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

[walnutqueen]

23 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

They're like the embodiment of the word "fragile," the little sweeties!

Fragile looking? Yes.  But with a FIERCE will to live & survive!!!   

[bubbls]

Quote

If it helps, it's not just vegetarians or vegans that get this kind of response.  I don't like coffee, and people always insist I'm wrong.  "Have you tried latte?"  "Have you tried espresso?"  "You'll like my coffee" "You must like kahlua!" and so on.

Ugh! This! An old friend from grade school and I got together a couple of times when I was around 35. She has a huge family. I'm an introvert who doesn't like crowds. She kept calling and nagging me to come visit (because she wanted to see me but not sacrifice family time I suspect!). I kept telling her I don't like crowds. Her response was but I'd LOVE this gathering. Um, no. No, I won't. I'm pretty sure at age 35 I know exactly what I do and do not like. I finally had to start ignoring her calls. Which, as an introvert, is something I've been forced to do my whole life. Hurting the feelings of an extrovert is part of life when you're an introvert. Unless you want to socialize all.the.freaking.time. 

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, TattleTeeny said:

I apologize for the off-topicness, but I want to say that I feel better now because I am home and, on the way in, I got to check on our condo duck, who made a nest in the front landscaping and is now sitting on her eggs in there. And, right outside our front door, we have a bird's nest in a tree--like seriously two feet from the door. The other day, her pretty blue eggs hatched and now we have teeny-tiny bird babies to also check in on. They're so delicate and cute when they put up their heads and open their little beaks that I want to cry. I have a video but I don't know how to post it! Oh, and my neighbors hung a sign to warn people to be quiet and respectful when approaching the door, and posted others in the shrubs to keep the landscapers from bothering our duck!

@TATTLETEENY:  You and your neighbors are good people!  This is such a vulnerable time of year for birds (including geese, ducks & swans).  Thanks for being a friend of our avian co-residents on Earth :>)  They need our support.

[riley702]

1 hour ago, bubbls said:

Ugh! This! An old friend from grade school and I got together a couple of times when I was around 35. She has a huge family. I'm an introvert who doesn't like crowds. She kept calling and nagging me to come visit (because she wanted to see me but not sacrifice family time I suspect!). I kept telling her I don't like crowds. Her response was but I'd LOVE this gathering. Um, no. No, I won't. I'm pretty sure at age 35 I know exactly what I do and do not like. I finally had to start ignoring her calls. Which, as an introvert, is something I've been forced to do my whole life. Hurting the feelings of an extrovert is part of life when you're an introvert. Unless you want to socialize all.the.freaking.time. 

Ugh is right. Sounds like she only wants to see you on her terms.

[TattleTeeny]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

@TATTLETEENY:  You and your neighbors are good people!  This is such a vulnerable time of year for birds (including geese, ducks & swans).  Thanks for being a friend of our avian co-residents on Earth :>)  They need our support.

Well, thank you but we're not doing much but peeking in and hanging signs; no one wants to upset the mom. It's funny that I just read this now because it's rainy and not too warm here tonight (60 degrees) and I'm worried about them (I assume the duck will be fine, and her babies are still in the eggs)! It was much warmer over the last couple of days--will they be OK? I have no idea! Anyone? 

[walnutqueen]

38 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

Well, thank you but we're not doing much but peeking in and hanging signs; no one wants to upset the mom. It's funny that I just read this now because it's rainy and not too warm here tonight (60 degrees) and I'm worried about them (I assume the duck will be fine, and her babies are still in the eggs)! It was much warmer over the last couple of days--will they be OK? I have no idea! Anyone? 

The nest & mama bird's feathers will protect the baby birds from the elements.  They huddle together, too.  You are very sweet to worry about them.

Coolest thing about baby birds?  They instinctively hang their butts over the edge of the nest to poop.  I kid you not.  ;-)

[TattleTeeny]

Thank you! I feel a little bad about somewhat derailing the thread but I would be very peeved at frozen birdies. (I'm sorry, mods--I just had to share about the birds, and it definitely wouldn't fit in the other forums I frequent!)

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 5/21/2017 at 8:37 PM, ratgirlagogo said:

You never met the many members of my family who (back when I was a vegetarian) would tell me that they had made a special CHICKEN dish for me, since they knew I was vegetarian and didn't eat meat.  Every veg person I have ever known has stories like this, unless they grew up in veg families.

My veg friend said when she was living in South Texas, a woman at a gathering told her, "I know you're a vegetarian so I only put half the usual amount of ham in the salad."

I hate raw tomatoes.  People always say, "You've never had a good one."  To which I reply, "You're right."

[ratgirlagogo]

8 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I recommend picking up some vegetarian cookbooks and involving your daughter in the meal planning. The Linda McCartney's World of Cooking is one of my favorites with simple yet delicious (and some cheesy) recipes.

I always loved (and still do!) Madhur Jaffrey's Worlds of the East Vegetarian Cooking - although her World Vegetarian would probably be as good and for your purposes probably  better.  I don't much care for Mark Bittmann's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian ( or any of his books honestly)  but many, many people love it - you might want to give it a look.  Deborah Madison's  Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is another classic.  I also have always liked Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant - their ethnic cookbook - I've never been a big fan of the original Moosewood Cookbook or of The Enchanted Broccoli Forrest - but perhaps you (meaning JTMacc99) or your daughter will feel differently.

A huge favorite of mine from the seventies was Anna Thomas' Vegetarian Epicure, both volumes.  Her mac and cheese changed my life (for the better!).  

Edited May 23, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[auntlada]

1 minute ago, forumfish said:

We currently have chimney swifts -- every night, those babies get hungry, and chirp loudly! Thankfully, they are above the damper so they aren't in danger of falling when they start to fledge.

Several weeks ago, birds started building a nest in our mailbox -- we have the old kind mounted on the wall next to the front door. I'd empty the leaves and twigs to make room for the mail, and the next day, it would be half full again. Closing the lid at night didn't help -- those industrious little birds would manage to open it and start filling it again. After a week, I felt so bad for the birds that I fixed a same-sized box with a hinged lid and fastened it to the porch rail. I also started draping the mailbox with rubber shelf liner every evening, so there was no way for the birds to get in. They never took to the box, but at least they can no longer use our mailbox, so I don't feel guilty dumping out their nesting material every day.

We had what I think were chimney swifts once. Unfortunately, there was no grate on the top of the chimney, and we did not know it. It probably blew away. So one evening while I was the only one home, a couple of birds flew down. Then a few more and a few more. We had at least 60 birds eventually, and birds are not smart enough to go out open doors or windows. It was creepy. It looked like a Poe story, with a line of black birds sitting on top of the drapes.

In the house we are in now, a mother bird occasionally tries to build a nest on top of the porch light, which is not a suitable spot. It isn't stable, and the eggs fall out. Unfortunately we never see it in time, and I am not sure what to do about it anyway. I always feel sad about it.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, forumfish said:

We currently have chimney swifts -- every night, those babies get hungry, and chirp loudly! Thankfully, they are above the damper so they aren't in danger of falling when they start to fledge.

Several weeks ago, birds started building a nest in our mailbox -- we have the old kind mounted on the wall next to the front door. I'd empty the leaves and twigs to make room for the mail, and the next day, it would be half full again. Closing the lid at night didn't help -- those industrious little birds would manage to open it and start filling it again. After a week, I felt so bad for the birds that I fixed a same-sized box with a hinged lid and fastened it to the porch rail. I also started draping the mailbox with rubber shelf liner every evening, so there was no way for the birds to get in. They never took to the box, but at least they can no longer use our mailbox, so I don't feel guilty dumping out their nesting material every day.

I had birds that year after year would build their nest out of mud, mostly, in my porch.  It was sweet the first year.  Then It got to be like Hitchcock's "The Birds" leaving my house.  Much startled cursing in front of impressionable neighbor kids.  And the poop.  So much poop.  But I draw the line of removing the nest once its started. 

I do try to stop it from being built, so I bought a cute stuffed owl.  They built their nest somewhere else last year.  This year they are attacking the owl and dislodging its perch, repeatedly.  But we don't talk about that because the first rule of flight club is we don't talk about flight club.

I'm a horrible monster creating homeless birds; but when I was a kid I walked to close to a bush with a nest I didn't know was there and it dive bombed me in the head, so :P

Edited May 23, 2017 by ParadoxLost

[bilgistic]

More proof I'm getting old: I found out from Saturday Night Live that "fidget spinners" are a thing. Friday, my eye doctor tried for the second time to talk me into bifocals because I've passed 40. Not happening, doc! I'll carry around three four pairs of glasses; thanks!

[Qoass]

Quote

I suppose my peeve is people who will insist you like food if you only tried it X way.

People make the same argument about religion and it's equally annoying.

@TattleTeeny, I share your distress as I work with the same clueless class of peers.  The only answer seems to be to stop caring.,  I'm becoming the office equivalent of that checkout person who drops the bag of oranges on top of your loaf of bread.

[TurtlePower]

17 hours ago, Bastet said:

That's me.  And, believe me, tofu is one of those food items people will insist you would like if you just had it X way.  I particularly love the "It doesn't really taste like anything on its own, just what you cook it with" protest.  Um, no.  Of course it takes on the flavors it is prepared with.  So does everything.  For example, chicken.  But, chicken also has a taste all its own.  So does tofu. 

Yes, tofu does have its own flavor. It's subtle, but just enough for some to hate it (and/or the texture).

10 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

My veg friend said when she was living in South Texas, a woman at a gathering told her, "I know you're a vegetarian so I only put half the usual amount of ham in the salad."

I hate raw tomatoes.  People always say, "You've never had a good one."  To which I reply, "You're right."

My husband hates them, too. He wishes he liked them--and he likes sauces made from tomatoes--just can't eat them raw. 

[TattleTeeny]

8 hours ago, bilgistic said:

More proof I'm getting old: I found out from Saturday Night Live that "fidget spinners" are a thing. Friday, my eye doctor tried for the second time to talk me into bifocals because I've passed 40. Not happening, doc! I'll carry around three four pairs of glasses; thanks!

Haha! I am neurotic, so I like to have two pairs of glasses, mainly so I can always leave one in the car; while I don't really need them while I'm just walking around, I do need them for night driving. So when the eye doctor said I needed reading and distance, I freaked out about, "Oh no, I have to buy FOUR PAIRS?!" (plus the hijinks of, like switching back and forth all the time watching TV, reading, laptop, running out for smokes at night)To which the doctor responded with a look of sheer shock. I ended up deciding on the no-line progressives, and a "just driving" pair. So far so good, actually...but now I want to use a vintage pair of tortoiseshell cat's-eye frames and I think the shape might be wrong for the lenses, dammit! 

Quote

@TattleTeeny, I share your distress as I work with the same clueless class of peers.  The only answer seems to be to stop caring.,  I'm becoming the office equivalent of that checkout person who drops the bag of oranges on top of your loaf of bread.

A similar-minded coworker and I are trying this; he has the same issues I have only he's a photographer for this department, and I am an editor. Seriously, we could just replace the job-related words on our complaints and they are exactly the same issues. Both of us are also seemingly incapable of lowering the standards we put on our own work to sink to "their" level. I want to be proud of that but I feel like it just bolsters the "you do this to yourself!" attitude from other people!

Edited May 23, 2017 by TattleTeeny

[Blergh]

It happened again: I was the only one at the table who ordered dessert- and the server brought it with three extra spoons. Nope! I immediately took out the three extra spoons and said to everyone else that I only needed ONE to eat my dessert! Why do so many servers DO this? If I had asked for extra spoons to share it with the others, that would have fine but don't try to guilt-trip me into doing this via those spoons when others are perfectly capable of ordering their own desserts!

[MrSmith]

1 minute ago, Blergh said:

It happened again: I was the only one at the table who ordered dessert- and the server brought it with three extra spoons. Nope! I immediately took out the three extra spoons and said to everyone else that I only needed ONE to eat my dessert! Why do so many servers DO this? If I had asked for extra spoons to share it with the others, that would have fine but don't try to guilt-trip me into doing this via those spoons when others are perfectly capable of ordering their own desserts!

Hopefully, your friends/family/fellow diners weren't expecting you to share because that would be worse than the server bringing extra spoons. Personally, I never get dessert when I'm at a restaurant because I end up being full by that point. Also, my mother is the opposite of you: She tries to guilt my father, my wife, and me into sharing dessert with her. I hate that she does that, too. I'm always thinking: If I want a dessert, I'll order one.

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, TurtlePower said:

My husband hates them, too. He wishes he liked them--and he likes sauces made from tomatoes--just can't eat them raw. 

It's only raw tomatoes and tomato juice that make me want to hurl.  I like tomato sauce, ketchup, thinly sliced tomatoes on a pizza, stewed tomatoes if there's enough butter and sugar.  I'm even okay with tomato soup, although I'd never seek it out.  But raw tomatoes?

I had a boyfriend who grew up Amish, and the idea of not liking a food was completely alien to him--they ate whatever they had and he took that into adulthood.  So one day back when fern bars and chef salads were popular, I was at one eating one, and there was a cherry tomato so I decided to quit being a baby and I popped it in my mouth and it was the most revolting experience I could imagine and I've never forgotten it.

I even use the corner of a paper napkin to pick off the seeds when restaurants put tomatoes on my sandwich and then realize I ordered it without tomatoes, so they just take them off, leaving the gooey remnants.  (Peeve!!!)  The corner of a napkin is particularly useful when dealing with crevices in chicken salad.

I also have unfavorable memories of air travel, because the person next to me would invariably get tomato juice and drink it all but it's still smeared all over the inside of the glass, and they'd always put it on the side of their tray table closest to me.  That stuff stinks.

[TurtlePower]

This morning's peeve: Drama Queens who over use the word "pain", specifically in reference to athletic training. As a lifelong runner, the recent trend towards the dramatic makes my eyes roll. They mean "discomfort", right? Here's the difference: 

Discomfort: Common during training and should be expected. This includes burning lungs, burning muscles, muscle failure, nausea, occasional vomiting, lightheadedness, blisters, burning sweat in the eyes, etc. 

Pain: Something in your body is being injured. Includes sprains, fractures and other trauma/medical issues. Pain means you should stop what you're doing so you don't sideline yourself. 

Please know the difference. No more memes of how "painful" your last race was unless you were actually injured.

[DeLurker]

1 hour ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

It's only raw tomatoes and tomato juice that make me want to hurl. 

Make room for me at this table.  Cooked is fine, although probably not stewed tomatoes.  I can't get past the icky texture of raw tomato so don't know if it is a taste.  Occasionally if I am having a burger or sub with lots of fixings, I can tolerate a tomato slice if it is buried in the middle.  Since I am eating a lot more vegetables these days, I don't even pretend to try though.

[Hanahope]

56 minutes ago, TurtlePower said:

Pain: Something in your body is being injured. Includes sprains, fractures and other trauma/medical issues. Pain means you should stop what you're doing so you don't sideline yourself.

I don't think that "pain" only means an injury. I feel pain in my right hip due to arthritis when I try to move my leg in certain ways.

[ennui]

12 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

I had birds that year after year would build their nest out of mud, mostly, in my porch.  It was sweet the first year. ... And the poop.  So much poop. 

This. I think they're swallows (not sure), but they've built a mud nest in the eves of a two-story building. I want so desperately to remove it before they come back next year, because their poop is all over the patio.

2 hours ago, TurtlePower said:

No more memes of how "painful" your last race was unless you were actually injured.

How about:

[Guest]

People who tune their cars or motorcycles to be noise polluters to show off their "powerful" engines.

I use my lunch hour to take a break from annoying shit. 

Do you think they would still do that if they truly understood the percentage of people that hear their car and wonder how small the part of their anatomy they are compensating for is?

[rcc]

1 minute ago, ParadoxLost said:

People who tune their cars or motorcycles to be noise polluters to show off their "powerful" engines.

I use my lunch hour to take a break from annoying shit. 

Do you think they would still do that if they truly understood the percentage of people that hear their car and wonder how small the part of their anatomy they are compensating for is?

That is such a coincidence that you mention this. The neighbor last week put in a dual exhaust package on his truck and it is as loud as a Harley. Yesterday across the street someone visited on his Harley and the truck owner neighbor complained that it was so loud that it woke up the baby. Pot calling the kettle black I told my other neighbor who told me what he said. Unbelievable! He is a little runt of a man too. Compensating for something I wonder! lol

[BooksRule]

Quote

So one day back when fern bars and chef salads were popular, I was at one eating one, and there was a cherry tomato so I decided to quit being a baby and I popped it in my mouth and it was the most revolting experience I could imagine and I've never forgotten it.

I'm one of the people who loves tomatoes in all forms, raw and cooked.  I love the squish when you bite into a cherry (or grape) tomato.  (Sorry, I couldn't resist.  Although I do know that a bad--overripe--grape tomato is really, really--really bad.  I have to carefully check over them to weed out any too soft ones).  One of my favorite lunches in the summer is a tomato sandwich--sliced homegrown tomato, mayo on white bread. I do sympathize, though.  I feel that way about mushrooms--raw or cooked.  I don't cook with them myself, and if they are in a dish I'm served I will eat them if I can't pick them out or push them to one side without being too obvious.  One of my favorite dishes at a local Chinese buffet is their  Black Pepper Chicken, but they put mushrooms in it.  I always have to carefully maneuver the ladle around the mushrooms to just get the chicken and onions. 

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, ParadoxLost said:

People who tune their cars or motorcycles to be noise polluters to show off their "powerful" engines.

I use my lunch hour to take a break from annoying shit. 

Do you think they would still do that if they truly understood the percentage of people that hear their car and wonder how small the part of their anatomy they are compensating for is?

Once a week or so, some jackhole with a souped-up whatever drives past the building in which I work. I work on the 17th floor and we can hear his overcompensationmobile. I asked the guys one day what the appeal is to that, and none of them had an answer.

[DeLurker]

The guys who used to own those noisey muscle cars were teenage boys who souped up their cars and/or couldn't afford the proper replacement parts.

Now the owners are middle aged or older men who didn't have a cool muscle car in their teens.  

The boys who had those noisey beasts that I knew all drive sensible cars these days - maybe an SUV or truck.  They scoff at the noisey car drivers because they buy them that way or take the car to a mechanic, not by taking auto shop and working on the car in the driveway with friends.

[backformore]

My pet peeve - air conditioned offices where you can't control the temperature.

The place I work is small, it's in an office building where the owner of the building controls the thermostat.   Yes, we had a few hot days, so he set the air conditioning on. THen the weather changed, and it's been cool most days.    I swear, the temperature in my work space  is 60 degrees at the most.  Every client who comes in comments on how cold the office is.  It's come to the point that we have space heaters to keep the offices warm enough.   The craziness of working in an office where a space heater is blowing hot air from the floor while the ceiling vent is spewing cold air from above!  

[BookWoman56]

7 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I feel that way about mushrooms--raw or cooked.  I don't cook with them myself, and if they are in a dish I'm served I will eat them if I can't pick them out or push them to one side without being too obvious.  One of my favorite dishes at a local Chinese buffet is their  Black Pepper Chicken, but they put mushrooms in it.  I always have to carefully maneuver the ladle around the mushrooms to just get the chicken and onions. 

I will cook with mushrooms because I like the flavor they add, but I can't stand eating them unless they are diced very fine and mixed with something, like a small amount of diced mushrooms on a salad. Anything larger than that, though, I can't stand the texture and although the taste isn't horrible, it's nothing appealing either. My objection to tofu is that for me, it has the same texture as mushrooms, except slightly mushier, and no taste.  With tomatoes, i am okay with a slice of raw tomato on a sandwich, and I like cherry tomatoes on a salad. I also like tomato juice, with a splash of lemon juice, but one way I know I am getting sick is that I will crave tomato juice. I have no idea why, but it happens on a fairly regular basis.

[Quof]

Quote

They watched it scamper away and then...a bird swooped down and picked it up. 

Circle of Life, baby.   Who are we to interfere?

[TurtlePower]

20 hours ago, Hanahope said:

I don't think that "pain" only means an injury. I feel pain in my right hip due to arthritis when I try to move my leg in certain ways.

 I'd say it's a chronic condition then; pre-existing conditions count as pain (I did mention medical problems in the initial peeve). 

[JTMacc99]

8 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

eta My middle son's girlfriend caught a baby mouse in the office (after leaving a cute trail of cracker pieces leading outside of the office part, into the shop part) and got the son to put it outside instead of killing it. They watched it scamper away and then...a bird swooped down and picked it up. 

About five years ago, we set up one of those caterpillar -> butterfly things in our house for the kids to watch the process. On the release day, we brought the thing into the back yard and stood on the porch and opened up the top. The first butterfly weakly fluttered into the yard, just getting the feel for flying. It drifted towards Danny (big hairy yellow labrador) who proceeded to eat it. The kids still talk about it. 

Danny went back inside for the release of the next nine butterflies. 

Edited May 24, 2017 by JTMacc99

[Hanahope]

23 hours ago, MrSmith said:

Also, my mother is the opposite of you: She tries to guilt my father, my wife, and me into sharing dessert with her. I hate that she does that, too. I'm always thinking: If I want a dessert, I'll order one.

I admit to sometimes asking my kids for a bite of their dessert.  I'd like to have a taste, but I don't want/shouldn't eat an entire dessert for my health/weight.  But having the one bite satisfies the craving.

[partofme]

6 hours ago, backformore said:

My pet peeve - air conditioned offices where you can't control the temperature.

The place I work is small, it's in an office building where the owner of the building controls the thermostat.   Yes, we had a few hot days, so he set the air conditioning on. THen the weather changed, and it's been cool most days.    I swear, the temperature in my work space  is 60 degrees at the most.  Every client who comes in comments on how cold the office is.  It's come to the point that we have space heaters to keep the offices warm enough.   The craziness of working in an office where a space heater is blowing hot air from the floor while the ceiling vent is spewing cold air from above!  

At least they let you use space heaters.  My office confiscated all of our space heaters and told us that they would fine us if they caught us using one.  Meanwhile I have coworkers who have 2 fans on their desks.  Ugh.

[JTMacc99]

Space heaters cause problems with the electric draw in office buildings. They tend to quickly overload circuits. We weren't allowed to have them in our old building, but I had one that was also a fan. Next office over my friend had one that was just a space heater. She frequently used hers. One day it was ridiculously cold so I turned mine on as well. Ten minutes later POOF, no power. Oops. 

As for the dessert topic, I think it boils down to how people go about their behavior at the table. Which is pretty much the common denominator in this entire thread. And the solution is, sadly, to put people in their place about what they can and can't do to me. It sucks that people make us do that, but they do.

By the way, I have no problem with people who don't want to eat an entire dessert in a restaurant but would eat a smaller portion of one given the chance. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. They just need to find people to come along willingly with the plan.

[annzeepark914]

One more bird story but this is unreal.  Several years ago while visiting my sister in NC, we went out to her front porch to have a cup of coffee & watch the sun set.  The swallow "couple" who had set up housekeeping in a corner of the porch ceiling promptly flew away.  My sister said she didn't know how she was going to get rid of them.   So we began to enjoy our coffee & the sunset & chitchat.  All of a sudden a swarm of swallows, flying in formation, approached the porch. They were headed right toward us.  We took off and ran into the house.  I couldn't believe it.  Those resident swallows went out and recruited a posse to come back and threaten us (or attack if we didn't leave).  

[MrSmith]

16 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

People who tune their cars or motorcycles to be noise polluters to show off their "powerful" engines.

I use my lunch hour to take a break from annoying shit. 

Do you think they would still do that if they truly understood the percentage of people that hear their car and wonder how small the part of their anatomy they are compensating for is?

What would make them change is for them to realize just how uncool it makes everyone around them perceive them to be. They're doing it because they think they're cooler than everyone else. At least, that's been my experience with people who make those modifications. When I had my 89 Camaro RS, I would get complaints from two particular women who would claim that I was racing in and out of the parking lot. The Camaro had a supercharger on it and, even though the exhaust was not modified to be intentionally loud, the exhaust was on the louder side because it had been replaced with true dual exhaust (one pipe, catalytic converter, and muffler for each of the exhaust manifolds). The police would come and talk to me about it. I would point out that:

1. I don't drive my car like that.
2. The speed bumps in the parking lot and the driveway apron preclude me from racing through the parking lot, unless I'm willing to tear up my suspension, exhaust, and undercarriage. (There was a pretty good dip where the driveway apron intersected the street. I would have ripped up my front bumper racing in and out of the parking lot.)
3. The lady can't tell the difference between a Corvette and a Camaro. So, why would they think she's right about any of the rest of her complaint? (I owned both a 1978 Corvette and the Camaro at the time. The Corvette was a project and wasn't driven.)

When I wanted to drive the car fast, I'd take it to the track. (It had street/strip radials on the back.) If I just wanted to accelerate hard, there was a freeway on-ramp that was long, straight, and perfect for putting my foot in the carb until I reached the speed limit. I have only ever once street raced and that was when I was 19 and owned a 1957 Chevrolet 150 Sedan. After that, I realized how wrong everything could have gone even though it was 2:30 in the morning and nobody was on the road.

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Those resident swallows went out and recruited a posse to come back and threaten us

I definitely didn't expect to hear the word "posse" today, but now that I did, I'm glad it was in this way. Heh.

[DeLurker]

3 hours ago, Hanahope said:

I admit to sometimes asking my kids for a bite of their dessert.

My children have to pay what is known as the Fry Tax because they have to give me a few of their orders.  I could apply it to dessert, but we rarely get that when out for a meal.  We'll go out for dessert separately (after eating dinner at home), but if we've already ordered dinner out it usually makes my wallet shrivel too much and often we really are too full to enjoy it.

[KungFuBunny]

3 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Space heaters cause problems with the electric draw in office buildings. They tend to quickly overload circuits. We weren't allowed to have them in our old building, but I had one that was also a fan. Next office over my friend had one that was just a space heater. She frequently used hers. One day it was ridiculously cold so I turned mine on as well. Ten minutes later POOF, no power. Oops. 

As for the dessert topic, I think it boils down to how people go about their behavior at the table. Which is pretty much the common denominator in this entire thread. And the solution is, sadly, to put people in their place about what they can and can't do to me. It sucks that people make us do that, but they do.

By the way, I have no problem with people who don't want to eat an entire dessert in a restaurant but would eat a smaller portion of one given the chance. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. They just need to find people to come along willingly with the plan.

Our office used to allow space heaters. They got banned because several people forgot to turn them off before leaving work causing fires.

[MrSmith]

My peeve for today: Dealing with Sprint. We have them for our mobile phone service and they regularly fuck up the bill. Last year in March, my sister-in-law upgraded her phone and we added a line for my mother-in-law. There was a BOGO deal on and my mother-in-law's phone was supposed to be free. It took them almost 6 months to get it right. Now, my sister-in-law and my wife upgraded their phones. Even though I was finally getting the credit for my mother-in-law's phone, I just found out they fucked it up still and attached that to my sister-in-law's line instead of my mother-in-law's line. So, now that my sister-in-law upgraded her phone, they removed the credit for my mother-in-law's line. However, it took me four hours and dealing with five different people before I could finally get that information. And now that I've typed all this, I'm pissed off about it all over again and am back on the phone with Sprint.

[Blergh]

Mr. Smith, Do you ever wonder if perhaps they make all these 'friends and family' circle plans so complicated to try to get us  to be nostalgic for the days of ONE flat rate for local calls and paying extra for any long distance calls? Somehow it seemed simpler to set that up and I'm wondering for those of us who very rarely make long distance calls if it isn't cheaper in the longrun.

 Oh well. I'm so tired of having to deal with phones and phone calls in general that if I live to retire and my mother is no longer in this world, that will be the END of my having phone service! That's my goal!

[MrSmith]

7 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Mr. Smith, Do you ever wonder if perhaps they make all these 'friends and family' circle plans so complicated to try to get us  to be nostalgic for the days of ONE flat rate for local calls and paying extra for any long distance calls? Somehow it seemed simpler to set that up and I'm wondering for those of us who very rarely make long distance calls if it isn't cheaper in the longrun.

 Oh well. I'm so tired of having to deal with phones and phone calls in general that if I live to retire and my mother is no longer in this world, that will be the END of my having phone service! That's my goal!

Oh, yes. They make them complicated so they can extract more cash from us.

I wish I could get rid of my phone now, to be honest. I worked in a call center for 10 years (10 and 1/2, to be exact) and have long loathed talking on the phone. My parents have never been able to understand how vile talking on the phone is for me. And having to do it for four hours, to deal with something this stupid and easy to fix, makes it all the worse. That said, I'm going to investigate the costs of switching to Verizon.

[Qoass]

I can't wait for the workday to be over because my pants are uncomfortably tight. They fit fine last week so I guess I've been hitting the candy a little too hard. I hate when I get dressed for work and then discover once I'm there that there's something wrong with what I'm wearing: too tight, too itchy, a spot I hadn't noticed...

[ennui]

14 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

I am odd, I like the sound of loud vehicles. 

Not odd. I love powerful engines, too. I dated a guy because I liked his car.  ;)

4 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Those resident swallows went out and recruited a posse 

Birds are smart. I listen to the crows  every  morning, having their conference call about where to go and what to do for the day.

Edited May 24, 2017 by ennui

[bilgistic]

8 hours ago, KungFuBunny said:

Our office used to allow space heaters. They got banned because several people forgot to turn them off before leaving work causing fires.

We aren't allowed to have a toaster/toaster oven in our office. We have two microwaves, and I can assure you that you can start fires in a microwave. What doesn't make sense to me is that there are five restaurants in the building that have grills/ovens/cooktops to heat food, so I'm not sure why we can't have a toaster.

Of course, if we did, no one would ever clean it and there would be crumbs, various seeds, butter and jelly everywhere.

[backformore]

15 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Space heaters cause problems with the electric draw in office buildings. They tend to quickly overload circuits. We weren't allowed to have them in our old building, but I had one that was also a fan. Next office over my friend had one that was just a space heater. She frequently used hers. One day it was ridiculously cold so I turned mine on as well. Ten minutes later POOF, no power. Oops. 

Yeah, and my biggest beef about it is the tremendous waste of electricity, when I'm using the an electric space heater in the summer to counteract the (powered by electricity) air conditioning.  The problem would not exist if the people in the office down the hall, who control the thermostat, could just keep the building at a reasonable temperature.

[Qoass]

As a former office manager I can categorically state that if more than one person's opinion is in play, there is no such thing as a reasonable temperature.

[TattleTeeny]

I have my space heater on right now at work. Some of you may remember my previous saga (last year?) of aggressive office AC, resulting in cracked face skin followed by a half-dozen dermatologist visits and tons of antibiotics, not to mention the wearing of hoods, scarves, and gloves (good luck with the typing!). I have a different desk now, and someone has since corrected the overhead vents, so now--thank goodness--I am just regular "office-building cold" as opposed to sitting in a frozen wind tunnel (man, I hated feeling my hair blow around while I tried to work!). 

My peeve today (and often) is my neighbors' weed habit. I woke up this morning with a nasty headache and my living room smelled like a party. Had the latter been true, I'd have understood my headache...and maybe had some entertaining half-memories of a fun night. But no, it's my rude-as-fuck stoner neighbors, who share a wall (and possible ducts) with me and who won't smoke on their balcony or at least buy a decent fan (but what can I expect of people who let their dog bark endlessly without seeming to care that he's unhappy for some reason?). And if I have a headache, do my two cats have headaches too? I am actually praying that I'm wrong this time and it was a skunk? (If that's the case, then good thing I didn't leave the note I had in mind, haha! It was gonna have profanity).

Edited May 25, 2017 by TattleTeeny

[MrSmith]

@TattleTeeny Can you phone in an anonymous tip about your neighbors' weed habit? At the very least, you should be able to complain to the building manager (or even the landlord, if you rent). Seems pretty clear their ducting and your ducting connect because I can't imagine how else that much second-hand smoke could get into your place.

An update on my Sprint saga from yesterday. I ended up talking to someone from Sprint yesterday (either on the phone or online) for 8 hours. If I hadn't been working from home, I would not have had that kind of time to devote to it. And if you guessed that nothing got resolved in spite of all that time invested, then you would be right. I took the time to tweet at Sprint's CEO this morning since there's no other way to get in touch with anyone in a position to really, actually help me. And I'm in discussions with Verizon Wireless to learn about what packages and deals they offer. Maybe I can get switched without having to wait a year for the leases on my wife's and her sister's phones to be completed. Of course, I still have to get buy-in for this plan from my wife, at the very least. *sigh*

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

As a former office manager I can categorically state that if more than one person's opinion is in play, there is no such thing as a reasonable temperature.

I keep a light jacket at my desk to wear when I get cold at work. This means my body temperature ends up kind of cycling over the course of the day: a little too warm, then comfortable, then cold, then comfortable, then a little too warm. Rinse and repeat as needed until I can leave and go home. C'est la vie!