My Life Blog

I’m so confused on what is considered "right" these days.

The Middle East is in an uproar regarding the shooting of a wounded insurgent who had previously taken an attacking position from a mosque.

Meanwhile, the insurgents are beheading innocent Westerners who are helping to rebuild their country.  Or worse yet, a Brit who spent close to three decades dedicating her life to helping the Iragi people — and even marrying an Iraqi.

And has it been mentioned that the insurgents have employed the technique of booby trapping the dead and the wounded?  Our soldiers face unbelievable risks and have to fight through situational perceptions that aren’t what they appear.  We are fighting an enemy that has never played by the rules — and so what rules must we now play by? 

In war, it seems okay to kill if you get that first good shot in.  But thereafter, there’s this confusing time-sensitive rule that seems to confuse the issue.  Once someone is wounded and appears to be defenseless, you cannot finish the job.  But why?  What’s the difference between two shots fired within seconds; the first wounding and the second killing vs. two shots fired minutes or days apart?  To me it all seems the same. 

Obviously, war is terrible and terrible things are happening, but let’s not punish a Marine for trying to navigate the confusing rules of engagement for a very confusing war situation.

As always, just my opinion, I could definitely be wrong…but this is how I feel about this.

I’ve debated whether to post about this as I’m not sure how this makes me sound.

Over the past three weeks, I’ve had at least three instances where I’ve had to valet park. Now usually, I’m okay with this as I’m at a nice restaurant and I view it as a real convenience. But this weekend, a couple of things happened which I wasn’t pleased about.

Now I don’t want to get off a rant here, but I think we need to question this whole niche industry. Who are we trying to benefit here? I think the valet industry is not there to add convenience to your experience. I think it is there as a revenue opportunity for the valet service and for the restaurant. And that taints my experience.

Two weeks ago, I went to Snuffer’s — Snuffer’s for God’s sakes!! Its a hamburger place! With visible parking places mere feet away from the restaurant entrance, I valeted my car. The valet was also mere feet from the entrance. So where is the convenience here? Why do I need someone to park my car when I could park it myself and have even a shorter walk? And at a hamburger place. So it cost me $3 for the inconvenience.

Then on Friday night, we went to Al Biernat’s for a really nice dinner. The dinner experience was wonderful. However, when the valet returned with my car, the back of the seat was covered with sweat. It was a hot night and the valet attendents were really hustling. But doesn’t that somehow lessen my experience?

And lastly, after Al Biernat’s we made the short trip to Sambuca’s where we also valeted. When the valet brought my car, I got in only to find that the seat had been adjusted forward. Is it really necessary to adjust the seat for such a short trip? And to top it off, the claim tag was left under my windshield wiper.

Again, I don’t want to come off as being a complainer, but let’s all understand what valet parking is. Its an opportunity for two additional parties to make money off of you — the establishment and the valet service. It is not a service offered for your convenience. And most times, its not a non-invasive service. There’s always something left behind to leave a bad taste in your mouth. And we’re expected to tip generously for this?

So there’s my take on valet parking — I think its a scam. Of course, that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong…

The title of this post is regrettably vague — sorry about that. After reading this, maybe you’ll see why.

My workplace has a parking lot that I visit sometimes four times a day: park, go to lunch, park, leave. Invariably, someone will lock their vehicle and I’ll be met with a rude and unwelcome honking of a mysterious horn. If I’m lucky, I get one honk. In some cases, they come in multiples.

I don’t want to get off on a rant here, but who thought honking a horn was a good feedback mechanism for car locking and unlocking? It seems very selfish to me. I’m forgiving of a headlight flash, but I’m not forgiving of the noise pollution from a horn. An unexpected honk makes me skip a step and curse under my breath at the car owner. It starts my working day with an edge or leaves a bad taste in my mouth at the end of my working day.

And is it just a little bit ill-conceived? If I’m deaf and my only feedback is a horn, how do I know my car is locked? Clearly we allow the deaf to drive. I think the better choice is to flash the headlights. After all, every driver is required to be able to see. Last I checked, we do not let the blind drive. Of course, I do accuse many of driving blindly, but that’s a topic for another day.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong…