Apps Passwords And Two Step Verification Overload

We vent about why modern life feels needlessly complicated and why constant apps, passwords, and verification steps drain our energy. We also share small ways we push back, simplify, and protect the little joys that make this stage of life worth it. 
• clean bill of health update and how it changes the week ahead 
• Mother’s Day travel plans plus carry on only mindset 
• Sudoku packing method and printable travel checklist on our website 
• why everything demanding an app creates daily friction 
• two step verification and password resets as mental overload 
• customer service systems that block real human help 
• QR code menus and why they make dining worse 
• “I’m not doing this anymore” plus refusing to quit Diet Coke 
• tech exhaustion with streaming apps and smart TV problems 
• reclaiming ease through paper passes, writing things down, and cash 
Make sure you follow, share it with a friend, and come back next week. 

Transcript

Health Update And Travel Plans

App Fatigue And Verification Madness

Customer Service That Goes Nowhere

QR Code Menus Need To Go

I Am Not Quitting Diet Coke

Tech Burnout And Smart TV Chaos

Where To Find My Other Podcasts

Reclaiming Simple Tools That Work

Final Laughs And Farewell

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Hello and welcome to AgNate for Sissies. My name is Marcy Backis, and I am your host. Yes, I am. This is my podcast. I'm glad you're here. I have something really great to talk about today. Why is everything so freaking complicated? Honestly, I want to welcome you back to Aging Infra Sissies, the podcast where we stay, say the quiet parts out loud about getting older. And we do it with a whole lot of humor, a little bit of sass, and zero patience for nonsense. I have no patience for that. Never have, even when I was young. I'm your host, Marcy, and around here, we're trying not to be 25 again. We are trying to feel good, live smart, and actually enjoy this stage of life. Because let's be honest, what's the choice, number one? And aging isn't for sissies, but it can be done intentionally. And that's exactly what we're doing here. So hope you enjoyed last week's episode. Um if I could even remember what last week's episode was about. What did we talk about last week? Oh, our biological age. Yeah. Hope you learned something. I did. I'm doing pretty good, actually. I'm doing better than I was doing before with my biological age. So I will take that. And today we are going to talk about just freaking everything is so annoying. It's my friend Pearl always says, it's annoying. It is. It's a lot of annoying stuff in the world right now. But before we get into that, let's do a quick recap. On I met with my radiology oncologist. I got a clean bill of health for right now. So yay! Don't have to see her until after my next mammogram in November. I don't have to see my oncologist again until then. So life is good. Um, beat cancer, and I'm happy to say that I have beat it. I've been doing pretty good health-wise, and I'll take it. I don't like to get too cocky because when I get cocky, things seem to happen, but I'm feeling good. Life is good. I am leaving at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning for California. I am going to spend Mother's Day with my oldest child, Kyle. I'm also going to see my nephew Chris and his wife Beth. They are going to be moving up to California. I mean to Oregon from California back to Oregon, where they're from. Their kids are moving into the school district that my kids were in when we lived there. And actually, my great nephew Alan will be attending the same elementary school that my kids went to. Very exciting. It's also exciting for me because A, it gives me another place to go visit and a place that I have friends at. So very excited about that for them because I think it's a great place to raise your kids. I truly do. I think my kids were really happy there. I am going on this trip and I am going to use my Sudhu packing method that we've talked about. It's on my website in um MarcybackusMedia.com. There I had my AI create uh Sudoku packing method. So it's um nine squares, and each square has either a bottom, a top, or a layering piece. And you do it in the order that it is on the on this the nine squares, and then you can draw a line and you can draw where this outfit, but then if you go this way, these pieces, it's all the pieces are mix and match, like granimals. Anyways, um, I am going to do it. I'm gonna do the Sudoku packing method. I'm gonna let you know how it works. You know, I only do a carry-on no matter whether I'm five days or 14 days. Um, you have to remember you also have the outfit you have on and whatever layering piece you have with that. So you have those shoes, you have those pants, that top. So, in essence, you really have 12 pieces. But anyhow, I'll let you know how it goes. It's up on my website. You can um download it from there. I think it's pretty cool. I'm kind of crazed right now because I got so out of the habit of going to the movies. And there are four, I think four movies I want to see right now. Devil Wears Prada 2, The Sheep Detective. Oh my God, if you haven't seen the trailer for that, go look it up. The Sheep Detective. So good. So up my alley. I want to see Michael and I want to see, I still want to see Hail Mary. I haven't seen that, and I heard they've kept it in the theater. So hopefully when I get back after these five days, I'm gonna be hitting the movie theater. You know, after COVID, excuse me, we so got out of going to the movies, and I really love the movies. And I have a movie theater two blocks from my house. I can just walk. It's not that hard, people. But for some reason, I don't know. I gotta get it in my head. I'll spend the afternoon here just farting around, doing nothing important, and I could be at the doggone movies. So that is my goal, is to get more movie time in. All right. Oh, let's see. I need someone to explain this to me. Why everything now requires an app, a password, a verification code, an emotional support beverage. Nothing is simple anymore. So you all know I love technology. Obviously, I do three podcasts. I record them, edit them, get them up in Spotify and Apple Podcasts. I know how to do all that. I know it all doesn't mean that this part of the world is not annoying me. This two-step verification is horrific. You have my face. You've used my face, you've used my fingerprint, and yet you still want another verification. It really is annoying. If you okay, if you go into our McDonald's here, I will tell you you're either scanning a QR code that you have on the app, or you're doing something. So my McDonald's here in Chicago, on Chicago and Rush, I call it the Murder McDonald's because just before I moved here, there were nine people shot in there. So I don't live in a bad neighborhood. It was just a bad moment at that freaking McDonald's, but I do call it the murder McDonald's. Anyways, um, I'm really good at it because I love the app. And if you use, here's the deal. I'm gonna talk about these things as annoying, but if you use the apps, you save a ton of money. But you do have to, you know, I know how to sit down at the table, do the app, order it so they deliver it right to my table. But all of this is annoying because people like Craig, who are not good at this, they don't have anybody at the registers anymore. You have to either use your phone or you have to use the giant iPads that they have inside. And I know for a big group of you that that is off-putting, but it's the way of the world. So as I've told you before, get on the wham wagon. But it's annoying. This two-step verification, um, resetting your passwords, verifying that I'm not a robot. If somebody had told me I was going to be verifying that I'm not a robot as much as I am in my life, I would have never believed them when I was 10. And I'm having a robot tell me I need to tell it that I'm not a robot. Meanwhile, honestly, I'm starting to identify with that robot more than I would like to. Why does everything need an app? Let's start there. Why does everything need an app now? Because it does. I don't want an app for my refrigerator. I don't want an app for my toothbrush. I don't want an app to tell me I need another app. I just want things to work. My car, my brand new car has an app. I love my brand new car, by the way. It is a Vovo. CX60, XC60, CX60. I've driven it, I've had it for six weeks, and I've driven it a total of six times. Maybe seven times now because I went to the doctor. Don't drive a lot here in Chicago. But it's exhausting, and I know it's exhausting for you. So I'm coming at this from a place where I know people aren't enjoying this. And somehow every company decided, you know what would make this easier? More technology. No, no, it did not make it easier. Not every time you buy something, you immediately hear download our app. And I've got Craig who hates apps. I don't want any more apps on my phone. I was sitting with the ladies at coffee a few weeks ago and I was telling them about the McDonald's app because you get free Friday, you get free food. The more you order, you get points. I don't know. I love it. It's a game for me. I also am a huge CVS app fan. Um, I can go to CVS and spend$65 and watch it go down to nine. I'm really good at it. I love it, but I don't like being told I have to do it. And I, it bothers me that other people don't get the same perks in the world that I do because I'm an app fiend. Um, Craig, I only have one page of apps. I let them all be in the library. I call them up when I need them. He's got a swipe through his phone. There's an easier way, people. And I'm as I'm bitching and complaining about this, I'm gonna send you to the Apple store. Go to the Apple store and let them help you. It's free for God's sakes. They have classes, they'll help you one-on-one. Tell them you don't want a hundred pages of apps, help them organize your apps. Like use the Apple store, people. It is there for you to use. And if you have a different kind of phone, sorry, you're not in my you're not in my hemisphere. Okay. All right, I got a little excited there. You know, I'm not gonna download an app to buy a muffin. I'm just not. But I will if I'm gonna save a lot of money. If that muffin's gonna be half price or I'm gonna get one free, yeah. I'd rather use an app and buy six, get one free, than have them punch those damn cards. I have a punch card for the coffee place we drink at every day. I still haven't gotten a free coffee and I've had it for months because I forget to use it. I don't forget to use my apps. So there's a positive. This is what has me in this in a in an absolute fit. Passwords are out of control. At this point, passwords are basically a part-time job because apparently every account now requires 14 characters, a capital letter, a symbol, a blood sample, and your childhood trauma. And then when you finally create one, you cannot use a password you've used before. Who remembers what they've used before? Honestly, half my life now is hitting forgot password. Now I save everything to my phone, but that doesn't honestly, I still have problems. Craig has problems with this all the time. I thought our face was supposed to be enough. You set up a password for your face, and your face should open everything. Does somebody else have my face that I don't know about? How about my fingerprint? My computer um little uh keyboard here has a fingerprint thing. Somebody else got my fingerprint out there? I don't think so. I it really bugs me. All right, before I get into more of this, I have a quick little reminder. If you missed my travel episode, I made a super travel checklist and my Sudoku, it's on my website because unlike modern technology, I wanted something that was actually easy to use. You can print them. It's not an app. You can print my Sudoku um packing method, and you can my travel checklist, you can do all that. So if you caught that episode, that you can find everything at MarcyBackett's Media.com. All right, so oh another part that's really annoying me is the customer service. It sucks. Uber, if Uber screws up, which they do a lot, and you may not know this because you don't use it a lot, but in the city we use it more than most people. It screws up a lot, and you can't ever talk to a person. We had, I had arranged a ride for Craig and I. We were going to dinner and to the opera. And I arranged a ride to be there at 515. So it says your ride is on the way. So I head downstairs and I look, and my ride is quite a ways away, and it's just sitting there. It's quite a ways away, especially in city 515 traffic. I know what it's gonna take for it to get from where it's at to me. It's gonna be iffy if it gets there on time. And now it's not moving. It's not moving, it's not moving. It's not moving. I've waited 10 minutes. I text the driver and I said, Look, can you cancel this ride so I can get another one? Because here's the trick if they cancel it, you can easily get another one. If you cancel it, you're gonna get a fee. I asked him over and over. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Finally, I just canceled it and we grabbed a taxi. And then I had to deal with the charge that I was charged. And it's really hard. So even if you can find a number to call, you call for help and immediately enter a psychological experiment. Press one for billing, press four for support, press seven if you've completely lost the will to live. So I bought my new car. There were some issues with my old car. They didn't pay it off on time, and I got a thing saying I had a late payment, blah, blah, blah. So I call. You push all the different buttons for billing, for finance, nobody answers. You know, the only people that answer at a car dealership is sales. So I would call and press sales every time because I'd at least get a person. But if I pushed finance or if I pushed anything else, Nada, no one. Talk about frustrating, talk about losing your will to live. And then after 20 minutes, we are experiencing higher than normal call volume. Bullshit. No, you are not. This is your normal volume, people. Honestly. That one kills me. And I don't know. And and everybody goes, push zero. That doesn't work anymore. Now that just hangs up on you. Oh all right. So then we have COVID comes along. Made same things better, made some things worse. I don't want a QR code for my menu. I want to look at something bigger than my phone. Why am I scanning a QR code still? To see a damn cheeseburger. I'm already hungry. I want to see it. Now, if you need glasses, you've got to find your glasses, adjust your brightness, zoom in. You can't see everything all at once. It's terrible. By the time I get to the menu, I need a damn nap. Can I just have a laminated menu like my ancestors? Honestly. Honestly. Insane. I should not QR code your damn menus, you cheap people. I need a full menu. I need to look at what my options are. I need everything laid out for me. I honestly hate the QR code menu. I bet you're with me. All right. Here's my segment. I'm not doing this anymore. What is Marcy not doing this week? Well, all right. I'm not doing this anymore. I'm not giving up Diet Coke. I'm not going to try to give up Diet Coke. Nobody can tell me to give up Diet Coke. At this point, I've lived 65 years drinking Diet Coke almost every day of my life. Obviously, I think it came out in 1982. Since 1982, I've had a Diet Coke almost every day of my life. I'm not dead yet. So nope, not happening. Not doing it. Not doing it. I gave up alcohol. I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. Diet Coke is my life. I'm not giving it up. People try to scare me. It's bad for you. You should quit. Have sparkling water instead. Oh no, Linda, I'm not having sparkling water. Instead, I'm having a Diet Coke. Listen, right here. Here's one. I'm gonna take a sip. Mmm. This I picked up. It's a polar pop from Circle K on my way home from the gym. So absolutely not. At this stage of life, we all pick our thing. And honestly, if a cold Diet Coke brings me as much joy as it does, I'm keeping it. I'm not gonna pretend I like flavored water, force myself to drink sadness in a can, or give up one tiny bit of my happiness at 65. We are not doing it anymore. All right. Are you happy? That's my what I'm not doing. I'm not doing anymore. All right, back to how technology can be exhausting. It's real. I don't think people talk enough about how mentally exhausting all this is. And it really is. I, you know, it's my TV. I have a smart TV, and yes, it's smart, but I have an app for this and an app for that. I used to, can we just go back to cable where it was all in one place? I have an app for Netflix, I have all these different things. I have my TV is on um Xfinity, so I have the Xfinity app. It's the worst. You'll be watching, and all of a sudden you realize that the voices and the mouths are not moving at the same thing. This is an Xfinity app problem. It is not my TV, it is not my internet, it is none of it, it is Xfinity. Here's the problem: Xfinity comes as part of my homeowners association. So I'm already paying for it. So if I get another subscription service like YouTube TV, which we had for a while, I'm double paying and I'm not doing that anymore. So I have to put up with that damn Xfinity app and have, you know, it doesn't load, and you're trying to change channels. And if you start thinking about the amount of time you spend on technology a day, it's obnoxious. Because it's not just learning new things, updating devices, and remembering passwords. It's a constant. It's updates, it's notifications, it's alerts, it's subscriptions, it's email. And honestly, my phone has become a full-time manager. I never hired. And we're not bad at technology. We're just freaking tired. And let me say something important here. We are not stupid. We are not behind. We grew up learning actual maps, phone numbers. We memorized phone numbers. We looked at maps to get us here and there. We figured out directions. We knew how to function without Wi-Fi. We adapted to more technological change than any other generation ever. We started with albums. We went to four-track, eight-track, cassette, CD, and now MP files. We know how to change. We know how to adapt. We're not incapable. We're exhausted people. There's a difference. All right, a quick pause. I want to make sure you know where else to find me. If you're loving this conversation, and who wouldn't? I've got two other podcasts you need to check out Inside Marcy's Mind, where we talk about life hacks, real life situations, and things we're all trying to figure out, but nobody's really saying out loud. I have unbottled, which is my very favorite new project, all about sobriety. We talk in real talk. If you need to abstain from something, whether it's alcohol scrolling, doom scrolling, if it's shopping, if it's chocolate, take a listen. I think it helps with everything. And everything lives on my website, so you can find it there. Marcybackismedia.com. Go check it out and then come right back here. So I think I think that's the real issue. Nothing feels simple anymore. Everything feels layered, complicated, time consuming, and honestly, people are craving ease now. Not perfection, not productivity, just ease. And maybe that's one of the biggest lessons of aging. Simplify where we can, because life is hard enough already. So here's what we're rec I'm reclaiming. Um, I want you to too. Paper boarding passes. Well, personally, I like a paper boarding pass because if you know me and you know my hands, my hands are a hot mess, and holding my phone and trying to get it right, I hate it. So I, who had embraced the technology of boarding passes long before most people have gone back to the simple paper boarding passes. Writing things down. I do write things down. Saying, just call me. Using cash occasionally. Yes, I stopped and got$200 in cash today, and I love um. The bank that I stop at, I can use my phone. Talk about technology. I don't have to have my card with me. I use my phone and I'm able to pick all the denominations of the bills, which I absolutely love. But I do use cash. These are tiny rebellions, but honestly, they make life feel a little more human. So if you've been feeling overwhelmed by how complicated everything has become, you're not alone. It's and it's not just you. The world really has become more complicated. And maybe the answer isn't keeping up with everything. Maybe the answer is simplifying where we can. Because around here, we're not aging quietly. We are aging intentionally. I want to thank you as always for spending time with me today. If this episode made you laugh, nod your head, or almost throw the phone across the room remembering a password reset. Make sure you follow, share it with a friend, and come back next week. Because we've got a lot more life to live and we're going to do it our way. Don't forget, if you need to see me, I'll be at Disneyland next Tuesday having a personal appearance. Catch me there. I'll see you next time.