July 13, 2009

Staycation

Photo: Awful Library Books
(More on that in a moment!)


So I have a crazy-busy week coming up (with friends and relatives in town and blah blah blah), and so will probably not be putting up "normal" Cranky Fitness posts until next week. It's sort of going to be like one of those weeks when I'm traveling and I put up guest posts to cover for me? Except, um, without the guest posts to cover for me.

I'll still try to put something up on "my" days (MWF), but it may be just a thought for the day, or a short item, or a video, or who knows, maybe a "previously aired" Cranky Fitness episode! Warning: content may have nothing whatever to do with health and fitness.

But things will return to normal shortly. We have some great giveaways coming up and I haven't forgotten about the list of Reader Favorite Weight loss blogs. Just maybe not this week. (And, yet again, thank goodness for Merry Sunshine!)

Anyway, today's experiment in non-standard Cranky Fitness blog topics: Is there anything about your job that drives you totally nuts? Because I came across some great in-the-trenches gripes from a flight attendant, a nurse, and a pair of librarians, and it occurred to me that probably a lot of you have stories to share as well! (Stay at home parents included, because that is one of the hardest jobs out there). So far, it's too early for me to hate anything about my new jobs yet, but I'll keep you posted.


The Friendly Skies?

Over at Lemondrop, a flight attendant shares a list of her top ten annoying-passenger gripes.

These include: "Leaving Your Headphones on While Ordering," and, my personal favorite (in that it would make me want to quit my job as an airline attendant that very minute, not that as a flight-phobic neurotic I would ever take such a job in the first place): "Handing Me Dirty Diapers."


Things That Would Make Me Nurse a Grudge

The blog "Head Nurse" has an awesome insider's take on the nursing life, and Jo is hilarious. Got a sick relative? She has some helpful guidelines for hospital visitors, including:

"Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not take out Mama's drains. Even if you are a physician." And, "the hospital is not the best place to have a bench-clearing brawl over who gets what out of Grandma's attic."


Got Awful Books in Your Library?

The blog Awful Library Books cracks me up. Since I just took a library job myself, I hear conversations about "weeding," and now I know why it's a really good idea! If you don't peruse the collection occasionally and throw stuff out, you end up with items like:




They take submissions of books that are still on library shelves, but they don't embarrass the particular libraries by naming names. I'm sure the Awesome Provincetown Public Library does not have anything amusingly hideous to submit, as they are very conscientious about "weeding," but I shall keep my eyes out just in case something has slipped through the cracks. (Thanks, A.S.).

So do you all love everything about your jobs? Or is there anything that makes you grouchy?



33 comments:

  1. I don't mind my job but after 7 years it's become mundane and I really need a change of scenery.

    I do not like how other people in the office don't feel like doing a task anymore, so they whine about it and it gets handed to me with the added bonus of being told "It will only take a couple mins" if that's all, why couldn't the original person doing it, keep doing it?? Annoying that my busy day isn't deemed busy enough that everyone can dump their crap they don't like to do onto me.

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  2. But where do the books that have been weeded go? I never thought that there would be books too silly/specific/weird for a library - although now that I think about it of course there would be - but certainly there is someplace that would keep them? It seems a shame to completely purge them.

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  3. Moonlight Dancer: that sucks! It's bad enough to dump the stuff, but then to minimize it instead of being incredibly appreciative... too annoying!

    Charlotte: great question! The library has frequent book sales, and there's usually a cart out with purged books that readers can buy really cheap. At least some of them find homes!

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  4. I'm really starting to hate my job. The worst thing for me, as a personal trainer, is the entitled attitude that some of the gym members have.

    I've gotten early-Sunday-morning phone calls (where the caller then gets upet that I answered), because the hours listed that I am available to perform FREE fitness assessments (that the owner "forgets" to pay me for) do not work with their schedule, so they want to set something else up, only to not show for the convenient-for-them assessment.

    The worst though, is when I'm working out on my own time, and recording what I did for how many reps (or how long) at what weight/resistance level in a notebook I paid for, put the book near my water bottle and towel, complete another set, then look up to see a member READING MY NOTEBOOK. When I calmly asked for it back, I got brushed off with a "when I'm done". I asked again, emphasizing the MY part of it, and he grudgingly turned it over. I now keep it in a gym bag.

    Some days, it feels like me and my possessions are regarded as another piece of gym equipment.

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  5. Cute post! I am not working right now so I hate not having money!! I also don't know how to get a jog I would actually like in this economy. I worked too many years at jobs that took 60+ hours a week & stressed me out & made it hard to stay happy at all so now I promised myself I would not take a job unless I felt I could "like it"!

    Have fun with family/friends!

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  6. My job is running after my seven children, or running them around places! I love my job, although the pay is lousy!

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  7. You'll be sorry you got me started!

    I am a conference interpreter. You know, the service where you put on the headphones to understand what the nice lady speaking in French is actually saying.

    In my 20+ years in the field, I have found that people speak more and more quickly. It's the influence of computers, in my opinion. People seem to think that the more arcane details they pack into a 45-minute presentation that they only have 15 minutes to give, the better they are.

    Not true!

    In my opinion, the human mind can only assimilate 2-3 main ideas, so if you're ever giving a talk in public, think carefully about your main message, speak from a few, simple, prepared notes and do NOT read your text verbatim. If you can't do anything but read from a fully written out text, spare everyone the pain, and just hand it out to the audience. The spoken and the written word are two completely different things. The only time a prepared text should be read aloud is if you're volunteering for "books on tape".

    I've seriously considered leaving my profession and studying and then teaching the art of public speaking. It is quickly (pardon the pun) becoming a lost art.

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  8. I hate it when the patient wakes up and starts yakking while I'm performing open heart surgery. Waitaminute... that was my last job. Now I hate it when the milkshake machine clogs up...

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  9. Stay at home here. The worst thing is straightening up a room only to have it messer within 5 minutes than before.
    My other job is Music Therapist, part-time, and I love the job, just wish my boss was organized enough to keep me from doing mindless tasks. I get paid too much to stack, staple, and stuff.

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  10. I giggled at this as I think of my JOB as my daughter (the day job writing work for some reason doesnt seem like work at all).

    and yes.

    there are LOTS OF THINGS I DONT LOVE ABOUT MY JOB.

    especially when my (fingerquote) boss (unFQ) screams at me.

    I dont like that :)

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  11. Thankfully, books can always be recycled -- if they're really awful, recycled physically.

    I'd enjoy my job if my co-worker didn't feel it essential to make me feel under a deadline all the time. (No, I'm not talking about Crabby! Would that all co-workers were this nice.)

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  12. Well, as I am currently unemployed, I have absolutely nothing to complain about regarding my job! ^_^

    The worst thing about my last job was the hours. I worked the overnight shift, 7pm to 5am. Let me tell you, I'm really glad I get to see sunlight again!

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  13. Many things about my job irritate me, but right now what bugs me the most is my secretary's insistence that she run the air condition constantly until the temperature drops to the upper 60's.

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  14. I work in an office with 20 people in 3 different office areas. At least once a week I get a call from someone outside of the office saying they see our phone # on their caller ID & need to know who called them & why. A surprising number can't understand that if the person didn't leave a message for them, I have no way of figuring that out without polling the entire office (while they're on hold). And that if the caller needs to talk to them, they'll try again.

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  15. Although there are always difficult times, I love my job. It isn't that it's easy, but the rewards can be beyond measure. Of course, ask me when I'm up to my neck in blood and trauma after working all night and I may have a different opinion.

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  16. The best job I had also had many challenges - mostly working with all men and a boss who always had to be the funny guy. The worst part: this boss introducing me to his big NY boss as the "office pump" (yet another variation of his endless blow job jokes). The best part: Telling the little boss in front of the big boss that he could call it whatever he wanted but I still referred to it as job security. I got the bigger laugh which absolutely killed the little boss. (Sidenote: I was canned several months later. Guess the joke was on me afterall! But it was SO worth it.)

    P.S, Word verification "crabila"

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  17. Ever since becoming a paid janitor (I've been an unpaid one for a long time), I've come to believe more than ever that class is being considerate of the people who have to clean up after you.

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  18. I am a friendly person, so when someone comes in to purchase tickets to one of our local theatre groups (we help out several of them), it really riles me up when a customer just STANDS there and won't say a freaking word. I mean, come on, people!!! Engage a little!

    P.S. Love the Awful Library Books site - thanks for finding it!

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  19. Re: Gigi

    That is pretty awful behaviour on your boss's part. Not worth putting up with in ANY situation.
    ___________

    That said, my biggest peeve in the workplace are companies who ship us "almost" expired products. "What do you mean you can't sell 50 cartons of rice milk in 2 days?!" (Rice milk should have a year of shelf life) It is so much time and effort to make companies be responsible, they count on us thinking it isn't worth the effort.

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  20. My husband is a commercial airline pilot. Our biggest complaint is the lack of sleep/rest they are allotted. (Crabby, this isn't going to make you feel any better about flying).

    The FAA says pilots can be on duty for 16 hours and have 8 hours of rest. However, the 8 hours of rest BEGINS when the engine key turns off. They still have to: wait for passengers to de-plane, walk through the terminal, check-in/out and debrief, wait for the shuttle bus, ride the shuttle bus, check into the hotel, eat, "sleep," shower, iron shirt, check-out, wait for shuttle, ride it, check in at the airport. That's their "rest" time and totally legal.
    Circadian rhythms are shot. Time-changes do a number on them. I don't know why the FAA couldn't give them a couple more hours.

    It's difficult to prove that plane crashes are caused by lack of sleep. Those on the inside know that's the likely cause but label it as "pilot error."

    BUT, we're lucky he even has a job. And he'll tell you his office has the best view.

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  21. to messymimi

    "I've come to believe more than ever that class is being considerate of the people who have to clean up after you."

    BEAUTIFULLY said.

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  22. At my previous job my boss drove me nuts but I loved that I was up and moving for a good part of my day. I went up and down stairs multiple times and walked all over our large building.

    At my current job all my coworkers are fine, but I have to find excuses to get up from my desk. I can feel my butt expanding as I type.

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  23. hahaha this made me chuckle and so did MizFit's comment.
    Seriously, my blog name is FeedMeImCranky, i think that gives a little insight into where i stand on liking my job :D

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  24. I get annoyed when people push on the door when it's clearly a pull door and even has a sign saying "pull".

    ...I think that's a sign that I've got a pretty good job. Hehe.

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  25. My current job is boring as hell, good thing I only do it part time.

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  26. 4 years ago I was a SAHM and my husband was away for 3 months. My kids, who have Autism, were 3 and 1 at the time. I had no family nearby and no help, so it was me and the kids, 24/7. And i nearly went INSANE!!!!! There was the time my son vomited up chocolate all over the beige carpet, or when he woke me up by placing a box of popsicles on my bare arm, or my daughter's endless screaming at night for weeks on end...
    Now I work outside the home part time, and I love my job. But there is some paperwork that gets me a little annoyed!

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  27. AH...my job. Mostly it's my being a worker for 5 people...saying it's tricky keeping all my eggs in a basket is an understatement. Sometimes I can't even find the basket :P

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  28. What I hated about my last job: the rattlesnakes, and getting my foot stuck in one of those holes that ground wasps build their huge nests in.

    Current job? I guess I hate it when my kid floods the upstairs bathroom and it rains in the downstairs...

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  29. I work in a busy medium size law firm and the one thing that makes me the most cranky is LAWYERS!

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  30. When I worked in an office the thing I most hated was the continual birthday cakes. Sorry to be grouch!
    You'd sing happy birthday for someone you didnt know half the time and then pressured to eat cake you know you shouldn't eat. In an office of about 100 employees it felt like it happened all the time. After a while the novelty wore off and I just wanted to hide under my desk when someone called out 'its a birthday!'

    Now I work from home part time and am a full time Mum. I love it!

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  31. as a cashier, LOTS of things tick me off: parents who refuse to control children. Parents who try to refuse to pay for things their children break/ put in their mouth/ vomit/urinate on, etc,:people who won't hand you the money but lay it down like you have a contagious disease. people who DO have contagious diseases. whiny children. screaming children. people who try to switch sale tags. i could go on literally FOREVER. it is why i am a misanthrope.

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  32. Wow, these are fascinating and OMG what crappy things some of you have to put up with! But I'm also so impressed how upbeat and take-it-in-stride you all are. As a major whiner, I'd be dying on some of these!

    And Gina, I have to say, that is SCARY. Common sense says a pilot cannot instantaneously transport himself or herself from a fully loaded plane to a comfy bed. That takes a huge chunk out of that 8 hours. Yikes!

    So yeah, I know I'm two days late and no one is reading this, but I do so appreciate all the great comments!

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