Okay, this is a rant to all those people who go to 24 hour gas stations. I think you should really pay attention to it. 1. We are working. Just because we are not standing right by the cash register, doesn't mean we are off somewhere, sleeping or purposely ignoring you. 2. If it says door is locked, it means that, you are not that special, I am not letting you in and 3. If you don't know what you wanted, why did you show up knowing the door is locked? Seriously. —Late Night Worker

OK, I’ve been using the Google maps/Halifax Transit feature to find my way home these days. The other day, the bus was “on time.” When I boarded the bus, I decided to leave the real time tracking on the screen instead of closing the app. I found that it was odd but I watched the blue dot progress from stop to stop on the screen…“on time”…meanwhile my actual location was as much as two or three stops behind the blue dot. My conclusion was simple: maybe the blue dot is like a pace car and the bus doesn’t show as late until it falls way behind. Makes sense, right?

Well, today I was watching the screen say “on time” and the bus showed up 6 minutes early...meanwhile, the screen kept saying "on time.” You know what I think? I think this realtime tracking system is a total bullshit system. I think they should rename it the “swallow the blue pill” system. Total fiction. —Eff You Halifax Transit

I have lived in six cities in 15 years. Do you know what they all have in common with Halifax? Every city is full of bitchy drivers that can't stop crying about how the drivers in their city are “the worst.” STFU. —Quit Yer Bitchin’

Chalkboard signs outside cafés are one thing, but it's a whole other nuisance to have to read the same bad puns everyone's seen online every time we walk down the street. Write your own promotions. How hard is it? No matter how bad, at the very least it won't look like your business is being run by an attention-starved teenager. —Your Bad Marketing is Making Me Depresso

I thought you of all organizations would allow the process of employment to be a fair and equal one. We now find out that not only the selection for the technician position was made under the radar, but he happens to be a buddy of the previous technician! Once again you show unfair practice and that the "it's who you know" system is still largely in place. Shame! —Slapping Some Fishy Lips

The farts and feminism method.

Step 1:  Drink an entire bottle of cheap wine. The kind with high sulfur content.  Do not decant.
Step 2:  Invite your lover over for “Netflix and chill” approximately eight hours later.
Step 3:  By the time he arrives, the uncontrollable flatulence will have filled your apartment with a hotbox of unbearable rotten egg stank that no amount of air freshener or open windows could possibly clear.
Step 4:  Proceed to discuss an article you read about feminism.  Be sure to bring up the wage gap at least a couple of times!
Step 5:  Watch him struggle to come up with a reason he has to leave as he scrambles to the door, boner killed, never to be heard from again. —Oopsy

...who don't seem to have been taught this stuff by their parents, teachers, etc.  f it's an all-gender public washroom, a CLOSED DOOR means that someone is on the other side of it.  Ipso fatso, you DO NOT rip said door off its hinges, breaking the lock mechanism, trying to get the door to open, nor do you batter the door in with your shoulder, catching that someone with their pants down and scaring the hell out of them. YOU KNOCK and wait long seconds for an answer.  Finally, when it's YOUR turn and you're finished doin' your business, DO NOT CLOSE THE DOOR when you exit this public washroom; leave the door ajar so that other patrons know it's available. —Am I Going Too Fast For You

I'm a 34 year old female carpenter. I have over 10 years experience. As a carpenter, most jobs are seasonal and you get laid off during the winter. Instead of struggling through the winter on EI, I've decided to try and find some interior carpentry work. As well as applying for job postings online, I also made a Kijiji add.

"34 year old carpenter with 10 years experience. Looking to get on with a finish carpentry crew or trim crew..." It went on from there. Several days later I received a reply from a company in Lower Sackville that specializes in Trim work. The reply to my ad was,"Hi...I am in need of a Finish Carpenter for trim work...call and we can chat 902-xxx-xxxx.” Right on! I proceed to call so we can chat.

The instant the guy realizes I'm female he tries to tell me that he doesn't know why someone would have replied to my ad on his behalf because he doesn't require any help. Also, he refers to me as "dear" at least 20 times during our brief conversation, which is completely insulting after you've just answered the phone like you're talking to one of your boys, then immediately change to a degrading and condescending tone once you realize I'm female.

Fuck outta here with that shit! Regardless, I just take it as another one of the zillion times I've been treated like a delicate little fucking flower by some meat head, mouth breathing fuck boy in the construction industry. His loss, I'm an amazing carpenter.

So I continue my job search on Kijiji to look at the newly posted ads and come across one that says: "I have a position in my company for a Finish Carpenter. Looking for a reliable worker with 5+ years exp. in trimwork…" Sounds perfect! I click on the ad and SHOCKER! It's from the same jack ass that just minutes ago told me he “wasn't looking for anyone, dear.” I wish I could say your company name on here because females that will hire you might not if they knew you were the type of person that doesn't at least give women in trades a chance to prove themselves before turning into stereotypical stereotype. Jerk. Sorry I'm not sorry, but go to hell. I've worked with guys who admit they turned down females applying for jobs before, but after working with me they feel stupid for potentially throwing away great employees. I've worked my way from the shittiest jobs with horrible companies all the way to great jobs with someone the best companies in Nova Scotia. I've worked on everything from sewer back-ups in a trailer, to several million dollar homes designed by the best designers in Nova Scotia. I've proven myself time and time again through my amazing craftsmanship and amazing work ethic. I can carpenter circles around you or anyone on your crew! It's your loss asshole!

TO ALL OF HALIFAX: Hire women contractors. We're more honest. We're more reliable. We don't try to gouge you for no damn reason. We're less threatening than some douchy dude trudging through your property. We clean up after ourselves. etc. etc. etc. We've had to do better work just to be treated as equal on any job site since the beginning of time. That translates to us being better at our trades.

I wish I could leave you with a list of all the female carpenters and trades women I know. Because they've been working their asses off double as hard just to be treated the same as knuckle dragging, mouth breathing, less experience having idiots that are leading the industries.

I don't speak on behalf of all females in trades. Just my personal experiences. I don't hate men, either. Just the ones that act like the things they're so proud of: DICKS! —I Can Carpenter Circles Around You

This year I have noticed at least half the vehicles do not use their turning indicators and about one in 10 who use their turn indicators do not turn. Also I live on a street off of Transom where there is a lot of construction going on and the contractors use the street as if it is theirs alone including parking on the wrong side of the street and sometimes even blocking the street altogether. I have been out of the province for a while and I'm wondering have the rules of the road changed? —Wayne

In North America, on what side of the road does a car drive? The right, of course. If you are driving and passing a car on a two lane road and a car is coming towards you, who has the right-of-way? The car who is approaching you, of course.

Apply these simple principles when walking and I will not abruptly stop in front of you, scowling; nor will I bulldoze my way through your clutch, to hell with you all. —Muck