Trash frustrations

OK, story time..i.e. I need to rant. Let me tell you about my day.

Have you ever had to clean up after someone? I've had various jobs in food service but few people have been as big of pigs as my shipmates are. I'm in the Navy, but you'd think I was a bus boy at a Chili's. Every night we stack the tables in a clean bay. We sweep and mop the floors, napkins are filled and tables are wiped down. In the morning, my shipmates leave me with empty McDonald's bags, Cheerios that are soaking in old milk, used hair brushes, tables unstacked and moved inconveniently halfway across the bay. I've seen half eaten cheeseburgers, old grapes, used napkins and coco's containers. Every morning I am greeted with orange peels, half eaten apples, drinks left out, etc. etc. Oh, my favorite, by far is ramen noodle containers. I mean really, what gives? Shipmates, let me clear it up right now. I am so honored that you want me to pick up behind you and baby you and throw away all of your crap, but stop it! Its ridiculous. If I was to leave trash for someone to pick up after me, my mom would make sure it never happened again. Its easy to tell who was raised properly by simply observing a lunch  time on the mess decks

Now I realize that nothing will change by writing this but at least its making me feel better. The other day, I was working and sat down across from some of my shipmates while I was re filling napkin holders. There was a guy sitting across from me who got up to get a refill on his drink. He came back to pick up his cover and started to walk off without his tray. I called him out on it. "Hey! Hey. What are you doing? Are you going to get your tray of trash?" He turned around really fast and picked it up. I looked him dead in the eye, and said, "Really? Really?" How are you going to run off and leave your tray with the person who works on the mess decks sitting right across from you? Talk about disrespect.

The other night I was stacking tables in bay 1 to get ready and close down for the night. Two shipmates of mine had the idea to take the tables down (that were already stacked) so they could sit. There were plenty of other tables they could have sat at. I walked up as they had just unstacked the table. "What are you doing?" They both look at me, idiotically. "Put that back right now." I say. They whine, "But there's nowhere to sit." "Put it up right now." I stand arms crossed, waiting. I waited for them to re stack the table and find a different one to sit at. They probably think I am the biggest bitch in the world, but I think their common sense is missing.

Now, the salt and pepper game is a game, I wish not to bring up. I hate that game. Let me explain. The salt and pepper game is when a fellow shipmate turns the salt or pepper upside down and screws the cap just barely on, so that when its picked up....ALL THE SALT SPILLS. I hate this game! No matter who wins, I always lose. Someone played this game on me 4 times last week. They only got me three. They got someone else a couple times though because I cleaned up the mess. And you know what, yeah, I get it. HAHAHA its so funny. Try cleaning it up everyday and see how frustrating and not funny it is!

We are switching to day check/night check shifts. I got Wardroom 1&2 days. So I'll be working with officers. We'll see how this goes... I'm a little sad because as much as I complain about how rude my shipmates are, I absolutely love working with my friends on the mess decks. Everyday is an adventure because everyday, some sort of hilarity spills out of one of our mouths.

The other day I was stacking tables with our new 3rd class. He's really not too too bad, and helps out when he can. He's hard to describe. He looks very nerdy, wears glasses, and acts about 12 years old, as Rocha would say. Anyways, were stacking these tables, and clearly, he is struggling. Collins walks by and yells, "Hey, let me know if you need a real man to stack tables." The 3rd class raises excuses that the chair is in the way, etc, etc. Collins just shakes his head, and say "Really, let me know if you need a real man's help." Haha. Everyday, I walk into the scullery, some sort of obscenity is being yelled at fellow shipmates who put their trays and cups away incorrectly. Collins has been refilling apple juice but puts a prune juice label on it. People walk by and turn their noses up, "Prune juice, eww?"

I only have about a month or less left to be in the officers mess decks. I won't have to worry about them leaving trash because I will actually BE their bus boy. But I'm really kind of excited! Except for being separated from my previous crew. Cookies! Real coffee! Better food. HERE I COME :)

roly poly bugs

Growing up, my Dad or brother always seemed to be around to take care of the creepy crawlers for me. Except for this one night, I cringed with terror and almost rolled over dead.

We were still living on Rainbow Forrest Drive. I was probably in my awkward pre-teen phase. Long hair, scabs on my knees, braces on my teeth, and stuck in a loop hole between young woman and little girl. Being that age is a horror in itself, not to mention, add bugs into the equation. I would not want to have to go back and re-live those days, my friend.

I didn't grow up being a prissy girly girl. I was most definitely an adventurous child. I swam in snake infested creeks. I lived on my bicycle for months on end. I was one of the boys in the neighborhood. One hot summery day, I was playing a game of truth or dare with my brother, and two neighborhood kids, Kyle and Cameron. Most of our dares were harmless and silly. I think Kyle had to give Jon a titty twister and Cameron had to streak in his boxers around the cul-de-sac. When it came my turn, I chose dare. "I dare you to eat a roly poly bug, Danielle" Cameron snickers. When you are playing truth or dare as a kid, there is no backing out. You have to do it. It goes against nature to wuss out and not do the dare. I think at 12 or 13 its an unspoken law. When you pick dare. You have to do it. So I pick up a rock and roll it over. Lots of creepy bugs, caterpillars, and roly polys are crawling around on the underside of the rock. I pick the smallest roly poly I can find, and gently roll its body into a ball and toss it into the back of my throat, like its nothing. I was quite the crowd pleaser.

What I never told anyone? When Jonathan and I went back to the house I began freaking out that the roly poly had babies inside my stomach, and multiplied. I imagined my stomach filled with these creatures crawling around on their little legs. I lifted my shirt up in the mirror, terrified, that my stomach was bulging with the creepy crawlers. I had convinced myself that I could literally see them crawling inside me looking at my stomach. I worried that they were going to crawl out of my mouth in the middle of the night and take over my bed. Then my room. Then the house...etc. etc. The only thing that made me feel better was that I convinced myself that everything would be ok if I pooped all of the roly polys out. I'm guessing that I spent the next hour or so in the toilet, talking myself through getting rid of these bugs. I must've pooped or something cause I can't remember too much lingering anxiety from the experience.

A

Pet Peeves

OK, so for the most part, I'm a pretty happy human being. I see the pleasure in chocolate chip cookies brought to me, coffee in the mornings and reading on rainy days.  It takes a lot to test my patience. Lately, it's truly been a test while working the mess decks. Daily, these people continue to amaze me. I cannot imagine how their parents put up with their sore attitudes and rude behavior. Don't worry, I'll explain further in detail.

Today, I am going to share my top ten pet peeves. You know the things that just drive you crazy. Things that frustrate you in horror, you just want to scream in a pillow or break something, or bawl your eyes out? I'm not talking about minor annoyances, I'm talking days going from bad to worse due to so called events. When these things happen to me I feel like I'm going crazy because others don't seem peeved at all.

1.) I absolutely abhor having to walk around when its raining outside. I hate trudging through it. For me, the rain is a show stopper. I cancel all plans of going out, and sit inside and stay dry. The second, I get off of the ship and its raining, I roll my pants up to my ankles (or higher), like a ridiculous old man with high water jeans on, and try to hurry to spectrum. I trudge through the water, pissed that I have to walk in it! And if you think thats bad, just wait until you walk enough for your socks to get wet. Ughhh!!! I hate the feeling of that squishy sound inside of your tennis shoes. After walking for 5 minutes or so, my jeans begin to come undone and start to get close to the ground. So I reach down and slide them back up to my calf muscles, all the while, looking ridiculous. When I finally get to my destination, I sit down and throw one leg up under the other, like half indian style, but since my shoes/pants legs are wet....now the back of my thighs are wet!!! This in itself, is enough to damper my whole entire day.

2.) I hate when people have poor table manners. Smacking food drives me crazy. I can't stand to watch someone lick their finders, or chew with their mouths open, or talk with their mouths full. When a person makes a sucking noise with a straw and the cup becomes almost empty, ughh!! People say I eat slowly. Well maybe its because I don't talk with my mouth full, eat bites that are really small and chew quietly to myself. Ughh. I cannot be the only one who goes crazy watching the lack of consideration for others. On the mess decks, a lot of the sailors don't have a lot of time to eat. I understand that, but really? Some of these people shovel it in, like sand in a sand pale, building the ultimate sand castle in their mouths. Slow down! Actually, enjoy your food...or...well try to. We have this one shipmate, I won't name any names, but he has got to be the sloppiest eater I've ever seen in my entire life. I don't even think his hands are clean before he sits down to eat. He doesn't put down his utensils throughout the whole meal. he doesn't cut up his meat, but continues to either eat small bites of the meat off of the fork or just stick the entire thing in his mouth. Barf! All sorts of disgusting noises come from his table. I can't stand to watch him eat, but I'm mesmerized and can't look away. I just continue to stare him down during the whole meal, in disbelief with my shipmates.

3.) I love going to the gym. I love running on the treadmill or being on the elliptical. I do yoga and meditate. What I don't love is talking to you while I am at the gym! First of all, say I'm on the treadmill. Well, you've already heard the story of me busting ass while running and texting. Do you really think I am capable of focusing on you and running at a 6.5 or higher without falling. Answer:No, I am not. Not to mention, the gym is my one time to legit, focus on me, run my stress off and jam to music. Its me time. I'm not there for you to hit on me or tell me how to do additional work outs. If I am doing arms, I'm already nervous about being there because my arms aren't that strong and I really don't know what I'm doing. A simple hello or wave is fine. Its enough to say hey I'm thinking of you without bothering me. When I'm working on push ups, you'll be a distraction. When I'm working on sit ups, I might just fart so you'll go away. Don't bother me while I'm doing yoga or meditating. I shouldn't even have to say anything further on this subject.

4.) Laziness. I get it. I'm in the navy. People skate. We all do. I know, I do. Its one of the first PQS you should get signed off. You can't be a shitbag until you are qualified in skating. To my family and friends back home: "skating" is a term used by sailors. It means, going to the bathroom for 30 plus minutes, or smoking longer than necessary. Basically disappearing for a period of time to make the day go by faster. The difference between me skating and my shipmates skating: I don't skate when there is work to be done. I will work my ass off preparing for a meal. I will run for utensils during the meal. Swab up spills, wipe down tables, help the guys out in the scullery, and take care of the first classes. After the meal, I stack tables, wipe them down, sweep, swab. I clean the place up. Its when we start getting stupid assignments to fill time that I "go use the head." Some of my shipmates, straight up, just leave when we still have things to clean. You know what happens, I end up doing twice the work. This is bullshit and it always happens to me. Of course, I do it because I want to get off work, but really? Come on now, do your part so we can be done and get off the ship.

5.) Whining or "negative nellys". Even at 5 o clock in the morning, I'm not complaining. What could possibly happen at 5am to piss you off. What, you've been awake for 30 minutes and already, you're mad. No, I'm not saying you have to brighten up the room with sunshine out of your ass but really, a simple good morning requires a response in return. I don't care how tired you are. Complaining about cleaning doesn't make the day go by any faster and griping about the tasks I give you doesn't get you out of the task. It's just the opposite actually, if you are busy doing something, I won't tell you to go clean. The people I work with know what needs to be done at the end of the night, yet I end up telling them what to do, with attitudes in return. Simply stated, do what needs to be done and you won't hear a word from me. We get paid to work, so work. And work, with your mouth closed preferably, if you are going to damper my mood.

6.) In today's world of technology it continues to amaze me that people still don't know the difference between its/it’s and they’re /their/there. Maybe they are just lazy and know the difference but it drives me crazy. You know what else I hate? Grammatical mistakes in text messages or words spelled in shortened form, but still incorrect. I shouldn't have to translate the message before reading it. Just spell out the dang word.

Examples: gr8, or 2nite, dat, noe, plz, rite, 4, u... You graduated high school didn't you? Have enough respect for your English teacher to use correct spelling and grammatical punctuation. 

7.) When did the world become so complicated that I have to learn a ridiculous hand shake with friends? Whatever happened to the traditional firm handshake? Now I have to be like, "Yo, what up" and snap my fingers, and click and slap them on the back, and go in for a half hug, etc, etc. These days, I need a manual with step by step guidelines to appropriately follow what the hell you want me to do with your hand. A handshake should be that very simple gesture, with direct contact and firm grip. So give me a hug or wave hello. You can try and do that weird ass hand shake with me but understand, in advance, that I don't know what to do!

Ok, that is all for now. I wonder if these things bother you too? Maybe I am just weird. But honestly. I don't care. I'll continue to be me. Have an amazing day!!