Hello from 32,019 feet.
I'm on my way home for an entire week (seven whole nights of sleeping in my own bed!), so I'm kind of stoked about that. If it weren't for the massive pile of work I've got waiting for me, I'd be downright ecstatic.
It doesn't hurt that there's WiFi on-board... and FREE, thanks to eBay...
Being able to have internet access while flying is a game-changer. It certainly makes cross-country flights more fun... and productive.
Which reminds me, I should probably get back to work now.
Darnit.
But before I go... what is it with people and napkins?
Every time I eat out at a fast-food place or a food court or wherever they offer self-serve napkins to people, I see idiots taking stacks and stacks of them. This woman who sat next to me today had a carton of noodles with vegetables, a bottle of Snapple, and OVER AN INCH-HIGH STACK OF FRICKIN' NAPKINS!! After I finished my meal, I sat there transfixed, curious to see how many she'd actually use.
The answer?
Two.
She then ended up throwing away the thirty-plus napkins that she didn't use.
And she wasn't alone. Once I started looking, I was seeing people tossing out unused napkins by the hundreds. They were everywhere... left on tables... scattered on floors. It was all so very wasteful... and disappointing...
It's no wonder our planet is turning into a giant trash heap... it all starts with the little things.
Today it's wasted napkins in the garbage, tomorrow it's raw sewage in a lake. Such is the world we're building for ourselves.
And we deserve it.
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This reminds me of MT Anderson’s novel, “Feed.” It takes place in the “near future,” and people have not only disposable plates and silverware (and presumably an abundance of napkins), but even their dining tables are folded up and trashed every day.
Not that I think the world should emulate my habits … but I make it a point to take one napkin each morning at breakfast.
I’m at a loss for why people take a handful at a time.
(My boys are willing to go the extra mile and not take any napkins at all.)
OMG I have kids and would never DREAM of throwing away that many napkins. I *am* guilty of grabbing too many (because of the many kids, it’s become a habit) but I’ve never in my life thrown them away if not used. I stuff them in my pockets, purse, or in the glove box in my car. And trust me, they *always* get used. 🙂
I only ever take two napkins. If I need more I get my lazy ass up and get some more.
Who am I kidding? I make other people get them for me.
Last night I asked a cashier at the grocery store for an extra bag and she looked at me as if I were the great killer of Planet Earth. I then had to explain to her why I wanted said bag and was irritated by that fact…not all of us are anti-green; we just need to split up the maxi pads we bought in bulk to share with someone else. Sheesh. 😉
Um anyway, I meant to say YAY YOU for being able to be home for a week and robble robble, if I don’t talk to you before then, Happy Turkey Day, Big Poppa! 😉
I always take about 10 napkins. And use them all. Because I am so messy 🙂
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
OMG that napkin thing make me inSANE!! WTF is wrong with people?
Why am I using abbreviations?
Several places around here have stopped making napkins freely available — you have to ask for them. I think one place even had a note about how many napkins were being wasted or something like that.
Other places have rolls of paper towels on the tables. I be this works pretty well.
I sometimes get too many napkins, but it’s usually because of a crappy dispenser that makes it very difficult to get a napkin without tearing it. If you grab a big chunk, it works better.
All the garbage creation is really just job security for the future….
I’ve been working very hard to train my son and my husband to stop taking a buttload of napkins all the time. If they do, I make an effort to set the unused ones back on top of the dispenser so they don’t get thrown away. It makes me nuts to see such waste.
Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time at home!
I overgrab napkins because I spill things all the time. Not THAT many, but more than 2 because I usually use them.
I always get more napkins than I need because I’d rather be prepared for a mess or spill than not have one occur. I don’t usually throw them away, though – I typically keep them for later.
I’ve noticed that too! On the rare occasion I take the spawn to McD’s, we take 3 napkins – one for each of us. It wouldn’t kill us to get up if we need more than that anyway. People suck. But you know that already.
Wait. I shouldn’t be pouring my raw sewage in my local lake then? Whoops.
I notice people do this with salt and ketchup packets, too. And then throw away the unused ones.
But they only take one straw. So maybe there’s hope.
Hi!
When I lived in Texas – in the USA… :-/ – I noticed the whole thing with napkins. What a waste! Actually y’all in the US are wasting too much stuff… napkins is just the tip of the iceberg…
All the best,
Ivan
Very true… but I don’t think that this can be laid exclusively on the USA. In my travels around the world, I see plenty of waste happening everywhere.
In monkey’s defense, eating a huge slab of fudgy, chocolaty cake like that actually requires a huge pile of napkins : )
I worked in fast food as a teenager, it drove me nuts when people took stacks of napkins inches deep, used a few of them and then left the remaining stack of slightly slobbered on napkins on the table presumably for the next person. Animals.
I am one of the idiots that takes a lot of napkins, but I tend to use at least 5 of them, and if I don’t use them, I end up taking home all of them but the one that touched the table.
A stack of unused napkins wiped out the unicorns.
I know the awesomeness of free wifi in the air. It’s very enjoyable to be able to surf at 30,000 feet in the air. And at breakneck speeds, too. Amazed at the connectivity speeds. I was expecting slower.
As for napkins, I am a messy eater. And I hate having greasy hands and fingers. So I use more napkins than I should. Lately, I’ve been getting a wet nap, which helps reduce the amount of paper napkins I use.