of people at Disney each day, when people hold hands the whole time, it really turns into an inconvenience. One reason being that, they expect you to go around them. This gets annoying fast, because who decided that two people with embraced hands have precedence over one person for space? Is this written somewhere? Because if not, I'm going to start playing Red Rover every chance I get. Well, at least those couples will have a random story to tell when they return home. It might go something like this: "It was our last day at Disney World, and we were just strolling through the park holding hands....Then suddenly, this random Asian girl charged at us and came between us and started laughing hysterically while pumping her hands in the air saying, "I win, I win." That wasn't even the strangest part.... The weird thing was that she didn't have some kind of Oriental accent..."

Oh, burn... damn society's stereotypes... I can never win, not even in my own fictional blog-story... Let's move on shall we?

4. People who cut in line- Lots of people + few popular attractions = long-ass lines.

Waiting in line may be a pain, but I think it's fair. You wait your ass in line or pay extra for some sort of "fast pass." I don't know about youse guys, but I refuse to pay to jump a line. So, first come, means first served right? Wrong. There always has to be those idiots who have to ruin it by cutting in line. Surprisingly, when this occurs usually people tend not to say anything to them. But, tight lips is not one of my father's traits. I'd like to think of myself of having a pretty level head, and if something bothers me I tend to politely ask someone to not do something or I bury it inside until it irritates the hell out of me and I blow...haha either way when the occurrence originally happens, I don't yell at anyone. My dad on the other hand, I think likes to yell aimlessly at people every chance he gets. He has a loud voice and can be scary, but I don't think anything he says while yelling is understandable... There was a group of teenage boys who attempted to cut in line in front of us and this is what I made out of what my father said to them, "Aye yai yai! Hey! rrrrrgggrrr You!....This is the line! rrggeeerrrrgggeekajfairu NO CUTS!!! brraaahhhhgaaarrrr. GO!" ....give or take a few words... Anyway, it apparently is effective, because the boys got wide-eyed and left. My father did a little laugh of self-accomplishment and I just shook my head while we scooched up 3 feet in line. Oh, dad...you're such a good role model.

Here's another goody about my pop... Remember how I stated in a previous post that my dad is a "funny guy?" Well, he thinks it's hilarious to memorize where the cameras take your picture during a ride and then the next time he rides it, he flashes "the bird." Thanks to my father, the goofy kid riding on the same train can't spend 10 bucks on a key chain sized pic of him/her with their eyes closed shut. Classy....

5. When people don't walk on moving walkways- The key word here is, "walkway."

This should immediately indicate that you indeed walk on a walkway... The only exception to this of course is if you have an inability to walk, and if this is the case then please move off to one side and hold on to the rail while moving negative 5 miles an hour. This is directly related to how people drive slow in the fast lane, except this is with walking or not walking. How can people decide to stand on a conveyor belt? These people must have all the time in the world to just stand around. How do they get anywhere? Ironically, I bet these same people are the ones who never have time to take 2 seconds to flush a toilet.

*****

So, this was the first of my P/T TA A/F list.... What do you all think? Should I continue on this post?

Tell me your thoughts by clicking HERE.

The Month Ode to the Guy Brutus Thinks is Douche contents...

Speaking of douche contents..... Let me just fill you in on my latest government instructor. I'm not going to say that I'm a racist, because I'm not. First, let's define the term racism. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary racism is 1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race 2 : racial prejudice or discrimination. OK definition 1, I do not believe that the Filipino race is superior to a particular race...by far. Number two, this is a little iffy because I believe that every person has a particular prejudice or discrimination toward a certain race. Let's break down some examples:

1) Inter-racial relationships: There are many combination between races and the most common one's I have seen are these two scenarios: White girl/black guy or Asian girl/ white guy. Notice the genders because if you reverse them, the frequency trend drops tremendously.

2) Stereotypes: Obviously these still exist because there is a bit of truth in some cases. For instance being a server, I still complain at the site of certain races and individuals... I know, I know this is horrible, but from my experience no matter how great the service, you rarely receive the incentive deserved. Even though, this is usually the case, I can not give anyone bad service on purpose, because I know there are a selected few that deviate from this trend....me being one of them. I know I must not look like the best tipper, so I always keep that in mind.

I can think of a number other examples...but I'll let you brainstorm on your own because I know race is a touchy subject. Let's just keep our own inner thoughts and opinions in our minds where they belong, shall we?

With all of this in mind, I just wanted to point out that I believe I understand the meaning of racism and I would like to think I can point out a racist when I see one.

*************************

So, if you haven't guessed already this subject ties in with my government instructor. The most ironic thing is that he consistently speaks of equality and civil rights (and yada yada I think we all get the gist of the subject) but in actuality, he is the one that does not promote equality by abusing his authority on his students. Take a gander at this e-mail I sent to the dean of students, assistant dean of students, the social science department head, and the government department head:

To whom this may concern:

I'm not exactly sure who to contact for information regarding my concerns about a course and an instructor, but I was given these e-mail addresses to contact about my situation. As of right now, I will not disclose any names regarding these incidents because I want to first be fully informed.

Currently, I'm enrolled in a course, and I feel like the instructor may be treating students unfairly. For example, in the syllabus it clearly states: "Two (2) absences are the allowed limit (regardless of the reason). Three (3) or more unexcused absences will result in the student being dropped from the course. Late arrivals and early departures require a signature and time on the late/early sheet, on instructor's desk, or will be marked/modified as absent. A late arrival and/or early departure will be rounded to a 1/3, 1/2(,) or full absence." It is to my understanding that yes, attendance is crucial to learning; but according to the syllabus, hypothetically, a student may either be absent for 2 days or be late up to 6 times if rounded to 1/3 of an absence each time "regardless of reason." But in reality, each time a student is absent or late, the instructor emphasizes the problem and now does not allow admittance into the classroom at all if a student is even one minute late. The door is locked, and a sign that says, "Class has begun. Do not enter" is taped to the door. This very act goes against what the syllabus says, and it is unfair to students that are still in compliance to the syllabus. I wanted to know if an instructor can go against their own syllabus and forbid students to enter a classroom.

Proper classroom conduct should be common sense, but some people's standards differ. The syllabus states that "no hostile, rude or, otherwise, disrespectful behavior towards instructor or fellow students will be tolerated. A student will be directed to counseling and/or dropped from the class for behavioral infractions." I truly understand these statements, but nowhere does it state that a student will be evicted from class during instruction. To my understanding, the "warning" is to "be directed to counseling." I would hope that this would be in a proper fashion which would not add to distraction in class; but in my opinion, this is not the case. I do not believe that asking another student a question, or jotting down a reminder for assignment for another class during a video can be equivalent to "hostile, rude or, otherwise, disrespectful behavior" and should not lead to being kicked out of the classroom. It seems more appropriate to quietly remind the students to not converse during a video and to put everything away, instead of making a scene by making students pack up their things and leave the classroom. These distractions are worse.

Another concern of mine is related to assignments. Assignments are to be of "college level standards," but the instructor has said that work cited pages are not needed because he/she knows where the information comes from and knows whether or not if it is copied or pasted from the internet. But when a student wanted to "make sure" if a common work cited page was necessary for a written assignment, the instructor scolded said student and said, "Don't make sure. Just listen." I think it's ironic because much emphasis is gone toward how this is an introductory course and that most of the students are fairly new to the college course level scene, but leniency is rarely given. For the most current assignment, a plot summary on the political issues of a movie was assigned. Students were given a choice between V for Vendetta or Good Night, and Good Luck. Again, a source page was not needed, but this time a receipt for the rental of these movies was required. When asked "What if you have the movie?" or "What if we borrow the movie from a friend?," the only reply was to "Rent it." I know I cannot speak as one voice for the whole class, but it seems unfair to me because I know that not every student has economic means to be forced to rent a video. This very act may seem a little minuscule, but just the principle of being forced to pay for something when it is not necessary seems a bit harsh and somewhat vindictive for no apparent reason. The only reason the students were given for this was that this is a way to ensure a summary was not plagiarized from the internet and that it was insurance that the movies were actually watched. For one, I don't see how a rental receipt can verify either act because it just shows that a person rented a film, not that they have watched it. Another thing is that the instructor's very reason for not wanting work cited pages was that he/she already knows where the information is coming from; and if this is true, then this said "insurance" or receipt is not necessary, since it is all knowing.

Each student is given academic freedom, and this is also included in the syllabus. It states that "students may not only disagree with each other at times, but the students and instructor may also find that they have disparate views on sensitive and volatile topics." It is true that not every person can think on the exact same wave length; but according to a student's academic freedom, it should be a student's right to have their own personal opinion. If a topic is brought up in class, the instructor fully includes his/her viewpoint. But if a student attempts to oppose the instructor's way of thinking, the instructor is quick to say that the student is not as well-educated as him/her, that what he/she is saying is not "bullshit," and if you do not believe his/her opinion, "you can Google it." And for this very reason, fewer students desire to voice their beliefs in the classroom.

These are just a few examples, but the structure of the course does not seem solid and the class environment is anything but pleasant. It's as if students are being forced to walk on egg shells because one does not know what will not please the instructor. I know it is a student's responsibility for their own success for a course, but I also believe that an instructor should be there to help guide a student in the right direction. I bring up these issues because I know that there is some kind of problem in the classroom because I'm a senior at UT, and I've never encountered a problem like this before in my whole college career. I think it is too difficult and almost impossible to learn in a classroom if the student dreads being present. There are many other students who share my same concerns about this course and instructor. We just want to know how much authority can be taken when it comes to our education.

Thank you for your time.

The funniest part about this is that I sent this before I received my assignment back and turns out that some of my concerns were valid... I stated,

"I don't see how a rental receipt can verify either act because it just shows that a person rented a film, not that they have watched it. Another thing is that the instructor's very reason for not wanting work cited pages was that he/she already knows where the information is coming from; and if this is true, then this said "insurance" or receipt is not necessary, since it is all knowing."

My very assignment was returned with a docked grade and a written note saying, "Most if not all of this assignment sounds like it came directly from a professional website." WTF? I thought that he knew where everything came from? If he did, he would know that my assignment contents can not be found anywhere on the damn internet. Apparently, I was being punished because my writing is too good and professional sounding. This guy makes me sick, but he has inspired me to start a brand new thread on my blog. ****

***PEOPLE AND THINGS THAT ARE ANNOYING &/OR FRUSTRATING***

I will add specific topics to this thread in future posts and we'll see how things pans out....

Click HERE and tell me your thoughts.