Unpopular Opinions #28

[Lalla]

I always hated Christmas but then started spending the days with the homeless and lonely people . it changed my mindset. Due to covid I could not do it for a couple of years but spent the day with my daughter and her children. ( I only used to go there for breakfast before ) Very low key Present challenges ..IE all presents must come from the charity shop, all must be hand made .. who can get their presents cheapest each year a different challenge. You cant just give tat it has to be things others will love. .

My Ex always said he hates Christmas; however what he hates is ridiculous gift giving. I tend to agree with him - young children don't need £500-1000 worth of toys, it's more plastic tat that fills the house and then parents complain the house is cluttered.

It's bizarre because when my mum was a child in the 40s and 50s they got one gift each at Christmas. Now some children get 40-50 presents. I don't think that's a good thing.

I think the present challenges sound great though!

 

[Mrs Fluff]

Proms were actually a thing in Ireland when I was growing up in the 80s (they were called 'debs' though). I was dreading the idea of one but thankfully they seemed to have fallen out of favour by the time I was leaving school. They're a thing again these days though.

 

[Lalla]

UO: anyone who buys an electric scooter for their child/ teenager (and doesn't have a massive private field for them to use it on, ie 99.99% of people) is thick as tit and should have it seized by the police/ get a hefty fine.

 

[Ensay]

My Ex always said he hates Christmas; however what he hates is ridiculous gift giving. I tend to agree with him - young children don't need £500-1000 worth of toys, it's more plastic tat that fills the house and then parents complain the house is cluttered.

It's bizarre because when my mum was a child in the 40s and 50s they got one gift each at Christmas. Now some children get 40-50 presents. I don't think that's a good thing.

I think the present challenges sound great though!

I agree with not giving to excess, but present challenges sound like too much effort.

I don't mind a maximum value limit being placed, but the more aspects to a challenge that get added would make it more stressful to me and is then surely the opposite of what they're trying to achieve (i.e. take the stress out of present buying).

 

[Spilttea]

A lot of employers who made their employees come back into the office after lockdown were doing so because they wanted to micromanage and didn’t trust their employees. They also wanted to justify having so many bleeping middle managers and different departments that weren’t ever really needed and building costs.

The colleagues that ensured their whole teams ended up coming back to the office because they felt lonely and started whinging about it, fucked it up for the rest of us who were perfectly capable of working without the constant superfluous noise and chatter.

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

The Notting Hill Carnival is just good clean fun, as shown below.

 

[nicalibres]

The Notting Hill Carnival is just good clean fun, as shown below.

View attachment 1536882

We can always count on you to lower the tone, Excel

 

[Hope96]

The Notting Hill Carnival is just good clean fun, as shown below.

View attachment 1536882

 

[PrincessCharming]

I saw kids speeding on the pavement with an electric scooter, two of them on it, the other day. If they make it to adulthood with their skulls intact, I’d be amazed.

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

We can always count on you to lower the tone, Excel

I've logged that in my spreadsheet of compliments received.

 

[Lalla]

A lot of employers who made their employees come back into the office after lockdown were doing so because they wanted to micromanage and didn’t trust their employees. They also wanted to justify having so many bleeping middle managers and different departments that weren’t ever really needed and building costs.

The colleagues that ensured their whole teams ended up coming back to the office because they felt lonely and started whinging about it, fucked it up for the rest of us who were perfectly capable of working without the constant superfluous noise and chatter.

It cuts both ways...

In the company I'm working for, some teams and departments kicked up a massive fuss about returning a maximum of once a week, despite then also complaining about the lack of face to face training and development. You can't have it both ways.

Also a number of people have decided to dispense with all childcare since COVID and are looking after children when they should be working which is completely unprofessional. Hence they won't return to the office even for a day. As a result their teams are now going back in full time, the minority spoiling it for the majority.

 

[Spilttea]

It cuts both ways...

In the company I'm working for, some teams and departments kicked up a massive fuss about returning a maximum of once a week, despite then also complaining about the lack of face to face training and development. You can't have it both ways.

Also a number of people have decided to dispense with all childcare since COVID and are looking after children when they should be working which is completely unprofessional. Hence they won't return to the office even for a day. As a result their teams are now going back in full time, the minority spoiling it for the majority.

Agreed about the minority spoiling it for the majority. But companies were more than happy for their staff to carry on working from home during Covid when the schools were shut, if you were wfh you were expected to work, now the same companies are using childcare as a way of making employees come in.

A lot of people in my line of work are leaving and going elsewhere where there is a solid hybrid model or wfh is a given and written into your contract. I think for a lot of people myself included my eyes were opened as to how much I could achieve when I didn’t have to commute, didn’t have to run around like a blue arsed fly getting to the office/leaving the office in rush hour traffic, didn’t have to navigate office politics or sit making small talk with people I would never choose to spend time with.

 

[Purrrrrrr]

I agree with not giving to excess, but present challenges sound like too much effort.

I don't mind a maximum value limit being placed, but the more aspects to a challenge that get added would make it more stressful to me and is then surely the opposite of what they're trying to achieve (i.e. take the stress out of present buying).

Most people get stress about the money its costing not the actual gift giving. Challenges are fun and cheap (even free) if they were stressful in anyway we would not do them.

 

[littlewonder]

I hate NYE. Every year for the last decade I’ve had dreadful mental health that peaks on NYE, because I’ve had a tit decade and all that feels shoved into the forefront of my brain because everyone is banging on about what they’ve achieved, where they’ve been and what they’re going to do next. And people never talk about happiness on its own, it’s all related to and about progression eg career, having kids, getting married, money, house buying etc. duck off with your humble brags that insinuate anyone can do anything as long as they work hard enough

The other 364 days I actually don’t mind that I don’t adhere to people’s ideas of success but NYE just makes me feel like a massive failure. And the TV schedule is tit. I just go to sleep at 10pm

 

[emerald]

What about birthdays? I'm pretty much neutral on mine because its only celebrating not dying for another year, innit?

 

[Mrs Fluff]

What about birthdays? I'm pretty much neutral on mine because its only celebrating not dying for another year, innit?

Yep. Same here.

 

[nicalibres]

What about birthdays? I'm pretty much neutral on mine because its only celebrating not dying for another year, innit?

I hate my birthday. I’ve literally never had a good one . This year I’m planning on treating myself by staying at a nice hotel and having some me time. Is that sad as duck

 

[shadowcat5]

I hate my birthday. I’ve literally never had a good one . This year I’m planning on treating myself by staying at a nice hotel and having some me time. Is that sad as duck

I do that every birthday and have done for like 4 years (minus covid times). I, like you, never had a good one and feel too much pressure. I take myself off to a hotel, have a meal, a bath and read all night. It’s pure bliss

 

[grumpy-nosy-cow]

I hate my birthday. I’ve literally never had a good one . This year I’m planning on treating myself by staying at a nice hotel and having some me time. Is that sad as duck

no not at all !
i hate my birthday too ..its on possibly one of the worst days of the year to have birthday !
post always late, forget celebrating as everyone is either ill, partied out, skint or not drinking. Then everyone wonders why im not bothered about it!

 

[Guitarwarrior]

I have a January birthday so they’ve also been a bit tit. Either it’s been crap weather and not able to get anywhere nice or when I was little people using weather as an excuse not to come to my party. People use January as an excuse to “forget” it or I’ve no money/not drinking eating out this month (despite been seen on socials doing exactly that just with other people ) now I’m happy enough with a delivery pizza and a new book to read because I don’t need crappy friends making up excuses.