The Bug List

This post is an assignment to list twenty things that "bug" me and others I know, some thought on why they are a problem, and what came out of this assignment. Hope you enjoy! 

1.     There are many clubs at UF, and many seem the same. It’s hard to sift through all of them and knowledgeably chose which club(s) to join.

a.     This is due to the ease of creating a club (anyone can get a few friends and create a club) and a lack of uniqueness of some clubs leads to the confusion between them.

2.     There are a lot of interesting social events hosted on campus but no one comprehensive location to learn about all of them. They seem to be dispersed between different emails, websites, and scattered fliers on the ground or lamp posts.

a.     UF is a big campus with a lot of people, so it is hard to get info to so many people, but this problem might be because of a lack of a central location that gets information for all events AND has the audience who sees these announcements and is interested in going.

3.     The fear of pooping in public bathrooms and others hearing.

a.     It’s because there is a cultural taboo against the topic of defecating as well as the lack of sound proof walls between toilets.

4.     Sometimes I’m too busy and in a hurry, and have no time to pee, so I hold it in for a while, which is uncomfortable and probably not healthy.

a.     We have busy schedules and peeing is a necessity that is only dealt with when the issue arises; it isn’t part of the schedule. The spontaneity leaves us unprepared.

5.     Fresh fruits, vegetable, and perishables in general get lost in the back of the fridge and go bad before they can be eaten.  Sometimes you forget you bought it, they go bad, and it’s sad throwing them away.

a.     We buy a lot of food when restocking and many times, the structure of refrigerators isn’t conducive for organizing food, say, by expiration date.

6.     When it’s busy and a lot of students are going to class, it’s hard for bikers to maneuver around walkers especially where there isn’t a designated bike lane (like in the Reitz North Lawn.)

a.     When designing the campus, the organizers probably didn’t anticipate so many students and the traffic that came with so many people, so they didn’t create a comprehensive bike lane system.

7.     I really like eating, especially at buffets, but then you go home with an overwhelmed and uncomfortable stomach.

a.     Eating too much induces a physical response that is a biologically healthy response that hopefully conditions you into avoiding overeating, but when there is an unlimited amount of a thing, in this case food, we feel obligated to get our money’s worth.

8.     I never seem to get the right amount of sleep. Despite reading, hearing, and trying to implement tips on how to get a better night's rest, it’s still rather hard to control sleep quality.

a.     I don’t know what my body clock prefers as well as lack of time to figure it out.

9.     It’s hard to tell if a pillow or bed product is ideal until you have felt it and used it in real life, which require you to buy it and wash it (since it usually comes rough and needs breaking in), which would prevent you from returning it if it isn’t ideal.

a.      Many times the product isn't on display, which prevents you from feeling it in the store, forcing you to buy it, test it, and then bring it back to return if it isn't ideal, which is cumbersome and frustrating to customers.

10.  Reading or looking at the computer for too long starts hurting one's eyes.

a.     The small print, insufficient light, and intense focus necessary for these activities is taxing on the eyes.

11.  Wearing a helmet looks stupid and dinky, but not wearing it is illegal.

a.     The helmet is bulky to create a stronger buffer between your head and the pavement, but because of its lack of aesthetics, people don’t like wearing it.

12.  I lost my wallet and my phone in two separate occasions, and if you’re like me, you continue to live life losing things, not installing a "find my phone" app, or a tracker.

a.     Often, people must lose their phone or keys to be convinced to get a tracker, and no one likes to prepare for tragedy (whether that be going to annual health check ups, buying insurance, or in this case, being proactive in case one loses their phone.)

13.  Some classes only allow for a scientific calculator and others require a graphing calculator. I had to buy a new scientific calculator because I gave mine away after not using it after a high school math class.

a.     The graphing calculator will give some test takers an advantage, so they require specific calculators.

14.  It’s hard to fix a watch without going to a watch fixing store (which is hard for a college student and the price of the watch doesn’t justify the trip).

a.     The art of fixing a clock seems archaic and timely, and it’s much easier to just buy a new one.

15.  I easily lose focus of my goals of the day, week, year. It takes a lot of energy and time to organize and sift through what you want to do with your day.

a.     There are so many different thing one wants to do, and not enough time to do all of it or there is not an effective enough method of organizing these goals.

16.  The walls in dorms aren’t very sound proof. Having a conversation is hard without being loud.

a.     Especially new residential halls, the walls are dry-wall which is not as absorbent of sound.

17.  It’s daunting to have to claim a major before you even know what a real job experience looks like.

a.     High school students or incoming freshman often don’t have the reliable knowledge of possible jobs prospects that isn’t from TV shows or media. Additionally, many teens don’t come into college with work experience or have internship experience.

18.  There are leftover residue marks around a faucet/on a mirror that need to be constantly cleaned.

a.     The residue of soap, toothpaste, and other substances that gets onto the faucet and mirror.

19.  It’s a little cumbersome to fold laundry or hang it up.

a.     If clothes aren’t folded it’s harder to find what you are looking for, as well as the possibility of it getting wrinkle being left unfolded.

20.  Not knowing what to order the first time at a restaurant with too many options and lack of pictures.  

a.     It’s  hard to decide what one would like to eat is you can see a picture of it. Additionally, a need to provide options might be overwhelming to someone who isn’t familiar to the menu.

Reflection: This assignment was really eye opening. I've been hearing that this assignment is relatively hard after the 10th problem, so this week, I've been jotting down things that bother me for fear that I'd forget when I sat down to write. This really helped make this a more digestible assignment. Over all, it's genuinely surprising that there is still so many things that can change and we are capable of being that change.