Stephanie Faris's Blog, page 70
February 3, 2014
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
For Christmas, I purchased a new winter coat from my husband from Dick's Sporting Goods. Apparently this was a mistake that would continue to haunt me a full month later.
You see, I ordered one jacket. They sent one jacket. Then a few days later, I received a second jacket for no reason whatsoever.
I called the company. I didn't want two jackets, you see. I only wanted one. I'd only paid for one, looking at my bank account. No problem. They'd send me a mailing label that would allow me to "conveniently" send it back. I just had to drive across town to UPS, wait in line, and we'd be all done.
The torture had only begun.
I sent the jacket back and forgot about it. Then, about two weeks later, I received an e-mail that my return had been processed and my account was being credited for the returned jacket. A jacket I'd never asked for...nor had I ever paid for it.
NOOOOOO!
I called the company. They acted like I was inconveniencing them by asking them not to credit my account hundreds of dollars that I'd never even paid. It was too late, they said. Seriously? They wanted me to just keep the money?
No problem. They'd just charge the credit card again. It took days and, in the meantime, my credit card expired. They sent me an e-mail saying they couldn't charge me. But let them know if they could do anything else. Bye-bye.
Confused yet? So was I. So was the customer service person I had to call. At that point, I was basically begging Dick's to charge my credit card. At that point, the customer service reps were also putting me on hold a lot to "check on something."
They'd have to have someone call me back, they said. Days passed...nothing.
Finally, after receiving the seventh or eighth customer service survey, I filled it out in a very strongly-worded manner. My adventure goes like this: I ordered one jacket. I paid for one jacket. They sent a second jacket. I sent the second jacket back. They gave me hundreds of dollars. That all totals up to: one free jacket in my house. It was as if I walked into a store and stole a jacket, as far as I was concerned.
That should have been enough, but that one angry e-mail led to something like five separate phone calls from customer service reps. One customer service rep charged my card, then another called to say she was calling to charge my card. When I told the second customer service rep it had already been taken care of, she said the system didn't show that. Ugh!
The moral of the story? Dick's Sporting Goods needs a better system. I'm pretty sure 90 percent of the population would probably not be this honest, especially when the company makes it so very difficult to do the right thing.
What would you have done? Am I crazy for trying so hard to do the right thing?
You see, I ordered one jacket. They sent one jacket. Then a few days later, I received a second jacket for no reason whatsoever.
I called the company. I didn't want two jackets, you see. I only wanted one. I'd only paid for one, looking at my bank account. No problem. They'd send me a mailing label that would allow me to "conveniently" send it back. I just had to drive across town to UPS, wait in line, and we'd be all done.
The torture had only begun.
I sent the jacket back and forgot about it. Then, about two weeks later, I received an e-mail that my return had been processed and my account was being credited for the returned jacket. A jacket I'd never asked for...nor had I ever paid for it.
NOOOOOO!
I called the company. They acted like I was inconveniencing them by asking them not to credit my account hundreds of dollars that I'd never even paid. It was too late, they said. Seriously? They wanted me to just keep the money?
No problem. They'd just charge the credit card again. It took days and, in the meantime, my credit card expired. They sent me an e-mail saying they couldn't charge me. But let them know if they could do anything else. Bye-bye.
Confused yet? So was I. So was the customer service person I had to call. At that point, I was basically begging Dick's to charge my credit card. At that point, the customer service reps were also putting me on hold a lot to "check on something."
They'd have to have someone call me back, they said. Days passed...nothing.
Finally, after receiving the seventh or eighth customer service survey, I filled it out in a very strongly-worded manner. My adventure goes like this: I ordered one jacket. I paid for one jacket. They sent a second jacket. I sent the second jacket back. They gave me hundreds of dollars. That all totals up to: one free jacket in my house. It was as if I walked into a store and stole a jacket, as far as I was concerned.
That should have been enough, but that one angry e-mail led to something like five separate phone calls from customer service reps. One customer service rep charged my card, then another called to say she was calling to charge my card. When I told the second customer service rep it had already been taken care of, she said the system didn't show that. Ugh!
The moral of the story? Dick's Sporting Goods needs a better system. I'm pretty sure 90 percent of the population would probably not be this honest, especially when the company makes it so very difficult to do the right thing.
What would you have done? Am I crazy for trying so hard to do the right thing?
January 27, 2014
Another Reason to Be Nice
Last Friday, I did something I haven't done in years--an eyebrow wax. I returned to a spa I used to frequent in my 30s, assuming the same woman would still be working there. She wasn't.
Instead, the aesthetician was a very nice woman in her 40s. We had a great conversation while she was working her magic and I was overall pleased with the service. I was so caught up in our conversation, I barely paid attention to the finished product when she handed me a mirror. I paid, went to my car, and looked in my rearview mirror.
My eyebrows were uneven.
It probably isn't noticeable to most people, but after paying $20 to have someone professionally fix them, I expected them to look better than they would if I'd done the work with tweezers.
Did I complain?
No.
Why?
Because she was nice.
Granted, I'll definitely never return. Like most people, I'm usually one who simply stops doing business with a place, warns all my friends...and the place never knows why business is dropping. But as I was thinking about it the next day, I realized something.
If the customer service is good, I'm far less likely to complain. It made me think...maybe customer service is the most important factor. A nice person can do a so-so job cutting your hair or washing your car and, unless the errors are dramatic, you'll probably leave quietly.
I once went to a hair stylist who did a great job but had horrible people skills. The entire half hour was awkward and tense as she barely spoke a word and acted inconvenienced by my presence. I may have revisited her once, but never again after that.
Ideally, you'll find someone with good customer service skills who also has talent. But if you work in a job where you service the public, take note. It's never a bad thing to be great at your job...but even if you aren't, a big smile will go a long way toward avoiding complaints.
Instead, the aesthetician was a very nice woman in her 40s. We had a great conversation while she was working her magic and I was overall pleased with the service. I was so caught up in our conversation, I barely paid attention to the finished product when she handed me a mirror. I paid, went to my car, and looked in my rearview mirror.
My eyebrows were uneven.
It probably isn't noticeable to most people, but after paying $20 to have someone professionally fix them, I expected them to look better than they would if I'd done the work with tweezers.
Did I complain?
No.
Why?
Because she was nice.
Granted, I'll definitely never return. Like most people, I'm usually one who simply stops doing business with a place, warns all my friends...and the place never knows why business is dropping. But as I was thinking about it the next day, I realized something.
If the customer service is good, I'm far less likely to complain. It made me think...maybe customer service is the most important factor. A nice person can do a so-so job cutting your hair or washing your car and, unless the errors are dramatic, you'll probably leave quietly.
I once went to a hair stylist who did a great job but had horrible people skills. The entire half hour was awkward and tense as she barely spoke a word and acted inconvenienced by my presence. I may have revisited her once, but never again after that.
Ideally, you'll find someone with good customer service skills who also has talent. But if you work in a job where you service the public, take note. It's never a bad thing to be great at your job...but even if you aren't, a big smile will go a long way toward avoiding complaints.
January 20, 2014
Dear Website Owners
Because my job as a freelance writer involves quite a bit of research, I often find myself viewing a wide variety of websites throughout the day. Usually when I'm viewing these sites I'm doing so with headphones on. In recent weeks, I've noticed something that is really becoming quite annoying. What?
Auto-play videos.
These videos are advertisements and they load, sound and all, whenever you visit a site. Sometimes a page has more than one of them. They load, sound and all, and play in the background while you're trying to read. If you're trying to listen to music, stream a TV show, or just enjoy silence while you're reading the article, all hope is gone for that. You're listening to the ad, whether you want to or not.
But it gets worse...
You can pause both videos, if you can find them on the page. Often it's a frantic hunt for the video, which you can hear but can't see. There's bad news, though. If you can find the tiny pause button, you'll only get a minute or so of rest, because guess what?
The page is set to refresh on a constant basis, making the video(s) start up all over again.
I have...no lie...been forced to copy and paste the text of one of these pages into a Word document just to be able to use the article as research. It felt good to close the website and all its annoying videos.
Is there any way to stop this annoying trend? Because it seems to be getting worse, not better!
Auto-play videos.
These videos are advertisements and they load, sound and all, whenever you visit a site. Sometimes a page has more than one of them. They load, sound and all, and play in the background while you're trying to read. If you're trying to listen to music, stream a TV show, or just enjoy silence while you're reading the article, all hope is gone for that. You're listening to the ad, whether you want to or not.
But it gets worse...
You can pause both videos, if you can find them on the page. Often it's a frantic hunt for the video, which you can hear but can't see. There's bad news, though. If you can find the tiny pause button, you'll only get a minute or so of rest, because guess what?
The page is set to refresh on a constant basis, making the video(s) start up all over again.
I have...no lie...been forced to copy and paste the text of one of these pages into a Word document just to be able to use the article as research. It felt good to close the website and all its annoying videos.
Is there any way to stop this annoying trend? Because it seems to be getting worse, not better!
January 13, 2014
When Did "Grandma" Become a Bad Word?
Growing up, I had two grandmothers. I called them "Grandma Faris" and "Grandma Capps." I think they probably told my parents that's what they wanted to be called, but I can't be 100 percent sure about that.
Flash forward 30 years. All around me are Nanas and Mee-Maws and Mimis and CeeCees. In other words, everything but grandmas.
A few weeks ago on Facebook, I saw one woman ask another what her "grandmother name" would be. That was the first time I realized that's a thing now. Someone gets pregnant and grandmas start working. They even visit
USA Today
You get the point.
Not surprisingly, it's primarily a female thing. Among those who choose trendy names once a grandchild is born, 41 percent are women while only 28 percent are men.
Are you a grandparent? If so, what name did you choose?
Flash forward 30 years. All around me are Nanas and Mee-Maws and Mimis and CeeCees. In other words, everything but grandmas.
A few weeks ago on Facebook, I saw one woman ask another what her "grandmother name" would be. That was the first time I realized that's a thing now. Someone gets pregnant and grandmas start working. They even visit
USA Today
You get the point.
Not surprisingly, it's primarily a female thing. Among those who choose trendy names once a grandchild is born, 41 percent are women while only 28 percent are men.
Are you a grandparent? If so, what name did you choose?
January 6, 2014
Working Means Swallowing Your Pride
I worked on a help desk, both as a worker and supervisor, for 14 years. During that time, I noticed one of the hardest parts about working--whether on a help desk or otherwise--is swallowing your pride.
When you drill down to the basic level, human beings don't like to be ordered around. It is demoralizing. It feels bad. It's the reason some servers look annoyed when someone asks for more napkins or a refill on a drink. It's also the reason your help desk worker is irritable when you run into his cubicle and yell at him that you need help.
Granted, some people are much better at customer service than others. Do they lack that pride mechanism that is so ingrained in many of us? Or are they simply better at hiding it? One of the best employees I ever had was a people pleaser. People came directly to him with computer problems and, instead of telling them to put in a ticket (as was the policy), he'd jump up and happily rush to help them. He didn't appear to be hiding any irritation, at all. He was genuinely a pleasant person who liked to help people, even if they were ordering them around.
On the flip side, I once worked with a woman who was so bitterly disgusted by being given orders, she pushed it back on the person issuing the order. She was a master at it. If someone told her they needed something, she'd immediately bark back that they needed to put in a ticket. Or she'd push it off on another team in a voice that made clear that the other team was beneath her and therefore had to do her grunt work. Even if it meant only offloading a small part of this task to the other team, she'd do it. I even saw her treat management as though they were supposed to do the work she was above. I think everyone was too scared of her to put her in her place.
Pride. It's a dangerous thing in the workplace. How do you swallow your pride and realize you're in a job to serve others? Do you find that being ordered around is difficult to take, even when a paycheck is tied to it?
When you drill down to the basic level, human beings don't like to be ordered around. It is demoralizing. It feels bad. It's the reason some servers look annoyed when someone asks for more napkins or a refill on a drink. It's also the reason your help desk worker is irritable when you run into his cubicle and yell at him that you need help.
Granted, some people are much better at customer service than others. Do they lack that pride mechanism that is so ingrained in many of us? Or are they simply better at hiding it? One of the best employees I ever had was a people pleaser. People came directly to him with computer problems and, instead of telling them to put in a ticket (as was the policy), he'd jump up and happily rush to help them. He didn't appear to be hiding any irritation, at all. He was genuinely a pleasant person who liked to help people, even if they were ordering them around.
On the flip side, I once worked with a woman who was so bitterly disgusted by being given orders, she pushed it back on the person issuing the order. She was a master at it. If someone told her they needed something, she'd immediately bark back that they needed to put in a ticket. Or she'd push it off on another team in a voice that made clear that the other team was beneath her and therefore had to do her grunt work. Even if it meant only offloading a small part of this task to the other team, she'd do it. I even saw her treat management as though they were supposed to do the work she was above. I think everyone was too scared of her to put her in her place.
Pride. It's a dangerous thing in the workplace. How do you swallow your pride and realize you're in a job to serve others? Do you find that being ordered around is difficult to take, even when a paycheck is tied to it?
December 30, 2013
New Year's Day Superstitions
Whether you're superstitious or not, it's hard not to put a little pressure on that first day of the New Year. Many of us have heard that what you do on January 1st, you'll be doing for the rest of the year. But the "rules" about what you should and shouldn't do on January 1st go far beyond that. Here are a few I found interesting:
The more blackeyed peas you eat on New Year's Day, the more prosperous you are. You're also supposed to add greens to this meal. It's a Southern thing. If you leave your Christmas decorations up past December 31st, you'll bring last year's luck into this year. If you've had a great year, that would be a good thing, wouldn't it?Nothing should leave the house on New Year's Day--even trash.It is bad luck to begin the New Year in debt. Therefore, a check should be written to pay off all debts prior to December 31st. (Good luck with that one!) The first person to enter your home on New Year's Day will influence your entire year. That person should ideally be tall, dark, and handsome...and come bearing such gifts as coal or a silver coin. (That says more than I could say about how old these superstitions are!)You should kiss your significant other at midnight...or be prepared for a year of loneliness. If a person isn't nearby, you're supposed to kiss a pet.You should never do laundry on New Year's Day. That's a requirement many of us can live with! But, seriously, superstition states that if you wash clothes on January 1st, a family member will die that year. Sounds like the plot of a bad horror movie.While you're at it, don't do dishes either. At midnight on New Year's Eve, you should open every door of your house to let out the bad from last year. And let in all the cold from this year.Making noise at midnight scares away the evil spirits for the coming year. Our ancestors had some deep, dark fears, didn't they?There you have it. Even if you aren't superstitious, this list can provide a good excuse to do absolutely no housework at least one day out of the year. Sounds like a good reason to rest to me!
The more blackeyed peas you eat on New Year's Day, the more prosperous you are. You're also supposed to add greens to this meal. It's a Southern thing. If you leave your Christmas decorations up past December 31st, you'll bring last year's luck into this year. If you've had a great year, that would be a good thing, wouldn't it?Nothing should leave the house on New Year's Day--even trash.It is bad luck to begin the New Year in debt. Therefore, a check should be written to pay off all debts prior to December 31st. (Good luck with that one!) The first person to enter your home on New Year's Day will influence your entire year. That person should ideally be tall, dark, and handsome...and come bearing such gifts as coal or a silver coin. (That says more than I could say about how old these superstitions are!)You should kiss your significant other at midnight...or be prepared for a year of loneliness. If a person isn't nearby, you're supposed to kiss a pet.You should never do laundry on New Year's Day. That's a requirement many of us can live with! But, seriously, superstition states that if you wash clothes on January 1st, a family member will die that year. Sounds like the plot of a bad horror movie.While you're at it, don't do dishes either. At midnight on New Year's Eve, you should open every door of your house to let out the bad from last year. And let in all the cold from this year.Making noise at midnight scares away the evil spirits for the coming year. Our ancestors had some deep, dark fears, didn't they?There you have it. Even if you aren't superstitious, this list can provide a good excuse to do absolutely no housework at least one day out of the year. Sounds like a good reason to rest to me!
December 23, 2013
Worst Christmas Song Ever?
When the list of "worst Christmas songs" was released, there were several songs I expected to be on it. Paul McCartney's overly-sythesized Wonderful Christmas Time is one I'd expect. I also would expect John Lennon's Happy Xmas, with Yoko Ono wailing off key in the background, to be on the list. But that wouldn't be right, since the song is about world peace.
So when HLN flashed its own version of "worst Christmas songs" last week, listing Mariah Carey's overplayed All I Want for Christmas is You as one of the best, I was ready. I figured at least one of the two former Beatles would make the list. But neither song was mentioned. Instead, a song that always takes me directly back to adolescence flashed across the screen. Even the cluttered picture that was on the single's cover reminds me of Christmas 1984:
I remember trying to talk my mom into buying the single because it was, after all, for charity. You know, kids in Africa or something. Those were probably my exact words. For the record, some of the top artists in England (British music was huge worldwide at the time) recorded the song to raise money for anti-poverty efforts in Ethiopia.
All season, I've been turning up the radio every time Do They Know It's Christmas? comes on. I've been singing at the top of my lungs. I've been thinking it's the best. Christmas. Song. EVER.
Only to find out that not only does HLN think it's the worst Christmas song...the man who wrote the song and masterminded the whole event hates it, too. As he told London's Daily Mail, "I am responsible for two of the worst songs in history. One is Do They Know It's Christmas? and the other is We Are the World."
The problem with both songs, it appears, is that they are both overplayed and poorly written. At the time, nobody really cared that the song said "no rain nor rivers flow" in Africa...despite the fact that both exist in abundance. Nobody cared that the lyrics tended toward "hokey" throughout the song, with silly sentiments like: "Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime."
All I personally cared about was that Simon LeBon was on the record. I was 14. Just as my stepdaughter thinks the members of One Direction are blasting lyrical poetry to the world, I thought everything Simon LeBon did was magic. Oh...and there were some other great singers on the record, too, as I halfway noticed...
So when HLN flashed its own version of "worst Christmas songs" last week, listing Mariah Carey's overplayed All I Want for Christmas is You as one of the best, I was ready. I figured at least one of the two former Beatles would make the list. But neither song was mentioned. Instead, a song that always takes me directly back to adolescence flashed across the screen. Even the cluttered picture that was on the single's cover reminds me of Christmas 1984:
I remember trying to talk my mom into buying the single because it was, after all, for charity. You know, kids in Africa or something. Those were probably my exact words. For the record, some of the top artists in England (British music was huge worldwide at the time) recorded the song to raise money for anti-poverty efforts in Ethiopia.
All season, I've been turning up the radio every time Do They Know It's Christmas? comes on. I've been singing at the top of my lungs. I've been thinking it's the best. Christmas. Song. EVER.
Only to find out that not only does HLN think it's the worst Christmas song...the man who wrote the song and masterminded the whole event hates it, too. As he told London's Daily Mail, "I am responsible for two of the worst songs in history. One is Do They Know It's Christmas? and the other is We Are the World."
The problem with both songs, it appears, is that they are both overplayed and poorly written. At the time, nobody really cared that the song said "no rain nor rivers flow" in Africa...despite the fact that both exist in abundance. Nobody cared that the lyrics tended toward "hokey" throughout the song, with silly sentiments like: "Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime."
All I personally cared about was that Simon LeBon was on the record. I was 14. Just as my stepdaughter thinks the members of One Direction are blasting lyrical poetry to the world, I thought everything Simon LeBon did was magic. Oh...and there were some other great singers on the record, too, as I halfway noticed...
December 16, 2013
Let's Have a Brief Chat to Discuss
When I worked in an office, there were numerous times I responded to a voicemail with an e-mail. I used the argument that I wanted to have things in writing for CYA purposes, but even then I knew it was a lie. There is one simple reason I hate, hate, hate conducting business on the phone.
Phone calls are disruptive.
Don't get me wrong. There are times when a phone call is necessary. If something needs to be discussed now or you need to get the person's reaction to what you're saying, e-mail isn't quite as effective. But after three months as a full-time freelancer, I've realized the same thing I realized when I was a cubicle worker.
Phone calls are disruptive.
Phone calls do have a purpose. Most of the time, phone calls are requested when a client is thinking about hiring me. Those are interviews. Once I'm hired, it's rare those clients ever want to speak on the phone again. In fact, I've worked with two of my main clients since 2011 and I think I may have spoken to one of them one time on the phone. I worked with a business located 30 minutes from my house from 2011-2013 and, not only did I never meet her in person, but I never spoke to her on the phone. She sent the assignments and I returned them. Clean, simple, and easy.
But occasionally, you end up with a talker. Someone who wants to speak on the phone every day. I'm not kidding about this. Assignments and notes on those assignments always start with, "Let's have a brief chat to discuss," even if there are numerous rounds on the same project. Every single day. The bad part is, people who work that way don't come with warning signs. You have the first conversation, agree to do the work, submit the work, and the next day you receive an e-mail asking for a phone call to discuss. If you want to get paid, you must speak.
Then you get out as quickly as possible. Why? You guessed it...
Phone calls are disruptive.
I think we've reached a time in history when people have so many ways to communicate, we just have no idea how to reach out to another person. Should we send a text? Type up an e-mail? Schedule a staff meeting for Monday at 9 a.m.? Or should we pick up the phone and call?
Because everyone has different preferences, we all stick with the way we personally prefer to communicate. In doing so, we ignore phone calls but reply to texts. We e-mail in response to voice mails. And we do so over and over again until people finally learn that if they want to reach us, they have to use our preferred method of communication. Unfortunately, most of the time the other person would prefer one method of communication while we'd prefer another.
For those who make their living based on how much work they perform, there's one simple reason excessive phone-talkers have to go. They cut into your income. Unless you bill for each call (not a popular option with most clients!), every minute you spend on the phone is a minute you could be spending making money. When you look at the clients who take the most amount of time for each $1 you earn, those who require 20-minute meetings every day will have to go based on pure lack of profitability.
Do you prefer working through e-mail or phone?
Phone calls are disruptive.
Don't get me wrong. There are times when a phone call is necessary. If something needs to be discussed now or you need to get the person's reaction to what you're saying, e-mail isn't quite as effective. But after three months as a full-time freelancer, I've realized the same thing I realized when I was a cubicle worker.
Phone calls are disruptive.
Phone calls do have a purpose. Most of the time, phone calls are requested when a client is thinking about hiring me. Those are interviews. Once I'm hired, it's rare those clients ever want to speak on the phone again. In fact, I've worked with two of my main clients since 2011 and I think I may have spoken to one of them one time on the phone. I worked with a business located 30 minutes from my house from 2011-2013 and, not only did I never meet her in person, but I never spoke to her on the phone. She sent the assignments and I returned them. Clean, simple, and easy.
But occasionally, you end up with a talker. Someone who wants to speak on the phone every day. I'm not kidding about this. Assignments and notes on those assignments always start with, "Let's have a brief chat to discuss," even if there are numerous rounds on the same project. Every single day. The bad part is, people who work that way don't come with warning signs. You have the first conversation, agree to do the work, submit the work, and the next day you receive an e-mail asking for a phone call to discuss. If you want to get paid, you must speak.
Then you get out as quickly as possible. Why? You guessed it...
Phone calls are disruptive.
I think we've reached a time in history when people have so many ways to communicate, we just have no idea how to reach out to another person. Should we send a text? Type up an e-mail? Schedule a staff meeting for Monday at 9 a.m.? Or should we pick up the phone and call?
Because everyone has different preferences, we all stick with the way we personally prefer to communicate. In doing so, we ignore phone calls but reply to texts. We e-mail in response to voice mails. And we do so over and over again until people finally learn that if they want to reach us, they have to use our preferred method of communication. Unfortunately, most of the time the other person would prefer one method of communication while we'd prefer another.
For those who make their living based on how much work they perform, there's one simple reason excessive phone-talkers have to go. They cut into your income. Unless you bill for each call (not a popular option with most clients!), every minute you spend on the phone is a minute you could be spending making money. When you look at the clients who take the most amount of time for each $1 you earn, those who require 20-minute meetings every day will have to go based on pure lack of profitability.
Do you prefer working through e-mail or phone?
December 9, 2013
Writing May Be Harmful to Your Health
Writing seems like a fairly harmless activity. When you think about it, you aren't climbing mountains or running into burning buildings to save small children. No...all of that action is saved for the fictional characters you're creating.
But writing comes with its own set of risks. There are the many health issues associated with sitting all day--in fact, a recent study found that sitting too much doubles your risk of dying. (Although I'm pretty sure we all are going to die...eventually...right?) Standing desks have been thought to alleviate this risk, but no scientific proof exists that it does. So to lessen your immediate risk of dying, experts advise to stand up every 15-30 minutes or so and walk around. For a writer, getting up mid-thought can easily mean taking a wrong turn in your carefully crafted work of art.
I learned last week there's another risk associated with writing too much. It's a risk I never thought of. A ganglion cyst on the inside of my palm. It's a little lump you can't see but you can feel. When I first felt a lump on my hand, I thought what every writer thinks...
EMERGENCY ROOM!
But I did what everyone does these days. I Googled "lump on hand" and found out about ganglion cysts, which in traditional days were cured by slamming a bible on the affected hand. Today, doctors just leave it alone and eventually it goes away. That's what I learned when I went to the doctor. I also learned that ganglion cysts are often caused by overuse. Typing can definitely cause one...especially if you're writing 1,000-5,000 words a day as I often do.
So...the moral of this story? When you write like this...
There WILL be consequences
But writing comes with its own set of risks. There are the many health issues associated with sitting all day--in fact, a recent study found that sitting too much doubles your risk of dying. (Although I'm pretty sure we all are going to die...eventually...right?) Standing desks have been thought to alleviate this risk, but no scientific proof exists that it does. So to lessen your immediate risk of dying, experts advise to stand up every 15-30 minutes or so and walk around. For a writer, getting up mid-thought can easily mean taking a wrong turn in your carefully crafted work of art.
I learned last week there's another risk associated with writing too much. It's a risk I never thought of. A ganglion cyst on the inside of my palm. It's a little lump you can't see but you can feel. When I first felt a lump on my hand, I thought what every writer thinks...
EMERGENCY ROOM!
But I did what everyone does these days. I Googled "lump on hand" and found out about ganglion cysts, which in traditional days were cured by slamming a bible on the affected hand. Today, doctors just leave it alone and eventually it goes away. That's what I learned when I went to the doctor. I also learned that ganglion cysts are often caused by overuse. Typing can definitely cause one...especially if you're writing 1,000-5,000 words a day as I often do.
So...the moral of this story? When you write like this...
There WILL be consequences
November 26, 2013
Don't Kill the Family Dog!
Dogs die. We all know that. But most of us don't want to think about it during the 10-15 years our dogs are alive.
I guess that's why it really bothered me that The Family Guy producers decided to "shake things up" this week by killing off the family dog, Brian. The show has been on since 1999--12 seasons, due to a 2001 cancellation by Fox that they later took back. Twelve years is plenty of time for a dog to live, many are saying. Never mind that nobody else on the show has aged, including the baby.
Here's the problem with the show's decision to kill off the dog. Have you ever heard the term jump the shark, Family Guy producers? (Yeah, as if they'll ever read this!) Killing off a major character is a top sign of jumping the shark, according to TVTropes, who writes as an example of jumping the shark that, "A popular character is removed from the show, or even killed off. Especially true if the method of removal is unsatisfying or mean-spirited."
Brian the dog is more than a family dog. He was the voice of reason in the crazy family, often grounding the head of the household, who was a little shaky at times. Now he's been replaced by an Italian-accented dog named Vinny, voiced by some actor from The Sopranos that Seth McFarlane has a guy-crush on.
But the biggest problem for me is that Family Guy is perpetually in reruns. Somehow our TV always ends up on TBS on weeknights. (As it was at the time I was writing this!) Just seeing the dog makes me sad now. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but a comedy isn't supposed to make us sad, right?
Did I mention the dog on the Family Guy is a writer?
I don't think he was really a dog. Dogs don't have thumbs, right?
I guess that's why it really bothered me that The Family Guy producers decided to "shake things up" this week by killing off the family dog, Brian. The show has been on since 1999--12 seasons, due to a 2001 cancellation by Fox that they later took back. Twelve years is plenty of time for a dog to live, many are saying. Never mind that nobody else on the show has aged, including the baby.
Here's the problem with the show's decision to kill off the dog. Have you ever heard the term jump the shark, Family Guy producers? (Yeah, as if they'll ever read this!) Killing off a major character is a top sign of jumping the shark, according to TVTropes, who writes as an example of jumping the shark that, "A popular character is removed from the show, or even killed off. Especially true if the method of removal is unsatisfying or mean-spirited."
Brian the dog is more than a family dog. He was the voice of reason in the crazy family, often grounding the head of the household, who was a little shaky at times. Now he's been replaced by an Italian-accented dog named Vinny, voiced by some actor from The Sopranos that Seth McFarlane has a guy-crush on.
But the biggest problem for me is that Family Guy is perpetually in reruns. Somehow our TV always ends up on TBS on weeknights. (As it was at the time I was writing this!) Just seeing the dog makes me sad now. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but a comedy isn't supposed to make us sad, right?
Did I mention the dog on the Family Guy is a writer?
I don't think he was really a dog. Dogs don't have thumbs, right?
