Distracted living

[GW8345]

Vrai,

The reason why you could not get into San Souci, an oblivain.

http://smnewsnet.com/archives/109055/scooter-rider-flown-out-following-collision/

Driving a moped down the side walk, using a cross walk to cross the street against the signal and expecting everyone to stop for him because, after all, he's in the cross walk.

The world is full of stupid people, there are prime examples everyone and this article illustrates another one.

 

[Hannibal]

This is the way it is now. It's not that people are generally oblivious (they are), it's much more than that. People have now transferred accountability to others ..... as in not themselves. They believe that others should respond to them rather than taking actions personally. I see this all the time. Two biggest examples:

1. While driving through a shopping center. People will cross the main drag between the parking lot and the store front and pay NO mind whatsoever to traffic driving through. In their head ... you will stop. They do not cross at the painted cross walks or wait to ensure they've made eye contact with a driver ..... they just walk. I've literally dealt with this 100 times I would bet. I will be driving in front of the store and some exiting shopper will put their head down and walk directly in front of me ..... forcing me to brake / stop so they can cross. It's not that I would ever intend to hit someone but it burns my ass that you believe its OK to do that. When the roles are reversed, I approach the street and stop. I then wait to ensure the driver has seen me and acknowledges that I am there and has confirmed it is OK to move across. When they signal they've seen you and that it's clear to move, I QUICKLY get across the road and ALWAYS give a quick acknowledgement/thank you for their time and consideration. I cannot stand the idiot(s) who blindly dart out of in front of you and then ignore you. Even worse are the a-holes that jump infront of you and when you have to damn near panic stop - give you the evil-eye because you are closer to them then they'd like it.

2. The person who missed their turn: I love it (with a terrible passion) when a person has missed their turn. Maybe this is them sitting in the straight lane at the light who meant to be in the lane turning left. But rather than cross the street and turn around (at their own expense in time), they sit in the straight lane with their signal on until everyone in the turn lane has cleared. Sometimes even forcing those behind them to wait through a full light-cycle.

Or maybe it's the person who can't get over to make their turn while driving on a 2-lane (each way) road. Perhaps they were cruising a bit too fast in the left hand lane and realized just a touch too late that they were driving past their turn on the right. And rather than continue forward (and not impeding the rest of us) - they sit idle in the left hand lane with their right turn signal on, waiting for a gap in traffic to cut across the right hand land and into their turn. Granted, this causes all kinds of confusion behind them and naturally everyone backed up behind them does nothing but jump into the right hand lane themselves to pass .......... only serving to make the offending vehicle sit there longer waiting for a gap in traffic.

These are the people who I wish would spontaneously combust in their driver's seat.

 

[vraiblonde]

These are the people who I wish would spontaneously combust in their driver's seat.

I've seen it any number of times and agree with your whole post.

 

[NTNG]

Coming into the base this am, saw a lady reading a book as she was in line, moving towards the gate. Almost every morning, I see people texting as they maintain 2-3 car lengths between them and the vehicle in front of them. Gotta be safe while you text, and slowly drive in line...

 

[mAlice]

These are the people who I wish would spontaneously combust in their driver's seat.

I was out running errands yesterday and a driver jumped through my lane from the right to the left turn lane. I had to slam on my breaks to avoid an accident, so s/he would not be inconvenienced and have to go a little further up the road and turn around, because for whatever reason, he was not aware that s/he had reached his/her destination.

Then there was the guy that parked on the sidewalk last week, so pedestrians had to walk in the parking lot.

 

[GWguy]

1. While driving through a shopping center...

Agree. When I walk across i always assume they will not stop. I stand on the side and stare at them. If they stop like they are supposed to, I acknowledge them, say thank you and give them a biker's wave as I cross. I've always thought these lots should NEVER be designed they way they are, but should route traffic away from the front of the stores so the cars and pedestrians don't have to compete. But that would be way too smart a thing to do....

 

[Christy]

I mean, what the hell? What is it? Why are people so freaking oblivious?

I can only speak for myself, but the ability to access email at all times has changed how we work. It is very difficult not to be working at all times because we are now required to do more with less. It used to be you worked your hours at work and went home. That has all changed (at least in my world). I know I am not the only person who experiences this. My brain is oblivious to many things because it is just so jammed full of crap that needs to be done and there are deadlines to meet and being only one deep leaves very little room to turn that stuff off.

I'm sure there are many folks who are just distracted because of all the cool stuff on fb, instagram, or pinterest, but there are also many other's who are simply just overwhelmed with trying to meet the demands placed on them at home and at work.

 

[GWguy]

I can only speak for myself, but the ability to access email at all times has changed how we work. It is very difficult not to be working at all times because we are now required to do more with less. It used to be you worked your hours at work and went home. That has all changed (at least in my world). I know I am not the only person who experiences this. My brain is oblivious to many things because it is just so jammed full of crap that needs to be done and there are deadlines to meet and being only one deep leaves very little room to turn that stuff off.

I'm sure there are many folks who are just distracted because of all the cool stuff on fb, instagram, or pinterest, but there are also many other's who are simply just overwhelmed with trying to meet the demands placed on them at home and at work.

I won't deny that's the way a lot of people work nowadays, but technically anyone on-base who checks work email and work texts etc.. is in violation of their contract. Remember how that was enforced when sequestration happened? Those rules haven't gone away, people just choose to ignore it.

I was in a position where I COULD walk out the door and completely turn off work until 8am the next day.

 

[vraiblonde]

My brain is oblivious to many things because it is just so jammed full of crap that needs to be done and there are deadlines to meet and being only one deep leaves very little room to turn that stuff off.

Make a list.

I hate to be trite... Okay, that's a lie because I love being trite. I love saying the word "trite". "Trite" is who I am and my stated purpose in life.

Wait...where was I?

Oh yeah...

Carry around a notebook or pad of paper and write down your tasks and other chit that needs to be done. That way you have it on paper and it doesn't take up your brain space to remember. Plus it feels good to cross something off your list. "Accomplished!" Everyone makes fun of me and my multiple ongoing lists but it does keep me straight without a whole lot of stress, and it frees up my gray matter for the here and now.

 

[GWguy]

Make a list.

I hate to be trite... Okay, that's a lie because I love being trite. I love saying the word "trite". "Trite" is who I am and my stated purpose in life.

Wait...where was I?

Oh yeah...

Carry around a notebook or pad of paper and write down your tasks and other chit that needs to be done. That way you have it on paper and it doesn't take up your brain space to remember. Plus it feels good to cross something off your list. "Accomplished!" Everyone makes fun of me and my multiple ongoing lists but it does keep me straight without a whole lot of stress, and it frees up my gray matter for the here and now.

Paper and pencil?!?!?! No to-do list or calendar reminder on your smartphone??

 

[vraiblonde]

No to-do list or calendar reminder on your smartphone??

My Outlook has all that stuff too but paper and pen can be close at hand and I do love physically crossing things off. Deleting them just isn't as satisfying. Plus I'd have to remember to look at my phone, and anyone who calls or texts me knows that that's iffy.

 

[mAlice]

Paper and pencil?!?!?! No to-do list or calendar reminder on your smartphone??

My to-do list is on my phone, but that's about all the use it gets outside of a few calls here and there, and M-F wake ups. My phone is mostly used for texting back and forth between daughter #2 with grand baby at home. Once I leave the office, the phone is pretty much forgotten, unless I need to access my to-do list. I usually miss calls from daughter #1 on weekends because I don't pick up my phone until Sunday night to turn on the alarm.

I guess I'm fortunate that I haven't fallen victim to the electronic umbilical.

 

[RareBreed]

Make a list.

I hate to be trite... Okay, that's a lie because I love being trite. I love saying the word "trite". "Trite" is who I am and my stated purpose in life.

Wait...where was I?

Oh yeah...

Carry around a notebook or pad of paper and write down your tasks and other chit that needs to be done. That way you have it on paper and it doesn't take up your brain space to remember. Plus it feels good to cross something off your list. "Accomplished!" Everyone makes fun of me and my multiple ongoing lists but it does keep me straight without a whole lot of stress, and it frees up my gray matter for the here and now.

I have a Day Planner that I write down all the chores I need to get done that day. Seeing a long list and crossing stuff off does give you a sense of accomplishment for the day.

 

[BernieP]

This is the way it is now. It's not that people are generally oblivious (they are), it's much more than that. People have now transferred accountability to others ..... as in not themselves. They believe that others should respond to them rather than taking actions personally.

There is always an excuse as to why they should be able to do what they want to do.
Then you factor in the higher stress levels with the requirement/mandate to multi-task (something humans were not designed to do).
But that's more "distracted" than oblivious.

 

[GWguy]

My Outlook has all that stuff too but paper and pen can be close at hand and I do love physically crossing things off. Deleting them just isn't as satisfying. Plus I'd have to remember to look at my phone, and anyone who calls or texts me knows that that's iffy.

My to-do list is on my phone, but that's about all the use it gets outside of a few calls here and there, and M-F wake ups. My phone is mostly used for texting back and forth between daughter #2 with grand baby at home. Once I leave the office, the phone is pretty much forgotten, unless I need to access my to-do list. I usually miss calls from daughter #1 on weekends because I don't pick up my phone until Sunday night to turn on the alarm.

I guess I'm fortunate that I haven't fallen victim to the electronic umbilical.

I have. My entire life is now on my handheld. Shopping lists, doctors, projects, complete calendar of events, and on and on. Completely integrated into my blue-tooth truck for phone, contacts, Pandora...

 

[mAlice]

I have. My entire life is now on my handheld. Shopping lists, doctors, projects, complete calendar of events, and on and on. Completely integrated into my blue-tooth truck for phone, contacts, Pandora...

 

[Christy]

I was in a position where I COULD walk out the door and completely turn off work until 8am the next day.

Lucky you. How am I in violation of my contract? Also, I was not sequestered. We can argue semantics all day long, but the point I was trying to make is that distracted living is not always because someone is selfish or "all about me". My situation is but one example. Someone else could be dealing with cancer, or someone else could be dealing with taking care of ill family members. The things that distract us are limitless.

 

[frequentflier]

Make a list.

I hate to be trite... Okay, that's a lie because I love being trite. I love saying the word "trite". "Trite" is who I am and my stated purpose in life.

Wait...where was I?

Oh yeah...

Carry around a notebook or pad of paper and write down your tasks and other chit that needs to be done. That way you have it on paper and it doesn't take up your brain space to remember. Plus it feels good to cross something off your list. "Accomplished!" Everyone makes fun of me and my multiple ongoing lists but it does keep me straight without a whole lot of stress, and it frees up my gray matter for the here and now.

I usually have several notebooks going at once. Once I write something down (as in pen or pencil on a piece of paper), I usually remember it. I could forget the grocery list at home and still remember what is on it because I physically wrote it down.

 

[GWguy]

I even have apps to tie into my home a/c so I can turn it on before I get home.

 

[mAlice]

I even have apps to tie into my home a/c so I can turn it on before I get home.

I had an app for my security system/ac/lights, etc; but never used it. So when I had to reset my phone, that one never made it back on.