I have never understood why people smoke. The first
time you try to smoke is only to impress someone, and it's so cool!
But don't tell me it tastes good! After all, you don't eat cigarettes,
or do you? If you don't know where to put your hands, why don't you just
get a pen and play with it? And it is expensive. Some people
complain of having no money but why do they have enough money to buy cigarettes
where they could buy a small meal for that price. Think about it!
And as a non-smoker, I hate smelling my clothes, especially the next day
in a cold room...yikes! I can't hang anything next to it because
it will smell , or lets call it stink, too. After a night out, I
have problems the following morning to talk. My voice is scratchy
and my eyes are red from the smoke that I had to take. I am a non-smoker
by choice but I still have the risk of getting cancer due to second-hand-smoking.
I think it's not fair. If someone wants to smoke, they should wear
a mask and inhale it inside the mask...and I am hoping for them to get
real sick on it! Sorry for being so harsh but think about it.
I don't smoke for a reason but I still have to put up with it. The
new law, not being allowed to smoke inside bars, restaurants, etc., is
a somewhat good law but it doesn't resolve the problem. People go
outside to smoke. Every time I go out and have dinner with my friends,
they walk outside to smoke and it feels like you can't have one decent
meal without all these interruptions of desperate smokers walking outside.
It makes me uncomfortable. And I know why the government hasn't banned
cigarettes yet because they are making money off it. They don't realize
that it actually costs more money in the healthcare business than not to
receive taxes on tabacco at all. I really wonder why the government
hasn't come to that conclusion yet...well, I know why: money, money, money.
DRINKING
I used to drink a hell lot of stuff when I was back in Germany.
One drink there costs about $7-8. Since I can take more hard liquor
than beer, wine or champaign, I drank without feeling anything. What
a waste of money to just get a buzz! And all it does is make your
wallet emptier and tired for the following days. Well, some people have
even a hang-over which I am, thank god, spared. But you know what, it's not worth the risk you are getting into.
Plus, I can have fun without drinking. I even enjoy it more because
I can fully live the moment without having any space-outs. I completely support alcohol-free beers and beverages. Why
don't they come up with more like that? Is it the buzz that people are
missing? Or is it the flavor, the reason why people drink (so I have
been told)? If it's the flavor alone I am sure that it can be accomplished
to come up with an alcohol-free beverage that tastes just alike.
But I do admit to drink a shot here and there once a while.....oops....
CHATROOMS
When computers were still a scary thing, people thought that whoever
uses one is a nerd. Well, in some cases it may apply. My experience
is that I have met wonderful people besides nerds on the internet and even
met them in real life. This seems to be the new generation.
Long Distance doesn't seem to matter anymore because it can be free when
using ICQ, email, powwow, or some other internet phone programs.
I like chatrooms because I have a good way of talking to more than one
person at the time. Also to get my mind of work and just being myself...well,
sometimes just feeling like a kid anymore. Nothing wrong with that!
I dislike people putting up other people's pictures and pretending it's
them. If you have a comment to whatever, stand to it and don't lie
about it. If you can't admit, at least skip an answer but don't lie!
I know that when I first started chatting, it was uncommon to use their
own picture. After a while more people came out of their hiding place
and posted their picture. It took everybody a while not to nag on
someone's looks and to just accept the way they look. Once you have
established a friendship online, it's the greatest thing to meet in real
life. You feel like you have known each other for years and can share
stories. I am glad that I have met so many people in real life after
a long time of chatting! But not to forget, chatting is a good way of entertainment, education,
and interaction with all cultures.
GOD/RELIGION
My family is catholic..or used to be at least. My mom is very
religious and, as she told me, she prays a lot. But she never made
us kids believe in god or forced us to go to church. In fact, my
brother was one of those little helpers (what are those called again?)
that helped the preacher drink his wine. Since he had to attend for
that almost every night, I was curious, too. So I went and listened
to the preaching and watched the procedures. But even until today,
I still don't understand all this fuzz! Then when I was about 8 years
old, I would sneak into church in the afternoon with my girlfriend.
We grabbed a songbook and sang it out loud - in front of I don't know how
many people. And we didn't even know how to read the notes and invented
all kinds of styles. I actually wondered why nobody ever told us
to get the hell out of there! Years later, I was in the situation of making my own choice in front
of church, what kind of religion I want to choose. Being raised in
Bavaria, the South of Germany, you don't have a big choice - it was either
catholic or protestant (I hope that's the right one, but it's called Evangelisch
in German!). And to make this even more awkward, protestants weren't
really liked in Bavaria. So there you go! I had to become catholic
with my own choice! There is this stupid law in Germany that the
government takes out a percentage of your paycheck for your believes.
I found myself very offended by that because I never went to church, never
used any of their services or cared for it. So by the time I was
about 19 years old I made my decision to just simply quit. I went
to the administrative office of the city, filed, paid about $25 and was
done with it in 10 minutes. Later my paycheck was about $50/month
more and I was happy. And to my surprise, years later I found out
that my dad and stepmom had done the same thing to save some money. To this day I still think that you can raise your kids without having
to mention that god doesn't want you to this or that. Instead, you
can tell them you don't want them to do this or that BECAUSE.....know what
I mean? I think I came out alright without having the "help" of god.
And not to offend you, but I purposely type the word god in lower case
because I don't believe in it. Most of the time I think people make
excuses of their own mistakes by covering up and saying that god still
loves you no matter what. Or, they go to church and pray because
they have nothing else to do. Well, how about believing in yourself,
your family and friends??
HEALTH INSURANCE
I have noticed that there are discussions of whether to have health
insurance coverage for everybody (don't know the correct legal term for
it). Let me tell you this: It has been practiced for years
in Europe and it's not cheap. If you want to have about $300-$400/month
deducted out of your paycheck so that others won't have to work, please
go ahead and vote for it. But I kind of liked the idea when I came
to the US that I pay for my own services. With the social health
insurance, you have to fill out forms, wait forever to get an authorization
- if - and pay more than what health insurance usually costs. Doesn't
this sound very familiar?? Like HMO? With the difference of paying
more....
DRUGS
Now this is an experience I have been able to avoid all my life.
I have never done any drugs, with the exception of prescribed medication
and drinking alcohol here and there. I am barfophobic (for those
who haven't heard it from me yet, I am phobic to vomiting!). Everything
associated with puking makes me freak out, the smell, the noise, seeing
it, hearing stories about it. Thank god, because that's what kept
me away from taking drugs. I never liked the idea of not being in
control of my body or not to know how my body reacts. And then, the
disadvantages of taking them are so much more that there is no reason for
me to even try it once. And since I don't like doing it, I try to
stay away from people who do. Also, because I can't relate to them.
SOME OTHER TOPICS THAT MAKE ME WONDER
PILL FOR THE MAN: I believe that once this pill comes out, that men should take the
risk just as we women do by taking the birth control pill. We jeopardize
our bodies and health so that men can also have their fun. And we
women have to deal with our periods and PMS every month, almost our entire
life long, so why shouldn't men support us a little? And I am not
even bringing up the pain that we women have to go through when having
a baby...oh well, I just did..... CHICKEN, CHICKEN, CHICKEN: Everywhere I go here in LA, restaurants offer chicken. There
is almost no choice BUT to eat chicken every day. Is this just typical
Californian or am I being a spoiled German girl? HIGHPITCH VOICES: I have noticed that most of the American women I see on TV or meet
in real life, use this high pitch voice. It goes like: Hi,
how are you? And towards the end of the sentence, their voice gets higher
and higher. If you ask me, it sounds soooooo fake and it's real annoying.
Kind of like babytalk! Please, stop it and talk normal! A good
example for that is the show "Beverly Hills, 90210". In the beginning
of the show, every actors talked normal and was very natural. Now
you hear the same fake talking. Once you notice it it's even worse...sorry,
that I brought it up! BATHROOM KEYS: I understand that some bathrooms should have keys so that only authorized
people are allowed to use them and that unauthorized people won't make
it dirty. But why the hell is it that men's bathrooms never have
a key and we have to ask for one every single time? I have asked
around and haven't found an answer to that yet.... RESTAURANT TIPS: It makes sense to me that waiters need to be paid for their work
but why do we have to calculate the 15% ourselves? I know, I know,
I am a finance manager and should be the least to complain about this but
it would make things real simple for everybody. Just add the 15%
and if a guest wants to tip on top of it, just do it. This
would help getting bills paid faster and ensuring that waiters are getting
paid at least 15%. Maybe one day the US will wake up and do it like
in the rest of the world..... WRAPPING OF FRAGILE FOODS: Every time I buy white bread it is all crushed by the time I unpack it at home. Why is it that they don't put bread in boxes that don't make my toast look like someone just stepped on it? Other examples are cookies, donuts, and Mohrenkoepfe (for the German people that know this delicious chocolate covered eggwhite foam on a crispy waffle).