Debate of the Week #7

 

 

 

 

It must be Friday because it’s time to drop your socks and grab your tux again for Big Mike’s Debate of the Week!

Sorry I haven’t been writing but I am still trying to get used to mixing life and a job again.  To recap the last Debate of the week I asked you how you like your holiday vacation days.  You had a choice of taking the day off on Friday or on the usually given, Monday.

I didn’t get many responses to this one but I did have one say they liked their Fridays off just like me.  And the other response was an everyday being an off day is preferable.  I agree with both but I am loving my job and at this point, really don’t want a day off.  Whaa?!?  Well, on my days off I have a honey-do list so long I might as well be at work!  It’s funny because I don’t think I had this many things to do while I was unemployed.  Lucky me still has 2 items left from my last honey-do list.  I can’t wait to get my next one…

But hey, guess what…..It’s time for this weeks Debate of the Week!

Today’s topic is one that has always made me weigh the differences between their benefits.  I’m talkin about the good ole debate between what is better, a shower or a bath?

There is so much to try and get into this topic so let’s see where it takes us. I guess I should start off by picking one to discuss first.

The Bath

This is definitely the oldest ways (of the two) we use to become clean and fresh smelling to face the general population.  I can remember that when I would spend nights at either of my grandparent’s houses (when I was younger) that baths were the method of choice by them to have me get clean.  But I never understood why they both made me take them at night.  I always thought the best method was doing the cleaning ritual in the morning so you feel refreshed.  I could be wrong but I don’t think I am.

So yeah, I was brought up on taking baths.  But after a while I started to despise them.  I began to question not only the time of day to take them but the ability of being “clean” while taking one.  The way I was taught was to wash from head down to toes.  Then submerge in the water or use a cup to rinse off.  But it was with the same water I have been sitting in with my dirty ass and soaping up the whole time.  Didn’t make sense.

Then I want you to take into account the old saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water!”  This came from the olden days when baths were only taken once in a blue moon and the men got to bath first from the most important to the least, then the women got to go in and this was all done by age as well.  So the last to get a bath was the poor baby.  I can just imagine by that time, the water was similar in color to freshly made weak coffee or tea with a little active bubbling.  I just got the shivers…..I need a shower just thinking of that!

Speaking of showers, let’s talk about those next.

The Shower

For me showers are great!  You can get in and get out as fast as you can once the water gets to the desired temperature.  There is no waiting for a tub to get filled or that frank and beans shrinking cold surprise that the water lost it’s temperature once you get in.

As most of you know I have my Axe Thai Massage soap I use which is great for the shower setting.  But the shower is very user friendly for any type of soap you wish to use as well as shampoo and conditioner if you have hair (on your head).  All the while the water temp stays the same for the entire process, unless someone flushes the toilet while you’re in the shower.  EEEEK!

Now I know each mode of cleaning has their weaknesses.  Especially if you are the one that keeps your house clean and dry.  The bath offers a free for all water escape over the side of the tub.  This could be a potential hazardous to your health if you are married to Big Mike’s World’s good friend/follower The Life of Jamie.  She encounters this type of problem but with the shower setting.  Her hubby likes to jump out of the shower nice and wet and stand on the decorative mats and soak them while drying off.  But that is just a slacking of the house rules.  The real problem that could come from a shower is if you don’t get that good curtain seal with the walls at the front and back of the tub.  That is usually the first thing I contend with once I jump in.  Get that curtain sticking to the wall before proceeding with the shower.

Ok, so I think that is enough of a debate for me to say I am for a shower, all the way.  The only way I would take a bath is if I needed to soak my butt to get rid of the cooties.

But before I end this segment of the Debate of the Week, I want to ask you one other thing that is related to this topic.  How, if you do, do you take a shower?  I go by the 5 points of clean rule when I’m in a hurry.  And to be in a hurry I need to be in the state of mind of Oh ish I’m gonna be late for such and such….

What’s my 5 points of clean rule?  I consider myself clean after the 5 major points of stink are cleaned.  Well, what are the 5 major points of stink, Mike?  Well that’s easy…..Hair, face, armpits,crotch, and a$$!  If you are able to “de-funktify” those 5 areas, you are considered by Big Mike to be clean enough to be social that day.  Horrible?  Maybe….but sometimes you only have time to do the necessities!

So what is your preferred cleaning ritual? Bath or Shower or do you just skip it all together and just spray yourself down with cologne or perfume?  And lastly, do you use Big Mike’s 5 points of clean rule?

Leave Your Ego At The Door

It’s been a long road for me since returning back to the states from Japan. Today marks the 9th day of me being employed after being without a job for 2 years. The job is not my natural job of choice but it is a job.  And after 2 years of searching one becomes very eager to just do anything to stay sane.  I have taken many government standardized  tests for jobs that just never came.  I did well on the tests but with the government shrinking, the jobs that were open just became jobs that aren’t even jobs anymore.

I am over that.  I need to just press on and hope for the best to come in the following years.  Why not?  I can’t do anything about the past now.  What I can do is my best in my current position and possibly taking advantage of being in the government system(GS) now.

So what is my job?  Don’t laugh but I am a cashier at the grocery store on the military base here.  Well, my title is store associate.  Whatever that means.  It basically is a glorified term for worker bee.  Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to be working.  It’s just not the National Security type job I was hoping to have at this point.  You know I have a Master’s degree in the subject matter.

So what about my title of this post?  Well, it is something I have to say to myself everyday before walking in the door at work.  Believe me, I wish I didn’t have to.  But I feel it is something I need to do in order to make new friends and get through the day without seeming like an A-Hole.  I have been in some kind of supervisory or management position in everything I have done professionally.  To be just the worker bee now, is tough to accept.

I know I can be abrasive at times and come off as a know-it-all in things that I am familiar with (which is just about everything.  See, I am an A-hole!).  This was tough during my training for this new job.  I needed to keep quiet and just soak in what people told me.  I guess they thought I was some kind of prodigy and only trained for 2 days before I  got my own money drawer and thrown to the wolves.  No big deal, I’m a people person.  If I mess up, I just use my charm to calm the situation and make the customer think everything is good.  It’s like a magic trick.  You saw me screw up and now you see a bunny. 🙂

I have also learned some great tips for those of you that do your own grocery shopping.  Probably the most important is to generously tip your bagger monetarily.  Why?  Well if you don’t, your eggs will end up crushed under the jug of bleach  and your potato chips will turn to dust.  And if you use coupons, don’t come to my lane, I will just throw that ish out.  Oh yeah, and if you’re grumpy and you don’t say hi to me after my cheery and gleeful greeting, you just might end up with a $20 roll of toilet paper charged on your receipt.  Wipe your butt with that you cranky sour apple!

But seriously, if there is anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot immediately!

Debate Of The Week #6

It must be Friday because it’s time to drop your socks and grab your tux again for Big Mike’s Debate of the Week! Wait Wait Wait!  It’s not Friday, it’s Wednesday!

Well, sorry I missed last week but life happens.  And this week I will be in Chi-Town for Easter.  I just wanted to get you a little something to hold you over for the holiday until I get back.

Two weeks ago I asked you, if you had a choice of the following which one would it be and why?  A Blood Lusting Zombie, A normal Run of The Mill Vampire, A Bad Ass Throat Ripping Werewolf, or The Last Human on Earth.

Many of you surprised me by wanting to face the world as The Last Human on Earth.  I’m not sure I have a strong enough mental state to do that.  Plus I would want to try being something I was not before I leave this world.  I’m adventurous that way.  So for those who chose to be the human, remember I gave you the choice to be something different when I show up at your door or cave or wherever as the Bad Ass Throat Ripping Werewolf.

On to the Debate Of The Week!

Wooo Hooo, we are coming up to a bunch of Federally recognized holidays.  Alright, so we really aren’t but that statement makes this post work.  Cut me some slack here.

So back to the glory I intended.  Yeah!  Free days off from work.  That is if you are employed.  Which I can happily say I will be as of Monday April 9.

So here is the Debate of the week.  If you could choose the day that holidays are recognized what day would that be?  Let me clarify.

Here is a list of 2012 US Federally recognized holidays.

Monday, January 2 New Year’s Day
Monday, January 16 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Monday, February 20 Washington’s Birthday
Monday, May 28 Memorial Day
Wednesday, July 4 Independence Day
Monday, September 3 Labor Day
Monday, October 8 Columbus Day
Monday, November 12 Veterans Day
Thursday, November 22 Thanksgiving Day
Tuesday, December 25 Christmas Day

Now you can see that most industries’ employees get the benefit of usually getting the day after a weekend off (unless you are in retail or other service type industry).

So here is my clarification to the question.

Now that you can see the days that the holidays fall on, is this the ideal day off for you?  Or would you rather your place of employment give you Fridays off instead of the Federally accepted Monday off?  Another way to look at what I’m asking is; would you rather have the long weekend start on a Friday and end on a Sunday or begin on a Saturday and end on Monday?

Does that make sense?  Too bad if it doesn’t.  Go back to work then if you want to nit pick.  No Holidays For You!  And you have to pay extra for bread!

I view holidays like the back of your head if you had a mullet.  You know, business in the front, party in the back.

For me the decision is null right now since I’m technically unemployed until after Easter.  But I could see voting being a 50/50 split.  I guess I would prefer to only work Monday – Thursday and have the week end for me sooner (in my own little bubble this works).  But then I can see where people dread Mondays.

I say for those of you that dread Mondays, drink more coffee and deal with it.  I want my Fridays off!

I guess our system of holidays could be a little more jacked up or overwhelming.  Take for example, Japan.  They have random holidays.  About 18+ holidays.  Here is a little snippet.

My favorites were midori no hi (Greenery Day) observed at the beginning of May.  This is just to celebrate an old emperor’s love for plants.

How about kodomo no hi (Children’s Day).  On this day parents spend the day with their children, usually the boys and they go out for food and a day of fun.  It’s supposed to be about planning and nurturing the child’s future.

This one always got me, taiiku no hi (Health and Sports Day).  The day is to celebrate the opening day of the Olympics back in 1964.  Talk about extending the memory….

One last thing on Japanese holidays.  I know there are some Valentine’s Day Haterade drinkers out there, so this is for you.  They don’t just have one Valentine’s Day, they have two.  The first one is for the guy to receive gifts; actually on Valentine’s Day(14 Feb), and the other is for the woman in mid March, called White Day.  Be glad you are in the US, haters.

Alright time to reel this post back in to it’s intended purpose.

Where do you stand?  What is better? Get Friday off and go back to work Monday or Get Saturday thru Monday off and back to the grindstone on Tuesday?  Or would you like your days off at another time?

Let’s hear it.  Sound off!

One last thing for ya.  A few helpful tips for your Easter weekend:

1) If you’re getting melted chocolate all over your fingers, you’re eating it too slow!

2) If you can’t eat all of your chocolate, it can be kept in the freezer for some time.  But if you can’t eat it all, what’s wrong with you?

3) Chocolate has a lot of preservatives.  It makes you look younger.  So eat up!

4) In my world; chocolate covered raisins, cherries, oranges, and strawberries count as fruit.  So eat as much as you want.

5) If you’re trying to loose weight, try eating a chocolate egg before every meal.  This way it will suppress your appetite and therefore you will eat less during meal time.

 

 

 

Have a Happy Easter!