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

[TattleTeeny]

56 minutes ago, glowlights said:

What is a boob lamp?!?!?! LOL 

This shit that is rampant in apartments around here (because they're cheap and easy, I guess):

[glowlights]

Oh! There's a boob lamp in my hallway. But it's missing a nipple. Sad boob. :(

[TattleTeeny]

I think you're lucky--really, the nipple is what pushes it headlong into boob territory!

[backformore]

3 hours ago, janestclair said:

I used to be a medical assistant in a doctor's office.  We would triple book certain appointment slots under the assumption that some patients' appointments would only last 3 minutes because they were coming for a dressing change or whatever easy thing that I would do.  Sometimes the dressing changes weren't so easy because the wound was infected, and then everything got pushed back because they actually did need to see a doctor.  

I get that.  But it irritates the hell out of me when I see that a specialist is charging my insurance company $200 or more for a doctor's visit, especially when the visit consists of something like "looks good, see you in two weeks!"  and takes less than 5 minutes.   I have stopped going to certain doctors when this happens.  Even though the money (except for the co-pay)  isn't coming out of my pocket, AND I realize that the fee isn't just for the doctor's time, I still think it's outrageous.  If they bill for a 15 minute visit, they should only be able to see 4 patients in an hour - not 8-10.

[auntlada]

3 hours ago, Quof said:

Why would their website state "We don't have a kids' menu"?   No other website would state what the business doesn't sell.  (KFC website "We don't have prime rib.")

It's not necessary (although KFC saying it doesn't have prime rib is really unnecessary since "chicken" is in the name -- or used to be and still is if you know what KFC used to stand for). I just think it would be nice. I just like to know before I go some place what it has, and since almost no restaurant posts the kids' menu, even if it has one, I don't know. As I said, I wouldn't take my child to a really fancy restaurant, but we don't have any really fancy restaurants here. The fanciest we get is Red Lobster, and I only think that's fancy because it's so expensive. That's what passes for fancy and expensive here, and it does have a children's menu. I like to know before I go into a place what to expect, and that's one of the things I'd like to know about. And I'd like to be able to find out on the website instead of calling because I hate calling because I just don't like talking on the phone in general (except to my mother) and because it's difficult to get info out of businesses, especially restaurants, on the phone.

And it might inform other people with children that a place is not particularly child-friendly so they won't bring their children in to some place they won't like and where other diners would prefer not to have children (who are somewhat loud even when they are not being fussy or loud just because they have not always learned to moderate their voices -- they aren't good at whispering in general).

Heck, I'd even be happy if restaurants here put up menus and prices on their doors or windows the way I saw places in Europe do. Even that would be helpful.

[Quof]

Quote

Heck, I'd even be happy if restaurants here put up menus and prices on their doors or windows the way I saw places in Europe do.

Where is "here"?   It's common in lots of places in North America. It's universal in New York City.

I would be thrilled in restaurants posted "This restaurant is not appropriate for children", and parents actually heeded the warning.  I don't go to McDonald's and expect to play in the ball pit.  Babies/toddlers/preschoolers don't belong in restaurants with white tablecloths.

Edited November 12, 2016 by Quof

[Bastet]

Quote

I don't go to McDonald's and expect to play in the ball pit.

I don't go to McDonald's, period, but if I came upon one of those ball pits and it was devoid of children, I'd have to work hard to refrain from flinging myself into it.  Those and bouncy houses have never lost their appeal to me.  About 10 years ago, I accompanied a friend to a party at her co-worker's house, and they'd rented a bouncy house (for the adults).  Fun!

Quote

Heck, I'd even be happy if restaurants here put up menus and prices on their doors or windows the way I saw places in Europe do.

How annoying that they don't!  Here, most restaurants have their menu pages inside a plexiglass enclosure on the building's exterior (off to the side, so people menu gazing don't obstruct people walking in and out of the restaurant).

Edited November 12, 2016 by Bastet

[editorgrrl]

1 hour ago, auntlada said:

I like to know before I go into a [restaurant] what to expect. And I'd like to be able to find out on the website instead of calling.

I browse restaurant reviews at https://m.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Restaurants to get a feeling for both menu and ambiance. (And I've found some amazing dishes this way.)

My peeve:

[zxy556575]

6 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

To add to this, if I never see another builder-grade overhead "boob lamp," it will be too soon. Like onions, they are ridiculously ubiquitous. In fact, "finally escape form boob lamps" may have actually been in my "pros" column for buying a home.

What would you recommend in their place? The former owner of my current house had "upgraded" the overhead fixtures to rococo type embellished gold. I replaced them with the boobs!

I also don't mind popcorn ceilings, which I know drives most of the HGTV house hunters nuts.

[auntlada]

3 hours ago, Quof said:

Where is "here"?   It's common in lots of places in North America. It's universal in New York City.

I would be thrilled in restaurants posted "This restaurant is not appropriate for children", and parents actually heeded the warning.  I don't go to McDonald's and expect to play in the ball pit.  Babies/toddlers/preschoolers don't belong in restaurants with white tablecloths.

Flyover country. In the part of it that people never even think of when they talk about flyover country. I live in a town of about 45,000 people. I don't think it's that small because I can go to Walmart without seeing someone I know, but I realize that to people in New York City, it's tiny. In a smaller town, though, like the one I grew up in, you know what a restaurant has because there are only a handful of restaurants.

We don't have white tablecloth restaurants. Even in the nearest city, there aren't that many, and most of the restaurants there don't have menus up outside, even in the walking-around districts. It just isn't a common thing here. I did not know it was in New York City as my sole time there has been on a bus between airports.

In a related peeve, I dislike the chain restaurant online menus that list something that sounds really good, but it isn't available at all restaurants, and mine turns out to be one where it isn't. It is always really disappointing. I guess that's a point in favor of not looking for a menu online.

2 hours ago, lordonia said:

What would you recommend in their place? The former owner of my current house had "upgraded" the overhead fixtures to rococo type embellished gold. I replaced them with the boobs!

I also don't mind popcorn ceilings, which I know drives most of the HGTV house hunters nuts.

I don't mind them either. I spend very little time looking up. That's where the cobwebs gather in my house, up in the corners, because I forget to look up, so I never notice them.

Edited November 13, 2016 by auntlada

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

What would you recommend in their place? The former owner of my current house had "upgraded" the overhead fixtures to rococo type embellished gold. I replaced them with the boobs!

I wish I had a clue at this point--my condo also has them but the ones I want in their place aren't a simple fit (I was hoping it was only a matter of swapping out the glass covers...but it's not)--which is rage-inducing because they are all builder-grade and super-cheap, just in a more mid-century style that I love! I see online that there are tutorials for non-electricians, but I am not messing with any of that! At this point, it's a matter of getting around to hiring someone, so we're doing some other (less dangerous) stuff first. I can ignore them for a bit longer, I suppose, as long as I am doing other little improvements in the meantime. But when that day comes...oh boy! I will throw those bitches on the ground!

Seriously, you guys, I just want these; I know they're so old-school and ordinary but I love them! My old apartment had one...and all the rest were boobs!

 

I don't care about popcorn ceilings either. I wouldn't ask for one if I were remodeling but I could live with it if it was already there.

Once when I was little, I let go of a balloon in our living room and the popcorn ceiling popped it!

Edited November 13, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Guest]

Light Fixture shopping.  Something I've been doing (unsuccessfully) lately.  These are the things that annoy met about it:

1. There are never enough fixtures in a collection to get the same brand/collection throughout the house

2. The brainwashed by home décor shows tell me that 1 is important

3. Lowes and Home Depot change the names of the manufacturers to make it impossible hard to figure out whether there are any coordinating fixtures that they don't carry to get enough fixtures for my house to accomplish 1 because of 2.

4. I did not know that there were $11 dollar fixtures until now.  Everything I like has an extra zero and usually doesn't start with a 1. 

5. All fixture collections include the hallway boob lighting.

6. Every website has decided that the only ad I want to see is for lighting.

7. I find a light fixture that I love. but problems number 2 (not a collection) and 4 (expensive) rear their head and then I don't get it because I'd have to take it with me if I ever moved and go through this process again.

8. Its hard to spend that much money on lighting fixtures (plus an electrician) when you are settling because 7.

9. You get over 1-8 and decide what you want.  Then you realize everything has a shade.  And that means you have to get a ladder out to change the light bulbs when they go out.   That seems like a pain in the ass. when today I can just reach up from the floor and change them (me tall, house pre-10 ft standard ceilings). 

10. You realize that they lied about the life span of the new fangled light bulbs when they outlawed the manufacture of old bulbs.

11. You move on and decide to do some other home improvement project and then find yourself randomly noticing that TV shows (black-ish) are using fixtures you considered and rejected.

Then you look up and notice that your fixtures are mismatched and outdated and need to be replaced.  And the cycle resumes.

Edited November 13, 2016 by ParadoxLost

[Sandman87]

On Friday, November 11, 2016 at 6:18 PM, bilgistic said:

Point being: shitty construction.

Of the various apartments I've lived in, almost all of them allowed way too much sound through from adjacent units. One notable exception was in an old mansion that had been converted to apartments. Place was built like a fortress. I could only ever hear one thing through the walls/floor/ceiling: The exceptionally loud sneezing of my friend who lived upstairs. I called him one night to say "gesundheit."

 

12 hours ago, Frisson said:

My peeve is reading comments and arriving at those that just post a video without a description. I don't want to have to play it just to find out if I want to watch it. I also hate links that don't describe the information they're linking to at all. You aren't getting paid for clicks; just tell me what it's about!

Also: "Descriptions" that aren't descriptions, such as "This is funny!"

 

10 hours ago, Quof said:

Why would their website state "We don't have a kids' menu"?   No other website would state what the business doesn't sell.  (KFC website "We don't have prime rib.")

My folks used to take me to pricy restaurants fairly frequently (I was a very well behaved kid). There were several occasions where I heard someone ask for a kids' menu in a place that didn't even have an English menu.

[BookWoman56]

On 11/11/2016 at 4:36 PM, lordonia said:

Along those same lines, I refuse to wait more than 45 minutes at a doctor's office. Every time I've reached that limit and left, the receptionist acts SO SHOCKED that someone other than the imperial majesty MD might also have a timetable.

Back when I was in my very early 20s, I lived in a fairly small town in which there was only one major group practice of OB-GYNs, in a large clinic across the street from one of the two hospitals in town. Going there was an ordeal, because they constantly overbooked, so it was typical to wait a couple of hours past your appointment time. There was of course also the issue that periodically the doctor you were booked for had to go across the street to deliver a baby and nobody would tell you so until you had been there for a couple of hours extra. But patients put up with it because it was essentially the only option. However, a couple of years later a new OB-GYN practice opened, and omg, the difference. They did not overbook. If the doctor you were supposed to see had to leave to go deliver a baby, the receptionist would tell you what was going on, offer the opportunity to work you in with another doctor asap, give an ETA on when your own doctor would get back if you wanted to wait for that doctor, and offer to reschedule if you preferred. Not only that, instead of the traditional exam table with the stirrups, they had these space-age exam chairs, so you would sit in the chair and they would recline it back, at which point part of it would flip down so they could proceed with the actual exam. (Sadly, I have never encountered those exam chairs in any other place.) Of course the original group practice was shocked when they began losing patients right and left to the new practice.

One other time I have been happily surprised by a doctor's office was with the pediatrician I used for my daughter. The wait time there was usually not too bad, but one day things were taking a bit longer than usual, and so we got put into an exam room to wait a little more for him. I overheard him going into the back part of the area where the receptionist and appointments/billing person were, ask to see the schedule, and then politely but very firmly tell the appointments person to quit overbooking him because it meant he didn't have enough time to see each patient and talk to the parent(s) as needed without making other patients and their parents have to wait too long.  He instructed the appointments person to go through the schedule for the rest of the week and reschedule any routine appointments for checkups or vaccinations for the following week, making sure that he did not have more than x number of patients scheduled for any one hour. He always tried to leave time in his schedule to work in sick kids who needed to be seen that day, and it was obvious the appointments person was trying to jam as many visits into each hour as possible. I appreciated his attitude, to the point of continuing to use him well after it might have been more convenient to switch to another doctor after moving across town.

Edited November 13, 2016 by BookWoman56

[zxy556575]

I do understand when doctors get behind; there are emergencies and appointments that turn complex, etc. I'm not angry about it but neither am I prepared to wait.

What does chap my hide is the office booking more than one person in a time slot. If I explicitly ask for the first appointment at 8 am (and usually have to book further out for one of those slots to be available) then arrive for my appointment and am still made to wait 30 minutes, I assure you when I finally see the doctor, my voice will be a lot more Mindy Kaling than Amy Poehler.

Also, most doctors I see use a sign-in sheet and call people in order of arrival, irrespective of appointment time.

Edited November 13, 2016 by lordonia

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

Of the various apartments I've lived in, almost all of them allowed way too much sound through from adjacent units. One notable exception was in an old mansion that had been converted to apartments. Place was built like a fortress. I could only ever hear one thing through the walls/floor/ceiling: The exceptionally loud sneezing of my friend who lived upstairs. I called him one night to say "gesundheit."

Right?! It's like people take more care to convert a house into apartments than they to to build apartments from scratch, even though it seems like the latter would be easier (and make more obvious sense) to do.

Edited November 13, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Petunia13]

Many apartments I lived in were converted from hotels or boarding houses and have flimsy walls. I can hear a lot in my unit. My last apartment had thin walls and also was a haunted building. So if it wasn't neighbors noises it was random gusts of wind, doors creaking open spontaneously, things falling of walls, footsteps and knocking, all that jazz. It was a terrible building to live in and while I was there several residents died of suicides and murder. 

[DeLurker]

Now I have to go through and check if I have boob lights.

[glowlights]

18 hours ago, editorgrrl said:

My peeve:

Aw. :(  I'm so sorry you have to go through that. I remember all the comments about my failure to procreate. It's never fun when family takes the opportunity to concern troll. I wish you lots of wine this Thanksgiving.

[bilgistic]

"Non-drowsy" cold medicine is a lie.

[Bastet]

Quote

"Non-drowsy" cold medicine is a lie.

I once took Day-quil and laid down to watch The Wizard of Oz (not a particular favorite, mind you, it just happened to be starting on TCM and I hadn't watched it since childhood, so I figured I'd give it a go); about half an hour later, I felt like I was tripping.  Definite drowsiness, but also just an all-around strange feeling.  I should have just taken the Nyquil and conked out, since I wasn't trying to get anything done anyway.

I don't like "boob lights" either, although I'd never thought to call them that (but that's now all I will see!).  I don't hate all flush-mount lights by a long shot, or even all of them that have the "nipple," but the boring round ones, yes.  I like semi-flush, but they're more annoying to dust.

I lived in a two-story condo for about five years, and changing the bulb (in a boob light!) in the upstairs hallway was death defying; it was centered over the entire ceiling rather than just over the hallway, which meant it was more over the stairs than the hallway.  So accessing it meant getting on a ladder in the upstairs hallway and then leaning precariously over into the void above the staircase to remove the nut and shade, change the bulb, and reinstall the shade.  Every time the bulb in that fixture burned out, I wanted to weep.

Edited November 15, 2016 by Bastet

[bilgistic]

I'm taking the "meth" cold medicine because it's the only thing that's drying up my head and keeping my sinuses from pounding. The methiness is supposed to be non-drowsy (hence the meth-making properties), but damn if it's not knocking me out. I'm also taking Mucinex for my cough, Aleve for pain, zinc to speed up the duration of the cold and a daily shot of Emergen-C. So, a lot of drugs on top of my regular cocktail of prescription meds. I dread going to work tomorrow. I mean, more so than usual.

OK, I'll stop whining.

[Maharincess]

7 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

Many apartments I lived in were converted from hotels or boarding houses and have flimsy walls. I can hear a lot in my unit. My last apartment had thin walls and also was a haunted building. So if it wasn't neighbors noises it was random gusts of wind, doors creaking open spontaneously, things falling of walls, footsteps and knocking, all that jazz. It was a terrible building to live in and while I was there several residents died of suicides and murder. 

My old house had a spirit living in it. When we first moved in weird stuff would happen, I'd hear leaves crunching in the yard but nobody was there and the TV's in the house would go off and on all the time. The creepiest thing that happened was that I looked out my front window one morning and saw a woman walking up my driveway, it was a long driveway and she was almost to my door but when I opened the door nobody was there. 

I always called our ghost Darlene for some reason.  A few years after we moved in I was talking to the woman next door, she had lived there since the neighborhood was built.  She told me that there used to be a gay artist who lived in my house, she committed suicide in the doorway of the second bedroom in the early '70s.  And her name was Darlene.  Once in a blue moon I would get a piece of mail with her name on it.  I would stick it on top of the fridge and it always disappeared. 

Sorry, this isn't a peeve but you reminded me of Darlene with your post. 

Peeve?  I HATE waiting at the Dr too but I know that more often than not I will have to wait so I make sure I always have a book with me. 

[Petunia13]

You know what I hate. When someone brings up a topic on an Internet forum.   Makes an oversimplified argument or patronizing point. Then when someone doesn't agree, the person shuts it down or declares the matter closed. It's so weak and bit troll-y.  

[Blergh]

I hope that helps, forumfish.

 

 As long as we're on the subject of light bulbs. Here's something that could be useful if one has to change out a SHATTERED light bulb.

 

1. TURN OFF THE POWER

2. Slice a raw potato in half and use one half of the potato to safely be able to grip the filament remains within the light socket then turn it the usual way.

3. Safely dispose the potato/shattered light bulb combo.

4. Screw in replacement bulb.

5. TURN ON THE POWER (and perhaps treat yourself to a half-baked . ..er baked half-potato  with the remaining half).

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

I hope that helps, forumfish.

 

 As long as we're on the subject of light bulbs. Here's something that could be useful if one has to change out a SHATTERED light bulb.

 

1. TURN OFF THE POWER

2. Slice a raw potato in half and use one half of the potato to safely be able to grip the filament remains within the light socket then turn it the usual way.

3. Safely dispose the potato/shattered light bulb combo.

4. Screw in replacement bulb.

5. TURN ON THE POWER (and perhaps treat yourself to a half-baked . ..er baked half-potato  with the remaining half).

I've tried that before.  It just created mashed potatoes in the socket. 

[bilgistic]

I've had to go at it with tweezers.

[Guest]

We've got forest fires going on.  They think it was an arsonist.

The wind keeps turning and bringing the smoke (not close enough that fire is going to be a local problem).   It was like pea soup on earlier in the week and if it were light out I think it would be the same now.

I've been coughing for almost a week.

[zxy556575]

On 11/13/2016 at 10:18 PM, ParadoxLost said:

We've got forest fires going on.  They think it was an arsonist.

The wind keeps turning and bringing the smoke (not close enough that fire is going to be a local problem).   It was like pea soup on earlier in the week and if it were light out I think it would be the same now.

I've been coughing for almost a week.

That's horrible. Are you in Georgia, @ParadoxLost? (I had to look that up, because my avoidance of political news means I don't know anything else that's going on, either.)

Edited November 15, 2016 by lordonia

[ratgirlagogo]

42 minutes ago, ParadoxLost said:

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

hope that helps, forumfish.

 

 As long as we're on the subject of light bulbs. Here's something that could be useful if one has to change out a SHATTERED light bulb.

 

1. TURN OFF THE POWER

2. Slice a raw potato in half and use one half of the potato to safely be able to grip the filament remains within the light socket then turn it the usual way.

3. Safely dispose the potato/shattered light bulb combo.

4. Screw in replacement bulb.

5. TURN ON THE POWER (and perhaps treat yourself to a half-baked . ..er baked half-potato  with the remaining half).

I've tried that before.  It just created mashed potatoes in the socket. 

I've always used oven mitts - and yes you do need to turn off the electricity first.

[Sandman87]

6 hours ago, forumfish said:

^^^^^^ This, a million times over. Plus any old-style bulbs still being made (think appliance or chandelier bulbs) are crappy and don't last as long as they did 5 years ago.

Fun fact: There's a light bulb in Livermore CA that's been burning continuously since 1901. They really don't make 'em like they used to.

[Sun-Bun]

6 hours ago, Maharincess said:

My old house had a spirit living in it. When we first moved in weird stuff would happen, I'd hear leaves crunching in the yard but nobody was there and the TV's in the house would go off and on all the time. The creepiest thing that happened was that I looked out my front window one morning and saw a woman walking up my driveway, it was a long driveway and she was almost to my door but when I opened the door nobody was there. 

I always called our ghost Darlene for some reason.  A few years after we moved in I was talking to the woman next door, she had lived there since the neighborhood was built.  She told me that there used to be a gay artist who lived in my house, she committed suicide in the doorway of the second bedroom in the early '70s.  And her name was Darlene.  Once in a blue moon I would get a piece of mail with her name on it.  I would stick it on top of the fridge and it always disappeared. 

Sorry, this isn't a peeve but you reminded me of Darlene with your post. 

Okay, Maharincess, your Darlene-flavored memories officially creeped me the Hell out---I'm both fascinated with and terrified by ghosts. Just the idea of unexplained spiritual beings floating all around us, touching stuff and messing with the living folks, it simply makes my skin crawl and my head swim with questions:

Do they know they're dead? How long do they have to roam this earth before they finally move on to wherever dead souls go?? Do they have a choice to simply stick around in the ghost world or are they ever given the opportunity to go elsewhere???

From all the accounts I've read and seen, it seems like if someone ends up killed in a horrific accident/murder or a suicide, it's like they're doomed to become ghosts haunting the earth...hope I'm wrong...or maybe I don't? Maybe it's not so bad stuck being a confused ghost left on earth after all??

I had a creepy ghost encounter years ago while driving home from Washington DC((I wasn't really a believer until this event)). It was around 7am and I was driving past fields of Civil War battlegrounds. On the shoulder of the road as I passed by, I happened to see a skinny little tired-looking young man dressed in soldier gear leaning on his musket---I wondered if maybe the man was a reenactor in the area needing a ride and slowed down while checking my rear view mirror not even two seconds later, but then the man was completely gone, like he'd literally disappeared...this was a flat roadside area with nowhere for anyone on the shoulder to quickly run or hide to, so as the hairs on the back of my neck tingled in shock, I quickly realized that I'd just had my first ghost encounter and shook with fear all the way home. I still get that same anxious, terrified feeling just thinking back on that moment.

[Petunia13]

2 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

We've got forest fires going on.  They think it was an arsonist.

The wind keeps turning and bringing the smoke (not close enough that fire is going to be a local problem).   It was like pea soup on earlier in the week and if it were light out I think it would be the same now.

I've been coughing for almost a week.

That's fucked up

[Qoass]

RIP, Leon Russell.  

[Guest]

3 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

Are you in the western part of NC? I have been keeping up a little with that part of the state (I am in the eastern/southeastern part) and had read that it was arson from some bozo from the bordering state. An idiot who had a FB page monitoring the weather. 

Georgia.  But yes, same idiot.

[Bastet]

Have I mentioned how much I hate plumbing?  Anything else that needs to be fixed, it generally turns out to be what I expected it to be once I get into it (although I do, with annoying frequency, need to stop and fix a tool before I can use it to fix the problem).  But plumbing?  There is always something extra lurking.

So after spending my entire morning fixing the problem I knew I had, I headed out to get something new I'd need to fix the extra problem I found, and discovered it would cost me as much to buy it as it would to hire a plumber.  I'm annoyed, because it should <knock on wood> be a pretty straightforward job, but this would basically be a one-use item, so why I don't I just give the money to the plumber instead of the hardware store -- especially since my local one doesn't have what I need and I'd have to shop at Home Depot/Lowe's.  It's the plumber I had replace all my old galvanized pipe with copper several years back (the only time I've had someone other than my dad do any plumbing for me), and I really liked him and his work, so I went ahead and booked him for tomorrow morning (at 8:30, ugh) so I could get some damn work done today and move on.

So, anyway, peeves: one, plumbing problems being a pain in the ass, and, two, spending a couple of hours crawling around under my house and still not being done.

[Bastet]

There's just enough room to crawl around, although crawl is generous, because sometimes instead of hands and knees it's more like dragging myself along by my forearms.  Whenever anything requires me getting under the house or up into the attic space (where there is just enough room to crawl), I groan and wish I could teach the cat how to handle plumbing or wiring.

At least what I needed to get to was right in between two access points; there are two on one side of the house and one on the other, so getting to something smack dab in the middle is a long crawl.  That's usually when I offer my dad a hot dog and beer if he'll come do it for me, heh.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Bastet

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, stewedsquash said:

@Bastet  Such a show off! Crawling around under the house! My "thing" stealer dog Sugarbear steals everything and puts it under the house. The crawl space is enough to crouch under, with two big brick openings at each end. She has to date taken, when she runs quickly into the house and runs right back out before you can say Sugarbeeeeeear, baby toys, pacifiers, spoons, socks, my bra, a flower arrangement, cotton balls. From the outside she has four of my porch pillows, a flower pot, about 15 of those flat metal chicken feeder bowls I use for dog feeding, random rugs, any decorations I stick in my flower pots. I am sure in the back corner I see her stash all set up in her "living room" she has under there. But can I get in there? No! Spiders!  I am able to get the stuff she puts in her above ground dog house. I just have to dig through the foot deep hay that I keep in there for her. And it is creepy also because I think she has a mouse living with her in there. Right now she is taking her stuffed Santa back and forth between her dog house and Toby's dog house. Don't mess with her Santa!

This made me laugh--your bra!!

I felt like death warmed over today. I spent all weekend in bed. I gamely got up and went to work, feeling like I was walking through a swamp. THANK GOD a client pushed off going to market with his two portfolios of properties until January. (He was going out this week, and my miserable ass was going to scramble to get the work done.) I beat feet out of the office at 2pm.

Once I got home, OF COURSE the babies at work still needed help. I finally got to sleep about 5, and my boy and I had some sweet slumber. I'm not going in tomorrow.

Oh, I was about to take my temperature this afternoon with my old-fashioned glass thermometer and dropped it on the kitchen floor--mercury on the floor. Just a little biohazard, that's all. That was fun to clean up.

Mom said she used to polish coins with mercury. We used the same bottle of mercurochrome my entire childhood. We're all still here. (Laughs weakly to self.)

[Mountainair]

6 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

Are you in the western part of NC? I have been keeping up a little with that part of the state (I am in the eastern/southeastern part) and had read that it was arson from some bozo from the bordering state. An idiot who had a FB page monitoring the weather. 

I'm in the western part of NC and have not been following any news lately so I did not hear that it was arson. Damn! 

It stinks outside and some days you can barely see the sky the smoke is so thick. 

[zxy556575]

You have my full sympathy, @Bastet. I'm not claustrophobic but crawl spaces give me the genuine creeps. Won't do it, no sir, no way. My former handyman was a retired electrician who did odd jobs to keep busy; I might have felt a little bad sending a 72 year old down that grate, but send him I did.

My current house is on a goddamned slab the way the universe intended.

[bilgistic]

There's a crawl space under my folks' house (the house I grew up in) and it's a playground for all kinds of bugs and creepy-crawlies. Not once in my life have I gone under there, nor will I. I'm probably going to have a nightmare about it now.

Edited November 15, 2016 by bilgistic

[bmasters9]

On 11/13/2016 at 2:37 AM, lordonia said:

What does chap my hide is the office booking more than one person in a time slot. If I explicitly ask for the first appointment at 8 am (and usually have to book further out for one of those slots to be available) then arrive for my appointment and am still made to wait 30 minutes, I assure you when I finally see the doctor, my voice will be a lot more Mindy Kaling than Amy Poehler.

I would see that as you doing your part and still being treated like a red-headed stepchild. After all, if you were scheduled at a certain time, and you arrive on time, but yet have to wait, that would be a complete smokeup on their end (at least IMO).

Edited November 15, 2016 by bmasters9
Adding period

[DeLurker]

14 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

And it is creepy also because I think she has a mouse living with her in there.

I had a skunk that lived underneath my house in California.  Kept trying to close up the access, but it kept coming back.  Figured that the puppy we eventually got would agitate it to move, but nope.  It stayed put.

The upside was the skunk never sprayed near our house.

Crawlspace spelunking is not on the DeLurker's Reume.  Your brave @Bastet!

[Qoass]

People who score window offices and never open the blinds irritate me.

[zxy556575]

2 hours ago, Qoass said:

People who score window offices and never open the blinds irritate me.

What about the shade closers in airplane window seats?

[glowlights]

On 11/13/2016 at 2:33 PM, Petunia13 said:

You know what I hate. When someone brings up a topic on an Internet forum.   Makes an oversimplified argument or patronizing point. Then when someone doesn't agree, the person shuts it down or declares the matter closed. It's so weak and bit troll-y.  

Come sit here by me, petunia, cuz I hate that too! I knew someone who did that all the time and it's So. Infuriating. I also hate when you correct someone with a fact, and they say "that's just your opinion". Facts are not opinion ffs. ARGH.

The wildfires are awful and I hope everyone keeps safe. And bilgistic I hope you feel much better soon.

[Qoass]

Quote

What about the shade closers in airplane window seats?

I can kind of understand that if you're trying to sleep or are a nervous flyer. 

Edited November 15, 2016 by Qoass

[auntlada]

13 minutes ago, Qoass said:

I can kind of understand that if you're trying to sleep or are a nervous flyer. 

I hate looking out the airplane window because I like to pretend I'm not thousands of miles up in the air. I always try to trade seats with someone (usually my husband) who wants to see out.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Catching up because I've avoided the internet for the last week (and am still very careful about where I go)...

 

On 11/6/2016 at 0:30 PM, BooksRule said:

I was happy when I realized that microwave popcorn poppers were still being made.  I'm on my second one now (the other one gave out after a few years) and I love it. 

I use a glass bowl with a plate on top of it to make popcorn in the microwave. 

 

On 11/7/2016 at 11:33 PM, Sun-Bun said:

And another thing: why is it so damned difficult to find detailed weekly opening/closing hours online for so many businesses? I go to google a place these days and half the time I'm doing multiple frustrated searches just to find the damned hours listed anywhere---that's just ridiculous!!! 

This is just another example of how things are supposed to be so much easier and clearer with all the information on the internet, but it's actually the opposite.  And it's not just hours--how about address?  I travel all the time and am almost always in an unfamiliar city and can't count the number of times I've had to drill all around a website to find out where they are.  They might say they're in the Highland neighborhood or something, but give me the fucking address in case I don't know where the Highland neighborhood is.

Or, worse, when the google map they link on their site is wrong and nobody working there has ever even noticed.

Or newspapers or TV channel websites that don't put what city they're in anywhere on the page.  Or articles therein that don't have dates. 

 

On 11/12/2016 at 4:55 AM, lordonia said:

Even though I'm cutting off my nose to spite my face -- because there's a reason I need to see the doctor and have perhaps waited weeks for that appointment -- I still walk out. My 45 minute clock doesn't stop once I'm in the exam room, either. That's just more waiting except I get to hear the doctor in the hallway going into other rooms first.

Oh, cutting off my nose to spite my face is my middle name.  I went to a new dermatologist (read: delays probably not caused by emergencies) once and got put in a room quickly but then waited and waited and waited, and would have left but thought no, that's not fair to them, they need to know what they're doing, so I'm going to stay and confront them instead of slinking out.  So the nurse finally comes in and I said I was leaving but I wanted her to know WHY I'm leaving so they can know it's an issue.  While we were still talking, the doctor came in and the nurse said, "She's leaving because she didn't want to wait."  And I said yes I didn't want to wait, but I'm leaving now because I'm not going to have a doctor who has so little respect for my time and I thought it was important enough that they know that that I wasted even more of my time waiting to tell them, and they both just stood there with their mouths open, not understanding at all. 

 

On 11/13/2016 at 6:52 AM, TattleTeeny said:

Right?! It's like people take more care to convert a house into apartments than they to to build apartments from scratch, even though it seems like the latter would be easier (and make more obvious sense) to do.

I lived in a two-story apartment complex that was built in 1968.  One night, a downstairs end unit caught on fire.  There were many fire trucks and news crews, and flames were visible from all around.  The fire gutted the apartment and killed the woman inside.  The apartment above it (shared ceiling/floor) suffered only a charred balcony and some smoke smell, and the resident moved back in the next day.  The apartment that shared a common wall with the one destroyed by the fire had just a little bit of smoke smell. 

It was amazing, and I think about it every time I see where an entire apartment complex burns completely up when one apartment catches fire.  I had no idea my place was that fireproof, and don't really know how I would check for something like that if I were looking at an apartment today.

 

My current pet peeve?  Whistling.  Shut up with your mindless noisemaking.

Edited November 15, 2016 by StatisticalOutlier
Further thoughts about my apartment not catching on fire.

[Qoass]

My dentist is frequently guilty of letting me sit in the lobby for a half an hour or so after my scheduled time.  That's especially not okay when I've left my office early in order to get there on time.  Last time, I called them from my office to make sure they were running on time so I didn't take time off from work unnecessarily.   They assured me all was well but of course, when I got there on time, I was kept waiting.  I complained and they responded that if I couldn't get to my appointment on time, of course they would stick around until I arrived.

Not the point, guys...