Assignment 2A - Bug List: 20 Things That Bug Me

1. Having too many coins.

WHY? Although the number of people using cards to pay increases, there is a lot of people that still use cash, like me. The fact that the US monetary system has small fractions of money, like the 1 cent, this makes a lot of people receive many coins from most of the cash transaction. These coins are inconvenient to travel with, especially when you walk and it makes the sound, which results in people storing them at home or losing it. Going to the bank to switch it could be a solution, but it is time consuming due to its distance and process.

2. Bike went missing.

WHY? I lost the brand-new bike that I locked in front of my Simpson Hall during the first week of college, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people had experienced in losing their bike on campus as seen from the leftover bike wheels in the bike park railing. Registering the bike would be an option, but it won't necessarily prevent the bike from getting stolen in this big campus. Moreover, bikes are pricey in the first place, so maybe sharing bikes?

3. The high amount of sodium in most foods.

WHY? In my opinion, most American foods contain lots of sodium because it was preserved and frozen for later use, also due to the fact that it uses a high amount of chemical flavoring in most of the sauces like ketchup, bbq, and other sauces. These methods are used to serve the food much quicker and make them stay good longer, however, sodium would bloat the body as it keeps water weight.

4. Crowded gyms.

WHY? The amount of students and the number and size of the gym on the campus is not proportional. Usually, around 8 am - 10 am, and from 4 pm - 6 pm, the gym gets very crowded that the staff has to close it temporarily because there are too many people inside.

5. Ugly dorm rooms.

WHY? Although I'm honestly grateful being able to live in the campus's dorm since many say that dorm experience is something you won't forget, sometimes I feel that I live in jail without locks and with windows. Moreover, finding small, space-efficient furniture, wallpaper, and other things that would make the dorm room looks better is hard.

6. My annoying roommate.

WHY? I live in Simpson Hall, and our room is about 4 m x 6 m. Although I enjoy the company of my roommate, there are times where I just need my privacy without him looking at me from 2 m across from his bunk bed.

6. Unpredicted weather.

WHY? The weather in Florida is just unpredictable. It would be very hot and sunny in the morning, and once you enter your class, the rain will start pouring in. Having a coat or an umbrella would be the best solution, but feeling sick because of the weather changes is just bad.

8. Plastic and board trash.

WHY? Since I lost my bike, these days I walk to my classes every time. While walking every day, I could see a huge pile of plastic forks and board containers as well as plates and cups. The cause of this could come from the idea that using throwable materials are more convenient since there is no need to clean, but the amount of trash produced from it is immense. 

9. Long walks just to get food. (I will get hungry again from walking back)

WHY? There are days where I don't have the motivation to walk and get food. As an athlete, I can't let my body be out of gas or else I would lose my muscles, but the distance, slops, and hot sun that I have to go through is just tiring. Imagine if there is a courier with a scooter or bike that would take any of the order in a cheap price.

10. Basketball court filled with karate students.

WHY? Every other day, except for the weekends, the basketball court near the ARAMARK dining service is filled with karate students. Why there is no basketball? There is no basketball because it is unlikely that there would be 10 people playing basketball at the same time that would allow a game to be played, this is why the court is now used for karate.

11. Smelly shoes.

WHY? During most of my class, someone would for sure open their shoes, and the distinct smell would come up. In my case, I would never open my shoes in public, cause I know it will give some sort of bad smell. This cause by sweaty feet, especially after long walks, and by not cleaning the feet with soup properly.

12. Low-Batt Laptop.

WHY? There are times when my laptop would have a low battery when I needed it the most. Although I could charge it before, sometimes I just forget and ended up having its low battery. Also, not every time I would find an electric socket to put my charger.

13. Buying clothes online and it doesn't fit.

WHY? I figure it out now that different brands have different basic sizes, even for the same brand that comes from different countries. 

14. Getting sweaty walking from class to class under the sun.

WHY? With only 15 minutes in between classes, I would usually do a power walk to make sure I arrive in time, however, I just get super sweaty the fact that most of my classes start at noon. This is bad because I feel like I don't look presentable enough in class.

15. Dropping my phone.

WHY? It's crazy the number of times I drop my phone; anywhere and anytime. It could be just me being reckless and not careful enough.

16. The drinking age in the US is 21 years old.

WHY? Back home in Indonesia, people are allowed to drink at the age of 18 (after receiving the id card). I'm not saying that the law should be abolished, but more like find another way to get a similar effect as drinking alcohol, without actually drinking it.

17. Heavy bag to carry with notebooks, textbooks, and laptop.

WHY? Most of my lecturers ask the whole class to bring their laptop and textbook most of the time. Since I don't want to go back and forth to get different textbooks for different classes, I would usually bring all of the textbooks for my class that day.

18. Dogs Barking.

WHY? A lot of people in UF would walk their dogs around during the afternoon and stop by Chump It, which is below where I live in. Usually, the dogs would bark on other dogs, and it would create this chaotic atmosphere that annoys me.

19. Paying for public toilets.

WHY? I was in the highway from Orlando to Gainesville and I had to stop at the gas station to use the toilet. I ran out from my car, cause it was an emergency, but had to go back just to get 50 cents to use the toilet. 

20. Finished toilet papers.

WHY? I think almost everyone had this experience before. It happened to me at the gym, because a lot of people use the toilet and finish the toilet paper roll, I will not explain further what I had to do to clean my business.

Reflection:

At first I thought that this would be an easy task, however, it turned out that finding things to complain about is actually hard, I can't imagine people that complain a lot, they actually have a potential to be an entrepreneur.

The difficulty in making the bug list is that I tried to list a bug that could have a practical solution to solve it. What I forget was sometimes there are "unmet needs" that couldn't be solved by practical solution, but need more complex, out of this world, solution. So my trick was paying more attention to the surrounding when I'm going out or just sitting somewhere, and start listing the things that bug me the most, indeed it actually works.

I guess that this first assignment is a good introductory lesson since I learned that the core of entrepreneurship is to pay a close attention to your surrounding first and found the missing piece to complete the puzzle, the "unmet needs", and find a solution it.