Month: January 2013

“Hawaii Life” TV show: Oh, Let’s all move to Kauai!!!

~ K ~ Leave a comment

One new show I recently stumbled across on Comcast On Demand in the HGTV section was “Hawaii Life”.  The two episodes I watched both featured the island of Kauai and families moving from the mainland to Kauai.  One family was moving from Alaska to Kauai and the other show highlighted a married couple moving from Indianapolis to Kauai.  From the flow of the show, I’m guessing the show is either taped right after each family’s real estate transaction was closed or maybe it was actually filmed during some of the process.  To me, I felt that the show was taped after the real estate transaction was closed.  I’m not even sure the properties they looked at (during the show) were really the ones they considered.

It was nice to see the island of Kauai and the homes they considered.  As a promotional piece, this show is awesome.  It makes moving and living on Kauai super easy.  “Hawaii Life” skips the education issue by mentioning that the family from Alaska would home school their children.  We also don’t hear about the traffic problems on Kauai.  Don’t get me wrong, Kauai is a wonderful place but the paradise aspect of the show is overdone.

I know that these reality shows don’t want to show you the bad things but it would be nice to know the truth about traffic, education, weather, etc.  In a 21 minute show, I know you can’t do that.  People have to do their own research if they plan to move, not just watch a couple of real estate programs about Kauai, jump on a plane and move.

To be honest, these people had made previous vacation trips to Kauai and had jobs lined up before they moved.  Would I move back to Kauai with my family?  I’m tempted but in reality, I won’t be moving them back any time soon.  I miss the wonderful weather (especially during the Seattle wet winters) but I like my life in Seattle.  I enjoy the different seasons: the snowshoe hikes in the Cascades, swimming on the lake on Anderson Island in the summer, traveling cheaply to other parts of the United States with reasonable airfares, the Oregon Coast, the train trips.

With that reality show on your mind: Kauai hibiscus flowerWhat would you consider the most inspiring television show in history?  Don’t worry; I don’t have a clue either.  With this age of reality shows, most of us would prefer that the most inspiring show was the one that alludes to the end of all other reality shows.  I’m tired of being sucked into these train wrecks reality shows.  I have no self control and like watching them and I know is a totally waste of time.  What does the show “Housewives of Beverly Hills” offer me?  How is “Honey Boo Boo” going to teach me to be a better parent?

However, I do like “Pawn Star” and “American Restoration”.  Now that is interesting….a little history lesson at a pawn store.  Who would have known?

Parking Lots, Post Offices, and Morons: Oh My!

~ K ~ 2 Comments

The other evening I had to pick up my friend from IKEA (where his wife and he were looking at model kitchens for a remodel ideas).  I was a bit early so I parked my truck, popped off some text messages, and was about to pull out when some stupid lady decides to walk right behind my truck with her shopping cart.  It’s not like I’m backing up fast but common sense would dictate that it would probably be safer if you let me back up out of the parking stall instead of trying to get run over.  Why not make sure that the driver of the truck can see your sorry ass?  I really didn’t see her because there was a huge SUV next to me and she was hidden.  Yet, she thinks that it is a good idea (and safe) to step right behind my truck as I’m backing up.

After I almost drive over the moron lady, I proceeded to drive to the other side of the parking lot to pick up my friend.  That would be pretty simple feat if not for the fact that people like to walk right in front on my truck with a death wish.  Seriously?  Do they want to die?  I think part of the problem is that I drive way too slow and conservative in parking lots.  Because I’ve seen kids dart from in between parked cars right in front of cars racing through the parking, I now tend to be cautious while driving through parking lots.  Maybe they know I will not drive over them because I drive like a little old man.  It is annoying to have people step in front of me with no consideration of their well being and safety.

Besides stupid people walking in front of my truck, I have to wait for this huge SUV to back out of a tight parking spot. Again, stupid people are walking behind the SUV without a care in the world.  What is with people?  What if he hit the gas instead of the brake and squished you like a possum on the freeway?  Would you like that?  I’m just asking for a little common sense.  Is that too much to ask for?  And if you have a huge SUV, could you learn to drive it?  Taking ten minutes to pull out of a parking stall is a little too much time for me to wait.  As a good driver, you shouldn’t have to pull in and out of the stall eight times to get out of your parking stall.  It’s pretty easy even if people are getting in your way (really just drive over them already….do us all a favor!).

It isn’t just at IKEA that I meet stupid drivers.  At my local grocery store, there are always people driving the wrong way in the parking lot.  This isn’t a brand new grocery store, it has been here for years and I know these drivers aren’t tourists on holiday in America.  They are just inconsiderate jerks that have to drive the wrong way just to make me mad.  I know they are doing it on purpose.  They can’t be that stupid….or can they?  Sure, they are that stupid.  Who am I kidding?

I’ve decided that most people like to annoy me.  They go out of their way to drive the wrong way, they like to walk in front of my truck, and they don’t seem to care about the fact they are inconsiderate to me.

Another example: At the post office, I had a lady putting stamps on her envelopes right in front of the only mailbox I could put my package into.  I have a box to mail; I don’t have a letter I can slip through the mail slot.  I need to put the box into the only door that will accept a package this big.   My package already had the postage on it and it just needed to be dropped in the outgoing mail slot.  It is a two second job to drop it in the package slot; unless you have an inconsiderate person blocking it.

She is putting her postage stamps on her outgoing mail as if this area is a work counter.  It’s not a work counter; the 12 foot counter top where no one else is at is the work counter.  Go over to the counter: You could have all 12 feet to yourself!  But, “Oh No” standing in front of the only place where people can mail their package is a MUCH better spot.

I’m tired of people being rude and inconsiderate.  But what do I know?  I just write a Worthless Advice Blog.