It's a Bug's Life (2A)

Here's an itemized list of 20 things in my every day that "bug" me. Fair warning: petty content ahead.

1. After repairing my scooter speedometer before break, it stopped working again once I got back in town. I am still not exactly sure why it has stopped working this time but last time I had it inspected the repair man said there was a fuse that was disconnected. Maybe, while my scooter was idle for two weeks over break it disconnected again because it was not being used.

2. In Smathers Library, there are close to none outlets in or near any of the desks. Considering that Smathers library is close to 100 years old, there may historical reasons for preserving the walls. It might be too much of a hassle to make pathways for plugs to travel. This has partly been addressed by a few desks having outlets imbedded in them but I may just need to have my laptop charged before coming to study.

3. Camelbak water bottles often get very moldy around the straw or mouthpiece over time. Mold is found everywhere and can grow on almost any substance when moisture is present. This makes sense in regards to water bottles because water—the source of moisture—is flowing through it constantly. This can easily be solved by cleaning it regularly in a dishwasher or with a Q-tip. Or, as I have resolved, buy a Camelbak without a straw mouthpiece.

4. The people above my room are exceptionally loud even after 10pm. I have talked to them before and asked them to be quieter but I think it is just an issue of not being aware of their actions impacting other people. I will concede that the floors are naturally thin so it takes a conscious effort to not make a stomping sound. However, they also usually stay up late and I wake up very early so our schedules don’t line up well.

5. When parking scooters on UF campus, there are rarely enough spots. Scooters at UF have only been popular since about 2004 so when most of UF campus was built, they did not previously accommodate for scooter space. So, when scooters became more popular and parking became a huge need, campus planners had to make space—which wasn’t much—wherever they could.

6. At coffee shops, there are rarely enough outlets and people are often reaching across one another to connect to one. As with my Smathers Library bug, it may be difficult to install numerous amounts of outlets for wiring purposes. Also, it may increase cost of expenses electricity wise for the coffee shop.

7. Sometimes the music in coffee shops is so loud it defeats the purpose of coming there to study because it is so hard to focus. Maybe the barista of the day just really wanted to jam out to their custom made playlist for that day. Or, depending on where I am sitting, the speaker may be louder.

8. The street structure near Norman Hall is incredibly dangerous for any vehicle or pedestrian crossing East to West or vice versa. I am not sure why there are not stop signs at every intersection in this area for safety reasons. Perhaps the city planners wanted to create ONE part of Gainesville that isn’t overwhelmed by traffic, especially in a housing community completely occupied by impatient college students.

9. My earplugs lose squishiness after 2-3 times of wearing them and they no longer block out noise as effectively as the first time. After reading the instructions, I realized that I may not be straightening my ear canal as it instructed. Or, the material in my earplugs, usually polyvinyl chloride or polyurethane (memory foam), may be of cheaper quality and therefore not last as long.

10. The traffic between crossing Museum Road and 13th after 4pm gets so jammed that sometimes cars that try to get the last of the left turn end up blocking everyone who needs to go straight when the light turns green. Many factors contribute to this jam. I think one problem is the order of the light changes of who turns left first and when it finally goes green. Next, the intersection is simply too small for the magnitude of people traveling to and from campus. However, there is really no place to expand this road because campus is on both sides. Lastly, it probably stems from people who are in a hurry and believe that they can and they will fit their car in the next lane even though there is clearly no room.

11. My room at Windsor Hall is always so freezing and we have no control over the temperature. Trimark Properties reasoning for this may be that by controlling the temperature, they can always know what their utility expenses will be. (At Windsor, we have a fixed rate that is already equated into our rent) Also, they may be trying to help us because Florida is very hot most of the year. However, during the “winter” months it has been unbearable coming home to a cold room.

12. SMS messages sending in separate parts instead of one concise text. There is actually a very sensible answer to this problem. It depends on the carriers between phones. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA technology which can only handle a 160 character text before it has to "break" it into multiples of 160. On the other hand, AT&T uses GSM technology which can handle a larger number of characters. Therefore, this may not even be a android vs. iPhone problem.

13. When someone in near proximity is reading their book obnoxiously loud. Some people may not be spatially cognizant and aware of their surroundings. Also, maybe they think better and comprehend more of the text when they read out loud. In this case, I’d ask that they’d please study at home.

14. When kids are playing with their parents phones or watching a show on MAX volume. Allowing a young child access to a cellular device has often become a quick fix to screaming or unhappy children because it is a distraction. It serves to divert the child’s attention with a game or movie that has characters they love. And, as very young kids, they are not aware of how loud the music is because they may not have learned how to turn down the volume or even a reason why they would need to.

15. There only being one bathroom in a very crowded coffee shop. Many possibilities exist here. Floor space, utility costs, expected flow of customers to be low. Also, the more bathrooms there are, the more there are to clean. In this case, the store has to account for not only keeping the toilet functioning but the costs of cleaning supplies for safety and sanitation purposes.

16. Returning to UF after break to discover I am no longer connected to uf wifi. I am not exceptionally gifted in wireless and routing network systems but my educated guess would be that there are so many students constantly trying to use the connection that it is cheaper for the university during break to disconnect students from the wifi. I am only 50% sure that this reasoning may be accurate.

17. The one way streets at UF are not well structured and incredibly difficult to memorize. Thankfully, my main form of transportation is my scooter. However, my first week at UF, I was a confused mess trying to figure out how to navigate my way through campus. This problem mostly occurred because I was still learning streets. Nevertheless, one of the most frustrating situations was when I would accidentally turn on the wrong street but then not be able to turn around because it was a one way. Almost always, these one way streets force you out onto busy roads such as 13th Street, University Ave, and Museum Rd, greatly increasing travel time.

18. When customers at Starbucks get impatient and ask if their drink is ready yet. As a Starbucks barista, I am fully aware that almost all customers want their drinks as quickly as possible. However, baristas are still human and we sometimes make mistakes which slows down the line. Also, the sheer amount of drinks that come during rushes is crazy! Please know, we are doing our best. :)

19. Ordering the wrong size of something when shopping online. After finally ordering Birkenstocks, I was dismayed to try them on to be the wrong size. This may be because I read the size chart on their website incorrectly or that Birkenstock sandals just run large. Either case, I will now have to exchange them which will be a hassle.

20. How obsessed my generation is about snapchat. When snapchat was created in 2011, it was revolutionary because it allowed people communicate immediately about their everyday lives and it became a more informal type of social media. However, I think that it creates such a false sense of relationships because the conversations are temporary. Also, the fact that people define strength of friendship based on number of days on their snapchat streak is absurd to me. Let’s get back to meeting up face to face, or at least calling one another.

Reflection

Practicing mindfulness in every situation over the past few days made me realize a few things, including that I a lot of the things that bug me are associated with sound. I have very good hearing so if something is out of place or isolated I will notice it very quickly and unfortunately not be able to move on from it, at least without intentional effort. Unfortunately, most of these “bugs” are very petty and must remain unaddressed because it can, in most situations, come across as rude to interrupt what other people are doing. For example, consider someone who is blasting music through their headphones. Personally, even though I am bugged out of my wits, I do not have the gumption to tap them, take them away from their music, and ask them to turn it down. That may even be a bug of theirs: when people ask them to turn their music down. This sequence of events also made me very mindful of the habits I consider ordinary but may be bugging other people. 

Ultimately, I enjoyed this assignment because it made me focus on the reasons behind an issue and not just the issue itself. As an entrepreneur, this skill is very helpful because when given a problem, it can seem very overwhelming at first. However, when you start to ask questions and investigate why this issue exists, it is much easier to begin identifying solutions.