WalksOn2Wheels

It's one thing when someone calls me out on complaining who also regularly chats with me about other aspects of my life. You just seem particularly absent on those topics and only talk directly to me when you want to bring attention to my complaining (note that I said "seem" which implies a personal interpretation). A lot of this comes from me talking mostly about bikes and you talking mostly about sports. Our conversations tend to never intersect, but I consistently hear from you if I decide to gripe about anything.

And FB? I have a FB account. If you think I complain too much, you clearly don't visit FB (or are blessed with better friends/acquaintances). I think people only go there to either create a false image of themselves or to endlessly rant/post political diatribes. Even after a mass cleansing of my friend list, It's still a place I avoid. I've got a handful of good friends I keep up with there, as well as riding buddies and local events, but it's definitely not a place I want to hang out.

Most of the reason I come here is because I miss the camaraderie of the bike shop I used to work at. We all rode bikes and had that in common, but we were also very different people and tended to still openly share things about our life and yes, complain when things suck (especially customers). We certainly didn't always agree, and I often got input from people I would rather not get input from, but that's how it works in an open forum (here or in the shop). Furthermore, I wouldn't want it any other way. I don't like living in bubbles where everyone agrees with you all the time (this is also why I refuse to use the ignore function on this forum).

But if I were to be in the shop and talking to my coworkers about how awesome this new gravel stuff is, looking at camping stuff, lusting after new bikes, excited about my upcoming graduation (when I was there), etc. and then someone who never, ever talks to me about that stuff decides to call me out when they catch me complaining, that's going to bother me.

So no, I don't mind being constructively pointed towards more positive thinking. What I don't like is being perceived as a constant source of whining and being spoken to condescendingly when anyone can go and look at my previous posts and see how many things I've been talking about and what I'm currently excited about.

Like I said earlier, I don't find that my complaining pulls me to constantly focus on the negative. I tend to air things out briefly (ok, I'm still pissed about that ruined road) and move on. I don't see how that's unhealthy. I'm a generally happy person who is excited about life. I've got a great little family and my two kids are really exciting, even when they're wearing me out. The wife has found a new job and is excited and happy about starting soon. I'm finding new aspects of cycling to really dig into. I'm making better lifestyle choices to avoid the pitfalls of my immediate and extended family's litany of health issues. I've got a great job that's getting better. I live in a great area, even if it is stupid hot for a third of the year. And on, and on.

But do things sometimes suck? Yeah. Is it not ok for me to talk about when things suck? Is that a forum rule I'm not aware of?



TL;DR: Yes, I feel like I get singled out as a complainer when others tend to air slight complaints without so much as a whisper from the peanut gallery.

Dan333SP

How about we ?

RPK79

I recorded my first activity with the Vivoactive HR. It was a 1 mile (okay .9 mile) walk over my lunch hour. Seems to run pretty smooth!

RPK79

Also, it is gorgeous outside right now.

Trsnrtr

You name your car, Brad, and then one day...

Trsnrtr

Whoops, I posted before I saw this. I'm running behind, lately.

Doug28450

SpeshulEd 

Aww, this makes me smile.

RPK79

Facebook's "On This Day" app tells me two years ago today I did an 80 mile bike ride. I sure am slacking on the miles this year...

Trsnrtr

Time again for my life lesson on letting things roll off your back. Not necessarily about complaining in general but more about life's little irritants:

Example: You're driving to work and a car pulls out in front of you or cuts you off. It really pisses you off, right?

Ok, so you get to work and you tell all of your co-workers about the a-hole that cut you off.

Then, you get on FB and tell everyone.

Next, you get home from work and you tell your wife, kick the dog and yell at the kids.

Then, you get on BF or some other board and tell everyone about it.

Finally, the next day, you are looking for that same car so you can flip the driver off or worse yet, cut him off.

What one should realize is that the other driver is now in control of your life. He may not even know that he did it but he is in control of your feelings and emotions.

The moral is obvious. Letting worthless crap affect you is non-productive and NOT healthy.

Bah Humbug

Well, and it's just a dman link instead of a video, because this thing doesn't have a "video" tag.

PepeM

Can't remember the last time I got mad while driving. You guys have it easy, try living in Mexico City for a few years. What passes as 'cutting someone off' here would be seen as the most polite change of lane ever over there.

Dan333SP

I was gonna say, "Try Miami!" and then I remembered you lived there. Did you ever have the pleasure of getting stuck on US1/95 near downtown during rush hour (which lasts from 4-9pm)?

So many angry and awful drivers there, and so many expensive supercars stuck idling in traffic.

SpeshulEd 

The only drivers that irritate the hell out of me are the ones that never learned the rule, "keep right, except to pass" ...and the ones that don't use a blinker, probably my biggest pet peeve ever.

Dan333SP

+1 on drivers not keeping right. I wouldn't call it mad, but I do get a little frustrated when I'm on an interstate and come up on somebody driving 65 in the left lane, right alongside a semi truck or somesuch, completely oblivious that faster traffic is starting to pile up behind them. That's one of the rare instances where I'll actually honk, but not without a few polite highbeam flashes first to see if they're paying attention.

RPK79

I occasionally get an annoyed driver tailgating me when I'm only going 70 in the 65 zone on my commute home. I'm in the left lane because my exit is on the left.

I think it's funny when they cut ahead of me and take the same exit and then there they are right in front of me for the next 10 miles on the 2 lane highway. :eyeroll:

Of course these are the same folks that will pass on that same highway only to be sitting 15 feet further up. Some people need to relax. You're not going anywhere any faster by driving like a moron.

PepeM

Yes, traffic over there was pretty horrible. Glad not to have to deal with that anymore.

The amount of 'supercars' over there is absolutely insane. After a week or so you don't even pay attention to a Ferrari or a Bentley anymore.

To offer a bit of context:

I started driving when I was thirteen. Not in the city, because that would be crazy, but in this small town we used to spend some weekends in. Once some friends from school were also there for some reason so I drove them around the place. There were too many of them so some had to hang from the rear fender. When the parents of some of the kids found out they chimped out and complained about it to my father, but he just lolled them off. That was the last year of elementary iirc, maybe the first year of middle school. I began driving in the city when I was sixteen and got my license. Well, permit I guess but there were no restrictions whatsoever. My third or fourth trip was to a bar to have some beers with my friends and after that I rear ended someone. Insurance (which followed the car only, not the driver) took care of it. We stopped carrying insurance soon after that though. Got into one more crash a few years later at 2am after a Friday night out. Luckily it was the other person's fault so his insurance took care of it. Eventually I turned eighteen and I got lucky that, for a limited time, the DMV equivalent was offering permanent driver licenses, of which I got one, the one I still use to this day. None of this involved any sort of test, written, practical, nothing whatsoever. I used to roll in a Suzuki Samurai which was slow as hell but one of the coolest cars around, or at least we youngsters thought so.

Dan333SP

So @PepeM has been in 2 DUI-related accidents and has never actually taken a driving test of any kind, yet he's free to roam the streets of Missouri?

That's encouraging. Let me know if you ever find yourself driving in Virginia so I can get out of town.

PepeM

Over there if you use a turn signal, people will immediately close the gap, so the tactic to use is to never announce and try to force your way into the lane while the others are not paying attention. Got to be sneaky cause if they see your intentions, the gap will be closed right away.

Left lane hoggers are pretty dumb, but some people also seem extra reluctant to pass on the right side to me. I guess you're not supposed to, right?

PepeM

Well, I did have a FL license for a year, which required a test. I don't think it makes much difference though, the test was performed in a parking lot ffs.

RPK79

Was the test to see whether or not you could shake hands while holding a folded up $20?

PepeM

Not even. If you could deal with a stop sign and park (not parallel) you were good to go.

Doug28450

Had I know that last week, I would have gone south through Louisville then to Memphis, then to Branson.

Dan333SP

This is true. I took my test at some DMV location in South Dade. The guy was just amazed that I could drive a stick and basically had me go around 2 roundabouts and then return to the office.

Bah Humbug

This. Usually when I'm in the left lane there's a reason (right lane becomes turn-only up ahead, left exit, whatever...) and just get pissed off and vindictive when someone flashes high-beams or honks at me. I suspect they're the same drivers who are horrible about letting me left when I need to and caused me to reflexively get into the left lane, when needed, far ahead of where it actually has to happen.