Life is Hard (No Shock)

Every year for the past 5-7 years, about 3 weeks before Mother's Day, I get these emails from various businesses, this one in particular from Jeni's Ice Cream - yes, ice cream of all things:

Hey there.


We know Mother’s Day is a really difficult time for some people.

This year, like every year, we’re giving you the chance to opt out

of our Mother’s Day emails.



We’ll still send emails about new flavors and in-shop offerings —

we just won’t send you anything related to Mother’s Day.

As you can probably already imagine, I get a similar one just before Father's Day.  There is as stated a method of "opting out" in the emails for this; my question and statement is how do I opt OUT of these ridiculous emails?!  That's the puzzler.

I'm not entirely sure who exactly started this whole thing or why, for that matter, but it is one of many head shakers in today's world. Sure, I get it...if you've lost a parent, yeah, it may be hard for you to experience Mother's Day now that they're gone. But, should it be? And, is this really that loaded of a thing? I mean, do you completely have a mental breakdown because Jeni's Ice Cream, which you voluntarily signed up for the email list, sent you a message in your inbox that mentions "Mother's Day"? Hmm.

Let's be honest for a minute... If all goes well in your life, your parents will in fact pass away before you do. This is, um, fact. If that doesn't happen, well, you were probably unlucky on some level :) Next point, Mother's Day and Father's Day can just as easily be a day to remember your parents fondly (or not) as it is to actively celebrate with them, no? Again, hmm. And, let's not forget this one...both "holidays", if that's how you think of them (I don't personally), are more or less commercially driven holidays that once drove a thriving greeting card industry. So, in reality, what we're saying is "please don't make me remember my mother or father, of the lack of one potentially, on a commercially made up holiday". Yes, I think that's it exactly, no?

Again, let's be honest here for once, something we don't seem to actively do anymore... The younger generations post Gen X were raised to think that every day of their lives they're champions, that they do no wrong, and that life is nothing but good things. The reality is, though, that's untrue, and whereas I think it's great to keep your children from experiencing unnecessary hardships or traumas (of course), no one can completely shelter out all hardships, so, wait for it...whether you like it or not, we're all going to have a bad/hard/awful day here and there because (again, wait for it)...life is in fact "hard", not a game of trophies.

Once we've all digested that long overdue sentiment and said it out loud, in the grand scheme of life, is that commerce generating email about ice cream going to ruin your day so much that you need a method to "opt out"? If the answer is 'yes', I'd suggest just hitting the "unsubscribe" button instead. In fact, I think we'd all do some good for ourselves if we hit the "unsubscribe" button more often. But truly, if your answer is in fact 'yes', well, you're in for a hard life and some brutal reality that will in fact catch up with you eventually - hate to be the one to tell ya. So, buckle up...it's going to get rough, and that Mother's Day email that you received at one point that made you so upset in your younger days is going to look pretty silly later on...trust me.

Whew! Okay, I've gotten that off of my chest. Now, if only I could get rid of these phone calls where they keep calling me Kenneth and trying to persuade me to send personal info for a mysterious loan I never applied for. Ugh.

Just...Stop...the Updating...

Oh yes, 2026 absolutely DID start with a bang...in more ways than one, I'm afraid.  We're certainly off to a year of "winning" and, er, boy, do I feel good about where things are at (and yes, that was sarcasm).

On a note that's rarely even talked about, though, and admittedly minor in the grand scheme of "sh*t show" related items happening on a daily basis, I would like to point out a new epidemic that's probably touched all of us and yet no one really seems to be addressing:  endless updates.

I don't know about you, but I would swear just about every app and webpage under the sun, you name it, have been doing updates galore.  What kind of updates?  Well, usually they say something like 'security' but there are changes in page layouts, colors, how to login, overall functionality, and so on.  In fact, the list is endless.  Unfortunately, so are the inconveniences.

Google Chrome alone probably holds the record for the biggest number of updates on a weekly basis.  Dare I say there are perhaps four weekly?  It seems like every time I turn around, Chrome has an update and I get the dreaded "Chrome has been updated - check out the new features..."  Like I f***in' care about new Chrome features.  I mean, who does?!  And, well, if you do...you need a serious hobby, at least in my opinion.  At least half of these updates clear your cookie cache and then you need to reenter all of your info on your regularly visited pages, which usually triggers the secondary authentication issue, otherwise none as "adding hell onto your already hellish day".  There's no great feeling quite like the message "we don't recognize your device - is this a new device?"  Ugh.

Windows isn't far behind but at least lately it's slowed down slightly to possibly only one update per week.  God forbid you have more than one computer, though, with one being idle for a few weeks because it'll start downloading endless items once powered up, bringing your CPU to a crawl.  I'll give Windows credit where it's due, though, since it can usually now force the update and NOT have you lose all your open windows and information.  Of course, that took some doing and painful learning along the way but...

The real fun, though, are all the little updates that seem to be going on in various app's.  Yahoo Mail has become a freakin' nightmare, in my opinion.  I mean...how did we forget how to have standardized formatting in an email program?  And then, there's Outlook, of which suddenly decided to move buttons around, hide functionality, and the dreaded auto AI pop up's, with messages ala 2000's Clippy saying "hi, how can I help you today?"  My answer is usually "go f*** yourself" which strangely doesn't have an answer.

Seriously, folks, does EVERY app need to be updated?!  What happened to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality?!  Well, it obviously flew out the window and now we're being inundated daily with bizarre changes that sometimes you can't even get your heard around.  I tend to ask at least twice a day "who the hell would have asked for THIS change?!"  Apparently, it's some mystery person that's putting in requests to make our lives pure hell.

Technology used to be considered "fun", "exciting", and the "new frontier".  These days, though, it's more for the faint of heart, people who love to have their process changed daily for no reason, and/or have nothing better to do but submit weird update requests to programmers.  It's no wonder my 85 year old father can't figure out how to do the simplest task on a computer; I can't either.  All hail 2026!  It may just be the year that finally does us in.  Seatbelts buckled...

Ah, 2026...

Ah, 2026 is here (sigh)...  I guess I should be excited.  Is anyone?  2025 was, well, not really the greatest year in general, and whereas I wish I could say that I'm optimistic for this year, I'm, er, not.  In fact, I foresee more of the same:  constant political unrest, people treating each other less than optimally, more communication breakdowns, prices on just about everything continuing to go up to who knows how high, the job market tightening even more, etc. etc.  There's really not a lot to look forward to at the moment.  Hell, we're basically getting to a point where people don't want to communicate with one another at all and would rather talk to their computer generated fake "friend".  These are definitely strange times.

On a different note, I actually can't believe that I haven't made an entry in this blog since September.  Where the heck did the time go??!  I mean, I know what I've been doing...but seriously...4 months have gone by?  Geesh.

It's only day #3 of 2026 and I just glanced at the headlines a little while ago to see that we captured Venezuela's President Maduro.  Where the hell did this come from?!  Oh joy.  Yes, here we go.  The fun just doesn't seem to end, and I feel like everyday I wake up to see what other form of crazy has taken hold of the globe.

I've also had 2 weeks off of work and they've been anything but "vacation".  In fact, I don't feel rested at all, certainly not refreshed, and honestly not at all ready to return for another year with no real time off until Memorial Day.  How on Earth will I survive?  I have no clue.  I might in fact just go insane.

But, hey, I'm still here...sometimes to my own amazement...and my body is still functioning enough to get me through another day (currently).  That IS something, after all.  What other "fun" things does 2026 hold for me?  I shudder to ask and I'm semi thankful there's no way currently to know that answer.

I do hope people have had pleasant holidays, though, especially if you're fortunate enough to spend it with family you get along with, good friends, etc.  As for the rest of us, well, at least there's art and music and films.  Here's to hoping that 2026 pleasantly surprises us.  One can only hope.