I beg to differ

According to a UK study, getting behind the wheel is a lot more stressful than catching public transport.
Traffic build up and delays were the main causes for stress in drivers and that the social aspects of public transport make commuting easier. Plus, while driving you are not free to do anything else but drive. In public transport, you can read, write, use your laptop or ipod etc.
I disagree. I think that driving is much less stressful than taking public transport. The people who conducted this research, not to mention the ones used in the research must have overlooked some things.

When you drive, you are the one in control. If you want to go faster, you hit the gas. You want to go slower, you hit your brakes. You can choose to turn the air conditioning up or down, you can choose the best way to get somewhere and best of all, you don't have to pay for getting from one place to another. Sure, traffic can be a pain in the butt, but at least you can suffer in your own vehicle rather than in a cab or a bus surrounded by strangers.

Now let's look at public transport. Sure, you don't have to scramble your brains with the rules and politics of driving, but you have no control of the vehicle that's supposed to take you somewhere. If you're late due to the manner in which a cabbie, a bus driver or train driver operated their vehicle, then it's your fault. You should've left earlier knowing that they're not going to break the road rules for your benefit.

As for the 'social aspects' surrounding public transport, for every good or interesting person you meet you're always bound to run into a couple of ratbags. It's not your car we're talking about here, it's public transport, where you don't have a say on who gets to share the vehicle with you. Drunks, drug addicts, criminals, idiots in general, you're always bound run into someone that makes you want to sink into your seat and pray that they go away. Sure, it can be quite entertaining watching or listening to them carry on at times, but really, you'd much rather not be near them.

And what about unforseen circumstances? Sure, when you're driving in your own car sometimes you run into something you didn't expect such as auto accidents, road closures, road works etc. Yes, it can be frustrating but unforseen circumstances involving public transport can be worse. Let me give you an example. I catch the train to work every day and let me tell you, unexpected catastrophes such as train delays, cancellations and selfish individuals who hold up trains due to their actions get the blood boiling. I was late for work a few times thanks to disasters like these. Just recently my train was delayed at a train station because some fool decided they wanted to end their life by jumping in front of an oncoming train. My train waited for some fiftteen to twenty minutes before finally moving again and I ended up being ten minutes late for work.
Another time, during a cold, rainy winter night I had to wait a staggering 20 MINUTES for my train to arrive thanks to delays! God only knows how I didn't wake up with a cold the next morning.

Being your own boss, not having to put up with unwanted guests, not having to suffer due to a driver who has no clue, now tell me, would you trade that with having to catch public transport? I think not. I got nothing against public transport, hell I take it everyday to work, but if I had to choose between public transport or my car, I'd go for the latter in a heartbeat. And I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that.

Good Impressions

UK clothes store TK Maxx recently surveyed around 2000 employers regarding how the attire one wears to a job interview can determine their success in landing a job. According to the survey, women who turn up to interviews with too much cleavage showing can spoil their chances, while men who turn up wearing rumpled shirts, high-waisted pants and novelty ties can ruin theirs.
Also, if more than one candidate is being seriously considered for the job, the better dressed one usually comes out on top. TK Maxx concluded that you should play it safe in terms of your clothes and appearance. That means wearing well-fitting, well-ironed clothes in neutral colours as well as a clean, well-groomed appearance.

Clearly, first impressions matter. So to any woman out there who is thinking of showing up to the interview looking sexy and sassy and trying to shamelessly flirt with the interviewer, don't do it. Assuming that your interviewer is some kind of sleaze is not the ideal thing to do. Likewise boys, interviewers will not be impressed by a guy who looks as though he'd just slept off a bender, forgot to shave and dressed like a kindergarten teacher with the rumpled shirt and cartoon tie. Why do I care? It's because I've made the same mistake in the past. Six years ago, hen I was an unemployed 19-year old looking for work I got an email from a potential employer stating that I didn't get the job I applied for. Fair enough, it happens, especially since I was young and didn't have much work experience. But in this instance, I felt that the real reason I got the chop was due to my appearance.

The year was 2004. I applied for a job with a big company with the city (I'll keep them anonymous for this blog). Before the interview process the employers decided they wanted to host an orientation day to get to know all the interested applicants. Let me tell you, the outfit I wore could not have been more dreadful. I wore a slightly-rumpled shirt that looked at least two sizes too big for my then-skinny frame, I wore high-waisted trousers that might as well have gone up to my nipples and stumpy shoes that Mickey Mouse would've been proud of. Also, I didn't bother to fix my hair up that much and so it looked all fuzzy. In other words, I looked like a cartoon character, and cartoon characters do not a successful applicant make. Ugh! I get red-faced just remembering it. Anyway, a few days later I got an e-mail simply titled 'Sorry'. Obviously I didn't get the job.

In my defence, I was a short, skinny 19-year old with limited work experience and I tried too hard to make a good first impression. Obviously, it didn't work and that right there is what TK Maxx is talking about. I was a defeated man the moment I picked my outfit and in a room full of impeccably-dressed folks I stuck out like a sore thumb. I'm surprised no one laughed at me. I should've known just how badly I'd blown my chances when I came home and my sister asked me what the hell was I doing leaving the house looking the way I did.

Well, I've got a job now but I still cringe when I think back to that day. Missing out on an interview is not what still bothers me, rather it's the fact that I showed up looking like a doofus. I guess it's one of those 'what the hell was I thinking' moments for me. But you know what? I know now that it's better to be rejected at a job interview dressed at your best than have to be turned down looking like a Nickelodeon cartoon character.