Owner’s manual’s seem to come with everything. You get them for TV’s and vacuum’s and cars and camera’s. Some people love them and some hate them. Some people devour them as soon as they open the item, while some immediately trash them. Some are incredibly long and some barely have a quarter of a page.
I know for a fact that I haven’t perused more than a page or two of my car instruction manual in the 12 years I’ve had the car. On the other hand, I opened my camera, looked at it for a bit and then read most of the manual that same day. What is it about instruction manuals that either turn us off or make us want to read them?
And even more importantly, why didn’t we get one for the most important thing ever? Our lives? Why didn’t we get an instruction manual on us when we turned 5? Or whatever age it was when we started to read and understand things?
And for that matter, how many of us would even read the manual, especially if it was 500 pages? Would we just skim the manual or would we read it more in depth? So many questions.
In the end, who cares? How about we just get into the Bitter Friday Giftures…
Who is good…
…at following instructions anyways?
I think most people would…
…just try to learn the basics.
While others would try to…
…devour them.
Sometimes…
…we ask my son to vacuum his room.
Or..
…make his bed.
Or just put away…
…a dish.
Not only does he…
…ignore us…
But he’s not even…
…sorry about it.
He likes to pretend…
…that he did’t hear us.
Or that…
…it was somebody else’s fault.
Either way…
…we see right through his excuses…
And he gets shocked…
…when we take away his Xbox.
The best revenge we can get is having a grandson that will treat his instruction manual like he treated his and will give him just as much trouble as he gave us. Because living bitter is the best revenge.
ARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH
Bitter Instruction Manual Ben
Ben's Bitter Blog 
If the manual came with an easy-to-use index, sure! I’d get mine!
Wait, did I say mine? I meant my dad’s. Have been trying to figure that man out for years…
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Yeah, dads can be tricky. My father is that way too. I was quite afraid of him when I was younger, but I feel much more comfortable with him now. Though I always have his voice in the back of his mind when it comes to trying to get his approval. I just hope my kids have an easier time with me, though I know they sometimes think I’m a dork. I just hope they know that I feel good about their choices.
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I have always wished babies were born with manuals customized to that particular baby. In the absence of baby manuals, parents relied on books like Dr. Spock. And look how those babies turned out.
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Yeah, it would have been nice for kids, because my kids are polar opposites. So we have to absolutely use opposite strategies on how to handle these two. We can’t wait for them to get out of the house so they can credit their success to their parents raising them so poorly.
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What makes you think they’re getting out of the house? The trend now is for kids to leave and return, and take it from me, living with an adult child has its challenges.
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That is a good point. I do think that one or both of my kids will end up living with us for some time. Not only is it expensive to live on your own these days, but also the economy is in the tank and don’t think it will return to any sort of stability any time soon.
With my own experience of living with my mother-in-law for 10 years, I totally agree that they may not leave the house any time soon.
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What makes me the bitterest is the items that do not come with a manual. Like smartphones and computers. You get a tiny “Set-Up Guide” that shows you drawings and no written instructions, except for telling you if you need more information refer to the such-and-so digital manual – online.
Are they assuming everyone knows how to set up network connections and can access these manuals? Or, is it a case of “Frankly Scarlett, they don’t give a damn?”
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Yeah, they used to spend reams of paper on manuals, now they just include a tiny scrap of paper telling people to go online to find the extensive instructions, knowing that no one ever will. How dare these manufacturers try to save the planet by conserving paper. Sheesh.
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