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

[Random Noise]

10 minutes ago, PRgal said:

I saw a humongous, inflatable Darth Vader once.  But that was Halloween.  And Darth Vader is good for Halloween.  

If you put a red suit on it, it could be Santa turned to the dark side.

[Kelly]

11 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

Which leads in nicely to my pet peeve - devices.  When a phone becomes a permanent extension of your hand, umbilical cord, and virtual pacifier - you may be missing out on real life.

Definitely. I find it so strange that so many people feel the need to talk on their cellphone so much...and "social media"? Dont get me started. ?

[JTMacc99]

12 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

you may be missing out on real life.

Real life sucks.

[walnutqueen]

36 minutes ago, Kelly said:

Definitely. I find it so strange that so many people feel the need to talk on their cellphone so much...and "social media"? Dont get me started. ?

Ah, I've found a kindred spirit, or so it seems.  This old dinosaur has never owned a cell phone; posting here (and on TWoP previously) is as close as I've ever been to any sort of "social media".  I'd still be writing looooong letters - in cursive - if my hands weren't so effed up.  I still send cards by snail mail, and communicate via telephone, email and PMs here.  The world is most welcome to pass me by, if that's what they think they're doing with their ears or eyes glued to their phones.

 

Just now, JTMacc99 said:

Real life sucks.

Of course it does - it's SUPPOSED to.  You'd never know what happiness felt like if you didn't also know sorrow and "the suck".  :-)

[theredhead77]

12 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

Real life sucks.

[Qoass]

Quote

Talking about this as the Christmas season is like saying the Easter season starts on Ash Wednesday.

Easter doesn't start on Ash Wednesday. If you've ever been in a store, it obviously starts the day after Valentine's Day.

[JTMacc99]

Yes, if I ever want to know what holiday is coming up next, I just need to walk into CVS and check out the color of the Hershey Kisses on the end cap display. 

 

I will say one positive thing about the passing of holidays and the immediate move into the next one: The days after Valentines Day, Easter and so on is the BEST time to hit the Gertrude Hawk store at the mall. Prices on heart-shaped Smidgens plummet very nicely on February 15th. 

[Qoass]

Whoa, had to Google that. Those look yummy.

I just hit my local supermarket for the half price Hershey.

[DeLurker]

Me too.  I feel cheated that I never knew they existed and now must find out if I can acquire some.

2 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Real life sucks.

One of the few truisms I have accidentally spewed:  Sometimes wanting is better than having.

The other was One man's trash is another man's garbage.

[DeLurker]

House Security Systems - the house I bought had a security system already installed.  Unlike my prior house, all the sensors worked off wifi - the last house was all hard wired.  Regardless, I don't use it because if wifi goes down, it will be useless and I rely on locked doors and a large dog with a big bark.

The system has a battery back-up and the control panel/keypad starts to beep when the battery back-up gets low.  No one knows where the battery back-up is located!  I've checked every room, closet and cubby to find it.  The last resort is in the attic which isn't easy to access without help, and for me impossible to access.  I'll have my son and nephew tag team the attic this weekend to see if they can find it.  In the meantime, we will live with a random beeping (the override code sometimes works for 20 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours and sometimes 24.

[Kelly]

3 hours ago, Qoass said:

Easter doesn't start on Ash Wednesday. If you've ever been in a store, it obviously starts the day after Valentine's Day.

LMAO!

4 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

Ah, I've found a kindred spirit, or so it seems.  This old dinosaur has never owned a cell phone; posting here (and on TWoP previously) is as close as I've ever been to any sort of "social media".  I'd still be writing looooong letters - in cursive - if my hands weren't so effed up.  I still send cards by snail mail, and communicate via telephone, email and PMs here.  The world is most welcome to pass me by, if that's what they think they're doing with their ears or eyes glued to their phones.

Yes!  Welcome to the fold!  Or thanks for welcoming me! :)  

I do have a cell phone...necessary for work (have a personal one as well), but I do NOT talk on the phone in public.  I don't know how I manage, but I do.  There hasn't yet been a call that needed IMMEDIATE ANSWERING MUST TALK WHILE I AM IN LINE AT TARGET situation (for work or personal).  Perhaps I'm the exception, but judging by all the conversations I hear around me on a daily basis, 99.9% of the people are not cardiologists giving instructions to the transplant team.

Edited November 30, 2017 by Kelly

[walnutqueen]

6 minutes ago, Kelly said:

Perhaps I'm the exception, but judging by all the conversations I hear around me on a daily basis, 99.9% of the people are not cardiologists giving instructions to the transplant team.

Too, too funny!!!

I watch a lot of TV, and people often comment how ridiculous the thought of anyone yelling "Call 911" is in the age of everyone & their dog has a cellphone.  I'd be the lone Good Samaritan, yelling loudly for someone, anyone, to call 911, while I tried to render assistance.  :-)

[Mindthinkr]

32 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

House Security Systems - the house I bought had a security system already installed.  Unlike my prior house, all the sensors worked off wifi - the last house was all hard wired.  Regardless, I don't use it because if wifi goes down, it will be useless and I rely on locked doors and a large dog with a big bark.

The system has a battery back-up and the control panel/keypad starts to beep when the battery back-up gets low.  No one knows where the battery back-up is located!  I've checked every room, closet and cubby to find it.  The last resort is in the attic which isn't easy to access without help, and for me impossible to access.  I'll have my son and nephew tag team the attic this weekend to see if they can find it.  In the meantime, we will live with a random beeping (the override code sometimes works for 20 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours and sometimes 24.

What about calling the home security company and asking them where the battery is? It might save you from having to listen to the beeping and your son and nephew from having to scour the attic. 

[Bastet]

51 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

I watch a lot of TV, and people often comment how ridiculous the thought of anyone yelling "Call 911" is in the age of everyone & their dog has a cellphone. 

Which they'd use to record the poor bastard's peril, so they can immediately update their Facebook status to "Ugh, trying to get my no-foam, half-caff, pumpkin spice soy latte, and some guy is totes dying in my way," rather than to call someone to help him.

Edited November 30, 2017 by Bastet

[backformore]

My holiday pet peeve is the "ugly Christmas sweater"  craze.  

Yes, there was a time when people bought and wore sweaters with Christmas designs. some were beautiful, most were overdone on purpose, to be festive, and a decade later were considered tacky.  Got it. Those sweaters had reindeer, snowmen, trees, santa - traditional  Christmas stuff, and yes, often overdone to the point of deserving to be called ugly. 

Then came the thing where Christmas sweater were worn "ironically" by young people who raided their parents closets or Goodwill/Salvation Army thrift stores, and had "ugly sweater" holiday parties.  Fine. the message was "Can you believe people used to think this was cool?"  OK - fun times, make fun of past fashions. 

But now, "ugly Sweaters" have become a new market, where sweaters are purposely ugly, tack, loud, gross things that people are buying for each other and wearing.  Not thrift-store used stuff from the 80's, but new stuff designed to be uglier and more over-the-top than the originals.    I'm especially peeved, for example, by the line of $89 sweaters put out by Whoopi  Goldberg with fart jokes and santa twerking.

Who is going to spend that much money to wear a "joke" sweater to a Christmas party? 

[JTMacc99]

2 hours ago, DeLurker said:

Sometimes wanting is better than having.

You bet it is.

Unless we're talking about bundles of cash. I think I'd be better off having than wanting in that situation.

[peacheslatour]

“After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true.” -

[backformore]

9 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

“After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true.” -

Thank you, Spock!

[bilgistic]

I had an alarm system at my old condo. When the power was out for a while, the damned battery backup would beep and beep and beep, and would inevitably start in the middle of the night. I always had to unhook the battery or I would go mad.

Re: ugly Christmas sweaters... there was a hipster ugly sweater company, Tipsy Elves, that went on Shark Tank and did a deal with Robert Herjavec. They have been doing gangbusters ever since. I do not get it, but then I'm not one to wear such things. My Christmas wardrobe is the same is my summer wardrobe is the same as my spring and fall wardrobe: black clothing.

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, walnutqueen said:

Too, too funny!!!

I watch a lot of TV, and people often comment how ridiculous the thought of anyone yelling "Call 911" is in the age of everyone & their dog has a cellphone.  I'd be the lone Good Samaritan, yelling loudly for someone, anyone, to call 911, while I tried to render assistance.  :-)

Never yell for "someone" to call 911. Always point to a person and say "you, call 911" otherwise the bystander effect will continue.

[walnutqueen]

10 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

Never yell for "someone" to call 911. Always point to a person and say "you, call 911" otherwise the bystander effect will continue.

Good advice.  If I'm ever in that situation, I shall choose a bystander who appears to have an IQ higher than two digits.  (Then I'll point to some other unsuspecting soul & tell them to get me a Bic pen, sharp knife, and alcohol, STAT - just to see if they shit themselves!).   :-)

[DeLurker]

2 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

What about calling the home security company and asking them where the battery is? It might save you from having to listen to the beeping and your son and nephew from having to scour the attic. 

Don't know who did the installation.  The keypad unit is DSC which I believe is used by multiple companies.

 

2 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Unless we're talking about bundles of cash. I think I'd be better off having than wanting in that situation.

Until you have all your family, friends, fellow posters,...suddenly needing a loan. 

 

Retail Peeve:  Just went to Best Buy to pick up a tablet I ordered online for my daughter's Christmas present.  While wondering around the store, I was constantly asked "Do you need some help?" by the approximate 1,000 floor help.  I couldn't pay for the dvd I picked up in a sale bin at the Customer Pick-up register (who did not ask to see any form of id at all when I picked up the tablet), so had to go wait in the line at the sale counter.  Where they had 1 person working.  Despite there being a steady stream of customers.  I would have bailed, but I had found my favorite Thanksgiving movie, Home for the Holidays, on sale for $3.99.

Edited November 30, 2017 by DeLurker

[Bastet]

9 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

I would have bailed, but I had found my favorite Thanksgiving movie, Home for the Holidays, on sale for $3.99.

I'll bring the popcorn; what time should I be there?

Hmm, Best Buy is in the same shopping center as Target and I need to go there ... off to order online for store pick-up.  Thanks for the tip!

[DeLurker]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

I'll bring the popcorn; what time should I be there?

Hmm, Best Buy is in the same shopping center as Target and I need to go there ... off to order online for store pick-up.  Thanks for the tip!

We can plan a movie date and watch it at the same time!

[Random Noise]

4 hours ago, DeLurker said:

House Security Systems - the house I bought had a security system already installed.  Unlike my prior house, all the sensors worked off wifi - the last house was all hard wired.  Regardless, I don't use it because if wifi goes down, it will be useless and I rely on locked doors and a large dog with a big bark.

The system has a battery back-up and the control panel/keypad starts to beep when the battery back-up gets low.  No one knows where the battery back-up is located!  I've checked every room, closet and cubby to find it.  The last resort is in the attic which isn't easy to access without help, and for me impossible to access.  I'll have my son and nephew tag team the attic this weekend to see if they can find it.  In the meantime, we will live with a random beeping (the override code sometimes works for 20 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours and sometimes 24.

I had to replace the battery on the security system for my relatives restaurant about three months ago.

The master control box should be by your electrical panel where the power and phone lines come in. You might have to unscrew the front cover but the battery is inside the control box. It's about 6 inches long and 4 inches high, though there are various sizes.

The bonus is the battery unplugs very easily and you can take it with you for getting a replacement. I got a discount on the replacement battery for giving them the old one for refurbishing.

Edited November 30, 2017 by Random Noise

[peacheslatour]

31 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I'll bring the popcorn; what time should I be there?

Hmm, Best Buy is in the same shopping center as Target and I need to go there ... off to order online for store pick-up.  Thanks for the tip!

I'll bring the Raisinettes.

[walnutqueen]

My "home security system" (besides my watch cat, who alerts to the mailman 6 days a week, and freaks if someone even approaches my driveway), is recyclable soda cans - formerly in bags by the side of the house - now strewn conveniently by the critters amongst the overgrown jasmine vines.  Woe & betide anyone who tries to navigate that deathtrap without turning an ankle AND making a LOT more noise than a bunch of baby raccoons scurrying for the cat food bowls!  ;-)

I pity the poor would-be perp who sets foot in this little circle of hell for humans, heaven for critters.  Machete at the ready (just in case Keith Morrison has designs upon my times).  

[StatisticalOutlier]

5 hours ago, Kelly said:

Perhaps I'm the exception, but judging by all the conversations I hear around me on a daily basis, 99.9% of the people are not cardiologists giving instructions to the transplant team.

Back when cell phones first became prevalent, Paula Poundstone said she didn't understand the need because she hadn't noticed long lines of people at pay phones.

I hate texting, but if it keeps people from yammering out loud, then it's a win for me.  The other day on the bus, it was a nice quiet ride until ONE woman got on talking on her phone, and even though she was way in the back, every single person on there could (actually, had to) hear it.  One vs. 40, and she won. 

On the way back, I sat one seat over from a high school kid who was talking on his phone, but I didn't even realize it until I saw him doing it.  And he talked for a minute and got off, so even if I could hear it, it probably wouldn't have made me want to strangle him. 

And I just cannot stand people who have these stupid killing-time conversations while walking around stores.  They aren't actually shopping; the store is just a location for them to have their conversation and touch a bunch of shit as they walk around. 

[Angeltoes]

Quote

Who is going to spend that much money to wear a "joke" sweater to a Christmas party? 

People throw money around like confetti at this time of year for no better reason than "oh, what the hell, it's Christmas."  Which is exactly what I was thinking the other day when I spent $4 on a peppermint chocolate chip milkshake at Chick-fil-A even though I'm trying to cut back on sugar intake.

[backformore]

Just today at Target, I kept crossing paths with a woman who was talking VERY loudly, seemingly to herself.  Later I saw that she had a Bluetooth headset hanging around her neck. I wonder if people realize that they look psychotic, walking around talking loudly to nobody.

Quote

People throw money around like confetti at this time of year for no better reason than "oh, what the hell, it's Christmas."  Which is exactly what I was thinking the other day when I spent $4 on a peppermint chocolate chip milkshake at Chick-fil-A even though I'm trying to cut back on sugar intake.

Sure. I use that excuse to rationalize buying myself a Yankee candle or two, that I really don't NEED, but the Sparkling Snow scent puts me in the Christmas frame of mind.  But an $89 ugly sweater? Nope. If I spend that much on a sweater, it better not be ugly!

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, walnutqueen said:

My "home security system" (besides my watch cat, who alerts to the mailman 6 days a week, and freaks if someone even approaches my driveway), is recyclable soda cans - formerly in bags by the side of the house - now strewn conveniently by the critters amongst the overgrown jasmine vines.  Woe & betide anyone who tries to navigate that deathtrap without turning an ankle AND making a LOT more noise than a bunch of baby raccoons scurrying for the cat food bowls!  ;-)

I pity the poor would-be perp who sets foot in this little circle of hell for humans, heaven for critters.  Machete at the ready (just in case Keith Morrison has designs upon my times).  

That's like our back door security. We have a combo laundry/gardening supply room. There is an ironing board up against the door piled high with Costco boxes and gardening tools. I pity the burglar who tries to get in quietly. And no, I don't buy clothes that need to be ironed any more.

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

That's like our back door security. We have a combo laundry/gardening supply room. There is an ironing board up against the door piled high with Costco boxes and gardening tools. I pity the burglar who tries to get in quietly. And no, I don't buy clothes that need to be ironed any more.

Applause.  My iron hasn't been used since 2012 - and then only because my Mum brought wrinkled stuff with her on her last visit.  I hang my hand-washed tees when they're damp & call it a day, eh!.

[bilgistic]

I haven't ironed in probably 20 years. If it needs ironing, it's too fancy for me.

[emma675]

I'm a weirdo who finds ironing soothing, so send it my way.

[partofme]

I've hated ironing since college, I couldn't iron anything without getting marks on my clothes.    My mom bought me a steamer, I will use that on occasion.

[walnutqueen]

7 minutes ago, emma675 said:

I'm a weirdo who finds ironing soothing, so send it my way.

I remember long evenings of ironing my stepdad's button down oxford shirts while watching our 1960s teevee - and having to cross the room to change the channel for him.  I suppose it was soothing, compared to the rest of the shitshow of my youth ...

[annzeepark914]

8 hours ago, DeLurker said:

The system has a battery back-up and the control panel/keypad starts to beep when the battery back-up gets low.  No one knows where the battery back-up is located!  I've checked every room, closet and cubby to find it.  The last resort is in the attic which isn't easy to access without help, and for me impossible to access.  I'll have my son and nephew tag team the attic this weekend to see if they can find it.  In the meantime, we will live with a random beeping (the override code sometimes works for 20 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours and sometimes 24.

Several years ago we had problems with our system & it wasn't beeps--it was the full blasting alarm.  It even brought the fire truck to the house.  The next night the thing went off again (of course Mr P914 was at a mtg that evening & I was alone). I called the security company and they gave me a vague description of where the battery was located.  I found it finally: in the basement's bathroom closet!  I tore that thing apart and finally had peace and quiet. The tech came the next day and fixed a faulty alarm that was setting everything off.  Geez...these things are great when they're working properly but when something goes wrong, my nerves can't take that noise.

[bubbls]

Count me in on no ironing. If fluffing in the dryer doesn't work it gets given away. 

My latest pet peeve is my neighbors parking on the street directly across from my driveway. They technically aren't blocking it, but it makes it aggravating to back out because I have to watch for their car and creep out slowly instead of just careening out at full speed like I normally do. There are half a dozen areas on the street they could choose, but my driveway area seems to be prime real estate. To further annoy me it's teenagers doing it. We call these neighbors The Sex Traffickers due to the constant activity. 

Edited December 1, 2017 by bubbls

[BookWoman56]

I also vote for no ironing at this point in my life. If I'm looking to buy an article of clothing, and the specific one I'm looking at requires ironing or dry cleaning, there's a 99% probability that's a purchase I will not make. Where I live, there's essentially no winter and no need for wool or other items that would require dry cleaning.

I do have to confess, though, that when I was much, much younger and attempting to be a housewife, I knew I had to go back to college and/or find a job when I realized one day that I was ironing towels. 

[bilgistic]

Hell no!

[Bastet]

5 minutes ago, BookWoman56 said:

I also vote for no ironing at this point in my life. If I'm looking to buy an article of clothing, and the specific one I'm looking at requires ironing or dry cleaning, there's a 99% probability that's a purchase I will not make.

The only things I will buy that require dry cleaning are suits; even my curtains are machine washable.  Ironing, I'm also resistant to - I have one set of curtains that require ironing (and I made them, so I have only myself to blame, but I only wash them once a year, so I can deal), and one or two blouses I can't steam the wrinkles out of yet love enough to keep in spite of that, but I might as well donate them along with the others that proved in need of ironing to look right, because I iron them so infrequently they're not worth keeping.  And I have one of those ironing boards that pops out of the wall (like the one that whacks Colonel Mustard on the head in Clue), so I don't even need to store a full-size board.  I just hate ironing that much.  I don't know why I hate dry cleaning so much, since it takes nothing out of me other than money, and there are options that aren't quite so awful environmentally, but I do.

[AgentRXS]

Quote

People throw money around like confetti at this time of year for no better reason than "oh, what the hell, it's Christmas."  Which is exactly what I was thinking the other day when I spent $4 on a peppermint chocolate chip milkshake at Chick-fil-A even though I'm trying to cut back on sugar intake.

This made me think of this meme.

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

2 hours ago, bubbls said:

My latest pet peeve is my neighbors parking on the street directly across from my driveway.

I have a friend whose across-the-street neighbor does that...with one of those giant Sprinter vans.  He uses it for his band, so it just sits there all week.  The thing is, my friend has two kids--one is a 17-year-old boy, and the other is a 15-year-old girl, who are both driving.  I wouldn't park my vehicle within 50 yards of anywhere they'd be backing out, much less right in the line of fire.

When I was 16, I hit a car that was parked across from the driveway of a friend of mine.  I was backing out and very carefully watching the mailbox at the front left corner so I wouldn't hit it as I turned, and BAM.  Forgot the car had two ends.

[walnutqueen]

My latest pet peeve is "people" who quote your post, change it (with strikeout, no less) and than claim:  "There, I fixed it for you."  No, you didn't.  

[theredhead77]

11 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I haven't ironed in probably 20 years. If it needs ironing, it's too fancy for me.

When I moved into my first or second apartment (without a roommate) my mom bought me an ironing board and ironing pad. I think I've used it twice in 2 decades. I can iron and I have an iron, I just don't. I should start though, it will make some of my clothes look nicer.

[DeLurker]

I iron only if there is a dire need.  I don't think I own anything that isn't all cotton, including the men's long sleeve button downs I am partial too since I was a teen, so technically I should be ironing.  If something looks really bad, I'll hang it in the bathroom when I shower and tell myself it will start to have creases even if I iron it and sit down, put on a jacket, etc...so why bother?  I also don't usually bother to tuck in my shirt.

[walnutqueen]

If you happen to forget something in the dryer, there's this stuff called Downy Wrinkle Release/Relaxer.  Spray & swipe.  I used the HELL out of those free samples.  ;-)

[AgentRXS]

Every day this past week I've woken up with a terrible sinus headache/pain on the right side of my face. Nothing makes me feel more refreshed in the morning than feeling like half of my head is swollen and going to explode.

On top of that, I didn't sleep well last night, and was woken up this morning by the sound of landscapers mowing my neighbor's yard. Yay.

[BookWoman56]

1 hour ago, AgentRXS said:

Every day this past week I've woken up with a terrible sinus headache/pain on the right side of my face. Nothing makes me feel more refreshed in the morning than feeling like half of my head is swollen and going to explode.

On top of that, I didn't sleep well last night, and was woken up this morning by the sound of landscapers mowing my neighbor's yard. Yay.

If the sinus headache/pain persists, go have it checked out. I am prone to sinus infections and so often ignore them, just treating the symptoms, but a few weeks ago I ended up in the ER after having severe dizziness, etc.. I could not stand up or walk straight and thought I was having a stroke, because I had a mini-stroke about a month or so prior to this.  The hospital did a CT scan of my head, and the ER doctor came around to report that my CT scan looked better than his, except for the major sinus infection that needed antibiotics. 

[bubbls]

12 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I have a friend whose across-the-street neighbor does that...with one of those giant Sprinter vans.  He uses it for his band, so it just sits there all week.  The thing is, my friend has two kids--one is a 17-year-old boy, and the other is a 15-year-old girl, who are both driving.  I wouldn't park my vehicle within 50 yards of anywhere they'd be backing out, much less right in the line of fire.

When I was 16, I hit a car that was parked across from the driveway of a friend of mine.  I was backing out and very carefully watching the mailbox at the front left corner so I wouldn't hit it as I turned, and BAM.  Forgot the car had two ends.

 

Yeah, it's especially difficult when I have to avoid the trash can and the vehicles. I've lost count of how many times I've almost hit their car. Idiots.