Please don't be a human bulldozer.

Hello all!

I am sure you all know a human bulldozer in your life. That person who's "telling it like it is" , that person who will tell you "that's just the way he/she is" and who will think you're a weakling if you even dare question their way of expressing themselves.

I have to admit I am completely baffled by this attitude. There is blunt and then there is "so blunt a dozen of bulldozers charging at you full speed feel like you've been touched by a feather" blunt.

Remember not everyone is like you. Just because someone does not like what you have to say or how you say it does not make them weak, it just makes them human and different from you.

With that said, that doesn't mean you should NEVER say anything! When something bothers you, please speak up. Don't let a problem linger until you can't take it anymore and blow up. You may be afraid of the other person's reaction, but if you wait wait wait and wait some more, it will only make things worse.

Best wishes and good luck :)

So, remember when I said I support gay rights...

Yes, I'm going there.

So, there are a few people on YouTube I really LOVE watching because they're either inspiring, adorable, extremely funny, or just a combination of various things that make them amazing.

One of those people is DaveyWavey. He is a young gay man (my age or slightly younger, actually) who frequently posts videos that may or may not be slightly naughty, and then you have the inspiring videos where he does awesome stuff that make you wonder WHY in the world some people are still homophobic.

His latest video is one more example of that. He has spoken about gay people coming out before, and just made one that young people (or even slightly older, I guess ?) can use to tell their parents they're gay if they're ready to say it but just don't know how to.

And really, when you see a young man like that, how can you seriously be so homophobic that you would hate or commit crimes against people "like him" (I hate using those words because to me, he's just a human being, just like me. And I'm a straight woman, so why should his orientation make a difference ?)  ?

Just a warning: the video is after the "cut" , but if you want to see more of what Davey has to say, let's just note that he usually makes videos without shirts. So that makes for nice eye candy :P .

New blog layout

I know it may seem pointless and random to change the design all of a sudden, but I needed something colorful and "happy" for a change. Black was classic and cool, but maybe a little too cool for my taste.

I am also getting ready to go back to work tomorrow after two days of medical leave. This should be fun. Yesterday was horrible, today was slightly better, I should be able to get up tomorrow.

Also, please wish me luck: the company I work for is releasing a new product quite soon, and people are calling us more and more often about it lately, even though it's been made public that... NO ONE EXCEPT FIVE PEOPLE IN THE COMPANY knows what the offers are about.

We've already gotten calls about this... and it's amazing how people don't listen.

" - Do you have any information about the new product ?
- No, sorry. We will have to wait until the official launch.
- But do you know anything about parameters X, Y, and Z ?
- No, sorry. We will have to wait until the official launch.
- Oh, because I heard things about the product... "

*head, meet desk*

The closer we get to the final date, the more nervous I get about those calls :P ... at least when it's just a question amongst several other questions it's ok, but when you get the same question several times a day... oh well. Always answering with a smile, as usual :D .

On my day off (Warning : may/will contain political stuff despite me not getting anything about politics)

Some people may think I have no business commenting on the politics of my country when I don't really understand what's happening. It's true, I don't, but I can still be scared when certain things are said.

See, in France, we have many parties, each having their own agenda (not that it matters nowadays as most of the time people will try to spout off things they think people want, so it just look like they ride the opinion tide like pro surfers) .

Today a friend posted a link to something said by a woman now leading what some French people simply call the "racist" party (yeah, that one). Basically this woman wanted to introduce a points based ID system, where "foreigners" would lose points and could be "sent back" to their countries after losing all points (to note, we already have a points based system in France, but for drivers' licenses) .

I have posted a note on Facebook with my own reactions to that news article (I should have copied and pasted the replies I made that the mod team did not publish: I can be pretty nice and moderate when I know I can "debate" with others without risking a brain explosion)  . I just want to remember what I thought and said today, least I become a bitter ranty racist old lady by the age of 70. 

(Cut because this could get insanely long)

Writing at work

(Originally written from my workstation between calls. Yes, sometimes it is THAT slow.)

Some people might get the impression that I am slacking off. That I am lazy and doing nothing. These blog posts aren't writing themselves, haha.

But when it's slow at work, I can just write the e-mails instead of doodling aimlessly... it keeps my mind focused while I try and concentrate on the next calls.

The good thing is also that I can look up and see the sky, as we have a sort of glass ceiling above our heads. It feels pretty good at certain times during the day when a ray of light comes up.

Well... when it does come up, that is. Right now, the weather is quite rotten, with gloomy skies, wind and my worst enemy, rain. I can't even imagine what it will be like if/when it snows in Paris... last time it did in my area, one day I missed the curb and got icy disgusting water up to my ankles. You can imagine my sister's head when I went to her place for coffee that day, and asked for clean socks :P .

--

GAH!

The phone rang earlier. Lovely woman, but when she told me her age I should have seen it coming. Oh my. 47 minutes. When my average call time should be around... 8 minutes or so. It's hard. Really hard. You try to help people and you realize early on that they don't understand a single thing you say.

I really, really hope I don't get a call like that again. She really was lovely and polite but it makes my head explode.

On a nicer note, my boss asked me for the link to this blog. I did not think twice about it and gave him the adress. Heh, why not after all :) .

Nice Anecdote

For once, today, I have a nice anecdote to tell!


Yesterday I was getting out of work. It was a rather cold day and my new coat did not protect me from the rain (thankfully, it was only light).


There was a man standing outside the station with his umbrella. He called out to me politely and at first I didn't quite hear him so I was going to walk anyway, but he insisted and, in a very sweet voice, asked me where the nearest hospital was.


I live near a hospital, mind you, so for once I was able to tell him where to go. He was actually looking for the pharmacy right in front of the hospital, and asked me if I was going the same way. I was, and he nicely put the umbrella over my head, too, and we walked together for a little while.


I reached the light I had to cross and showed him where he had to go. He thanked me and wished me Happy Holidays, which I did in return as well.


It made me warm and fuzzy inside. Just one more proof that people on the street are not out to get you, and that being nice won't always take more out of your day and precious time.


I have to admit it also made me warm and fuzzy because I have a reputation for being horrible with directions. This is no joke. I can't even read maps most of the time (I can't tell you the number of times I got confused and lost time because of it, even though I'm getting better). So being able to help someone AND actually knowing what I'm talking about feels GOOD.

Differences of opinion

Originally written on November 13th, 2011

Today, I sit at my mother's place, puzzled at one of the issues that I think is at the root of most world problems nowadays. Title picture is actually what comes to mind first when the issue pops up. And for the record, I happen to prefer Coca-Cola myself.

(Please keep in mind that parts of this post could be offensive to some even if I will try to be as polite as possible because it could touch on sensitive subjects)

Some people eat meat, others are vegetarian or vegan. Some people are religious, others are not. Some people are straight, others are gay. Some people like guns, others don't. I could list many other examples that could include sports, music, movies, books, clothing, colors, food, but I guess this is enough.

I can get along with pretty much anybody. I don't care what people like or wear, as long as we can have pleasant discussions and meetings over lunch, games, movies or whatnot. However, there are times indeed when I KNOW I won't be able to get along 100%, if at all, with someone.

I could go on and one about those, too. But then I could probably fill an entire novel. So I'll try to make this short.

Blatantly racist or homophobic : no way in heck I can get along with you. 

Extremist vegetarian/vegan : if you try to drill veganism into my body, please get out. I will NOT hear about it. I'm not going to go on a rampage and kill a cow, a pig and a chicken just to show you, but let's just say that salads just don't pop everywhere for the heck of it. We grow them, we eat them. Same as cows and chickens. You don't like to eat meat ? Fine, but don't you dare tell me *I* personally am a murderer. And get off your high horse, kthksbye. (I am in no way saying that all vegans or vegetarians are like that. I do, in fact, appreciate a lot of vegetarian dishes too, and I am sure I would like anything that does not have celery or chervil and coriander or any strong herbs) 

Extremist religious person : I am not religious. At all. I used to be, but not anymore (Catholicism, if you're interested) . I just don't believe in religion anymore, except for the cultural and historical aspects of it. So when someone tries to even hint that I am a bad person for not following their principles, bye bye. 

December 19th Addition:

Basically, as you can see, I can get along with pretty much anyone provided no one tries to push anyone else's buttons. If you have any comments, please do tell me :) ... All polite and constructive comments are welcome :) !

SNSD / Girls' Generation - "The Boys"

Sooooooooo, if you know me at all, you know I really, really, REALLY adore this Korean girl group. I just could not wait for their new songs.

     I listened to both versions right when they came out (the video looks pretty awesome, woo!) and listened again this week as they started making their appearances live on music programs.

     The good news is: the first "comeback stage" (the Koreans seem to LOVE the "comeback" word LOL) ROCKED. Mostly because, unlike many live appearances on TV, you could actually hear the voices clearly. That made my day, believe or not :P ... when you look at all their live performances, it's hard to find one with clear vocals (... and "good" because let's face it, while they're talented, when you get tired and move a lot, it's noticeable) .

     So of course today I thought "Heh, I forgot to watch subbed versions" and went to look for them. At first I figured I would not need them, because the song was released in English and Korean, and usually the lyrics sortof match. First problem for me: save for Tiffany and Jessica's parts (duh) , I don't get what the girls are saying in English. 

     I have to admit I LOVED the message of the song in Korean. I also LOVED the voices, especially considering Yoona sounds excellent here AND Sunny made some progress too. 

      And then I listened to the English version. Someone was kind enough to listen and transcribe. And, well... dear SONEs of the world, I would like to apologize right now, but to me, the English lyrics SUCK. That's the only thing I can say while being polite enough. The voices are still superb, there is no problem here, but... whoever wrote those lyrics needs a smack in the head. Hard. Very, very hard.

Message in Korean: hey boys don't be scared, you can be strong, don't be afraid

Message in English: haha I know you saw me, I am HOT, oooh yeah

...

Yeah right. I will support my favorite group and buy their album because I am sure there's good stuff in there. But honestly, I am very disappointed in whoever wrote those lyrics. :( Thankfully, the Korean version is made of awesome, so I can listen to the girls without feeling weird.

(Sorry, fellow SONEs. At first I loved the English version but I could not understand half of it and when I realized what the lyrics actually were my jaw dropped and I couldn't pick it back up :( )

So, I took my first phone calls yesterday.

Yeah, you know, being a CSR and all... calling it that in English seems to be pretty accurate, so I think I'll just keep using it (Customer Service Representative, for those who don't know) .

(Yeah, no picture today, because... because I am random that way :P ) .

We still studied in the morning, and in the afternoon came the Big Moment. Headphones! Computers! Desks!

.............CALLS.

Eeeeeeeeeeek!

Yeah, that was pretty much the feeling up until I got my first call. I was nervous as heck. Good thing I have good phone behavior (and a good phone voice too, it seems, judging by my "classmates" commenting about that in training, AND a compliment I got on my third call) , because it basically saved my ass.

And then... I got that feeling again. You know the one. "Wait, what ? THIS is what almost made me sick ? Whew. I feel like an idiot now."

I may stress again a little, just for the heck of it, as time passes by and we learn more and need to answer more questions.

But I'll tell you one thing: no job is worth getting sick over. This one is no exception. And I know I won't get sick over it because it seems interesting, and I can't let anything get to me (I mean apparently customers can be reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallly bad, but yesterday I was spared that) so I'll just do my best.

Kpop Opinion Piece : Chocolat - "Syndrome"

Photo originally found on : http://kpoprockshd.blogspot.com

Group pictured : Chocolat

Their first, current and only song out so far : "Syndrome" (embedded video link after the jump)

I have to be honest. I LOVE this song. Wait, let me scratch that. I AM FRIGGING ADDICTED TO THAT SONG.

It's got everything I want. It's fresh, it makes me want to move (yes, really) , nice vocals, and overall the group seems rather good. But South Korea had a very, very weird way of promoting them. If you have stumbled upon Allkpop (www.allkpop.com) , you probably have read about them. So, are they the next Kara or SNSD ? Are they epically awesome ?

Naah. See the three girls from the right ? Don't they look a little... different ? Slightly "less" Asian ? BINGO. And voila, they were being marketed as a "bi-racial" group (those girls are half-American) . I thought this was slightly odd until I remembered that hey, we're speaking about South Korea here, soooo... not a surprise, I guess, but also disappointing.

I've seen the live performances. I've seen a video where they interview with a reporter that speaks so fast you wonder how he's not guzzling down liters of water, and with proof that the girls can sing (Julianne, the last girl on that screencap above, being the exception. The lives are constructed so that it looks like she never sings her "high note" [that high note concept seems to be very, very important in Korea] ... but in the original music video it does not even sound like she should be singing that note in the first place. This would explain why she never ever ever sang it in any performance, despite being filmed mouthing the note. Many girl group members do that even if it's not their part, so no biggie in the end.

Argh, sorry, rambling here. This group has potential. The girls are very young (ages start at 14 O_O) , and I am looking forward to seeing what they have to give in the future. I mean, come on, for girls that age, they are pretty good compared to more "senior" girl groups (and I like a LOT of groups :P ) .

Sometimes, it's all about thinking YOU are worth it.

Random image of kpop singer G.NA because, as much as I LOVE the group SNSD, I may or may not have a huge fangirl crush on this girl :P .

First let me just warn you that yes, I will probably use random pictures with my posts. I'm a little crazy that way :P. 

Now to today's point. As I posted the other day, I just started a new job. Still in training, and very happy about it, as I did not think I was made to be a CSR, even though destiny has apparently decided that's what my life will be about :P .

With the new job comes something I've felt everytime I had to try something new: the "OMG I CANNOT DO THIS" stress phase. You know that one. You are in training, everything goes fine, and before you actually get sent to do the job on your own, you flip out, get scared, even though it's been established that you know how to do the job and merely need to practice to feel comfortable with the whole thing.

Sometimes, it's not just even about being on a job. It can be about friendships or family things. New software, new game, new book, new adventure, it's up there in front of your eyes, and you're afraid to jump because you think you are going to fail or someone is going to think you're a failure, or some other variation of this.

If I was in front of you, I would probably either hug you or try to motivate you. YOU are worth it. YOU are a good person. Just because you've faced hardships does not mean you do not have the strength to overcome them. Just because you were or are unhappy does not mean nothing can ever make you happy. Just because you failed at something once does not mean you will always fail.

Yes, you can do it, and yes, it does get better. I have faith in you.

On possessiveness in friendship and love and why I don't get it

That's for the little nostalgia bit because last year around this time that's where I was :D .

     Your laptop, cellphone or even teddy bear does not have a word as to where it goes, or to whom. You get in, you buy it, bring it home, and voila, you're done. Newflash for over possessive people: humans do not work the same way.

     I've seen it playing out in various ways. In friendships, it's often the person who gets jealous everytime you see or talk to someone else more, and who tells you (because feelings are feelings after all) every chance they get. I saw that at school when I was around 14. Recess time, this girl is yelling at another because *gasp* that other girl had been talking to someone else. Talk about a ridiculous scene, especially at that age.

      Sad thing is, it does not end at that age! As an adult, I've also heard many stories about instances when a so-call friend guilt trips you or yells at you because you've been to a party without them, or to a movie with someone else. I have felt sad about friends doing this before, but it was more because I had the impression of being left aside more often than not, rather than because they were "mine" .

     That's actually the reason why I find this whole possessiveness so absurd now. I used to feel so lame about things and one day I woke up and realized that HEY, just because I cannot do certain things with certain people does not mean I cannot do anything at all. And that's when I became more at peace with it. If, say, your friend goes to a party without you and you're sad about it, offer something like a picnic, a movie somewhere, you know, something else that they can do with you with pleasure. 

     And then, you have relationships...

Well, THAT was surprising, but very refreshing!

Yes, a new tag.

... No, I'm not crazy.

YES, I FOUND A JOB!

Now that I got out of the way... remember that job fair I posted about ? The one with guys and weird shoes and girls in party clothing ? I saw a French ISP there, they offered an interview on the spot.

The interview was on Thursday (22nd). First we had a test with 40 questions to reply to (including things like "If I am with ISP 1, can I use the POP settings of ISP 2" or "What is a DOS attack ?" which made me laugh because in French "dos" is "back" and the first possible answer was "An attack in your neighbor's back"). Apparently they wanted to see if some of the candidates could end up technical hotliners :P .

I ended up with a group of three people, but one guy left early because he realized he'd been told incorrect things about the job openings. He thanked them for their time (two charming ladies were interviewing us) and they apologized for someone else's mistake.

Then had a test (other applicant and I played customer/CSR and said applicant told me I sounded awesome) . And then my personal interview. They liked my little CSR roleplay, they liked my attitude, and they seemed to like me in general. We may never become best buddies, but I felt it had gone very, very well.

They told me they'd reply soon because training start date is October 3rd. I did not expect an answer soon, to be honest,  because there were at least 15 applicants that day, and I was thinking maybe they'd seen more people earlier.

Long story short, I got an e-mail Friday morning to tell me that I did, indeed, get the job. Full time permanent position (most coveted type of contract in the French private sector, hard to explain) ... weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Job Search Amusement

Hello :D ... I am back to tell you about that job fair I was supposed to go to. Job seeking is fun... NOT. Mostly because, when I try to dress up as nicely as possible, I feel like I am not me at all (grr flat shoes, yay sneakers is one example). Thankfully, I have a rather nice attitude (not trying to compliment myself here, this was actually said to me :D ) .

If you're still with me, you might wonder why I am amused, then. Well... let's just say I am not surprised the world is in a recession (that was the first "joke" that came to mind as soon as I entered the fair with my friend) . A few examples :

- Blonde girl walking around with a dress similar to this : http://www.kiabi.com/femme/robes/robe-bustier-finition-fronces/188/P224053/C1 and shoes similar to these, but shinier : http://www.zappos.com/betsey-johnson-teasee-black-suede . She really did not look like she wanted a job at all.
- Men with large jeans and shoes looking like these : http://www.zappos.com/dsquared2-sn013-v-016-81-verde

I could list more, but then it would take a while longer. There were MANY people who looked like they did not belong at a job fair, let alone at a job interview. It was really appalling, especially when you'd see people with very bad attitudes (not necessarily vulgar or nasty, but way too casual, as if chatting with friends for example) .

I hope people wake up. Dress appropriately for a job fair, just as if you were going to a job interview. Look the part. Look smart. Behave as if you were in a job interview, with respect and consideration for the status of the person you have in front of you.

Facebook and their ads :D (re: "fashion" )

Today, of course, between the job fair I was supposed to go to (I went, more on that in another post haha) , I was geeking away on Facebook and since Adblock was giving me too many problems, I disabled it and have the pleasure of seeing Facebook ads again. So I give you something that strikes me as rather "funny" , if not "completely deranged and offensive" ... an ad for a clothing website!

Now, let me tell you about French fashion a little bit. Or rather, let me just tell you that, while we surely have our version of "white trash" , most websites, while they can have semi-sexy to super sexy clothes like in Victoria's Secret (I almost get a nosebleed everytime, yeah... sorry) , are nowhere near as... well, they're not what I'm seeing on this website. I'll show you.

I've been on those websites to buy clothes: www.kiabi.com , www.quelle.fr ,  http://www.c-and-a.com/fr/fr/shop/start.html , http://www.laredoute.fr/ , and these are just the beginning.

Example of something I find rather nice, that can look sexy or professional depending on what you pair it with : http://www.laredoute.fr/vente-robe-drapee-fluide.aspx?productid=324245195&documentid=222311&categoryid=61254598&numberpage=1&pos=38_n_n&prodsize=00042

And then you have... ugh. This. 

Forgot this tidbit yesterday

I know I babble a lot about Facebook, but I guess this will be a plea to everyone:

IF you have people on your list that are NOT American, can you PLEASE hide them from your uber-American status updates that may/will offend non-Americans ? 

I am not saying people should not post what they want to their own status. But please. (And while I'm at it, another collection of "Copy and Paste" statuses that make my head go BOOM.

A new Facebook copy and paste that has me go "WTH"

So no one forgets: Don’t buy the new Pepsi can coming out with pics of the Empire State building and the Pledge of Allegiance on them. Pepsi left out 2 little words in the pledge "Under God." Pepsi said they didn't want to offend anyone. So if we don't buy them, they won't be offended when they don't receive our money with the words "In God We Trust" on it. ~ How fast can u re-post this..

come on everyone...lets ALL repost!!!

Soooo... as previously mentioned, these things drive me batty. This one even more so. Newsflash: not everyone believes in God, and those people should not have God shoved down their throats at every occasion. I could bet atheists will happily buy those cans... even though I prefer Coca-Cola, even I would buy Pepsi to support this move.

Don't hold on to anger for too long

For some reason, I was thinking about this this morning. You know how when someone does something to hurt you, and you hold on to the anger for so long that in the end you cannot even remember what you were angry about ? Yeah, that's the kind of thing I had in mind.

Of course anger is a legitimate feeling. It can't be helped, and I would even dare to say that it's sometimes healthy. As much as I claim to be a fun and happy person, I will confess freely that I do get angry from time to time, however, as I do not believe in the phrase "Revenge is a dish best served cold" , I decided a long time ago that "giving up" without forgetting was the best option for me.

My blood pressure would go up. I would get more headaches. I would be unhappy most of the time, and people could tell. I was NOT a person you would like to hang out with for a while. More withdrawn, sadder, I did not know how to appreciate life around me.

I have no idea when this all changed. It took me a while to become so "zen" about things (I am not  a zen person at all, heh) that I can now get angry, think about it (those "heat of the moment" arguments are the worst, I think) , and get over it within a day or two. And then, I simply remember and may, from time to time, mention the events again, but in that detached "look what I saw here here and here" way, when you tell friends about some new things you have discovered.

Being angry all the time is counter-productive. Just like being stressed about everything all the time will never help. I am still not as calm and relaxed about things as I wish I was, but the good news is, for me at least, that I am getting there.

Look around, life IS beautiful.

Hello everyone! 

Life is hard for many people. I cannot forget that I am very very lucky and, in some way, over-priviledged. I have a roof over my head, a loving partner, and while I have no job (yet - I am still looking and yes I am sure I will find one eventually) , I have food on my plate everyday.

Still, there are millions of people like me, who still cannot find anything beautiful in life. They are either sad or depressed, sometimes for a good reason (because, let's face it, lots of people suck biiiig time) , and have lost hope.

Well, for some reason, I haven't lost it myself. I see beauty everyday. I see ordinary people on the street who look like they are awesome. Pets, clouds, trees, flowers, landscapes... I am amazed everyday at what I can see and like. 

I am not the strongest person on Earth, but I have to admit I try a lot. I hold some things in because for me, they do not matter in the long run. Sometimes life dissapoints me, sometimes people make me a little mad or sad, but if I am happy overall, I don't even try to fight it. The good things I can see in life always win in the end, so I concentrate on that :P .

If you are reading this, and if I can help you in any way, you can send in questions, and I will reply anonymously. While this is a blog, I would love it if I could answer questions from people to help spread hope, love and good vibes. 

You may contact aletheria (gmail.com email) for questions, and I will use them here. This will be dealt with anonymously, and no personal details will be revealed. If you have a relationship question, a dilemma you are facing, don't hesitate to contact me and I will do my best to help you. Disclaimer: I cannot give out medical, legal or financial advice. Just things on a sort of ethical/moral/emotional standpoint , as I am just another regular human being trying to help ;) .

Job search annoyance

I know, I know, right now it looks like no matter where you go, most job seekers will tell you it's really really hard to find any jobs. First because you don't find any openings you might reply to. Then because when you do, not easy to get an interview.

And then because even after getting an interview that goes over very very well, and hearing that you have a very strong file... the company either hires internally, or hires someone else, or some other thing.

Example. Yesterday, my recruitment agency called me, saying they had a temp job for me, Mid-September/December or, at worst, October/December. Since I do, after all, want to work and need to, I happily accepted. The agent was supposed to call his client back with my info and call me back this morning to confirm start date.

Guess what happened ? Well, this time, the poor agent seemed to be trembling (for some reason, sometimes I can feel things in people's voices) when he told me that his client had actually found "another solution" for the two job openings that had been left until yesterday.

I cannot complain about it. No one discriminated against me (that I know of). No one deprived me of hard-earned earnings. Yet it feels as if, everytime this happens, the sting goes deeper and takes longer to heal.

I will continue to work on myself, and I will, of course, continue to look for work, but this is about the 10th time something like this is happening (although this was the closest to a job offer I've been since January) and it gets really frustrating.

Let's cross fingers though. My life won't end now, thankully, but I hope some fairy from above notices me and gives me a teeny tiny bit of luck on that side :P .

Adventures in web design

Urgh.

While I am, in general, a pretty positive person, sometimes I do get frustrated. Today is such a day! Yay!

The reason: I went to visit my other website today, www.akarui-kibuno.net . I notice that there is some sort of database problem, so I think ooooh okay I will update the thingie that needs to be updated. No biggie, right ?

Well, biggie indeed for this database noob (=points to self) and, after going to my server manager page thingamabob it turns out I have no idea what the hell I am doing :D .

As it stands, I will probably go back to it tomorrow. Bwahaha, it was easier when all I had to do to make a website was create html pages XD ... I did not know anything about it either, but at least learning was easier.

Darn PHP and SQL and things like that XD .

Changing the blog a little. Again :P

Hi everyone! So today I was thinking a bit. I know, I know, many people do. But I realized that ranting all the time would not be productive, so I figured, let's shake things around a little bit.

So let's speak about Facebook games today. I have selected three that seem to be my "MUST.PLAY.NOW" games at the moment. I actually play a lot more games than that, but they can be pretty random :P .

Disclaimer : Links are generated through Adf.ly (referral link here : http://adf.ly/?id=805325 ) , a service that lets you shrink links and, for a banner or 5 seconds of advertisement, you get paid a little.

Facebook and its "Pink slips"

"Pink slip" on Facebook used to be something one would get when abusing a feature, such as the friending system or the inbox system. Friending was absolutely ridiculous (hmm hello "social" network) , and inboxing even more so since game developers  (who, let's not forget it, bring money to Facebook when they are successful) almost lost their FB accounts over it. Moderators from those games even got "blocked" a few times because of that.

But heh, I understand. Spam-adds and spam-inboxes were, indeed, a pain in the arse at some point. Right now they're a pain-in-EVERYTHING because the system is, to me, even worse than it used to be, but I digress :D.

I do play a lot of games on Facebook. And if you also do, you will notice that some people get really, really MAD if you do not comply with a certain etiquette for games. Yeah, games make people crazy. Lookie:

http://failbook.failblog.org/2010/04/04/peoples-desperation-for-facebook-games-terrifies-me/
http://failbook.failblog.org/2010/07/19/funny-facebook-fails-pony-plagarism/n

I don't need pictures of your cleavage or arse. Really.

Let's note here that, as you will probably notice here, my Facebook peeves are not only caused by Facebook, but by the users themselves (as if that was not glaringly obvious haha) .

Anyway. Maybe you have read my other posts. Maybe you have seen the links to Failbook and Lamebook. If you haven't and want to make sure you are 100% sane, go for it :D .

Example of the day... PICTURES. There are so many random creepers out there that I don't even need to scar you for life by posting a picture here. But please, people, please. Use a little common sense. What annoys me the most :

- albums filled with self portraits (that look the same)
- pictures from one's bathroom, generally on the toilet OR with toilet in the background (NOTHING sexy about this)
- pictures of money, to look more "gangsta" (major epic WTF here)
- pictures of bowel movements (eww, gross)

Well, I suppose you get the idea. I do have pics up on Facebook where I look like a dork, but I take full responsibility and wear the "Dork" badge with pride :P .

Facebook, your chat sucks.

I know, I know, language. Sorry.

But really, it does. It used to be that you had your friends list on the right, you could easily be on or offline, and you could make the chat pop up with the list of people available on the left in a big window. A little like other IM software, except in a pop up.

And now... this sidebar that tells you everything and anything random friends are doing. And the friends list ? It shows you random people, it seems. Oh, okay. But if it was this, it would be fine, really.

No no what gets to me the most is that Facebook, in their brilliant ideas of "improving" the site, always come up with the weirdest stuff... and this time, they replaced the pop up I spoke about earlier... by transferring it to people's inboxes. Which means that you are not chatting anymore, you are basically doing rapid-fire inboxing with people.

I had not realized this fully until I started chatting with a friend on her phone the other day. My eyes were starting to hurt a bit, so I chose the "See full conversation" option, and then she asked me if we were not chatting anymore. I replied that we were, and she said that she was on her phone and the messages went straight to her inbox.

Of course I then had to double check, and, indeed, previous conversations appeared there.

Facebook, very very bad move on your part -____________________- .

While speaking about statuses in general...

I don't know about you, but to me, my FB status is MINE MINE MINE. Of course, like many people, I can sometimes be tempted to copy something that catches my eye. Heh, that happens to everyone I guess.

I even deleted someone once because she was posting religious statuses all.the.time. And it was all copy and paste work. I could have hidden her, but it was getting on my nerves so much that one day I knew I just HAD to do it. Of course, this only applies if you have LOTS of people on your list, for example if you play games. If your FB list only has close close friends and family, it may not be that easy.

Since I'm of the former category, I am also amused when I see people posting about political stuff or "Support our troops" messages, or ultra-patriotic stuff. Because when you have people from all over the world on your list, it can sometimes feel insulting to see those statuses... I remember deleting one guy from the US a few years ago around some election since he was so full of vitriol.

And then you have the people who have absolutely zero filter. Like the woman who cheated on her husband and wondered in a status why he was bitching about it (true story, I think I even took screencaps) .

But for the extra weird, no need to take it from me. I will show you my "favorites" , that prove that many Facebook users must have a peanut instead of a brain :P ...

Hello everyone!

Yes. I did it. Since I wanted a separate space for my random Facebook babbling, this is it. And let's start with a collection of things that probably annoy a lot more people than me : the dreaded "please copy this to your status" statuses.

Because I have a lot of people on my friends list (many of them for games) , I often see these things. And then I wonder why these people do not block "game friends" from seeing these... ah no wait that's the point. A few examples to follow, but keep in mind that they don't annoy me necessarily because I do not agree. They annoy me merely by the demand that I copy this or the suggestion that I am a heartless witch if I do not. I will comment the few I can find (there is at least twice as much in my feed every day) .