Recreational Whinge: Recently I needed to have an award created for a special event and I had researched quite a bit online to find the right type of crystal award instead of a plastic or plain glass one.  I actually spent hours researching the product, but unfortunately I didn’t spend much time researching the company I would order through.  The product was more important to me at the time.

Unfortunately, the product I wanted was being manufactured and sold by a company I would soon find out had no idea how to provide award-winning service!

Recreational Whinge: Australians have this very unique way of saying something bitchy about someone.  They frequently start off by saying, “Jill… She’s really lovely, but what a bitch!”  Or it might go something like, “Jack is such an annoying prat.  I mean, he’s a really lovely guy, but he can annoy the heck out of me!”

So, which is it?  Lovely or something else?

Recreational Whinge: I’ve just read in the online news that in the state of Queensland in Australia that there is a call to remove pool cues and glass ashtrays from pubs because the end up being used as weapons, particularly against paramedics and ambulance crews when that have to show up to the pub to provide medical assistance.  Some places have already banned glasses to prevent “glassing” attacks.  I am astounding at the lengths we have to go, or the directions we have to consider, just to try to reduce the harm caused by violence and in particular alcohol-fueled violence.

Here’s the article if you’d like to read it for yourself.  Highly recommended and check out the different views on this.

Recreational Whinge:  The poor island nation of Haiti has experienced one of the worst natural disasters imaginable and their people are suffering again.  It just doesn’t seem to stop for them.  What really saddens and angers me at the same time are those who have immediately jumped upon this crisis to take advantage of big-hearted people by running “charity scams”, trying to collect money for the relief efforts when the only people gaining from this is the fraudsters.

Recreational Whinge:  It’s important we remember the past and really look at it closely – and LEARN something – else we’re going to continue to repeat the same mistakes and/or we won’t build on our successes.

There’s a wonderful video on the Australian news (ABC News) online that reflects on 2009.  Please watch the video here and then come back to this blog.

Recreational Whinge:  I hate being sick and I’ve had “the dreaded lurgy” for a couple of weeks now.  Although I feel I’m turning the corner on this thing I still reserve the right to whinge about how bad I feel for a few more days.  Is that a male thing?  (Not that I subscribe to gender stereotypes!)

Prior to moving to Australia, I got Pneumonia at least once a year since I was a baby (that’s 28 years’ worth!).  I count myself quite fortunate that I haven’t had it once in the 14 years that I’ve been in this gorgeous part of the world.

This isn’t Pneumonia, but the way I’ve been acting, you’d think I had a double or triple case of it!

So this recreational whinge is actually about me and what an annoying, pathetic, sniffling, sneezing, coughing and whining git I can be when I’m sick!

My partner often tells me that I’m one of the nicest people he knows but that I turn into one of the most horrible people – mean and nasty – when I’m asleep (that’s a story for another day).  When I’m sick, I get the feeling that the two distinct personalities start to merge. 

On the one hand, I’m generally pretty up-beat most of the time, but when I’m sick and struggling to keep my energy levels up and to stay focused on my work, I tend to get a bit narky, short-tempered and whingy. 

I don’t heed good advice.  I don’t necessarily take medicine even when I know it’d be good for me.  I don’t necessarily eat proper health foods.  I certainly don’t take much of a break from work and I don’t ensure I get good rest.

All those “I don’t…” statements add up to me being sick longer than necessary.  And the longer I’m sick, the more frustrated I get and quite likely the more annoying I am to others.

I suspect that I enjoy being sick.  Well, at least enough that I tend to give myself permission to be slack, not take care of myself and fall apart a bit.

Being the control freak I am, maybe it’s good that I allow myself to fall apart?

The Positive Spin:  I don’t get sick anywhere near as often as I once did.  Thanks Australia.

That also means people very seldom have to deal with my Sicko Whinges!

Recreational Whinge:  Recently I’ve been reading a whole bunch of complaints published in the media about people’s anger toward the likes of Brittany Spears and her lip-synching world tour.  Now, come on people…there have been numerous announcements and coverage that the troubled troubadour would be putting on an amazing show but wouldn’t be singing live, and not to expect much personal interaction with the audience.  She would be performing an all-out dance and music entertainment production, but wouldn’t be giving a “concert” as such.

Yet despite all the pre-warning, people still complained and walked out of the show citing they felt they had been duped.  What, weren’t these people paying attention?  Didn’t they know what they were paying for?  Or did they choose to ignore it so they could whinge later.

I suspect it might be the latter.

Recreational Whinge: My parents raised me to understand the value of, as well as demonstrate, good manners.  I’m in my forties now and have experienced that everything my parents taught me about manners was worthwhile.

Maybe it’s a generational thing, but I don’t see very many examples of good manners anymore.  Why is that?

Recreational Whinge:  It never ceases to amaze me how often I hear people say, “I can’t deal with emotions!” 

I hear it in both my personal and professional life, and although I fully respect that emotionally charged situations can be challenging, I find irresponsible (and maybe even lazy) when people don’t care or try to understand someone else (or themselves) at an emotional level.

Recreational Whinge:  I’m a big fan of the website, The Onion, and recently they came out with this very funny article:  “Group of popular girls reduces nation to tears”.

As funny as I found the article, it also immediately reminded me of a whole bunch of both personal and professional examples of people behaving badly without consideration for the feelings of others.