Easily Annoyed Tuesday

All right, that's it - I'm instituting some order and eliminating some bullshit going on in the comments section by strictly enforcing the following house rules:

- Be civil: if you wouldn't say it to my face, don't say it here;
- Be concise: if you need to pontificate, get yer own blog - and for chrissake please use punctuation and good grammar;
- Being contrary for contrariness' sake gets really, really annoying after a while. The kid who said, "Umm...excuse me but..." always got beat up in high school - for good reason. Could you try not to refute or be the omnicient expert on a particular topic all the frikkin' time? Once in a while could you just say "That's nice!" instead of having to one-up in a cerebral or trivia pissing contest?
- Be thorough: reading is fundamental. Read the entire entry before flipping out over the first sentence. I write, you read - all of it.
- Be real: no more anonymous comments, no more nicknames hidden behind cryptic e-mails, I don't care how flattering you are;
- I won't link you because you ask me to. I will link you when you prove to be a consistent blogger. On that note, some of you bitches are a bit overdue on your entries...and missy, I de-linked you because you were retarded and stopped blogging - ('cough' 'boyfriend' 'cough' 'retarded' 'cough') - you can stick your tounge down my throat but you can't link my blog anymore?

- I am also annoyed by bad behavior on Friendster - there's more than a few out there who don't give me a how-do-you-do to a message received but enjoy cruising my friends list when they're single and horny. A delinking is an easy remedy.

- While I'm at it - don't ever expect me to politely introduce you to anyone ever again when you act like a dog. If I'm standing there talking to someone and introduce to to that person, I'm being polite. Impolite is when you flirt with the person I was talking to whom I just introduced you to. I might have been flirting with that person myself, and you're now causing static in what I was trying to accomplish. Next time check to make sure it's clear I'm not just talking to them. When you start flirting with someone I was trying to flirt with, you're pissing in my barnyard. If you insist on acting like a dog I will treat you like a dog from here on out. If you're not getting enough attention from your own relationship, deal with it there, but not at my expense.

- I am still continually annoyed by shitty camera phone pics on Manhunt. Use a high-performance digital camera, dammit! I want to see pores, sores and follicles.

I love the Washington Post Express 'Baggage Check' column. In today's article, we get some insight into a typical downtown DC workplace environment:

"A good friend of mine recently committed suicide, and his suicide note scares me because the reasons detailed are eerily rational. Our friends are successful, young D.C. professionals who put their jobs before their own well-being. If I were to take time out to deal with mental health issues, my employers would likely frown upon my reduced productivity. The last time I had to deal with something related to this, I was laughed at by the HR director."

In many workplaces downtown it is the norm to come in at 8am and leave at 8pm to "put in a good show" or to "bill those hours". Meanwhile they have no life and look like hell, and probably feel that way too. I took measures to avoid that crap - I need my Jimbo time, my geek time and my rugby time - it's called a balanced life, and you are the only one in control of that - not your tyrant boss, or what you think your tyrant boss thinks of you (which may not be true!). Work is something that pays the bills but should be enjoyed in moderation. I do know of workplaces where people are frequently fired after they come back from week-long vacations. Sick management, which also leads to sick workers - in mind, body or soul.

I did not go to the Nationals Night Out last night. I hit the couch after the gym and did not get back up. Sometimes it's good to not have an appointment, which I certainly need less of these days.