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

[ganesh]

Or finally getting a job and getting the hell out of there where you can buy a house with a mortgage that's less than half the rent and central heating works too.

[zxy556575]

Goodness, how can people misunderstand a simple, short, well-known name like Beth? Does no one read Little Women any more?!  ;)

My godson's name is Bryce. When he was born, his 2-year-old brother couldn't pronounce that and pretty much called him Ice. The adults picked that up and turned it to Icy. I called him that once while waiting in a grocery checkout line and heard a loud voice behind me from a woman who apparently couldn't help herself: "You named your child ICY?" Heh.

Fortunately it didn't stuck much beyond his first few months.

[backformore]

My youngest brother was called "Yiyi" by another sibling who couldn't pronounce  "baby" (because she  was also still a baby).  that name stuck for years.  The rest of us kind of forgot that he had a regular name, we got so used to calling him that.  I had a friend who came to the house one time who asked me why my parents named him that.  It took me a minute to realize that they hadn't.  Yiyi was probably 7 or 8 by then.

Edited December 17, 2016 by backformore

[Quof]

Friends had a 2 year old boy when their daughter was born.   For the first several months, practically the only thing the boy heard was "Don't hit your sister." "Stop doing that to your sister."  You guessed it, the girl was henceforth known as Sister.  The entire extended family called her Sister until she went away to university. 

[Bastet]

Quote

Current pet peeve: people who don't RSVP to gatherings when the invitation clearly notes RSVP contact info. Am I just too old fashioned in thinking it's rude to ignore an invitation?

Certainly not; that's just common courtesy.  Hosts need to know how many people are coming for the obvious reasons of how much food and drink to put out, and also to know specifically who is coming in case the guest list includes people who have food allergies to be accommodated or similar.

It's that time of year for my holiday card peeves.  As I mentioned in Chit Chat, I think cards are merely a waste of paper, so I'd be happy not to receive any.  But for those who send them, I particularly hate cards that aren't recyclable.  And I really hate photo cards.  And newsletters.  Anything where you just mass produce something and then don't bother to write one single personalized word on it.  (I mean, seriously -- you cannot pull out a pen and so much as write, "Merry Christmas, [Bastet]" before shoving that thing in an envelope?)  I would far rather receive a one-sentence email that is specific to me than a page-long newsletter that merely babbles the same shit about your life to me as it does to everyone else you know;  I place far greater value on taking the time to address me personally than I do on taking the time to produce something physical and put it in the mail.

[ABay]

Does anyone know a good site for free holiday e-cards? I'd like to find things to post on friends' and relatives' FaceBook pages. I do like sending paper cards (with personalized greetings and short messages) because they're pretty and can be used as decorations--my sister saves the best ones and puts them in her tree, for example. However, it's time to start switching over to e-cards for people I mostly interact with online like old room-mates and distant cousins.

[backformore]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

It's that time of year for my holiday card peeves.  As I mentioned in Chit Chat, I think cards are merely a waste of paper, so I'd be happy not to receive any.  But for those who send them, I particularly hate cards that aren't recyclable.  And I really hate photo cards.  And newsletters.  Anything where you just mass produce something and then don't bother to write one single personalized word on it.  (I mean, seriously -- you cannot pull out a pen and so much as write, "Merry Christmas, [Bastet]" before shoving that thing in an envelope?)  I would far rather receive a one-sentence email that is specific to me than a page-long newsletter that merely babbles the same shit about your life to me as it does to everyone else you know;  I place far greater value on taking the time to address me personally than I do on taking the time to produce something physical and put it in the mail.

I hate card for a different reason. I have carpal tunnel syndrome and some arthritis.   I have always had THE WORST handwriting, but now, writing is such a chore, I just don't want to bother.  People find pre-printed cards impersonal.  (  @Bastet)  The cost of cards, plus postage, plus the bother of signing - I just gave it up years ago.   Sometimes I think I'll send cards "next year", but it's just such a chore, I don't see the point.

[bilgistic]

I had to send nearly 200 cards for our team at work. My boss wouldn't let me upload our signatures to have them preprinted on the cards (our corporate design) because it's "not personal". I get that, but he's not writing people notes in them; he's just signing his name. And I could send the card vendor our recipient list and have them address and mail the cards, but it's apparently worth my considerable womanhours for me to do all the work instead--stuffing, sealing, metering and mailing--when I already work overtime and am so busy I don't make time to pee. People in business settings open, glance at a card, and toss it. We're the only team in our entire office that sends cards.

I also have to send gift baskets to some people and booze to others. Don't get me started on sending booze to people with whom you do business. Not everyone drinks (me, for instance, but you know I'm just contrary--or rather, jacked full of meds for which alcohol is contraindicated), and it's just weird to send booze to people you barely know!

And for my last rant, guess how many support staff members were remembered in all those cards, gift baskets and bottles of booze we sent? Big, fat goose egg. When I brought up that it'd be nice to send to those folks, the response was, "I sent to the 'decision makers'. They'll share the gift baskets with their staff."

BECAUSE YOU SHARE WITH ME, BOSS?!? A HEARTY "FUCK YOU" TO YOU, MR. GRINCH!

[riley702]

12 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

Oh, yes--the knee-jerk reaction! We all do it, I think--you can't help an immediate gut feeling or even sometimes a "shut up!" response. I had a really bad one once when a pet died and my family keep calling me...to ask why I was not helping my sister through a breakup with a guy she barely knew! Oy, I was not nice, to put it mildly.

Or, when my beloved kitty, Imp, died much too young, a coworker got all excited and blurted out "Ooh! My sister-in-law has a cat she's trying to get rid of!" She still has no idea how close she came to getting slapped (and me fired for doing it). I fixed her with an icy stare and said, "My grief is not an "opportunity" for you!"

11 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

My name is Beth. I once worked a job with  an Elizabeth and Bethany. Even though none of us looked alike, they call each of us by all 3 names interchangeably. It was annoying.

When calling for food delivery/pickup, I learned I  have to spell out my name, especially when a younger person is answering the phone.  If I don't, I get shocked reactions and people asking if my name is actually starts with a "D" and why would my mother name me that LOL. Even when I spell out my name for them, I still have seen Bet, Bef, Baf, Bath written on the ticket. Other names I've been called are Bethie, Betty, and Becky (when Roseanne was airing....my mom's personality was very similar Roseanne Barr's and since there were 2 girls and a boy in the fam, neighbors used to call my mom Rosie, and me and my sis Becky and Darlene--all of hated those nicknames).

I used to really hate my name until my mom told me that she had planned on naming me "Sunshine" until she heard the Kiss song "Beth" on the radio and fell in love with it.  Since I'm a pretty moody and introverted person, I'm glad I was spared the irony of being given that name. Funny enough, my high school best friend told me her mother had planned on naming her "Rayne" but her father was decidedly against that name so she was given a "normal" name instead (Jennifer). Can you imagine the teasing we would have gotten being best friends named Sunshine and Rayne? LOL

Carolyn here. I've been called Caroline, Carol, Karen(!), etc. I've corrected them and some of them just can't be arsed to learn my name. I refuse to answer to those other names now. One new coworker, upon being introduced, just started calling me Carrie. I did give him a verbal slap-down for that, but he looked offended and said he was trying to be friendly. GAH! Here's an idea - if you want to be well thought of by me, try calling me by the name I've told you to call me!

And I have a naming story, too. My Dad wanted to name me Maggie, but Mom thought it was too close to the name of his sister, Marjorie (also called Margie). And Mom couldn't stand Aunt Margie (loud, opinionated and never wrong - heh), much less have her think she'd named a child after her. They still hadn't agreed on a name by the time I was born, and Mom's cousin Carolyn was the nurse at my delivery, so...  It actually had nothing to do with me also working in a hospital (pediatric respiratory therapist), but it's funny how that turned out.

Edited December 18, 2016 by riley702
I say "just" too much.

[bilgistic]

People, right? Some have a hard time with my (not hard at all) name. I'll say it or they'll read it and I'll get handshake/email back to Liz or Lisa. What?? That's as if you told me your name is Michael, and I turned around and said, "Hi, Matt. Hey, I got two of the letters right...?!" Make an effort, people!

[BookWoman56]

47 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

People, right? Some have a hard time with my (not hard at all) name. I'll say it or they'll read it and I'll get handshake/email back to Liz or Lisa. What?? That's as if you told me your name is Michael, and I turned around and said, "Hi, Matt. Hey, I got two of the letters right...?!" Make an effort, people!

I fail to understand why people can't make the effort to use your name. I can sort of understand missing it once because the person didn't hear it clearly, but when you are working with someone, you need to use the correct/preferred name. I understand if you have seen only someone's full name, not knowing which name to use. Some people go by their middle name, some people go by a nickname, etc. This is one reason that when I teach online, I send a private message to each student in the class and ask for the name by which he/she prefers to be addressed. That way, when the student's name is Richard Matthew Smith, I don't post to him in the discussion forums by addressing him as Richard, when he actually goes by Rick, Ricky, Matt, or completely random nickname of Sparky.

As for the failure to RSVP when there is contact info on the invitation itself, that is also a pet peeve. I very rarely entertain any more in any way that would require an RSVP, but when I used to, I was not above calling people on the guest list who had not responded by a certain date to say, "Hi, I haven't heard back from you about coming to the party/event, so I wanted to check and see if you're planning to come." For some types of things, it doesn't make that much difference if there are two more or two fewer guests, but especially for something that is being held some place that charges by the number of guests, it matters. Years ago, I was having a birthday party for my daughter at a local dinosaur store, and they charged something like $10 per kid. You had to give them a final head count 48 hours before the event, and if there were no-shows, you still got charged for them.  Obviously, there's a difference in cost between 10 kids and 20 kids, and while I had budgeted for 20, I sure as hell didn't want to pay for no-shows. So yes, there were about 5 kids whose parents I called to nail them down about it. It just pisses me off that people are inconsiderate about replying. No host or hostess wants to be in the position of having a big party planned and then half the people don't show up, or of assuming that not many people are coming based on lack of RSVPs and then having everybody who was on the guest list show up.  

Edited December 18, 2016 by BookWoman56
Because pronoun-antecedent agreement is good

[Blergh]

While I'm not going to give out any part of my name, I WILL say that I've learned to like having a   unique name that's hard for most folks to spell much less pronounce. For one thing, when telemarketers stumble over it and ask if that's right, I waste no time in telling them 'I'm sorry but you have the WRONG NUMBER!' and hang up! LOL

[topanga]

On 12/17/2016 at 11:13 AM, AgentRXS said:

My name is Beth. I once worked a job with  an Elizabeth and Bethany. Even though none of us looked alike, they call each of us by all 3 names interchangeably. It was annoying.

When calling for food delivery/pickup, I learned I  have to spell out my name, especially when a younger person is answering the phone.  If I don't, I get shocked reactions and people asking if my name is actually starts with a "D" and why would my mother name me that LOL. Even when I spell out my name for them, I still have seen Bet, Bef, Baf, Bath written on the ticket. Other names I've been called are Bethie, Betty, and Becky (when Roseanne was airing....my mom's personality was very similar Roseanne Barr's and since there were 2 girls and a boy in the fam, neighbors used to call my mom Rosie, and me and my sis Becky and Darlene--all of hated those nicknames).

Not to make light of your troubles, but your post made me laugh really hard. And it reminded me that one of my nicknames (and yes, I know I said I hate nicknames) is Josie, and I use it when I'm giving my name at a restaurant, Starbucks, etc. Because my full name, while not long or difficult to spell, is somewhat uncommon, and I usually get a "Whatttt??????" when I tell strangers my name. I thought Josie would be easy enough for people to spell phonetically. I don't care how you friggin spell it, just right something down. But I inevitably get confused looks and blank stares when the host or barista is under thirty. And they always ask me to spell it. I don't CARE how you spell it. And WTF? Have young people not heard of the name 'Josie'?

 

On 12/17/2016 at 0:43 PM, magicdog said:

My niece is nick named "Pooh Bear" (I'm the only one in the family who uses it though).  It began when my sister was preparing the nursery and went gaga for all things Pooh.  Of course, my sister couldn't make it easy for any of us - all items with the Pooh motif had to be from the "Classic Pooh" line.  That is, items that had Pooh images based on the original illustrations in the Milne books.  She was adamant about not having the Disney version of the character.  

Ok, now you've made me want 'Legally Blonde' again. LOL 

[JTMacc99]

As the last member of the Macc family not to come down with an awful 24 hour stomach virus, I am just sitting here feeling every little twitch, pang, chill, and wondering if this is the start of it. Yuck. 

ETA: and I'm sick too. Ugh. 

Edited December 19, 2016 by JTMacc99

[backformore]

I've had a cold for nearly two weeks.  It got worse, seemed to be turning into a sinus infection, so I saw the doctor.  problem is, I am allergic to many antibiotics, and others give me some terrible intestinal difficulties.  So I got a prescription, filled it, went home and read the flier.  It said that abdominal cramps and diarrhea are COMMON with this medication.  Hmm.  So I decided to wait another day to see if I really needed it .  Then one more day - because I can't experience side effects like that and still work, right?    I never ended up taking the meds, and I think I am over the cold, for the most part.  I've learned my lesson.  a cold will last as long as it will last. 

[Moose135]

5 minutes ago, forumfish said:

I get that the design team was probably going for a "both swooshes swooshing the same direction when the player runs" thing, but I was taught that you Never. Flip. A. Logo. Ever.

Just like the American flag, the blue field always faces forward, be it a patch on your sleeve, or a decal on a vehicle.

[AgentRXS]

Quote

Not to make light of your troubles, but your post made me laugh really hard. And it reminded me that one of my nicknames (and yes, I know I said I hate nicknames) is Josie, and I use it when I'm giving my name at a restaurant, Starbucks, etc. Because my full name, while not long or difficult to spell, is somewhat uncommon, and I usually get a "Whatttt??????" when I tell strangers my name. I thought Josie would be easy enough for people to spell phonetically. I don't care how you friggin spell it, just right something down. But I inevitably get confused looks and blank stares when the host or barista is under thirty. And they always ask me to spell it. I don't CARE how you spell it. And WTF? Have young people not heard of the name 'Josie'?

I also laugh when I see the names they come up with. Its amusing when I go into a place to pick up food I've ordered over the phone, and the young (usually late teen-early 20 something) looks at the name on my ticket, gets a bewildered look on their face, whispers to cashier, and slowly calls out my misspelled name.

I know I live in a diverse area with a lot of people who are freshly arrived immigrants or first-generation citizens from the various Caribbean islands, and I understand that many of them have never heard the name "Beth" before so I try to cut them some slack. But sometimes its frustrating.  Probably the only I time I don't have to spell my name out is when I'm at a Starbucks in a primarily Jewish area LOL.

What really used to bug me (and I don't get it as often anymore) is: "Is that short for Elizabeth?!"  Nope, if it was I would have said that initially.  And for a while there, my last name was an issue because there was famous celebrity in the '90s that had the same last name as mine. Its not very common so when I needed to give out my last name, everyone would say "Oh, just like so-and-so! Are you all related?!" That drove me up a wall. That celebrity's fame has dwindled a lot since then so thankfully I don't get that anymore. Having 1st name issues is more than enough for me.

[topanga]

34 minutes ago, AgentRXS said:

What really used to bug me (and I don't get it as often anymore) is: "Is that short for Elizabeth?!"  Nope, if it was I would have said that initially.  And for a while there, my last name was an issue because there was famous celebrity in the '90s that had the same last name as mine. Its not very common so when I needed to give out my last name, everyone would say "Oh, just like so-and-so! Are you all related?!" That drove me up a wall. That celebrity's fame has dwindled a lot since then so thankfully I don't get that anymore. Having 1st name issues is more than enough for me.

Beth Cruise? Beth Roberts?

[Angeltoes]

I go inside Taco Bell and place my order.  These days, because they probably want to look like a friendly company, they ask you your name when you order (they used to give each customer a number).   Employee asks my name and I said,"Peggy."  He ponders this and in a puzzled voice says,"Piggy?" and I say,"No, PEGgy"  He gives me a "if you say so" look.  He disappears into the back and eventually another employee puts my order on the counter and bellows,"Piggy, your order is ready!"   And this is why nobody names their kid Peggy anymore

[auntlada]

There's a man in my mother's church who calls her Piggy, but he really thinks he's saying Peggy.

When she was in first grade, she got put in the slow class the first day of school because she didn't answer the roll and told the teacher her name wasn't Margaret. Her parents had never called her Margaret even though that is actually her name. They called her Peggy.

[bilgistic]

And there's another one, albeit an old-fashioned name now--why is Peggy a nickname for Margaret??

[JTMacc99]

2 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

And there's another one, albeit an old-fashioned name now--why is Peggy a nickname for Margaret??

It morphed from earlier versions of Mog/Meg. Per Google. 

IIRC, this thread is rife with Elf on the Shelf dislike. I don't particularly care.  I do like that my daughter loves them, and she's come to not expect a daily show as long as they occasionally do something interesting. 

She got the stomach flu Friday night and was sort of back to normal condition last night by dinner. The other child got it after dinner. Before I went to bed, and I was 100% sure I was about to be sick all night, I put the elves huddled together on the mantle and wrapping tissue paper around their mouths like little masks. That was a big hit. 

Having said that, may I recommend NOT getting any sort of stomach virus this holiday season?  It's not great. 

[Angeltoes]

Supposedly Peggy is derived from Meggy, a diminutive version of the name Margaret.  Margaret means pearl and Peggy means little pearl.  

Things get confused even worse with me and the name game because Margaret is my middle name and I've never been known by my legal first name except for official purposes.  When I'm in a doctor's office and they call me by my legal first name, it usually takes a few seconds for it to click in my head that they're talking to me.  

[DeLurker]

3 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

  And for a while there, my last name was an issue because there was famous celebrity in the '90s

Beth Ice?

true story: the guys my ex used to work with in LA were all asian. We would all go out together sometimes, usually to a Chinese place. They would always tell the person working the door he was Vanilla Ice. Minor resemblance but it bugged the shit out of him. Of course, that made them do it more.

[Maharincess]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

It morphed from earlier versions of Mog/Meg. Per Google. 

IIRC, this thread is rife with Elf on the Shelf dislike. I don't particularly care.  I do like that my daughter loves them, and she's come to not expect a daily show as long as they occasionally do something interesting. 

She got the stomach flu Friday night and was sort of back to normal condition last night by dinner. The other child got it after dinner. Before I went to bed, and I was 100% sure I was about to be sick all night, I put the elves huddled together on the mantle and wrapping tissue paper around their mouths like little masks. That was a big hit. 

Having said that, may I recommend NOT getting any sort of stomach virus this holiday season?  It's not great. 

My daughter did the same thing!  The grandkids have been sick (now I'm in the middle of it) so she wrapped the Elf in a little blanket and put crumpled tissues, a bottle of aspirin and a toy thermometer with him. 

I don't get the Elf hate. I wish it had been around when my kids were little.  I LOVE doing things like that. 

[Bastet]

I have no idea what Elf on the Shelf is, so I'm off to Wikipedia ...

Okay, that sounds creepy; I think I'm with the people in the "Criticism" section of the article.

But while the story sounds creepy, the idea of putting sick masks and such on the toys when the kids are sick is cute.  I used to have my mom take my stuffed animal's temperature after she took mine when I was sick, and this reminds me of that.

[Spunkygal]

I have a unique name that my mom thought she created, but over the years I've had people tell me that they know of another Spunkygalrealname. My peeve is when people won't even attempt to pronounce it correctly. Granted, if mom had included a strategically placed Y, more people would get it right the first time. But I've had coworkers, neighbors, others mispronounce it for months, even years. They will hear other people say it correctly and I've even corrected them but hell no. I'm not important enough for them to say it right. And the correct pronounciation does not require any special tongue or linguistic gymnastics. It's basically using a long A instead of a short A. When I corrected a coworker once, he said "whatever." Thanks a$$hole. Now I don't even bother to correct people. When I was a senior in high school, I seriously considered changing it but my mom's feelings were hurt so I backed off. She was a great mom but too bad she didn't have to live with it.

[AgentRXS]

Quote

Beth Cruise? Beth Roberts?

Quote

Beth Ice?

Delurker's close as it is a musician LOL. Not in the same genre as Vanilla Ice, though. :)

Ok, guys. I'm officially over the Christmas traffic. Between on-going construction and street closures, and tourists not knowing where they are going, I am going to lose whats left of my mind.

Also, all those with crappy, cold weather, would you mind sending a few cool breezes down this way? Yeah, some might find it nice that that we are enjoying 80 degree sunny weather while the rest of the country is under a cold front, but man, its like 90-100 year round. It'd be nice to enjoy a few days of 60-70 weather every once in a while. I would love to give my A/C a break at some point this winter.

[bilgistic]

@Bastet, look up "dirty Elf on the Shelf" or "naughty Elf on the Shelf". There are some hilariously sick minds out there.

[riley702]

21 hours ago, Moose135 said:

Just like the American flag, the blue field always faces forward, be it a patch on your sleeve, or a decal on a vehicle.

I don't understand this. When I see a flag on a flagpole, the stars are on the upper left (not leading), but on a uniform, it looks backwards with the stars on the upper right.

Edited December 20, 2016 by riley702

[ParadoxLost]

3 minutes ago, riley702 said:

I don't understand this. When I see a flag on a flagpole, the stars are on the upper left, but on a uniform, it looks backwards with the stars on the upper right.

Flag on the sleeve is supposed to be positioned so when a person is walking forward, its as if the flag is flying in the breeze to the observer.

[riley702]

Although flags can flap forwards or backwards... It makes a little more sense now. So are the patches different on the right and left sleeves? I never noticed before.

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, riley702 said:

So are the patches different on the right and left sleeves?

Yes.  Here's an example using Air Force 1 - on the left side of the airplane, the flag looks "normal" with the blue field facing towards the direction of travel.

On the other side, it looks backwards, but it is also correct, again with the blue field facing towards the direction of travel.

[theredhead77]

Huh. I never knew that! Thanks for the photo explanation Moose!

[zxy556575]

Nice shots, @Moose135! What city is that? How did you get a shot touching down one way and taking off from the same runway in the other direction?

[Moose135]

Thank you! That is Charlotte, NC.  They landed to the south, and before they departed, a storm came through and the winds shifted so the airport had changed runways and they departed to the north.  It really worked out well that day!

[backformore]

19 hours ago, Maharincess said:

I don't get the Elf hate. I wish it had been around when my kids were little.  I LOVE doing things like that. 

I think the "hate"  for elf on the shelf comes from two things -  one is the parents who over-do it, creating elaborate scenes at night when the kids are sleeping, because they brag and one-up each other on social media.  The other thing is that stores are not selling stuff to go along with the elf - like his pet reindeer, clothing items, etc., which, or course, all cost money.  

I'm glad it wasn't around when my kids were little.  I'm not crazy about the idea that someone is always watching to make sure you're good. 

[Moose135]

29 minutes ago, backformore said:

I'm not crazy about the idea that someone is always watching to make sure you're good.

Isn't that the FBI's job?  The other thing that bothers me with this elf nonsense is that it is supposed to be some wonderful holiday tradition.  They only wrote the book something like 10 or 12 years ago, and this entire marketing machine has grown up in just the past half dozen years.  Hardly a "holiday tradition".

[backformore]

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

Isn't that the FBI's job?  The other thing that bothers me with this elf nonsense is that it is supposed to be some wonderful holiday tradition.  They only wrote the book something like 10 or 12 years ago, and this entire marketing machine has grown up in just the past half dozen years.  Hardly a "holiday tradition".

yes, and the elf being sold has that look of a vintage doll from the 50's, adding to the tradition idea.

[PradaKitty]

That's why I don't like the elf - it's ugly.

[JTMacc99]

2 hours ago, backformore said:

I think the "hate"  for elf on the shelf comes from two things -  one is the parents who over-do it, creating elaborate scenes at night when the kids are sleeping, because they brag and one-up each other on social media.  The other thing is that stores are not selling stuff to go along with the elf - like his pet reindeer, clothing items, etc., which, or course, all cost money.  

I'm glad it wasn't around when my kids were little.  I'm not crazy about the idea that someone is always watching to make sure you're good. 

I agree with you that the number one reason I see from people with a strong resistance to adding the elves is the social media component.  As I'm an old man, I'm not particularly in the loop with Pintrest, Instagram and Facebook one-upmanship, but I am certainly aware it exists. It makes me a little sad, because my kids don't give a shit that Tommy's mom sets up elaborate scenes every night. As long as the elves in my house move every night and occasionally do something interesting, they continue to look forward to it.

And as far as they are concerned, it's a tradition.  

I think between social media and elf accessories on the resistance list would be that it's a pain in the ass to remember to move them every night, and you hate letting down your kids when you forget and they get all worried that something went wrong with the Christmas magic in the house.

I've asked around at work, and some families use the scout elves story quite a bit "Buddy's watching you!" and others are like me and stopped using that part of the story and rely on good old parental threats for discipline.   

[Popples]

2 hours ago, Moose135 said:

Isn't that the FBI's job? 

You just reminded me of something:

[Angeltoes]

Can you put an alert on your phone that reminds you to move them?

[Maharincess]

3 hours ago, backformore said:

.  

I'm glad it wasn't around when my kids were little.  I'm not crazy about the idea that someone is always watching to make sure you're good. 

Isn't that the whole concept of god?  That creeps me out and is one of the many,, many reasons I'm an atheist. 

[JTMacc99]

30 minutes ago, Angeltoes said:

Can you put an alert on your phone that reminds you to move them?

I did exactly that after forgetting to move them one night.  

[Moose135]

@Popples, I love Calvin & Hobbes!

[riley702]

I just think that elf is as creepy as a clown. And I hated clowns even before weirdo creepers started showing up in public freaking the shit out of people.

Edited December 20, 2016 by riley702

[Popples]

27 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

@Popples, I love Calvin & Hobbes!

Me too! I've had every book in the collection ever since I was a little girl, and that's why it popped in my head.

[JTMacc99]

I bought a Calvin & Hobbes book and have it sitting around the house. I'm looking forward to the day when one of my kids, most likely my son, picks it up one day and "discovers" it.  

Way, WAY back in the day when I was a Junior in college we were sitting around the table brainstorming ideas for what should go on that year's Greek Week t-shirt.  Or perhaps we were just sitting around bullshitting and that was one of the many topics that we covered. Brainstorming makes it sound like it was official business. Anyway... in one of my finer moments, I threw out the idea of Calvin and Hobbes on their backs with a giant thought bubble over them remembering all of the things they did that year, the bed races, the pie eating contest, hoisting a drink and singing together, and just them being together and having a blast.

A few weeks later, I was handed a t-shirt with exactly that on the back. The t-shirt guys were very proud of their shirt. As they should have been; we had a very talented artist in our house and it was great. And Calvin and Hobbes are great. The net result was the best t-shirt ever. We had people from other fraternities and many sororities asking if they could buy one. 

[backformore]

1 hour ago, Maharincess said:

Isn't that the whole concept of god?  That creeps me out and is one of the many,, many reasons I'm an atheist. 

EXACTLY!  When I was a kid, the idea that God sees everything  I do, really bothered me. Even in the BATHROOM?