2013 Are you Ready?

If you are reading this in 2012, the World has not yet ended. If you are reading this hub in 2013, congratulations-we survived the end of the Mayan calendar and live to see another day. My hope is the World of 2012 and before then has ended. Wouldn't it be nice to see an end of a few things? A new beginning to this World is much needed.

My Top 10 bucket list of changes in order of importance to me are:

10. End of reality shows. These shows have little to do with reality. Go away Springer, who by the way perpetuates negative stereotypes of people of color and poor white folks as being inbred, ignorant and incapable of thinking with anything other than their private parts. I know for a fact poor does not equate with stupid! Lots and lots of people in my life past and present have bank accounts in the single digits but IQs in the triple digits.

9. Put down that cell phone and _____ fill in the blank (drive, shop, pay attention to where you are walking, watch your toddler who is running around in the store). With all the laws against texting or talking on the cell phone while driving, we have not dared to stop. Apparently no amount of deaths from auto accidents caused by people who are inattentive while driving will stop us. I am guilty but like to think I am more attentive while I text and drive--just kidding, I would NEVER drive and text. Being a senior citizen (at least in the eyes of Denny's restaurants for a the senior grand slam) I have limited coordination, attention span and there is no way I can manipulate driving and the phone at the same time.

8. Parents-BE parents. This means soccer moms stop pushing your children to be little geniuses and workaholic parents, stop abandoning your child to daycare and ignoring him/her. Why did you have children anyway? I guess my point is I see too many parents who seem to have children for all the wrong reasons. They are not raising children who will become independent, thinking, self-sufficient and emotionally stable children. The children are either being too 'managed' with their days filled with organized events leaving little time for free play and imagination or they are not cared for at all. Either situation does not bode well for turning out well-rounded adults.

7. Meanies on social media. Boy I have had my share of bullying on Facebook! Especially during this election year. I like to think I am middle of the road but seem to get caught up in these hateful debates. I am a registered Libertarian. I tend to see both sides of the issues. I do not like extremes on either side. I believe in pro-choice, less government in my life, less taxation and that everyone should be able to pull themselves up and get working not wait for a hand out or the government nanny to bail them out. If I agree with one side over the other, my alleged FB friends who are left wing, militant gay will eat me up and spew me all over my Facebook wall. Should I mention I am pro-choice and support contraception for teens, oh my, the right wing, conservative friends will shun me and "pray" for me. What happened to our guaranteed rights under the constitution? What happened to the 60's mantra "you be you and I will be me" or whatever that hippie saying was. I find in this day of fast communication and so-called "free society" I am censored more than if McCarthy was shaking his finger at me! Enough already!

6. Corporations who treat their employees as numbers to be deleted from one side of the ledger. Okay this is probably nothing new and will most likely never go away. But for me, this is very real. In 2012 I have been laid off twice. From my perspective, each employer who laid me off could have easily saved my job. Incomprehensible was the fact that each employer had multiple and duplicate managers and supervisors who from what I saw did absolutely NOTHING! I was a profit machine. I DID the work yet I am the one let go when the numbers end up in the RED. Why keep an inflated management staff who offers nothing and only takes? I think it is high time corporations start thinking smart and taking action rather than giving lip service in their marketing ads. You guys are a bunch of idiots and operate less efficiently as a local city government.

5. Words or catch phrases I would ban if Queen: Push-back, oh I love this one! Push back is what your insecure supervisor says to you when you suggest a more efficient or logical way of doing a certain task. Instead of complimenting you on your time management skills or rewarding you for a smart idea, your supervisor calls your suggestion a "push-back" to her mismanaged, disorganized way of doing things. Well she can go to......see #6.

Words or phrases that should be cause for alarm: at the end of the day oh come on! This is the most silliest phrase ever. At the end of the day, there is only the end of the day. Stop saying this dumb ass phrase!

Transparency meaning: "let's use this word to cover up what we really mean which is we need to cloud the issue so no one will really see what is going on!" If I hear one more politician, corporate CEO or my gardener use this word I think I will scream. You sir are anything BUT transparent!

Our "Best Practices" This one cracks me up and run from any corporation who uses "Best Practices". Best practices? It is not what the general public believes to mean-trust me. Any corporation that has a "best practices" mantra (watch out for companies that actually post their best practices, they are the ultimate liars) does not have your best interests at heart. Oh heck no. What best practices really means is "what is the best way that we can appear to be operating in the best interest of society by being truly organic, natural or environmentally conscious, while sending all our labor to the 3rd World and exploiting their children and environment?" Beware! Their "best practices" usually mean the best way to screw you.

4. Politicians who want to tell us how much of any beverage we can drink. Stay away from New York you soda pushing dealers! Seriously? I do not need a Bloomberg to tell me how much soda I can drink. My opinion is whenever any authority figure tries to make something an attractive nuisance or prohibit something, it only makes people want to rebel and do more of what they are told they cannot do. I never used to drink soda, but now I do. Thanks Bloomberg.

3. Female TV reports or sportscasters. This could be a Los Angeles local TV thing but for some reason, TV reporters in Los Angeles dress like they are coming back from a late night clubbing. Dressed in tops with plunging neck lines so there is too much cleavage and not enough news reporting. There is this new thing in local TV news where the anchors come out from the desk and walk around the studio as they do their "reporting". Stiletto high heels, mini skirts and lots of cleavage-oh my! Same with sports chicks (as I call them), sorry sisters, I just cannot take you seriously. Have you always been a lover of football? Bring back the men!

2. Okay--disclaimer and advance apology to non-English speaking people. Can we please stop putting everything in Spanish. Some ads in California are all in Spanish not even bilingual. Do you realize there are other languages in California. The City of Long Beach has the largest Cambodian population outside of Cambodia. As I drive into Long Beach I do not see any ads, billboards, store signage in Cambodian. Why are driving tests written in Spanish? The signs are all in English. What does this say about Spanish speaking people, not as smart as the Vietnamese, French, Chinese who all learned English when they came here?

1. People who abuse animals. There has been a rash of cruelty against animals lately. I am sorry if you lost your job but please do not abandon your horse to die a slow agonizing death in the desert. I am sorry your wife left you but please do not take a golf club to the family chihuahua! Oh and puppy mill owner in Texas who wanted to close down: was it really necessary to abandon 70 puppies on the highway?

This is my rant. I am hoping 2012 ended the ways of the old World and we are on a new path toward being kind to each other, thinking smarter and promoting a World of peace! We can only hope for a change. Hope and change--for the better!