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

[theredhead77]

To clarify, I'm specifically referring to people who have a  perfectly good and safe sedan size car and instantly go Oh, I'm pregnant with my first kid, I have to go buy an SUV. Like it's on their weekly shopping list. They usually end up with a small SUV that doesn't have more room, seating wise, than the car they just couldn't make do with. It's to the point, in my experience, that it could be an IRL trope.

[auntlada]

A coworker did that. She didn't want to because she had a car she loved that they just bought the year before, and of course they were going to trade in her car. She might actually need it, though, because she seems to have no spatial or packing skills at all. I had to show her how she could combine shower gifts in bags to fit in her SUV.

She and her husband deserve each other, though. She made him get rid of his great dane because the tail might hurt the baby. He got the dog without asking her after she made him get rid of his previous dog, which she did after it bit her twice, and he still made her do all the taking care of it. These people should not have pets or children.

[Mindthinkr]

39 minutes ago, Bastet said:

My motion sickness is so bad I could get queasy just from thinking about that too much.

Holy crap, I am watching a show on Animal Planet about fat pets, and these owners are my latest peeve!  Their pets are morbidly obese - four and five times their maximum ideal weight - because they're feeding them four or fives times as much as they should be eating and doing nothing to encourage exercise, and the host gives them all kinds of information and tips, and they just wishy-washy "Oh, but she loves food so much" ignore 90% of it.  Worse yet, they complain about the few aspects they do implement by saying, "She doesn't eat as much that way."  THAT'S THE IDEA.  I don't think this is a good show for me to watch; these aren't portly pets who, sure, could stand to be a little thinner but are doing just fine as they are, these are unhealthy pets who are going to die early - not to mention being tired and uncomfortable while they live - for a completely avoidable reason!  Grrr ...

Guilty. My cat now has so much shame for eating (because he was very overweight) that he won't even ask for more when I give him 1 tsp. Instead I give him copious amounts of love. Still I'm sure I'm on you pet peeve list. 

[AgentRXS]

4 hours ago, Random Noise said:

I don't know all that much about other cities, but Vancouver is largely being bought up by investors from Hong Kong.

 

7 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Ugh. Sing it sister. Around here they build huge McMansions on tiny little lots with no yards.

 

8 hours ago, bilgistic said:

. Charlotte has long been a city about the next shiny thing instead of honoring history. If I could afford to leave, I would. If I get to a point where and when I can, I will.

@bilgistic This is exactly how I feel about Miami/Ft.Lauderdale. And South FL has never been respected its own history. It makes me so sad to feel this way about my hometown because I LOVE and miss the Miami (especially Miami Beach) of the 80s/early 90s. It was nothing but old retirees and delis. Now its full of trendy douchebags.

Investors from Latin America and Russia are the ones buying up these new properties down here. A lot of them sit half empty and the other half are rented out to people who then sublet rooms to make their rent. And yes, most of these houses are stacked one on top of the other with no lawn space.

It so sad because almost all of the green space is gone at this point. Now they've taken to converting golf courses to residential areas. I hate this construction boom. Our roads weren't meant to handle the amount of traffic they are adding to these areas. It just makes me so frustrated.

[Maharincess]

7 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Mom, my sisters and I fit into a Volkswagen Fox (compact sedan) in the early 1990s. That was practically child abuse!

I thought it was a super-cute car.

My daughter has two kids and a two door Honda. She loves the gas mileage.    

Edited December 10, 2017 by Maharincess

[backformore]

8 hours ago, bilgistic said:

One day when we were out to lunch, my jackass ex-boss saw a high-end car of some sort (like a Maybach or something crazy like that). He acted like he'd seen Jesus. He literally followed the car for several blocks just to admire/drool over it.

He and my coworker started playing this "game" asking each other what car they would buy if they had all the money to spend. Mind you, ex-boss's wife drove a Mercedes SUV. Ex-boss then asked me what I would get, and I told them I'd get a newer Honda Civic. Well, that just wouldn't do. He said, you have x amount of money and what you don't spend goes to kill cats(!!). Seriously! The man was deranged. I asked him why he couldn't conceive of the notion that I am not materialistic.

I have some sort of car-blindness. There's some sort of brain problem where people don't recognize faces - I have that about cars.   they all look the same. 

I don't care what cars look like, and I don't recognize makes or models of cars.  I am amazed and confused by co-workers who know if someone is in the office because they recognize everyone's car in the parking lot.  If I ever witnessed an accident and had to describe a car to the police, I would say something like ,"maybe it was grey?"  I don't know a coupe from a sedan from a sportscar.  If I tell my son or my husband something about a neighbor, they might say, "Oh, the guy who drives the white SUV?"  and I have no idea.  

I own a car, I like my car.  But what I like about it is that it's easy to drive (there's still some controls I haven't figured out after 7 years, but so what?) and I have Bluetooth so I can talk on the phone through my radio. I also depend on the remote key/starter so I can find my car in the parking lot.  I have seriously walked up to other cars and tried to unlock them with my remote because they look vaguely like my car.  (Grey).  I often think I need to get a car in an unusual color so I can identify it easier. 

People have asked me about my dream car, I have no clue.  I want a car that does what it's supposed to do- which is get me places without any hassle. Oh, and I need temperature control.  I like that my car's heater and air-conditioning can keep me comfortable without blowing air in my face.   But the outside look of the car doesn't matter to me, doesn't even register. 

Edited December 10, 2017 by backformore

[bilgistic]

When I was a kid, it blew my mind how adults knew what different cars were. Now I know the difference between a Chevy and a BMW, but that's just because I'm older and have seen a lifetime of cars. I have several times in my driving life walked up to a similar-sized and same-colored car as mine in a parking lot and started to try to unlock the door. Sedans all look roughly the same to me. My car has a manual entry (so I can't make the car beep with the fob) and I'm not great about remembering where I parked, so I'll head toward the red car in the lot. Most of the time it's mine...

[Katy M]

4 hours ago, bilgistic said:

When I was a kid, it blew my mind how adults knew what different cars were. Now I know the difference between a Chevy and a BMW, but that's just because I'm older and have seen a lifetime of cars. I have several times in my driving life walked up to a similar-sized and same-colored car as mine in a parking lot and started to try to unlock the door. Sedans all look roughly the same to me. My car has a manual entry (so I can't make the car beep with the fob) and I'm not great about remembering where I parked, so I'll head toward the red car in the lot. Most of the time it's mine...

I do that, too.  I had the really bad luck to do that one time when the actual car owner was also coming out to her car.  At least I didn't look quite that stupid in that instance because my car was literally two spots over and it was the same make model and color.  Probably year, too.  But, I've done it with completely different cars, also.

[Mindthinkr]

I was going to pick up a single item at a clothing place on Black Friday. My friend's (boyfriend's DIL) husband dropped us off and circled knowing that we'd be back out after 10 minutes. He kept the kids in the car too (their daughter, my granddaughter). When we came out she pointed to the left and said "Oh there he is". I stepped right up to another Dooley and was just about to try the door (this is on a roadway not parked mind you) when I heard "No, over here". Honestly I was a little embarrassed but we all get a good laugh out of the story. 

[DeLurker]

I haven't watched that show on Animal Planet - it would enrage me too much.  I have wondered whether the owners of the overweight pets are also overweight themselves.

[TattleTeeny]

19 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

@bilgistic same reason people jump from a car to an SUV when having one kid. Strollers still fit in the trunk,, car seats still fit in the backseat, and SUV is a want, not a requirement. People without funds to buy an SUV can get by with a basic sedan.
 

I feel like I must disclose that I am childless but have an SUV! I’m sorry! My tiny Integra, which I loved, was becoming too expensive to maintain and was just not handling well anymore in snow. My friend works at a car dealer that had a barely used year-old SUV with good gas mileage for a fabulous price—he and his fellow mechanics there advised I snap it up. Being a person who is not at all interested in car shopping (after all, I’d already had my dream car—the Integra), I did. 

It hasn’t stolen my heart like my old car, but it’s a good one.

[theredhead77]

Just now, TattleTeeny said:

I feel like I must disclose that I am childless but have an SUV! I’m sorry! My tiny Integra, which I loved, was becoming too expensive to maintain and was just not handling well anymore in snow. My friend works at a car dealer that had a barely used year-old SUV with good gas mileage for a fabulous price—he and his fellow mechanics there advised I snap it up. Being a person who is not at all interested in car shopping (after all, I’d already had my dream car—the Integra), I did. 

It hasn’t stolen my heart like my old car, but it’s a good one.

Don't apologize or justify your purchase in cars!  It seems the point of my original statement is being missed.  The original context was in response to how everything is getting bigger, how sharing a room is a terrible thing, a bigger home must be purchased and I made a crack about it being the same reason people have to buy an SUV when they have their first kid, like it's on a check-list of things to do.
If you want an SUV, buy an SUV. The peeve I have is people who act like they have to buy an SUV immediately instead of just saying they wanted to buy it.

[TattleTeeny]

Ha, I didn’t even particularly want mine, man. But you know what? While some people think buying a new car is exciting (and that’s fine), I feel like, unless you have all the money in the world to work with, allowing you to have anything you want, it’s not going to be that interesting; the goal is merely “reliable and not an eyesore”!

[BookWoman56]

20 hours ago, bilgistic said:

This NPR article is 11 years old, but I think about it when I discuss this issue.

Families have gotten smaller since the 1950s, not larger, so why do people need larger homes now? I grew up in an 1100-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath ranch house built in 1973. There were five people living there when my mother remarried--my parents, two sisters and me. Now it seems that kids "can't" share a bedroom and people need a "bonus" room, whatever that is (man cave?).

Part of it may also be what you are accustomed to. Until I was around 11, my family lived in a fairly small house, but there were 5 kids, and it was very crowded; OTOH, we had about 5 acres to run around and play in. My father owned his own small business  and my mother was also working, so they built a 3000 square foot 4BR/2.5BA house on a 2-acre lot.  Because my father was in construction, he was able to have it built for much less than it would have cost normally. So for me a large house with a large yard became the norm. For most of my adult life, though, I've lived in much smaller houses or apartments, generally around 1200-1500 square feet. But I come from a long line of people who crave solitude and silence, so unless I'm living by myself, I am miserable in a really small dwelling that gives me no area to be alone except in a bedroom. For the past few years, my daughter and I had been living in a 1500 sf 3BR/3BA apartment, with my bedroom downstairs and the other 2 bedrooms upstairs. However, the living room and kitchen were fairly small. Then when my son, DIL, and grandson relocated from overseas almost a year ago to crash with me while they looked for jobs and got established in the U.S., the point came when I realized I had to find something larger or else murder was going to ensue. So a few months ago I bought a much larger house (2800 square feet, 4BR/2.5BA) to retain my sanity. It also has several features I was looking for: an office downstairs that is a real office instead of converted bedroom, larger kitchen, fenced yard so we can have a dog or two, etc. I work from home 100%, so the real office is much better for me than when I was using my apartment bedroom as a combo bedroom/office or just setting off a corner of the living room as an office. My daughter is now at that point in college where she's socializing a bit more, and so the much larger living room and dining area have been useful for parties and so forth. Unlike my last apartment, the front door of the house opens into a small foyer and hall that goes past the office and leads into the living room/dining area. Now, my son and DIL are in the process of getting their own house and if everything goes according to plan, will be moving out by the end of this month. So, yes, I'm going to have two empty bedrooms and a game room/media room empty upstairs. I'll most likely designate one bedroom as a guest room. The game room/media room will probably be used for hobbies (guitar, keyboard, sewing, and jigsaw puzzles). I realize when it reverts to just me and my daughter, this is a much larger house than we need, but it's going to take me at least a year or two to recover from a year of living with 3 extra people in the house.  Essentially, for me the larger house is a psychological need so that I don't flip out on anyone sharing living space with me.  The larger house seemed a much better alternative than prison or a psychiatric facility.

As for cars, though, I'm totally with you. I have owned a minivan, but that was when I had a small business where I was constantly hauling packages to the post office to mail, and was using it for other business purposes where a sedan would not have worked nearly as well. I am frequently appalled where I am in TX because so many people feel the need to drive these huge trucks and SUVs, yet it's solo drivers with no cargo.  For me, a car is a way to get from point A to point B. It's not a lifestyle or fashion statement, and I am always puzzled by people who are seriously into cars as some statement of their personal worth. 

Edited December 10, 2017 by BookWoman56

[Quof]

I drive a Japanese compact car.  It's the only model I've ever owned, except for one North American shitbox, in my 3 decades of car ownership.   I recently had a rental for a week.  My choices were a teeny, tiny subcompact or an SUV, so I took the SUV.  God I hated it.  It was hard to step up to get in it and I felt like I was going to fall getting out of it.  I was afraid I was going to hit something or someone because I wasn't sure where it began and ended.   I hated backing up, even with the backup camera.   And it drank gas like it was water in a desert.   I was briefly tempted to go furniture shopping, or to Costco, just because I could.  But I was glad to take it back.

[Sun-Bun]

16 hours ago, Bastet said:

I am watching a show on Animal Planet about fat pets, and these owners are my latest peeve!  Their pets are morbidly obese - four and five times their maximum ideal weight - because they're feeding them four or fives times as much as they should be eating and doing nothing to encourage exercise

Ugh...now that truly does burn me up. I consider that to be animal abuse, quite frankly. It's the same as if you had a child and treated him/her the same way. You don't just fatten up pets or kids because you can and because they repeatedly beg for snacks---it's up to you as a pet owner/parent to TEACH your pets/offspring good eating and exercise habits!!!

That said, anyone remember how Maury Povich and Jenny Jones used to have those talk show episodes featuring morbidly obese toddlers and young children? Those poor fat kids literally all resembled piglets, no joke. And then the mothers always made me so damned upset because they'd be whining, "Oh but he/she was born this big! Oh he/she just has a big appetite, it can't be helped! I don't want my baby to ever go hungry!" 

Uh no, bitch--your babies didn't pop out of the womb begging for waffles, chicken fingers and pizza five times a day. Learn how to parent and how to say NO!!!

[auntlada]

46 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

Ha, I didn’t even particularly want mine, man. But you know what? While some people think buying a new car is exciting (and that’s fine), I feel like, unless you have all the money in the world to work with, allowing you to have anything you want, it’s not going to be that interesting; the goal is merely “reliable and not an eyesore”!

I'm always afraid to make that final commitment and buy because what if I made the wrong choice and it falls apart immediately? It's times like those that I wish my father was still alive. He had no particular car knowledge, but he just didn't worry and it always turned out great.

[Quof]

My peeve - flakes.  If you say you're going to do something, do it.  If you have no intention of doing it, say so from the beginning.

Earlier this week, I asked a friend if she (or some one in her household) could help me deliver something any day before Monday.  "No problem."   On Friday, I sent a message reminding her and pointed out that the destination was open for drop off between X and Y o'clock on Saturdays and Sundays.  "No problem.  I'll give you a call when I am out and about on the weekend."

The designated time has now passed and I still haven't heard from her.

It's not like I often ask for favours, in fact, I hate it because I consider myself quite self sufficient.   If I do ask for a favour, I reciprocate in kind any time I am asked and also bestow things like home baked goodies, home grown produce and like-new hand me down clothing.  

People suck.

[StatisticalOutlier]

20 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I wish I could find a "senior living" community that would allow a youngster in her 40s. I live like a senior. I'm quiet, respectful of my neighbors, a hermit, I don't smoke and I don't let my cats out to poop in my neighbors' plants. My old condo neighbors (most were retirees) would complain incessantly about that last point at the homeowners' association meetings.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but when I was 30, I moved into a complex that had been converted to condos a few years previously, and I don't know how it happened but everybody there was old.  My unit was for rent because the old lady who owned it went to a nursing home.  There were about 100 units, and all but 10 or 15 were one bedrooms, including mine.  It was heaven.  I lived there for 16 years--bought the unit I was in after 8 years of renting it--until a skank with a young kid and a baby moved into a 2-bedroom across from mine, and it completely ruined everything.  I finally sold my unit.

And over the years since then, it's gotten worse as the old people die or move and their kids just rent the units out.  It was great while it lasted.

I have some friends who moved into an official senior living community, and they got the hell out after just a year because people were very nosy.  That's given me pause.  I think maybe where I lived was just sort of magical, maybe because everybody there just happened to be old, and they didn't live there because they're old.  Anyway, it's made me think twice about a senior living place because I've spent time in senior-only RV parks, and there is a different kind of vibe even though I keep to myself and don't really care what anybody thinks about me.  Or maybe it's just that even though I keep to myself, I don't like feeling surrounded by the enemy, and the politics and social beliefs of most of the people there are usually not aligned with mine.

 

20 hours ago, Random Noise said:

Last winter I was working on a live streaming app for my TV and somehow got hooked on watching the morning show on WCCB Charlotte. I think it was about 2 weeks ago I was watching a protest going on there about affordable housing and if you changed the buildings in the background you'd swear it was one of the continuing protests going on in Vancouver.

I travel full time and am always interested in the hot local topic, and in every place where people want to live, it's affordable housing.  It's been that way in some places for a long time (like Manhattan, or Telluride, Colorado), but it's getting more widespread now.  Like the $800,000 tear-down in Austin.  Whistler, BC, is really suffering.  Silicon Valley has streets that are lined with people living in RVs (and there's a street like that in North Vancouver).  But mixed in are people like the young (maybe 25?) guy in Silicon Valley who's living in a box truck parked on the street, with basically just a mattress in it; he makes $175,000 a year and has showers and restaurants at his high-tech job, and he doesn't see why he should throw away money on rent because he wouldn't be building equity. 

That does make me wonder if the trend toward bigger houses is nearing an end.  Maybe this next generation will reject everything their parents stand for, including big houses.  Once they move out of their basements, of course.

 

Quote

For the 2010 winter olympics, Vancouver shipped out bus loads of homeless people and blocked the area to keep out the transient (RV, van, etc) dwellers so the world wouldn't see what a screwed up place it really is.

For the Democratic national convention in Denver in 2008, they swept downtown of homeless people and transients.  Everything from loading them into vans to handing out movie tickets so they'd go somewhere else.

 

18 hours ago, hoosier80 said:

Yes, I know I should start using my own bags, but even if they bag with their bags, they should have clue how to balance the load a bit.

I bring my own bags and I bag my own groceries except on the rare occasion that I'm simply unable to shoo the bagger out of the way.  But even then, I direct them, which I guess I feel I have a right to do because they're my bags and I know best. 

But I put everything on the conveyor belt in the order it should be bagged, so really, all they have to do is fill them in order--it's not like "That goes in that bag, that goes in that other bag."  And I use gigantic bags*, so there's usually only one or maybe two to begin with.  If the heavier stuff comes down the belt first (and the cashier doesn't reach over those items to get to other ones for some reason I will never understand) and there's only one bag, then it's pretty easy.

*My gigantic bags hold as much several plastic bags, which is irritating because Target gives me only 5 cents for the bag I brought, instead of 20 cents for the four bags I avoided using.

 

12 hours ago, backformore said:

I have some sort of car-blindness. There's some sort of brain problem where people don't recognize faces - I have that about cars.   they all look the same.

Well, a lot of them do look the same these days, but not when I was coming up.  My friends and I used to drive on the drag so much that we'd know who was coming toward us just by their headlights.

I think the Taurus started it.  Suddenly every car looked like an egg.  And then SUVs came around, and they all look alike because they're just big boxes.  And they got rid of color, so for many years every car was black or white or gray.  That didn't help.  Although Texas Aggies have always somehow found maroon pickups. 

I used to think that if I were super rich and buying an expensive car, I'd get a four-door Maserati because it costs a fortune but looks just like any other four-door sedan.  But I decided I can't stand that trident logo thing it has.  Oh, plus I'm not super rich.

[Katy M]

22 minutes ago, Quof said:

My peeve - flakes.  If you say you're going to do something, do it.  If you have no intention of doing it, say so from the beginning.

Earlier this week, I asked a friend if she (or some one in her household) could help me deliver something any day before Monday.  "No problem."   On Friday, I sent a message reminding her and pointed out that the destination was open for drop off between X and Y o'clock on Saturdays and Sundays.  "No problem.  I'll give you a call when I am out and about on the weekend."

The designated time has now passed and I still haven't heard from her.

It's not like I often ask for favours, in fact, I hate it because I consider myself quite self sufficient.   If I do ask for a favour, I reciprocate in kind any time I am asked and also bestow things like home baked goodies, home grown produce and like-new hand me down clothing.  

People suck.

Great now you're making me feel even worse.

My cat died a couple of months ago.  The next week a friend of mine asked if I could foster a cat for a while.  I said sure, but after a couple of weeks realized it was just too soon to have another cat in the house.  After 3 weeks of begging I've finally gotten her to agree to take the cat back later today, but I feel like the most selfish person on the planet and now you're yelling at me.  Sigh.

[auntlada]

But you tried, @Katy M. And you didn't pretend not to be home when your friend brought the cat over, and you didn't just give the cat away or take it to a shelter. I think you did the best you could do in the situation.

[backformore]

2 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

Don't apologize or justify your purchase in cars!  It seems the point of my original statement is being missed.  The original context was in response to how everything is getting bigger, how sharing a room is a terrible thing, a bigger home must be purchased and I made a crack about it being the same reason people have to buy an SUV when they have their first kid, like it's on a check-list of things to do.
If you want an SUV, buy an SUV. The peeve I have is people who act like they have to buy an SUV immediately instead of just saying they wanted to buy it.

I agree.  People do act like an SUV is suddenly a need when you have a baby.

 We bought a minivan, not an SUV, not when we had one tiny infant, but when we had two kids and were going on vacations, (Chicago to Disney world) camping trips, and eventually carpooling scouts, teams, and yeah, punk rock bands.  

[backformore]

1 hour ago, Sun-Bun said:

 

That said, anyone remember how Maury Povich and Jenny Jones used to have those talk show episodes featuring morbidly obese toddlers and young children? Those poor fat kids literally all resembled piglets, no joke. And then the mothers always made me so damned upset because they'd be whining, "Oh but he/she was born this big! Oh he/she just has a big appetite, it can't be helped! I don't want my baby to ever go hungry!" 

Uh no, bitch--your babies didn't pop out of the womb begging for waffles, chicken fingers and pizza five times a day. Learn how to parent and how to say NO!!!

I agree, I've even met parents who say their kid will ONLY eat McDonald's.

but there actually is a genetic disorder called Prader-Willi syndrome that causes intellectual deficits and the constant feeling of hunger. The hormone that tells you you just ate is missing, so you are always feeling ravenous.

When there are young kids whose parents have to resort to locks on cabinets and the refrigerator, that is often Prader - Willi.  Some of the kids featured on those shows had it. It's pretty rare, and sometimes doctor's don't test for it because they assume it's just poor parenting. 

I met a mom whose kid had this, and it was heart breaking. When the child wasn't eating,  she was crying that she was hungry. Nothing could distract her for very long.

Edited December 10, 2017 by backformore

[Bastet]

11 hours ago, bilgistic said:

When I was a kid, it blew my mind how adults knew what different cars were.

It's so different now.  People who were around at the time (or who are car buffs) can look at an old car and say that's a '57 this or a '62 that, but I can't look at an Accord and tell you what year it was; cars just aren't distinguishable in my time the way they were in my parents'.  There are so many more of them, the changes from model to model are much less noticeable, etc. 

For a couple of years, my best friend lived in a new home in a development near Orlando; when I went to visit her, it was only the fact she lived on a corner and had gotten special dispensation (a single family home subject to CC&Rs is on my "Seriously, what?" list, btw) to install a fence (fenceless backyards have always been a big ball of WTF to me; when we'd travel to an area where that was the norm, I was quite taken aback, and I've never really stopped) that I could find my way "home" when I borrowed her car to sight-see while she was at work.  Her car then was a beige SUV, and I could never find that damn thing in a parking lot without making it beep, because it looked like everyone else's.  I am so not into the cookie cutter thing.  One of the things I love most about my neighborhood is that you will not find two homes with the same exterior look or interior layout; a tract where a handful of homes are pretty similar is one thing, but living someplace where every home for five square miles is one of four options (all painted in one of only a handful of colors, all with similar landscaping, etc.) is pretty much the opposite of what I want. 

But, hey - different strokes.

[Quof]

In addition to the disordered eating, those with Prader-Willi can also have no impulse control.  My friends' son has PW, and is violent with his parents and siblings.   Eventually he will be so big, they can't restrain him.   They still haven't figured out how they will handle that.

[ABay]

Maybe someone can clear this up for me since I also have car-blindness: what's the difference between a minivan and an SUV?

Edited December 10, 2017 by ABay
Unintended snittiness.

[Katy M]

14 minutes ago, backformore said:

I agree, I've even met parents who say their kid will ONLY eat McDonald's.

You reminded me of this story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2092071/Stacey-Irvine-17-collapses-eating-McDonalds-chicken-nuggets-age-2.html

The version of it I remember reading said the mom tried to withhold the nuggets when she was a kid and she ended up in the hospital because she just refused to eat anything else, and England's version of social services threatened to take her away, so mom just fed her the chicken nuggets again.

[Petunia13]

I ordered a large pizza for me and the produce manager from a restaurant not delivery (good not cheap crap) and said for him to have as much as he wanted from it... I go to my office and get a call from him later on cell to meet with some candy rep and ...btw thanks for the pizza, he and Denny ate it 

 

it what world would that be ok? I was trying to be nice to one person not assuming, he'd eat like 12 slices and give the other half to someone else without me eating any and that person Denny didn't even say thanks. And people whine about friendliness and moral but they are the ones that's make people do anything non"bitchy" feel like a doofus. 

[theredhead77]

17 minutes ago, ABay said:

Maybe someone can clear this up for me since I also have car-blindness: what's the difference between a minivan and an SUV? Looking for an actual answer here, not a wise crack.

For visuals Google for images Ford Explorer (SUV) and Honda Odyssey (minivan)

[Petunia13]

SUVs are like a long truck with a cab but instead of the cab it's all interconnected and more seats and like a lined heated back. A lot have 4 wheel drive and a lot horsepower. 

Minivans are more plus sized sedans with step up and tons seating for big families. You can rearrange the seating the seats can pop out often. The second and third backseat one can get to inside/kids can scrabble around while the doors are locked. Minivans can't off road and shit like an SUV or haul freight that well. 

I have owned a minivan in my grooming days and a Jeep Grand Cherokee - I love Jeeps and GMC has some nice durable SUVs. 

SUVs are considered cooler and have a better resale value. 

[backformore]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

You reminded me of this story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2092071/Stacey-Irvine-17-collapses-eating-McDonalds-chicken-nuggets-age-2.html

The version of it I remember reading said the mom tried to withhold the nuggets when she was a kid and she ended up in the hospital because she just refused to eat anything else, and England's version of social services threatened to take her away, so mom just fed her the chicken nuggets again.

Ugh.  Reading the whole story, it's not just that her mom gave her nuggets all the time - she bought her Happy Meals - and the teen poses with all the toys she collected.  Yes, if a kid's choice is between healthy food and "chicken nuggets in a box with soda, french fries and a toy!" any kid will choose the happy meal.  My kids knew that they could get McDonald's once in a while - never more than once a week.  And it wasn't when they begged, it was when it was convenient for me and their dad.  And they only rarely got the meal with the toy included. (the toy is not free). 

[Sun-Bun]

18 minutes ago, backformore said:

Ugh.  Reading the whole story, it's not just that her mom gave her nuggets all the time - she bought her Happy Meals - and the teen poses with all the toys she collected.  Yes, if a kid's choice is between healthy food and "chicken nuggets in a box with soda, french fries and a toy!" any kid will choose the happy meal.  My kids knew that they could get McDonald's once in a while - never more than once a week.  And it wasn't when they begged, it was when it was convenient for me and their dad.  And they only rarely got the meal with the toy included. (the toy is not free). 

Yikes. That story legitimately annoyed the shit out of me---that girl is either full on the spectrum or just a spoiled moron. I can see how her mom tried her best to retrain her, but this dumbass is willing to risk her life and health because she's simply too stubborn to eat anything else? And this chick is proud of the fact that she has the limited palate and food reasoning skills of a toddler?? Oh hell no...and I'm assuming her trashy ass doesn't ever step foot into fine dining establishments.

I once taught a kindergarten student who only ate microwave pizzas for lunch every single day. I worried for her because she was large. Mom said she "would only eat pizza." I was done with mom after that.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Sun-Bun

[bilgistic]

Minivans also have the big sliding door on the side(s) like conversion vans do. Conversion vans are like the Scooby Doo van or church vans that carry 12 people or so. (Oh, the memories.) Minivans are more streamlined than conversion vans.

SUVs have four doors.

[Quof]

Quote

And this chick is proud of the fact that she has the limited palate and food reasoning skills of a toddler?? 

We've seen lots of participant brides like that on Four Weddings.   I travel occasionally with a colleague who eats that way.  It's exhausting.  We once attended a professional event at a nice hotel.  At noon, a buffet of soups, salads and sandwiches was offered. She walked across the street to get McD's.  Then brought it back and ate it in the conference room.  

[bilgistic]

This is probably petty, but hey, that's what I'm here for.

I live on the second floor facing my building's parking lot. Someone just got in their vehicle and started calling someone (the call recipient's line was ringing through Bluetooth, I assume). I heard the ringing as loudly as if it were my own phone. If I can hear that through the enclosed car and my second-floor closed window, THAT'S TOO LOUD. Whoever it is does this regularly when they get in the car.

Also, people will park in the middle of the night (2:40 am last night) and have their music up so loud (and sit there for several minutes--WHY???) that I have to turn up the volume on my TV. THAT'S TOO LOUD. Yeah, I should be asleep, but I'm not. I fell asleep watching SNL and woke up later.

I'm old and I hate everything.

[Bastet]

31 minutes ago, Quof said:

I travel occasionally with a colleague who eats that way.  It's exhausting.  We once attended a professional event at a nice hotel.  At noon, a buffet of soups, salads and sandwiches was offered. She walked across the street to get McD's.  Then brought it back and ate it in the conference room.  

I had a friend like that; in fact, she roomed with me for a couple of years when we were first starting out, and this is seriously the list of foods she consumed for those two years: frozen chicken nuggets/tenders, fries, pop tarts, cheese pizza, carrots, grilled cheese sandwiches (with American cheese and white bread), and "sweet and sour chicken" that had no sauce.  When we were in New Orleans with two other friends, she would accompany us to all these great restaurants and just have drinks, then go get chicken nuggets and fries at Burger King. 

[janestclair]

34 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I'm old and I hate everything.

Right there with you. 

I can tell different makes of car apart, but not the year.  My sister can't.  We were picking up a friend of hers in a parking lot before cell phones, and I was driving, so I asked her what kind of car to be on the lookout for and she said, "A black one."  Thanks, that's very helpful.  

Now that she has my niece she's talking about getting a small SUV when her Civic bites the dust.  You've only ever driven a Civic - what makes you think you can drive a big car like that?  I have a Mazda hatchback - it's compact but has more than enough room for stuff, especially with only one kid. That's what she should be getting.  Having kids does not require an SUV.  I also purposely didn't get black, white, or gray/silver because every car is one of those colors.  Every car I have owned has been blue. 

Edited December 10, 2017 by janestclair

[theredhead77]

9 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

This is probably petty, but hey, that's what I'm here for.

I live on the second floor facing my building's parking lot. Someone just got in their vehicle and started calling someone (the call recipient's line was ringing through Bluetooth, I assume). I heard the ringing as loudly as if it were my own phone. If I can hear that through the enclosed car and my second-floor closed window, THAT'S TOO LOUD. Whoever it is does this regularly when they get in the car.

If people can hear a conversation that you're having in your car, with the windows closed you're too loud. In the same vein, who the fuck are people talking to, all the time (AM, lunch, breaks) during the work day? It's the same people, day in and day out. And you're loud, STFU!

[Guest]

5 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

Don't apologize or justify your purchase in cars!  It seems the point of my original statement is being missed.  The original context was in response to how everything is getting bigger, how sharing a room is a terrible thing, a bigger home must be purchased and I made a crack about it being the same reason people have to buy an SUV when they have their first kid, like it's on a check-list of things to do.

I'm not going to lie, banks having ATMs that are a height that is annoying from a sedan and more convenient from a truck or SUV is part of the reason I upgraded to a small SUV.

People don't go bigger just because they want to (not saying you said that) but sometimes it is because not going bigger like the rest of the world ranges from impossible to frustratingly annoying.

I've got a house from the time before microwaves was a common household appliance.  That means I have three selections of refrigerator because the standard size is now bigger.  I also couldn't have an over the range microwave because the brain trust that runs appliance companies hasn't figured out that making a model two inches shorter would open a whole new market (houses made in the 90s or before that haven't been renovated to have cabinets to the ceiling and still have range hoods).  Because I don't have that much counter space and I can't cope with cabinets that aren't level aesthetically, I just haven't used a microwave in a decade. 

So I renovated my kitchen and the choices I made would have likely been different if I'd actually had choices on the microwave.  That was one expensive microwave that I can't remember to use.

I probably would have moved to avoid the renovation if the cost: traffic ratio weren't so horrifying.

[bilgistic]

I drive and have only ever driven manual-transmission cars. That's what I want. Most people (except my mom and stepdad, who taught me to drive stick) think it's just bonkers to want a manual-transmission car. Why the judgement? Do I judge others for driving automatics? No, so who cares?? When I last needed a rental, they were going to upgrade me for free to an SUV. No! I drive a Civic. I can't drive a SUV! Not everyone wants an SUV!

Charlotte is land of the soccer moms with SUVs. Inevitably, I end up parked between two of them and have to inch my car halfway out before I can see if anyone's driving past. I get an angry horn beep by someone who is, but I can't see around the land yachts.

[Katy M]

57 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I drive and have only ever driven manual-transmission cars. That's what I want. Most people (except my mom and stepdad, who taught me to drive stick) think it's just bonkers to want a manual-transmission car. Why the judgement? Do I judge others for driving automatics? No, so who cares?? When I last needed a rental, they were going to upgrade me for free to an SUV. No! I drive a Civic. I can't drive a SUV! Not everyone wants an SUV!

I have a feeling I'll have a hard time finding one next time I'm in the market for a car, but I have to, have to, have to have manual windows.  I am so paranoidally scared of driving off of a bridge and getting trapped in my car.  And, yes, everyone has to pick on me about that.  They keep telling me I've never driven off of a bridge before.  I tell them it only takes once!

Edited December 11, 2017 by Katy M

[ratgirlagogo]

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

I drive and have only ever driven manual-transmission cars.

I haven't had  a car in many years but I grew up on manual transmission and if the day ever comes I actually NEED to get a car again I will hold out for a manual transmission.  I have nightmares just THINKING about self-driving cars.

Also, bilgistic,  you know you should apply to be on The Amazing Race since you have already mastered a skill that so many racers lack.:)

Edited December 11, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[Random Noise]

35 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I have a feeling I'll have a hard time finding one next time I'm in the market for a car, but I have to, have to, have to have manual windows.  I am so paranoidally scared of driving off of a bridge and getting trapped in my car.  And, yes, everyone has to pick on me about that.  They keep telling me I've never driven off of a bridge before.  I tell them it only takes once!

In 20 years of highway rescue I've never seen anyone drive off a bridge, though driving off an embankment and into a river is relatively common.

We always carried a window punch which is spring loaded and fits in the palm of your hand. All you do is press it up against a window and press the release button. It will take out any window of your vehicle and I don't think they cost that much either.

Edited December 11, 2017 by Random Noise

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, Random Noise said:

In 20 years of highway rescue I've never seen anyone drive off a bridge, though driving off an embankment and into a river is relatively common.

We always carried a window punch which is spring loaded and fits in the palm of your hand. All you do is press it up against a window and press the release button. It will take out any window of your vehicle and I don't think they cost that much either.

Amazon has window punches for $10

[Random Noise]

32 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

Amazon has window punches for $10

Definitely go for a spring loaded punch. As frightening as it may sound, if you let your vehicle fill with water so the pressure is equal inside and out, the doors open with no difficulty.

One of the lakes just south of me has a ferry that transports residents across the 2 mile width. In the not too distant past, if someone missed the ferry they would simply drive across the ice rather than wait. Not even the locals living near the ferry landing know for sure how many old cars and trucks are laying on the bottom of that lake when the ice wasn't quite thick enough.

Edited December 11, 2017 by Random Noise

[bilgistic]

I, too, have plunging-into-water terror! I blame the mothman movie that starred Richard Gere. I won't stop on a bridge if I can avoid it.

[Random Noise]

2 hours ago, forumfish said:

Re: not driving off a bridge -- down here, flash flooding is such a problem, you're more likely to have your car swept into a creek. "Turn around, don't drown" is a popular safety slogan, but sadly so many people think their car can make it through a few inches of moving water.

That kind of leads into a peeve of mine regarding this odd trend of people either streaking or dying their hair purple, especially the dark purple tint.

The color they often use is very close to that of someone who's drowned and been underwater for some time, so every time I see the dark purple hair I start getting memories coming back of all the drowning victims I've had to deal with in the past.

[DeLurker]

I love stick shifts, but got annoyed when now you pay extra to get it instead of an automatic (it has been 17 years since I looked for a new car so my impression may be outdated).

My Mom bought an SUV even though the majority of time it was only her and my Dad.  But the height was better for getting him out of the car since he needed her assistance and room for the wheelchair in back.  And because of all the other big trucks and SUVs on the road, she found being in a lower profile car with them limited her ability to see.

[MrSmith]

On 11/18/2017 at 2:13 PM, peacheslatour said:

I'm sorry you received such poor customer service backformore. On the flip side however, I have seen customers behaving badly too. I've seen customers scream at lowly clerks over store policies they had no hand in and no control over, I've seen parents take a box of popsicles away from a kid only to toss it onto the shelf in the cereal aisle, I've heard people tell their companions not to worry about throwing garbage on the ground in front of stores because "they have people to take care of that." I think we should always treat others as we would want to be treated. People who work in customer service aren't servants. A little respect goes both ways.

~~ In TV announcer voice ~~ @peacheslatour is The Voice of Reason in <pause for dramatic effect> These are the Pet Peeves of Our Lives.

On 11/18/2017 at 7:13 PM, Random Noise said:

That's exactly what happened in my niece's family.

I've had Christmas dinner there and to sum it up briefly, there's a massive feeding frenzy followed by an "Ahhh that was good. Good to see everybody!" Then her husband and the three kids all dart off to their respective gaming areas and resume playing.

I play video games (typically I only have time to play a single game well). However, I make sure to spend time socializing with people at holidays. I suppose it helps that I like my wife's family and the holidays are the only times I really get to see them. So playing a video game is comparatively less attractive than spending a day (or two, when I'm lucky) getting to catch up with my in-laws.

[JTMacc99]

3 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

My Mom bought an SUV even though the majority of time it was only her and my Dad.  But the height was better for getting him out of the car since he needed her assistance and room for the wheelchair in back.  And because of all the other big trucks and SUVs on the road, she found being in a lower profile car with them limited her ability to see.

Last year I sold my sedan and bought a Ford Edge, which is classified as a crossover. Not a car, not an SUV. It drives like a tall car. I absolutely love it. I test drove a bunch of vehicles, sedans, small SUVs, no large SUVs because the gas mileage and routine maintenance is unnecessarily expensive for the benefits I would get from one of them. When I took the Edge for a drive, I knew immediately that this was my car. I had an Explorer years ago, and I realized after going back to a sedan for a while, that I really like being up a little bit higher. I also like that I can fold the seats down and cart stuff around like a Christmas tree when necessary. 

As many people are mentioning here, it's just easier to see what's going on, especially since there are so many other tall vehicles on the road. 

One peeve I have on the roads is when I'm waiting to turn right onto a busy road, and a large vehicle that I have no shot seeing around comes up on my left and blocks my view because he or she is going to turn left. Dude, just inch back a little bit so we can both see.