Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[auntlada]

A magical creature who comes in your house and changes the baby.

 

It lives with the dish fairy and the laundry fairy. None of them ever come to my house. I must have done something very bad.

[Maharincess]

I love, love, love my Litter Genie!

[RodLu]

Wow, that would have been my last trip to that store.  I always bag my own stuff; that way my colds go together, nothing get mushed, etc.  If the lane I choose has a bagger, I tell them nicely that I like to bag my own - and I do, it's kind of zen on a good day - and have been known to hip check a bagger who doesn't get the the hint out of the way.  (My hips are well-padded, no injury results.)

Agreed, harrie.....

Yeh, I Too Have A Bagging System..... ;)

I always like to first present Heavier Items then Lighter Ones, and so on....... ;) 

[ZaldamoWilder]

LMAO!!!! All those posts and ya'll still didn't tell her what it was lol!

 

Oh my god. WHAT THE HELL IS A DIAPER GENIE?!?!? I'm in tears and don't even know what I'm laughing at.

 

Girl, it's a magical mythical contraption in which infant parents deposit dirty disposable diapers.   In other words, a trash can, with scented bags.   It works on the model of compression (see pic 2).   The idea is you don't have to a) mix diapers with your other trash and b) run to get em out of the house at every change and c) when you're done with the bag they're contained in, you can press a button, and it'll form a damn near hermetic seal (holding in the stinkeroo).   I got one of these as a gift, I can testify that even though it sounds like the dumbest, laziest idea in the world, I appreciated not having to go downstairs at 1 am, then 3 am, then 5 am. 

 

[DeLurker]

Self check out at grocery stores:  The stations are only set up if you are buying a few things, yet all the stores in my area are increasing the number of the self check out lanes and reducing the number of the regular check out lanes that are staffed.  Even when the line for regular check out is getting long, some of the stores don't open more since they are saving money by not hiring/staffing the appropriate number of people.  Since I live in an area that is primarily families and seniors, it burns me up.  I chose not to go to those stores unless absolutely necessary.

 

Bagging:  Young guys are the worst at this - they think if they can pick it up, you should be able to as well.  In this area, they are pretty good about lightening up if you ask them.

[glowlights]

Well... I didn't even bother to google "diaper genie" yesterday because I was afraid of what I'd find (my mind went to some very dark places, y'all), but now I've learned yet ANOTHER thing from this thread! Pill bugs, hog slat stores, diaper genie... this thread is way better than night school. Also: HELL SAUSAGE. lol

 

Delurker, I know what you mean about the baggers making some bags too heavy. Here we have to bring our own bags or be charged, so they try to make as much fit into one bag as possible in order to save people money. I would hope they would be considerate though if someone asks for the weight to be distributed.

Edited October 23, 2015 by glowlights

[magicdog]

Fresh'n'Easy (sounds like a feminine deodorant, right?) which has nothing but self service lanes, except someone has to come over anyway if you have wine, which everyone does, so WHY NOT JUST STAFF THE LANES IN THE FIRST PLACE? Never going back there again.

 

 

Not to worry - they're closing their stores.  Many of their employees didn't know until local media reported it!

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Not to worry - they're closing their stores.  Many of their employees didn't know until local media reported it!

Reminder to everyone - use up all your paid leave even if your supervisor is annoyed about it.

 

The library I work in is in midtown Manhattan not far from where the big discount store Alexander's used to be.  I will never forget the morning the management just declared bankruptcy without any warning - all the employees (there were hundreds of them - this was a five story department store) standing outside the place stunned, many of them weeping uncontrollably - understandable since the bankruptcy meant their pensions and everything else were just gone.  Poof.  Land of the free.

Edited October 25, 2015 by ratgirlagogo

[RodLu]

http://www.tonyanthony.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/live-each-day-as-if-its-your-last-because-one-day-youll-be-right.jpg

[annzeepark914]

I got a pet peeve.  It's NBC's lack of enthusiasm over figure skating.  I'm a fan of competitive figure skating (not the shows) and this weekend was Skate America. One lousy stinkin' hour is all that NBC dedicated to the sport.  Everything is football these days and other sports are shoved off to the periphery.

[backformore]

I got a pet peeve.  It's NBC's lack of enthusiasm over figure skating.  I'm a fan of competitive figure skating (not the shows) and this weekend was Skate America. One lousy stinkin' hour is all that NBC dedicated to the sport.  Everything is football these days and other sports are shoved off to the periphery.

I agree. We 've become a football obsessed country. Some days there are multiple games going on, taking up the entire Sunday on several stations. And it's not only professional football, it's also college. Even in high schools, football players are seen as the heroes of the school. Parents like me, who worry about spinal cord and brain injuries, are seen as over-protective when we don't push our sons into being football players.

Sorry to take over you rant, I just can't stand a sport where the players are SUPPOSED to knock each other down. I keep reading about former players who have brain disorders, and say they wouldn't want their own kids to play. It's a brutal sport.

[annzeepark914]

Sorry to take over you rant, I just can't stand a sport where the players are SUPPOSED to knock each other down. I keep reading about former players who have brain disorders, and say they wouldn't want their own kids to play. It's a brutal sport.

backformore--you just picked up another pet peeve of mine: the glorification of a violent "sport".  And I don't blame you for not wanting your sons to play football.  If I had sons they wouldn't be anywhere near a football field.  

[DeLurker]

When out on an early errand run this morning I saw they were putting starting to put up the Christmas decorations.  Way too early for that for me.  Soon the signs will go up for the annual Lighting of the Doves ceremony.  When I first moved here, I thought that was literal, but it isn't.  I admit that me and my dark humor were a tad disapponted.

 

To offset my pre-holiday grumpiness, I saw some senior citizens putting up Halloween decoration on their neighborhood sign markers.  They made me happy.

 

ETA:  Because annal and annual are not the same thing.

Edited October 26, 2015 by DeLurker

[Maharincess]

My dark humor went there too when I read "the lighting of the doves". Poor doves.

[glowlights]

And Thanksgiving gets completely lost in the shuffle! It's either straight to Christmas, or early Christmas with a brief pause for Halloween, then full-on Christmas mode. Sorry, but I like my holiday decorations to proceed in an orderly fashion.

[DeLurker]

Just got back from the grocery store.  The front entry is full of pumpkins, but they are starting to put up the Christmas decorations on the post so I visually got Hallomas?  Chrisween?

[glowlights]

We were at the store last night and the front is full of treats and candy, while at the back they are selling eggnog and some Xmas-themed foods. It's a retail mullet: Halloween in the front, Christmas in the back.

 

Delurker: Chrishallomasween?

[DeLurker]

Retail mullet?

 

OMFG!  Thanks for a genuine laugh!

[KnoxForPres]

We were at the store last night and the front is full of treats and candy, while at the back they are selling eggnog and some Xmas-themed foods. It's a retail mullet: Halloween in the front, Christmas in the back.

Delurker: Chrishallomasween?

Holy shit this post is gold.

[annzeepark914]

As I walk through the stores and see more and more Xmas decorations, I repeat to myself: this is the one big event of the year for retailers to make or break it.  The day Macy's, Nordstrom's, Lord & Taylor's, Bloomingdale's, etc., shut down is gonna be a dark day. Its time is coming but I hope it's a long way off.

Edited October 30, 2015 by annzeepark914

[DeLurker]

Each year I receive an email invitation to a Halloween Pot Luck.  I have no idea who the person is who sends it to me, why they even have my email address or why they don't take my name off when I never respond to the e-vite nor show up.  This has been going on for about 6 years.

[bilgistic]

I saw that REI (outdoor/sporting goods retailer) is going to be closed on Black Friday, and it makes me want to shop there, even though I never have nor have the need to do so.

[ZaldamoWilder]

Pretty soon the happy {insert day} group texts are going to begin.  Last year I got one on Christmas day at 5:53 am Eastern Standard.  If you are over the age of 16 and are this happy at 5:53 on your day off, we shouldn't be friends.

 

Hallowistmas?  lol! sorry, sorry we're done.

[DeLurker]

That would actual take an effort on my part.  I'd rather sit behind my keyboard and whine about it.

[Maharincess]

Have you ever responded to ask who it is that keeps inviting you? Maybe they think they're inviting somebody else.

[ratgirlagogo]

Did you know this is National Cat Day?  Started in 2005 apparently.   Where was I?

http://www.nationalcatday.com/

Edited October 29, 2015 by ratgirlagogo

[janestclair]

Retail mullet is seriously cracking me up.  

 

I teach high school. A lot of students want to meet a November 1st college application deadline, meaning I'd have to do their letter of recommendation tomorrow to get it done.  My peeve is those students who decided that waiting until yesterday to ask was acceptable, and/or those students who submitted a request through the online system without coming by to ask me personally. How about no?

 

When I was in high school, not only did we ask our teachers personally for that letter, we also thanked them after it was done. 

[ratgirlagogo]

I feel you, my mom was a teacher.  If it makes you feel any better she got some rude last minute requests back then (the seventies) too.

[harrie]

Did you know this is National Cat Day?  Started in 2005 apparently.   Where was I?

http://www.nationalcatday.com/

 

As a matter of fact, I was picking up cat food at the vet, and a woman came out to the lobby with her cat, growling and spitting, in a carrier.  (Apparently, beware what you purchase from Craigslist, including cats.)  We unofficially dubbed today National Angry Pet Day.

[bilgistic]

Revisiting annoyances of past pages...

 

My modem-slash-router died last night. Just...died. Well, maybe it still has some brain function but there's nothing else happening because I can't get online nor stream any content, which is all I do. I don't have cable; I stream 90% of my entertainment. I'm lost without my internet connection.

 

My modem had been acting up a bit lately and I'd had to unplug/replug it and that had worked, however, not so much last night. I've had it all of a year and nine months, which I guess is an eternity in modem land, though certainly the shortest time I've ever had any I've owned. Anyhoo...

 

I called AT&T U-Verse after gamely going through the unplugging and re-plugging in of the modem/router and going through the online troubleshooter as if my manually doing the same steps wasn't doing the same thing. I got a woman on the phone who spoke fairly decent English. She was somehow able to tell that the problem was my modem (which I knew, but anyway) and she could send a tech out in either x day when I'm working or y day when I'm working. No, and no. I asked her about sending me a new modem. She can do that, just as the tech could bring me one, for the cool price of another $7 a month on my bill.

 

This is where I get irritated. I started out paying either $34.95 or $39.95 a month on the year-long "promotion". I know I had discounts and credits, etc. After the year, my service jumped in price to $47/month and my speed was being throttled. I called and they quit throttling my speed and told me I would have--this is the important part--the $47 rate **for as long as I had service with them**. You all know where this is going, I'm sure.

 

We finished up the call; the modem's supposed to arrive at my workplace on Friday, god willing, because I'm not at home during the day and my postal carrier is an idiot and literally will not deliver packages to my address. I got the confirmation email this morning (because I blew through all my mobile data last night, which is another story) and I saw that my "order" is $57/month for the internet service plus $7 for the modem. Blood boiling. There shouldn't be an ORDER. There's just a modem being sent to me.

 

I called AT&T U-Verse again this morning, this time from work and talked to another ESL rep who did not understand "I have $47 internet for the life of my service with you". She tried to sell me fucking DirecTV. NO! I just want my internet I was promised for the amount I was promised. I kept telling her the only thing that changed is the modem. Why is there a new service plan? SO MUCH HATE! I went to U-Verse because Time Warner Cable makes me homicidal because of their complete and utter incompetence (they couldn't set up service at my apartment number because it didn't exist but the ones on either side did; my apartment building has been in existence since the 1970s), and my only other option is...AT&T DSL, which I'm not doing because that's too slow for streaming. I asked to speak w/her supervisor, and he was "on another call" and I'm still waiting for him to call me back, seven hours later.

 

I'm about to call them again. God give me strength.

[glowlights]

bilgistic, that is just so maddening!! I've heard it's even worse trying to cancel service. Hopefully you can get the pricing straightened out. And I share your mail carrier grief. Ours is so bad we gave up on home delivery and changed our address to a P.O. Box. :(

[Bastet]

Ugh, U-Verse.  I use them for my internet service, and they're a bunch of lying liars who lie with their promotional rates.  And y'all know I read the fine print.  If a rate is supposed to be in effect for six months, they'll raise it after four.  Shit like that.  Every time.  And then I read them the riot act and they give me a refund for the overcharge, extend the promotional rate, etc.  It's a ridiculous dance, and it's making me a bit ill to give them my money, but from talking with neighbors the other options (Charter, etc.) are just as bad.

[bilgistic]

After 45 maddening minutes last evening on the phone with rep and then her supervisor, I was finally transferred to someone who took $10 off my "new" bill, so acording to the email I got this morning, I'll now be paying just the new "equipment fee" for their shitty modem that will doubtlessly break after 18 months, if it lasts that long. Oh, BUT! The email showed a tech installation appointment on 11/2 from 1pm to 3pm. I didn't set up an installation appointment because I can configure a modem myself and told the guy that last night. Come on by, tech. I won't be there.

 

The modem actually, miraculously arrived at work today.

 

I anxiously await Google Fiber's service implementation in my city. They've started building the network.

[bmasters9]

My pet peeve is with those freaking pop up ads on my computer. If seeing the ads fill me with enough ill will to yearn to throttle the advertisers, why in the hell would I want to buy from them? Fortunately, I learned how to block them.

I use AdBlock Plus, and it works like a champ for any type of ad, not just pop-ups.

[Quof]

Hey, barista.  Your inflatable T-Rex costume is real cute. But it restricts your ability to move your arms, so you're not accomplishing much, and the tail keeps your co-workers from moving behind you.  So maybe it's not the best costume to wear to work in a busy coffee shop on a Saturday morning, cuz it stopped being cute in the 15 minutes I've been waiting in line.

[RodLu]

This:


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https://www.google.com/search?q=DOUCHEBAG+PARKING&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=675&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIpaiXoPXuyAIVAfFjCh3yMwmA#imgrc=_

[Bastet]

The setting: Local liquor store around 5:00 on Halloween.  Me, in regular clothes.  Man about my age, in what is very obviously a costume, but what he was supposed to be, I have no idea.

 

Him:  Aw, no fun.  What are you dressed as?
Me:  An adult.

 

The hell?  We are not at a costume party, a carnival, or even wandering the downtown streets.  We are a couple of middle-aged folk who happen to have both run low on whiskey at the same time.  Shut up.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Bastet

[bilgistic]

Ha! I love it.

Guess who arrived at 4:07 today? The AT&T U-Verse tech. Guess what the service appointment window was? 1pm to 4pm.

[bilgistic]

The tech is still here. At least the problem was with something in "the box" outside, so I don't have to pay for the service call.

Another silver lining? I watched more PBS in the last 4.5 days than I have in the past 35 years, since my Sesame Street days. I'm feeling very cultured.

[BookWoman56]

A friend is in the final stages of a 10-year relationship that has crashed and burned. IMO, it actually reached its expiry date a couple of years ago and has been toxic since then, but it has dragged out until there are only a few days left before he moves out. And so in his discussions with other friends, there are numerous condolences going to him on his “failed” relationship. My pet peeve is describing a relationship that has ended as “failed” simply because it did not last a lifetime, or saying that the person has wasted his/her time in the relationship with the ex. For me, I could only describe a relationship as failed if I learned absolutely nothing from it, either about the other person or about myself, or if I were absolutely miserable in the relationship every single second from the point it began, which would mean I was pretty damn stupid for getting into the relationship.

In every serious romantic relationship I’ve been in, I gained a deeper understanding of the other person and of myself and my own limits, even if doing so was sometimes painful. I can’t see that as time wasted, or as a relationship that failed. Those relationships have in part made me who I am today. What’s wrong with simply saying that it is a previous relationship or a relationship that ended? I dislike describing these as failed relationships because that implies that either one or both people did something catastrophically wrong. Sometimes there is no big drama that causes a relationship to end; sometimes there’s just a gradual realization that this is no longer a good fit. So, how is that a failed relationship? Yes, it can be sad when a romantic relationship/marriage ends, but what’s even sadder would be when a toxic relationship, such as the one my friend is terminating, doesn’t end and both people are miserable the rest of their lives.

For some reason, this reminds me of how years ago, advice columnists would frequently caution women about the perils of living with a man without being married to him, pointing out that supposedly in the majority of those situations, the couple did not end up getting married. And duh? Wouldn’t living together and realizing you’re not actually compatible be preferable to marrying that same person and then having to go through the legal and financial hassle of a divorce? I mean, by the logic of the advice columnists, you should never date anyone either, because the vast majority of the time, you’re going to be dating someone you don’t end up marrying either. Silly me, I thought part of the purpose of dating was to figure out if you liked each other well enough to have a serious relationship and then to figure out if you could sustain that relationship while cohabiting. Yet the advice columnists would describe living with someone you didn’t marry as “wasting your time” on him/her.

[Bastet]

My pet peeve is describing a relationship that has ended as “failed” simply because it did not last a lifetime, or saying that the person has wasted his/her time in the relationship with the ex.

 

I'm with you, for all the reasons you described.  And since the overwhelming majority of romantic relationships don't last a lifetime, if you're going to go through life regarding all of them as failures, you're setting yourself up for a whole lot of unnecessary angst. 

 

Sometimes there is no big drama that causes a relationship to end; sometimes there’s just a gradual realization that this is no longer a good fit.

 

Speaking of peeves ... This is how most relationships end, by simply running their course.  But in fiction, most relationships end via one egregious act instead. 

Edited November 2, 2015 by Bastet

[RodLu]

These Are A Pet Peeve Of Mine:


#DEROGATORYISMS.


**********************************

[RodLu]

This Sort Of Thing Too:


*********************


http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-associations-20151101-story.html

[NutMeg]

A friend is in the final stages of a 10-year relationship that has crashed and burned. IMO, it actually reached its expiry date a couple of years ago and has been toxic since then, but it has dragged out until there are only a few days left before he moves out. And so in his discussions with other friends, there are numerous condolences going to him on his “failed” relationship. My pet peeve is describing a relationship that has ended as “failed” simply because it did not last a lifetime, or saying that the person has wasted his/her time in the relationship with the ex. For me, I could only describe a relationship as failed if I learned absolutely nothing from it, either about the other person or about myself, or if I were absolutely miserable in the relationship every single second from the point it began, which would mean I was pretty damn stupid for getting into the relationship.

In every serious romantic relationship I’ve been in, I gained a deeper understanding of the other person and of myself and my own limits, even if doing so was sometimes painful. I can’t see that as time wasted, or as a relationship that failed. Those relationships have in part made me who I am today. What’s wrong with simply saying that it is a previous relationship or a relationship that ended? I dislike describing these as failed relationships because that implies that either one or both people did something catastrophically wrong. Sometimes there is no big drama that causes a relationship to end; sometimes there’s just a gradual realization that this is no longer a good fit. So, how is that a failed relationship? Yes, it can be sad when a romantic relationship/marriage ends, but what’s even sadder would be when a toxic relationship, such as the one my friend is terminating, doesn’t end and both people are miserable the rest of their lives.

For some reason, this reminds me of how years ago, advice columnists would frequently caution women about the perils of living with a man without being married to him, pointing out that supposedly in the majority of those situations, the couple did not end up getting married. And duh? Wouldn’t living together and realizing you’re not actually compatible be preferable to marrying that same person and then having to go through the legal and financial hassle of a divorce? I mean, by the logic of the advice columnists, you should never date anyone either, because the vast majority of the time, you’re going to be dating someone you don’t end up marrying either. Silly me, I thought part of the purpose of dating was to figure out if you liked each other well enough to have a serious relationship and then to figure out if you could sustain that relationship while cohabiting. Yet the advice columnists would describe living with someone you didn’t marry as “wasting your time” on him/her.

I'm completely with you on this. However, I've been living these past few months with a friend who had just discovered the guy she married 18 years ago (after knowing him briefly) had been having random sexual encounters for YEARS - turns out he's a sex addict and cannot stand intimacy! it seems like the weirdest thing, but I've been reading stuff to understand, and basically the guy is convinced that he loves her but he's destroyed her as no one else could have - doesn't help that she feels she's "middle aged" and will never have another chance etc. [she has a fantastic body and looks like she's 30 at most, gosh these genes of hers] He's ruined big time the self esteem of someone who  is one of the most gorgeous people I've ever met and one that we all thought was going to have the most fabulous life.

 

As for my more pedestrian (luckily) life, yes, each relationship, bitter ended or not, thought me something about myself. Sorry for the rant that is more than a pet peeve, well we bunk together (and I'm still furious on her behalf, even though she seems to start to accept things, after months of angst - but still thinks her life is over (I'd love to remind her that my mom was remarried at 60, but we both hate my mom's and have made so much fun of him, so that might not work).

 

Sorry, maybe this is too heavy for the pet peeves thread, but /i still don;t know how to move posts. 

[Mountainair]

My pet peeve of the day is shopping for health insurance. Open Enrollment begins today, so I poked around online. In order to keep my doctors, I'll be switching to United Healthcare. They offer 4 plans with the exact same monthly premium, but with deductibles ranging from $250 - $3,000. Same network, same drug formulary.

 

There has to be a catch, or else everyone would just pick the lowest deductible. So I have to comb through them line by line to find all the "gotcha" stuff. *Grrr*

I don't understand health insurance at all. We pay out of pocket for our health insurance as my husband is self employed. We had a $3,000'deductible which I have to pay to my dr for delivery of this baby. Sine the baby is due in March do I have to meet an all new deductible next year for the hospital bills? Open enrollment yes. I went on to the site to see if we could get a discount like we did this year but since I am pregnant they want me to go on Medicaid while the rest of my family can still get the discount through Blue Cross. Number one, my OBGYN doesn't take Medicaid. Number two, I don't want Medicaid. Why can't I get the same deal as the rest of my family? I already can barely afford insurance as it is and now the monthly cost for the same plan is going to be $250.00 more a month than what I currently pay. Blergh!

[Maharincess]

My daughter told me that my grandkids got 3 business cards in their Halloween bags. 2 from Realtors and one for a housecleaning service. Is it just me or is that tacky?

[RodLu]

.....um.....

-_-

**********************************


http://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/MjAxMS0yM2VjODIyZTRlMzAzZDAw.png

http://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/1322206727544_1083866.png

Edited November 3, 2015 by RodLu

[DeLurker]

My daughter told me that my grandkids got 3 business cards in their Halloween bags. 2 from Realtors and one for a housecleaning service. Is it just me or is that tacky?

Highly ineffective marketing.  Now if a dentist was giving out toothbrushes with name and phone number on Halloween I would find that funny.  The dentist I had in So Cal was great - most importantly, he was a fantastic dentist, but he had a candy buyback program after Halloween.

[ABay]

Maybe I've been goatsed once too often (and once is too often), but I'm not clicking on links that aren't explained with words.

 

It's been raised before, but this morning my pet peeve is hate posting. Hate watching is done in private; it doesn't impinge on my enjoyment--and it's all about me. But if you have nothing positive or funny to say about a show, please start a hate thread instead of ruining an "all episode" thread. I--and it is all about me--am tired of having to set posters to ignore because all they ever do is whine in an unentertaining way. You don't like the host, actors, show, writing once in a while, that's cool. There's a lot to critique on even the best and most loved show. But if all you do is bitch and announce that you're done with the show, then for fuck's sake, be done and go away.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

.  Now if a dentist was giving out toothbrushes with name and phone number on Halloween I would find that funny.

Wow, couldn't agree less, no matter how great the dentist was. Toothbrushes on Halloween as treats are right down there with Bible tracts as treats.