Inefficient Design

What does that bring to mind? The first thing that comes to my mind is the gallon milk jug. That has to be the most completely inefficient design I have seen in a while. It is near impossible to open a new gallon of milk and pour some into just a glass. No. Not just a glass. The glass, down the side of the carton, drops on the counter, etc. Try doing that one-handed with a child on one hip. Impossible. Is it really that hard to design a jug that holds the gallon of contents, AND can be easily and cleanly emptied from the beginning? I think not. I think the gallon jug design is not for ease of use and convenience for the consumer. No. It's for ease of use, and shipping and handling convenience for the manufacturers, packers and shippers. I think they designed it that way for strength and durability while distributing to grocery stores all over the country. Notice I said "country" and not "world." I seem to recall milk being packaged and distributed in bags in Canada. Something I originally considered unusual. Looking back, I think the Canadians had it right! We would take the bag out of the box it came in, slip it into a specially made "milk pitcher," snip off the corner and pour. I would even say that we got more of those "last drops" out of the empty bag than out of an empty carton. Then the bag gets tossed, and the pitcher reused. Less bulky recycling or garbage, more accurate and cleanly pouring... easy, clean, refreshing enjoyment.

There are many other completely ridiculous and inefficiently designed products out there. But the milk jug is a daily nuisance in my house with as much milk as we go through. What other inefficient designs have you encountered lately? I'd really like to know.

Out of Control

Nothing bothers me more than things I can't control. Especially when those things directly affect me. I don't like it when I'm in a hurry and the person in front of me is driving well below the speed limit. I don't like it when my house is exceptionally noisy. Like when the TV is on, the kids are yelling, crying or screaming, the phone is ringing, dishwasher is running, someone is talking loudly and Sarah is playing games on the computer. When it gets that chaotic, it just bothers my brain. I don't like it when I've just finished mopping the floor and one of my kids spills their juice on it. Things like that just bother me.

Lately, I've been taking some medication that has been messing with my appearance. It seems like it's affecting all the wrong things for me. I've always been happy with my weight and generally happy with my appearance, but there have always been certain things about me that I like more than others. For example, I've always liked my neck and collar bone. Weird, I know. I've also always liked my face (except when I had just delivered Sarah, and was about forty pounds over my ideal weight!). This medicine I've been on seems to be accentuating the things I don't like about myself (like my love handles and post-pregnancy pooch), and obliterating the things I do (like my neck and face). That REALLY bothers me! Call me crazy, but eating less and better foods and exercising more is supposed to make me look and feel better, while possibly losing a few extra pounds, right? Well, I've been doing that for the last few months, and it's having virtually NO effect. That bothers me. I wouldn't call myself a control "freak" or even a controlling person, but when I can't control my own body, it really throws me for a loop. I keep telling myself that it's only temporary, and the side effects of the medicine will disappear when I'm not taking it anymore. Somehow it just seems to wash over in the here and now. Looking to the future with patience has never been one of my strong points. I'm more of a "get 'er done" type person. When I start a project, I like it to be finished in the least amount of time possible. Hence some of the late night finger-sewing incidents. On the bright side, with the multi-vitamin and extra calcium and magnesium I've been required to take along with my medicine, my nails have never looked better or been stronger! I have pretty hands. Well... Here's to another month from now when I'll be off this poison and can start my transformation back to "normal" again... hopefully.

Greedy Corporate Insanity

As if I needed another reason besides poor customer service, lack of items in stock, "accidental" overcharging, lack of cleanliness, inconsiderate demographics, corporate greed, and presumed empiricism to strongly dislike Walmart, they have given me yet another. There is not much that I enjoy about Walmart. I believe that their non-consumable goods are commonly of inferior quality. I don't usually enjoy my shopping experience in the store because of countless frustrations encountered upon every visit. The other customers I come into contact with inside the store are usually not the most friendly or considerate. Of the few things I do find beneficial about Walmart, their lower prices on certain staples as well as their willingness to price-match other competitors' ads have been the bulk of the rationale for me to continue frequenting it's premises. As my wise neighbor-friend once told me, "If it keeps me a stay-at-home mom..." Without consciously realizing it, this has been one of my main motivations for continuing to shop Walmart. It has indeed helped me save money on every day items so that I can stretch our family income without having to provide a second one just so I don't have to shop "that place." I'm not that proud, anyway. I complain, yet saving money and finding the best deal is by far a more important allocation of my time and energy in taking care of and helping provide for my family. So... the new reason for hatred? It may just be a rumor. More probably it's another way for the corporate giant to "stick it" to the consumer in this downward spiraling economy because as yet another wise person said in reference to "safe" stock investments today, "People will not stop shopping at Walmart because they think it's the cheapest place to buy." I have been told that Walmart is shortly going to be doing away with it's price-matching policy. Nice! So maybe I really will stop shopping there now. I'll just have to plan my trips better and utilize my friends' shopping trips when they're going somewhere I'm not. Personally, I think it's a poor decision on Walmart's part. I think they'll lose business over it because a lot of people, including myself, have been using Walmart's price matching for the convenience of a one-stop shop. But it's only slightly less convenient, and not at all gas-inefficient for me to make more than one stop. Especially if I'm going to Walmart because those other stores are all closer than they are to me anyway. Go figure. This only reaffirms my growing beef with one of the biggest corporate giants of America.