A Few Tips to Cope With Life’s Annoyances

“Work slowdowns are methods commonly used by labor unions to apply pressure without actually striking. During the Solidarity movement in Poland, people expressed their disapproval of the government-run news media by taking a walk with their hats on backward at exactly 6 p.m. when the state news program started. When the government noticed the trend, it issued curfews, but people then put their televisions in their windows facing outward so that only the police walking the streets would see the broadcasts.”

Likewise, the article mentions the small annoyances we have to face everyday in life. On my first day here, I encountered the classic example when I ordered a coffee in a cafe here. Facing a diarrhoea of options in this consumer society where ‘coffee’ choices range from vanilla lattes to caramel mochas, where does one just order a plain coffee? Preferably one that tastes good – a small detail often forgotten in the exploding the abundancy of choices in a never ending process to please us consumers. Asked for my size of cup, knowing I was in the States known for its ridiculous sizes, I asked for a small cup. “Okay, a tall”. I said, no, I want a small. Upon which the kind lady pointed me to the board where the different sizes where stated, ranging from “tall”(aka small) to “grande” (aka medium) and “gigante” (aka large). Deep inside me there resonates a part of me that secretly yearns for the days where I could just order “een bakkie koffie”.