Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Too Complicated


I've spent most of my adult life living outside of America. Now that I am back living inside America, I am just lost and clueless.

The culture baffles me. Technology is slowing me down, not speeding things up.

Back in the dark ages I worked on the cutting edge of computers. They were going to save us mountains of paperwork and make us productive. Indeed my accounting and tax business took off like lightening when we were the first in the state to utilize a computer for accounting. My income shot up and I was quite successful. At the time, I was faster than the machine. I had to slow down my number punching so as not to jam up the computer. Eventually they made better computers that enabled me to rattle off dates, account numbers, invoice numbers, check numbers and dollar amounts in rapid succession, as fast as my little fingers could go.

There was no cumbersome mouse to slow me down. The computer saved our business time and paper. No more big heavy 36 inch accounting ledgers to push a pen across all day long by hand. I was suddenly super efficient at my job. It was thrilling!

But late in  1987, much to the shock of clients and friends, I gave up accounting and taxes to pursue a life at sea. One of these days I will explain why. It's very complicated. It wasn't a flippant decision, it was one I planned in secret for a year.

Anyhow, speed forward to 2014. I returned to America just before 2010. Computers are used now to spew forth mountains of paperwork and create hassles, not solve them. Or so it seems to me.

I want a simpler life.

I have tons of articles and chapters written for several more books, in severe need of rewrites and editing,  but I am constantly interrupted with patching up this old motorhome, fighting to get well, workamping and dealing with the total chaos of learning to live in a very complicated America.

I keep trying to get off all the junk mail that turns up in my post box. Then I do a dozen things to try to keep the spam at bay that turns up in my email accounts despite all my spam controls. I am suddenly battling unsolicited phone calls on an unlisted phone. As quick as I block the numbers so they can't keep calling, more pop up. When I quit answering the phone altogether it seems I miss an important phone call and end up playing phone tag to reach the person back again.

Some days I try to do a ton of research on alternative treatments for my condition. Many websites assault me with popups to sign up for newsletters or create an account or take a survey. I just want to read the article, but some times there are flashing advertisements competing for attention, talking commercials and videos playing jerkily on my super slow internet access. I try to block the ads, stop the videos and concentrate on the information I am trying to read.

The source is not always accurate, but often self serving, so I am forced into cross checking across many domains. If I could afford all the books I want to read, that would be so much simpler, but I live on an "efficient" erratic income until I get well, so researching on the internet is my option for now.

I've given up on western medicine. The last time I went to see a doctor, they treated me like an assembly line part for a manufacturing plant. I never did get to see a doctor at all but was treated to a long list of folks who claimed not to be "the doctor" but instead had some other title. No one was interested in my concerns or questions or pain.

I was barked at, ordered around, ignored and shuffled from one waiting room to another, as if I had upset their entire day by darkening their door and asking for help. And how DARE I ask each person that came to hastily do something offending to me, if they were "the doctor". These people had on no name tags, no titles, just assorted scrub suits as if everyone was fit to dash off for surgery any minute.

Later I researched some of the titles these people told me they were and discovered the education qualifications for some of them were pretty minimal to earn these titles. More than once I was told to stop asking questions.

Three hours later, I still had not met a single person claiming to be a doctor, but I was pushed out the exit with 2 prescriptions, written by an assistant who was extremely rude to me when I inquired if he was the doctor. My other questions went unanswered and I was lectured and interrupted, over and over never once allowed to spit out one complete sentence or question. I was told more than once "You're time is up! You're time is up!"

It seems to me, I could have just thrown on a set of scrubs and start poking and prodding at the other patients and no one would have been the wiser.

But I digress...

I could get so much more done each day if I wasn't under constant attack in my mail box, email and phone. I just want to get well and be a walking, smiling miracle.

There is a tiny handful of companies and people I want to contact me because I do business with them.

But it seems I spend most of my day sorting through this total chaos of information overload from companies I want absolutely nothing to do with at all, that are relentlessly tracking me down as if I were some sort of rare species to be hunted down with the frenetic energy of paparazzi gone crazy in search of a huge reward.

My key chain is weighted down with dozens of tracking cards for stores that will charge me extra for buying ordinary food if I don't present this daggum card each time. I have to keep my ignition key separate now, the key chain is an explosion of tracking cards I resent mightily. I travel, so different areas have different grocery stores available. I am sick of these silly cards, but it seems there is a financial penalty if I refuse to use them. It's maddening!

Shortly after I arrived in America, I tried to buy a heavily discounted sweater on a very cold day for $3 or $4 cash and the cashier refused to sell it to me unless I spit out my email and phone number. I was new to America, very sick, very cold, a bit baffled and confused by the wild events that lead up to me landing here. I didn't want to give out my information, I just wanted to pay cash, put on the sweater and leave the store. I was terribly weak and exhausted. It had taken me a long time pawing through the clearance rack in the very back of the store, trying to find something that was warm and fit me too.

It was a weird feeling. Not so long ago, my life was vastly different. I could have walked in that store and bought anything I desired. A terrible incident and severe illness had changed my life dramatically. Now I was scrutinizing the haphazard clearance rack in the back of the store ignoring the full priced trendy outfits.

When I refused to give out my phone and email, pushing my money across the counter, announcing I was just paying cash, the manager had to be called. I was on the verge of tears, I was so cold and sick and tired. Ten minutes of harassment later, I was finally handed this 16 inch long paper receipt for my single transaction. I put on the sweater, tags and all, then marched out of the store carrying the bag with the lengthy receipt and several other advertising papers and coupons stuck in it by the cashier.

For some silly reason, I just draped over the steering wheel of my vehicle and cried.

America had become a very complicated place to live and I was clearly way out of my league.

Below is a picture of the secret trail to a special place, I accidentally discovered recently. 
Don't tell ANYONE!

If some corporation finds out about this secret trail, they will require phone, email , address, date of birth and a Facebook account before one will be allowed to walk down it. 
SHHHHHHH...


9 comments:

  1. Oh goodness, isn't that the truth!
    You just summed up so many things that are wrong about our country. Captain & I keep discussing why we're even still living here, when we aren't even 'free'. Times have certainly changed, and not at all for the better.
    But, so fortunate that you found a secret trail-- enjoy it in peace!

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  2. I am clueless why people put up with this madness, I want to revolt and just say NO to constant intrusions on my privacy and punitive financial penalties for preferring to live simply.

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  3. You described my feeling and sentiment exactly. I have lived through the earlier times. I now have a very difficult time trying to cope with todays society. Keep up the good work and hopefully you will feel better in the future.
    Jerry

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  4. I remember well those early computers back in the 1980's = they really helped one's productivity. Now they are out of control. I reject much of what technology has to offer, i.e., have a jitterbug cell phone on which I only make phone calls, a Mac computer on which I never visit social media sites, use Twitter or other nonsense, and shop at stores that don't require that little card - except for Costco where I have a membership. I use Firefox as my browser (they aren't as invasive to your privacy), and use DuckDuckGo.com rather than Google. Duck keeps no records of your searches and doesn't track you at all.

    Hang in there; there are ways to protect your privacy and keep off a lot of lists but it takes work. Good luck.

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  5. mermaid. i have several email accounts. i have one for real friends, family and businesses. i have been known to stop using accounts. eventually they will be closed. good, that's what i have in mind. i moved your email to yahoo this week. guess what happens next.

    my address and what not is 256 beach walk, honolulu hi 96815. phone # 808-923-3181. you or anyone else please use this if wish. it's a hotel in hawaii. i used to use a swimming pool there, but apparently it closed. probably my fault, i'm sure. use a search engine and find yourself a really handsome life.

    phones. if you call me and are not in my phone book and/or you have some kind of squirrely caller id you are out of luck. my favorite one is unknown caller. how can you be a unknown caller? if you don't know who you are why would i want to talk to you? a am a service plumber and electrician, i work nights and weekends. the drunks and smokers like to call at 3 am or whatnot. no number, no service. i tell em call from a number that isn't hidden.

    i live in indiana, not hawaii. sometimes they get through anyway. i don't yell scream, shot guns next to phones. these people are trying to make a living. if i'm bored i will talk their leg off. i let the 2 replacement window guys come out. listened to their spiel. said no and smiled. they send out young people to canvass and they get a spif if i sign. i signed. if i don't have the time to listen, i either very quietly say buy buy and hang up. or i lay the phone down and go do something else.

    i don't text. if you got to say, call. i don't voice mail. have fun with them. i love it. have to much fun with them. don't let jack you around. my spams are 10 times bigger than my in box. i got rid of my old email acct cause it was a pain. i use yahoo and outlook. i spam check every thing i don't want. it works better than it did 10 years ago. much better. by the way if it says donate it gone. make them use stamps. it really culls the field.

    did i say have fun with them? jack em around. don't let them jack you around.

    peaceup raz

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  6. when they ask for a card i tell em i left the card at home and how about my phone. works for me. none of my cards have the same name on them. jack em around. it's a lot more fun to gouge em, a lot more fun. i'm 69. years ago i used to give them dial-a-devotions #. i don't think they care about anymore. then i used the cop shop #. now the breakers hotel. they have good rating, i checked today.

    peaceup raz

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  7. What he said. You have to have a strategy. It needn't be any more complicated than you let it be. That's all. Same here with "Private Caller". Hey, you want your privacy, well so do I. So I don't answer.

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  8. Sure it's complicated but the best advice I can give is to just ignore them as best as you can. The intrustion and lack of privacy will continue but only you can let it bother you :) Give Monkey a hug.

    The Troutman

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  9. THANKS for all the great ideas!

    I have to admit, I've started giving out a different phone number and email for the intrusive corporate trackers. I use THEIR phone number! It seems the vast majority of employees no longer know the number of their employer, but it's usually laying around on a business card or flyer. Giving out a wrong phone number means some poor soul is getting your calls, in this case I let the company call themselves back!

    I get a lot of wrong numbers calling me and that is equally frustrating. I like to answer my phone because I have a few close friends in far flung places that don't do computer or voice mail.

    Also, now I am able to block all the callers I don't want, so it does stop them from ringing me in the future.

    The financial penalty for not using the tracking card at some grocery stores really gets my goat. Since I travel by RV and shop by RV, it's not always easy for me to put a ton of extra miles on the RV just to find the cheap grocery store that doesn't require a tracking card in order to get the better price.

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Life is goof!