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Sometimes it’s the little things that bug you, even though they shouldn’t. Somebody once said “don’t sweat the small stuff,” but if enough small stuff accumulates it ceases to be small and I’m sorry I start dripping with sweat.
What has really been catching my eye as of late are a couple of things that we all experience but usually just brush off. Well, I have been brushing them off for a little too long and it seems like these little irritants keep escalating. For some of you they may not be problems or even annoy you, for me they’re like that pesky little fly that you can’t get to go away.
It’s the first of the month and your new magazine arrives. As you open it up for the first time out falls a card for a subscription to the magazine you are holding. I understand that a majority of the magazines they print are not for subscriptions, that they are going to retail outlets. So as annoying as their presence is, I guess they’re a necessary selling tool. So I just throw that annoying little pest away and get to the magazine.
I don’t know about you, but when I first get a magazine I like to flip through it and get a feel for what I’m in for, to see what looks interesting. This is where the true frustration begins. As you attempt this minor feat every ten pages there is an insert advertising one thing or another. These pages are usually made of some sort of high-bred cardboard material that is thicker than the cover of the magazine. Page Gnats I like to call them.
Of course, as soon as you hit one you know there is another one somewhere else in the back because these page gnats always travel in pairs. So in an effort to make my reading a more enjoyable experience I proceed to go through the entire magazine ripping and tearing out all of the Page Gnats.
By the time I am done I generally have a pile of gnats that is equal to the size of the magazine and a magazine that is half the size of what arrived. Many times this process takes so long that the time I had to read has expired and I am so worn out that I need a nap.
I think that if I am paying for a subscription that the copy I get in the mail should be free from Page Gnat infestation. I didn’t order the magazine to be a part time exterminator, all I want to do is read the articles and look at the pretty pictures. Whew, I’m glad I got that out, I feel much better now.
Another pest that I seem to be encountering more often than usual is one of the two-legged variety. I have written about them in the past, but the latest infestation has me concerned from the standpoint that no matter what evasive action I take, there seems to be another one just around the corner. These would be the dreaded Bigheaded Mosquitoes.
These little bloodsuckers seem to be everywhere nowadays. While they are not exclusively found in volunteer situations, for some reason they seem to gravitate there. They can often be found in low-end jobs that these pests misevaluate as being powerful or invaluable to society. The impatient and rude donut shop employee leaps to mind, but there are many others out there that you can take your pick from.
The volunteer version is the one I find the most bothersome. I feel that when you are volunteering and giving of yourself, your motives should be selfless. Unfortunately, every organization has at least a couple of Bigheaded Mosquitoes buzzing about and their agendas become very transparent. Some are there to further their own personal wants and needs. Whether it is to feel some level of power in an otherwise powerless life or to recapture feelings long since past or missed in the past. As it was put to me by someone who I volunteer with in referring to a couple of these BM’s, “It’s as though they are trying to relive their high school years.”
While their bites are not deadly, the results can kill the will of others to participate in volunteer situations. It doesn’t make any difference if the sting comes by way of attitude or just blatant stupidity, the only thing you can do is slather on some more repellant and do your job the best that you can. You will never be able to fully eradicate them. The best you can do is just stay away from them.
Just try not to scratch the bites, they may get infected.
The Shrub Speaks: If an insurance carrier can spread risk across a variety of people or a variety of firms, it makes it more likely his health care goes down. Washington D.C. March 16, 2004
B.D.’s Response: Uh, Dubya, health care goes down! I think you mean health care “costs” will go down.
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