The Bug List

1) My absolute biggest bug is that my dog has glaucoma and there is not really a long-term treatment option other than removal of her eyes. It's maybe the biggest bug of my entire life. Another factor to this bug is I suspect it was her most recent rabies shot that caused it. But ultimately, the bug is why isn't there treatment? The first reason is that doctors and researchers don't even have great treatment options for a lot of diseases that afflict humans. I guess I can understand why many aren't focusing on treatment for dogs with a semi-rare eye disorder.

2) I went to Blue Springs State Park this morning to see the manatees. Almost all of them, including some babies, had huge gashes all over their bodies from getting hit by boats. That's a sad bug.

The first reason is boaters who do not adhere to the no-wake or minimum wake signs that line the river where the manatees swim. A boater could certainly still injure a manatee while going slow, but the injury would much less severe, and the boater would more likely to avoid it. More law enforcement and harsher penalties for irresponsible boaters may cut down on some of accidents.

3) Having a tough time making money with my baking business. Everyone who purchases my products raves about them, and they almost always become repeat customers. But I struggle making the sale and promoting my business. I wrote about this also for the entrepreneurship story post. Some of the possible reasons for my lack of financial success could be the way I market my business. It could be because I am mobile and sometimes random. I don't have an actual storefront for people to visit. It could be because I set my price points too high. I could be using ingredients that are just too expensive. I could have incorrectly estimated the desire for this type of business in my town. It could be because I am not effectively marketing.

4) When others commit to something and then don't follow through. To be specific, I organized an evening market at our local brewery. I procured vendors and confirmed they would be there well ahead of time. This is a monthly event; last week was our third one. I had more than half of the vendors cancel the day of or just not show up without letting me know. What are the reasons for this? Am I not expressing to the vendors that the event is a serious one? Do they not take their business seriously? How likely is it that 6 out of 10 vendors had "something come up"? Should I express to vendors that if they choose to not show, they forfeit their spot?

5) Around 5 o'clock, the Publix by my house is an absolute zoo. The reason for this is clear: it's the time of day when people are getting off work. There may be some other factors, but I think this is the big one. Publix is usually well-staffed, but making sure absolutely every line is open could alleviate some of the bug. Another factor is that our store is minor compared to other Publix stores when considering how many neighborhoods use that specific store. There is an empty space next to our Publix that they could easily expand into. I think we would be willing to deal with the temporary dust of expansion for more comfortable and quick shopping trips in the future.

6) Repeating myself. Having to repeat myself bugs me. I have to repeat myself to my fiancé, my brother, my real estate agent, etc. Why do I always have to repeat myself? At first, I thought the common factor was men and that they just weren't listening. But then I thought about it and realized that a lot of people don't "listen to me." I've always had to re-introduce myself, too. So…is my personality not strong enough? Am I not loud enough? Are the things I am saying just irrelevant to the person I am saying it to?

7) The traffic leaving my neighborhood when school is starting or letting out. I sometimes only have ten cars in front of me when I pull onto the main road. But the light may cycle three times before I can pull out of the neighborhood, because crossing guards block the main road to let the kids walk across. Don't get me wrong: the crossing guards absolutely need to be there to make sure the kids can walk to school safely. But why must it be so terribly inefficient and cause so many people to be late or at least frustrated? Could the city adjust the timers on those lights during that time of day to allow more people to go through the light? Could it be because too many people are using my neighborhood as a throughway from one main road to another? Or could it be because those little kids walk so darn slow and the little tykes need to have a greater sense of urgency?

8) Our homeowner's association bugs me. We get emails if someone notices our gutter needs repair or if we put a potted plant in our yard. Why does this bug exist? Well, most of the people in our neighborhood are retired senior citizens (here I am complaining about old people again). But in all seriousness, they don't have much going on. They walk around the neighborhood, and without any mental distractions like work or small children, they notice things around them. A possible solution could be since they notice problems so well maybe they could all become entrepreneurs and leave us alone. Ha! But really, the bug exists because the things I mentioned are all "illegal" in the ancient by-laws of the association. A solution would be for the board to get together and update the by-laws.

9) Another personal bug is the rampant drug abuse in Daytona Beach. Daytona is just south of Ormond Beach and I head over there often. That's where the mall and retail stores are as well as most of the restaurants. There are people messed up on drugs everywhere you go. Some are homeless; some aren't. You can witness a drug deal on any given day on most corners. Daytona Beach is a transient town. Many of the people that live there are low-income. There are bad neighborhoods that promote drug use and prostitution. And of course, drug use in the United States is bad in a lot of places.

10) Trying to plan things with other people bugs me. When I say this, I mean everything from business events to vacations. This bugs me probably because I am a controlling person. I have a vision for the event or I want to choose exactly which cabin we stay in on vacation.

11) The fact that the grass was frozen this morning when I woke up. That bugs me, because I live in Florida.The bug exists because it's winter. I cannot remember the last time we have had such a frigid winter. Does this bug exist because of global climate change? Or are we just overdue for a cold snap?

12) Cleaning my cat's litter box. This is a gross bug. But it really does bug me. The bug exists because I choose to have a cat. Cats like to be clean, so I have to do this every day. And of course, inside cats cannot be trained to walk on a leash and go to the bathroom (at least mine definitely can't). A possible solution would to train the cat the use the toilet.

13) The development of a wooded parcel on the main street of our town is a bug. I attended the city hall meetings on this one along with other Ormond Beach residents. I don't think our opinions made a bit of difference. Developers are mowing down a large parcel of woods. Many of the trees are historic. A sugar mill from the 1800s butts up to the property that is being cleared, but residents are being assured that it will be "preserved." The bug exists because Ormond Beach is growing, and developers want to make money.

14) Really terrible food bugs me. I don't mean only fast food.  I also mean chain restaurant food that is ill-prepared with inferior quality ingredients, and yet sometimes costs as much as a meal made from scratch at local joint. Fast food exists because it's convenient, inexpensive, and "tastes good" to many people. Chain restaurants are not always cheap but often provide the atmosphere and food that people are looking for. Ultimately this bug exists because a lot of people don't care what's in their food or where it comes from. And I'm a food snob (but that's why it bugs me, not why it exists).

15) Garbage on the beach, in the springs, etc. I get so bugged by this that I have tried to make a routine of picking up trash on the beach, but of course that only lasted a few weeks before I reverted.

This bug exists because people are lazy and disrespectful. There is not another reason. The city/county/whomever always provides public garbage receptacles. People choose to throw their trash into the delicate ecosystem of the springs that fish and manatees live in, even though there might be a garbage can literally within a few feet of them.

16) People who disrespect or don't appreciate their parents bug me. Why do people who seem to have loving and supportive parents talk to them rudely or treat them with disrespect? Is it because they were raised without respect? Is it because the parent is abusive or mean and they just don't show it in public? It is because of the culture we live in? (It's not always millennials or young people I notice doing it).

17) People being afraid of my dog is a bug. My dog looks like a pitbull (kind of). She also kind of looks like a bulldog, a boxer, a greyhound, and some even say Great Dane. She is 50 lbs and muscular. She is stronger than me. She has big teeth. Her bark is loud. But she is the sweetest, most loving dog you will ever meet AND she's blind, so she couldn't see to rip you apart anyways.

The bug exists because of the media and because of the way people raise these types of dogs. They are not aggressive by nature, but people train them and abuse them into being aggressive and dangerous. Sadly, they sometimes attack people, but the headline will only read "VICIOUS PITBULL ATTACKS LITTLE BOY" when the whole truth is much more. The bug exists because people won't educate themselves on bully-breed dogs or just dogs in general.

18) This may contradict my previous reasoning, but another bug is when people reach out to touch my dog without knowing her. This bug exists because (again) people are not educated about dogs. You can reach out and pet a stranger's Pomeranian…but it might bite you because it doesn't know you.

19) I get bugged when people offer me unsolicited advice. The bug exists because people have good intentions (most of the time). When advice is offered it is usually from a person who thinks their advice is valuable. Maybe they have had experiences that are similar, or maybe they are older and have experienced more life than I have.

20) MY FINAL BUG is doing laundry. Even though there is only two of us, the dirty laundry pile never seems to end.This bug exists because we own too many items of clothing. It also exists because I don't have a laundry routine in place that is effective.

                

REFLECTION: This was a tough assignment. I came up with a few things that bug me, but most of them were about other people. I felt like I was always blaming other people for my lack of success. I had to really think and notice things to come up with stuff that didn't relate to how other people "bug me." Admittedly, I knew this about myself from working in customer service for a decade, but I still don't want to have that kind of attitude. I did find it difficult to think of a variety of "bugs." You can tell towards the end I was coming up short (especially when I resorted to my cat's litter box being a bug…). However, I think I did well thinking through some of the reasons the bug may exist. Perhaps a little too well, as this is a long post and I edited it quite a bit.