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

[BookWoman56]

3 hours ago, Qoass said:

That's why I object to telling my age. People have great opinions on the age-appropriateness of all kinds of things whereas I feel these opinions simply do not apply to me.

Too many people seem to feel that for everyone else, life consists of only two stages: (1) You're too young to do XYZ; and (2) You're too old to do XYZ.

Fuck that nonsense.

[Sun-Bun]

On 1/28/2018 at 6:42 PM, NutMeg said:

I've seen a few people (men and women both) play the game of "can you guess how old I am?", and everyone politely subtract many, many years to what they thought it was, and still coming only within a couple of years of the real age. Very cringeworthy to watch.

Oh God, I **loathe** the old "How old do you think I am?" game!!! My eyes instinctually roll back into my head and I'm already thinking that person is goddamned old because only older folks looking for cheap flattery pull that stupid shit. And most of us are way too polite to be honest and guess appropriately, so we just say a much lower age than the real one in our heads. It does sorta crack me up inside whenever that person just starts preening and cooing after I play into his/her obvious bullshit. Old folks don't need to be playing those games!

Unlike many women, I love admitting my age. I've proudly earned these 40+ years and their various effects on my body/mind, therefore it's truly a privilege to be of an advancing age, if you ask me. Most of us do get old, if we're lucky. And if you truly take care of yourself, you don't even have to resort to the stupid "How old do you think I am?" game to feel good about your age!

[backformore]

When people ask me how old I am, my answer is along the lines of, "Oh I am SO fuckin' old!" 

[Zola]

The "guess how old I am" game can work both ways I suppose.

Two or three years ago I met up with a friend I hadn't seen in years, and she tickled my vanity with all the usual pleasantries like "you're looking well!" and "you still have those same cute eyes." (at which point I was tempted to make some smart remark, but bit my tongue and stayed quiet). 

But then without prompting she said "It's been so long since we last met. You must be around 25, 26?" At which point my purring vanity disappeared down a black hole and my mind was full of murderous intentions!

 

I was only 22 :(

[Bastet]

@Zola, I do hope you'll save all these lamentations on your "advanced age" somewhere so that if the site disappears in the interim, when you hit 35 or so (if it takes nearly that long), you can have a good laugh at your young self fretting over being a slightly less version of young.

Humor aside, quite frankly there is something rather sad about a woman who has accomplished more at your age than have most of your contemporaries being so distraught at advancing into your mid-twenties.  I hope that 10 or 20 years down the road, you are indeed laughing at this mindset, rather than having perpetuated it all that time.

[Zola]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

@Zola, I do hope you'll save all these lamentations on your "advanced age" somewhere so that if the site disappears in the interim, when you hit 35 or so (if it takes nearly that long), you can have a good laugh at your young self fretting over being a slightly less version of young.

Humor aside, quite frankly there is something rather sad about a woman who has accomplished more at your age than have most of your contemporaries being so distraught at advancing into your mid-twenties.  I hope that 10 or 20 years down the road, you are indeed laughing at this mindset, rather than having perpetuated it all that time.

Thanks.  I do sometimes get myself into a twist about my age and how others perceive me (I guess being 5ft 10 and thin, probably adds a couple of years on me in terms of other people's perceptions).

I have tried to get off my arse and accomplish as many as my goals as possible over the years. Don't want to look back in anger/despair years from now and think "If only..."

Right now in fact its 6am here, and am doing some IT work for a client remotely (updating a VMware server with a couple of fix-packs), while enjoying the view here and listening to some Megadeth and Motorhead. 

Life is incredibly enriching

[walnutqueen]

OK, Z - I need to say this (to you and other "youngsters").  Your life expectancy, barring accidents or other early demises, is somewhere in your mid 80s.  Get the fuck used to growing older.  It is WAY better than dying young.  ;-)

[Wiendish Fitch]

I'm 35, will be 36 next month, and I feel fucking great. Call me old, call me "ma'am", call me whatever you want, because I've learned by observing everyone else that in 5 or 10 years, you're going to want to be the age you are now. You will. I've seen it happen way too many times. I remember my sister and brother-in-law whining about being in their mid-30s back in 2011, and in a Facebook memory post, one of them lamented, "look how young we are!" Funny, you weren't saying that then!

Edited January 30, 2018 by Wiendish Fitch

[DeLurker]

19 hours ago, Blergh said:

Don't feel too bad. Many times I feel like a teen time traveller from the late 1970's trying to pretend to be a middle aged adult in the late 2010's.

I had that same feeling when I realized my incredibly smart and accomplished SVP & EVP were talking to me with the clear impression that they thought  I knew what I was doing (true) and they respected my input.

 

7 hours ago, Zola said:

Thanks.  I do sometimes get myself into a twist about my age and how others perceive me (I guess being 5ft 10 and thin, probably adds a couple of years on me in terms of other people's perceptions).

I'm not going to even you because you are young (and still will be after the 6th), but I will be envious of your height.  I'm 2 inches shorter but I always wanted to he 5 ft 10.

[Wiendish Fitch]

8 hours ago, Sun-Bun said:

Oh God, I **loathe** the old "How old do you think I am?" game!!! My eyes instinctually roll back into my head and I'm already thinking that person is goddamned old because only older folks looking for cheap flattery pull that stupid shit. And most of us are way too polite to be honest and guess appropriately, so we just say a much lower age than the real one in our heads. It does sorta crack me up inside whenever that person just starts preening and cooing after I play into his/her obvious bullshit. Old folks don't need to be playing those games!

Unlike many women, I love admitting my age. I've proudly earned these 40+ years and their various effects on my body/mind, therefore it's truly a privilege to be of an advancing age, if you ask me. Most of us do get old, if we're lucky. And if you truly take care of yourself, you don't even have to resort to the stupid "How old do you think I am?" game to feel good about your age!

I live in the South, and older (properly older) women pull this shit all the damn time. I once held the door for this one lady, and did she just thank me or smile and nod like a civilized person? Nope, she had to say, "Age before beauty, huh?" Oh, I wanted to slam the door on her.

I think mincing, hedging, and being coy just makes you seem older. Either say it outright or just say "MYOB". 

My rule of thumb of guessing someone's age: mentally make an educated guess... and shave off 3 years out of common courtesy, 5-8 years if you like the person, and tack on 10 if you don't. >:)

[TattleTeeny]

On 1/27/2018 at 8:16 PM, ParadoxLost said:

You are wrong and I can prove it.  This morning I became annoyed with light switches.

I have a light that is controlled by two separate panels.  In a world that makes sense, when all the switches on the same panel are in the down position, the lights should be off.  This is not true in my world.  My world is a mad, mad place. One switch is always not like the others when the light is off.  So I get the bright idea of testing all combinations;

OFF + OFF = ON , OFF + ON = OFF, ON + ON = ON, and ON + OFF = OFF

But, wait... I have two other lights like this that work off two switches.  Let's see how they work...

OFF + OFF = OFF , OFF + ON = ON, ON + ON = OFF, and ON + ON = ON

OFF + OFF = ON , OFF + ON = OFF, ON + ON = ON, and ON + OFF = OFF

Yes, I wrote it down. I'm not ashamed.  OK, I am a wee bit embarrassed.

But wait...those evil electrical bastards.  They knew this would annoy someone some day.  The switches that control only one light have 'off' written in little tiny letter in the off direction.  But on the switches that control two lights on the same panel, no writing.  Diabolical.

I was having some kind of weird  procrastinating episode to avoid doing work on a Saturday morning that got a little lot out of hand. 

I think I am also paying way too much attention to how things work in my brand new kitchen.

I share this embarrassing story with you for the humor of it.  Don't judge me, please.  But know I take heart that at least one of you, even if you don't admit it, is going to go look at your light to see which way they work and if they have writing where off is off and omissions on the rest.

Ugh, switches! We've been in our condo for five years. There are are TWO switches in this place for god knows what--to this day, we have no idea! 

[walnutqueen]

45 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

I'm 35, will be 36 next month, and I feel fucking great. Call me old, call me "ma'am", call me whatever you want, because I've learned by observing everyone else that in 5 or 10 years, you're going to want to be the age you are now. You will. I've seen it happen way too many times

Nope.   Not even once in all my years have I ever wished to be younger (or young again).  Maybe you're hangin' out with the wrong older people?  ;-)

[walnutqueen]

46 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

9 hours ago, Sun-Bun said:

Oh God, I **loathe** the old "How old do you think I am?" game!!! My eyes instinctually roll back into my head and I'm already thinking that person is goddamned old because only older folks looking for cheap flattery pull that stupid shit. And most of us are way too polite to be honest and guess appropriately, so we just say a much lower age than the real one in our heads. It does sorta crack me up inside whenever that person just starts preening and cooing after I play into his/her obvious bullshit. Old folks don't need to be playing those games!

Unlike many women, I love admitting my age. I've proudly earned these 40+ years and their various effects on my body/mind, therefore it's truly a privilege to be of an advancing age, if you ask me. Most of us do get old, if we're lucky. And if you truly take care of yourself, you don't even have to resort to the stupid "How old do you think I am?" game to feel good about your age!

I live in the South, and older (properly older) women pull this shit all the damn time. I once held the door for this one lady, and did she just thank me or smile and nod like a civilized person? Nope, she had to say, "Age before beauty, huh?" Oh, I wanted to slam the door on her.

I hold the door for everyone, regardless of age or gender.  And I say "thank you" to everyone who holds the door for me.  WTF?!?  Surely, I can't be the only polite Canadian living in SoCal ... as a matter of fact, these so-called impolite Californians have been nothing but gracious and reciprocating in these types of social niceties.  Maybe "The South" is different?

[Qoass]

Can't remember who said it first (Dorothy Parker?) But the correct response to "Age before beauty" is "And pearls before swine".

[TattleTeeny]

For better or for worse, I look pretty young (I'll be 47 next month--47, you guys! College was, like, 10 years ago, no?!)--it's by no means anything I do "right," just genetics, judging by a bunch of my relatives' faces. Anyway, when people do the whole "OMG, I would never have guessed!" thing, I'm usually like, fine, whatever, thanks. But then?! Then I start thinking about that "thanks"--what am I thanking them for, exactly (other than being a polite adult)? Like what is someone supposed to look like at a given age? There's no set rule (and I'm leaving, say, substance abuse or past trauma or any outside force that can age a person prematurely out of this equation), and again, it's nothing I did so it's not an achievement (like that of a person who works out) and there's no cause for borderline congratulatory remarks! And, on the flip side, it is entirely likely that someone is saying I seem immature!

I'm probably overthinking what is likely a simple social nicety. But it's a weird one. 

[walnutqueen]

19 minutes ago, Qoass said:

Can't remember who said it first (Dorothy Parker?) But the correct response to "Age before beauty" is "And pearls before swine".

Both comments are rude, unless you are ribbing a very good friend.

The proper ladylike response to such nutfuckery is "suck my dick" (or "eat shit & die").  ;-)

[Katy M]

17 hours ago, BookWoman56 said:

Too many people seem to feel that for everyone else, life consists of only two stages: (1) You're too young to do XYZ; and (2) You're too old to do XYZ.

Fuck that nonsense.

That reminds me of the movie Man in the Moon. The dad told the mom that Dani was too old to be running around and something.  The mom said, used to be she was too young.  Now, she's too old. Must be she passed by just right without anyone noticing.

[auntlada]

I'll be 50 this year. I have a son who will be 7. I don't know if I look 50 because I no longer know what that looks like. Like me, I guess.

What I hate is when people say about my son, "He keeps you young, right?" No, he keeps me tired is what he keeps me.

And I can't tell you the number of times I've been asked if he's my grandson. Tip: Never ask if a child is someone's grandchild. It's probably best not to ask if it's their child, either. Some really young people have grandchildren. Some older people have really young children. You have a good chance of insulting someone unintentionally, and the whole I'm sorry conversation afterward is extra annoying. So just wait until the person says something about his or her child or grandchild.

[Blergh]

Yep, auntlada, if one thinks folks may be related but don't want to stick one's foot in too bad, ask if they're cousins and let THEM make the clarifications!  Learned that lesson when I mistook someone's son for for a granddaughter  . . .

[walnutqueen]

4 hours ago, Blergh said:

Yep, auntlada, if one thinks folks may be related but don't want to stick one's foot in too bad, ask if they're cousins and let THEM make the clarifications!  Learned that lesson when I mistook someone's son for for a granddaughter  . . .

I once went on a "date" with a young man who asked my age.  When I told him, he said: "That's the same age as my Mom!".  I told him: "You just cockblocked yourself, son".

[Zola]

1 minute ago, walnutqueen said:

I once went on a "date" with a young man who asked my age.  When I told him, he said: "That's the same age as my Mom!".  I told him: "You just cockblocked yourself, son".

I love this site - I learn something new every day!

[StatisticalOutlier]

17 hours ago, Sun-Bun said:

Oh God, I **loathe** the old "How old do you think I am?" game!!! My eyes instinctually roll back into my head and I'm already thinking that person is goddamned old because only older folks looking for cheap flattery pull that stupid shit. And most of us are way too polite to be honest and guess appropriately, so we just say a much lower age than the real one in our heads.

I now say something like "25" whenever anyone pulls that shit.  If they say, "No, really, how old do you think I am," I'll say, "Okay, 30?"  They've never pressed beyond that.

 

6 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

For better or for worse, I look pretty young (I'll be 47 next month--47, you guys! College was, like, 10 years ago, no?!)--it's by no means anything I do "right," just genetics, judging by a bunch of my relatives' faces. Anyway, when people do the whole "OMG, I would never have guessed!" thing, I'm usually like, fine, whatever, thanks. But then?! Then I start thinking about that "thanks"--what am I thanking them for, exactly (other than being a polite adult)? Like what is someone supposed to look like at a given age? There's no set rule (and I'm leaving, say, substance abuse or past trauma or any outside force that can age a person prematurely out of this equation), and again, it's nothing I did so it's not an achievement (like that of a person who works out) and there's no cause for borderline congratulatory remarks! And, on the flip side, it is entirely likely that someone is saying I seem immature!

I'm probably overthinking what is likely a simple social nicety. But it's a weird one. 

I've overthought this for years.  And I no longer say, "Thank you" because it just seems wrong.  I just say, "Yeah, I know," or "Believe it." 

Like everyone else on the planet, I look young for my age.  (They're also all excellent drivers.)  And it does get remarked on, but I'm quite sure that generally, it just has to do with genes, which I obviously can't take credit for.

It also no doubt helps that I never smoked, and never drank a lot, and wasn't ever a drug addict.  But those were just my basic lifestyle choices, and I don't think even that is something that deserves congratulations, especially in the "you look young" situation.  I also think it helps that I never had kids, and nobody congratulates people for that.

And then you add in the fact that, as you pointed out, trauma and hardships can really age a person, and I'm lucky that I haven't had to endure very much of that.  In private, I will attribute some of that "luck" to choices I made, but even then, the choices I was able to make probably had something to do with intelligence, and sometimes maturity, and not everybody has that raw material to work with.  Again, it's not something I feel I can or should take credit for.

Mr. Outlier has a car that attracts attention from certain car buffs.  I'm the main one who drives it, and people will come up and say, "Hey, I love your car."  And I would reflexively say, "Thank you."  But it's not like I built it or anything, and in fact, I didn't even buy it--he did.  So now I try to mumble something like, "You like seeing one out in the wild?"  I'm still working on that one.

But it doesn't stop there.  There are some things that I naturally do well, and it's awkward for me to accept compliments for them because they are just things that come easily to me for some reason.  It's not even like raw talent in tennis, and then a million hours spent practicing and getting really good, which would be an achievement.  It's just something I'm wired to do well.  Again, genes, for which I take no credit.

I've wondered what this sort of thing does to pretty people.  They're complimented for their entire lives on something they had nothing to do with, other than to not fall face-down in a fire.  That must mess with their minds.

 

On 1/27/2018 at 7:53 PM, ratgirlagogo said:

Not in my experience , from working in restaurants and in the one food coop I was in that sold meat.   They're stored in a supercold meat locker, then in a refrigerated truck, then they go into the wherever for final processing. Although now that I'm thinking I guess the coop stuff was in a crate, but not really wrapped in butcher paper or anything.   Granted, there might be some hygiene issues with a guy that uses stolen supermarket shopping carts as his dollies - but there might not be.  

It's a local story where I am, and on the news today, they said the health department is investigating, and something about the feds.  The meat and seafood department in this store was ordered closed recently because of live roaches.  Not that live roaches has anything to do with delivering unwrapped slabs of meat in shopping carts, but it does lead me to think that the latter is not in accordance with generally accepted meat practices.

[TattleTeeny]

Eh, I guess on the surface, it's best to just go with the "thank you" regardless of how little it makes sense if you think about it too hard (and I get the feeling that tons of us in here do just that for a great many things, haha!). And then come and discuss it here!

Edited January 30, 2018 by TattleTeeny

[theredhead77]

On 1/29/2018 at 1:05 PM, Blergh said:

Don't feel too bad. Many times I feel like a teen time traveller from the late 1970's trying to pretend to be a middle aged adult in the late 2010's. Actually, sometimes it's fun imagining how funny it would sound describing these times to those from that era!

Nearly everyone has a computer that fits in your pocket. You have millions of songs at your fingertips, they are played through this computer without any additional hardware. You can instantly send a message to someone on another continent via electronic mail and this computer also makes phone calls. You no longer need paper maps, your car will give you turn by turn directions.

There will be a movie called Back to the Future and two TV shows, one called The Simpsons and one called Family Guy. They both predict the future accurately. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

27 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

Eh, I guess on the surface, it's best to just go with the "thank you" regardless of how little it makes sense if you think about it too hard (and I get the feeling that tons of us in here do just that for a great many things, haha!). And then come and discuss it here!

Going with the "thank you" is definitely the path of least resistance, and won't get you in trouble.  But I just don't think it's right.  Lead by example!  Think "zipper merge"! 

[TattleTeeny]

Zipper Merge & the Pet Peeves is my new band name.

[auntlada]

So we took our son to a pediatric ophthalmologist today. We were referred by his regular ophthalmologist. The boy has esotropia, which is a fancy way of saying his left eye turns in sometimes. He's worn glasses to help this since he was about 2. (Honestly, at this point, I don't remember exactly when he got glasses.) For about a year, we've put drops in his right eye to dilate it and make the left eye work harder. His regular eye doctor wasn't happy about the progress of the eye. He says it's getting better, but not as much better as he'd like, so he sent us to the pediatric eye doctor in the city. This is the important point: He referred us to the other doctor. The other doctor knows this fact.

The other doctor comes into the exam room, after his assistant -- I don't know what they are called at the eye doctor's, but sort of like the hygienist at the dentist's, they do initial exams -- does his bit. The doctor first asks us why the regular doctor sent us to see him. So I try to explain, except I don't know this stuff all that well because I didn't go to eye doctor school. I'm doing good to remember esotropia, which I didn't until I looked it up and reminded myself. But what I want to ask is didn't the regular doctor tell him why we're coming? Shouldn't he know? I mean, I know he has lots of patients, but shouldn't it be written down in a chart? And shouldn't he at least glance at a patient's chart before going into the exam room?

He asked us when the boy began wearing glasses, when we started putting drops in his eyes -- which he did know about, so clearly he got information from somewhere -- and how old the glasses he has now are. Shouldn't all that information be in the chart at his regular eye doctor's office? And if that doctor is going to refer us to another doctor, shouldn't he forward that information? And if he does, shouldn't the new doctor look at it before entering the room? Or even while he's in the room?

It reminds me of my former gynecologist (he retired, that's why he's former), who every year during the breast exam would tell me that I have fibrous breasts and say, "Have I told you that before?" I always wanted to say, "Yes, every year. Could you have your nurse note that in my file so next year you'll know?" But I'm too nice for that. Besides, other than that he was a good doctor. When I was pregnant, I  never once had to see the nurse practitioner. I always saw the doctor. My sister-in-law was pregnant at the same time, and she almost never saw her doctor at appointments. (Not that nurse practitioners are bad. My best friend is one. [I know, that sounds like a cliche and a lie. But it really is true.] I just preferred to see the doctor who had been my doctor for years and knew me.)

I just want the doctors to look at what's written down -- or to write it down in the first place instead of relying on my faulty memory.

[MrSmith]

OK. I just want to post a peeve about the "new definition" of the word "woke". The Guardian has an article today with a headline about how the Eagles became the NFL's "wokest" team. Whoever the fuck came up with this use of that word deserves to have a fork shoved up their nose and rattled around in their brain can for a while. All of them!

[Zola]

9 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

OK. I just want to post a peeve about the "new definition" of the word "woke". The Guardian has an article today with a headline about how the Eagles became the NFL's "wokest" team. Whoever the fuck came up with this use of that word deserves to have a fork shoved up their nose and rattled around in their brain can for a while. All of them!

I agree with your sentiment, but you really do make me laugh out loud with some of your observations! Am trying to visualise some empty suit having a fork inserted violently up his nose and rattled around the brain (assuming it can find a brain in the first place of course.)

Thank you for making me smile! 

Edited January 31, 2018 by Zola

[Katy M]

12 hours ago, auntlada said:

The other doctor comes into the exam room, after his assistant -- I don't know what they are called at the eye doctor's, but sort of like the hygienist at the dentist's, they do initial exams -- does his bit. The doctor first asks us why the regular doctor sent us to see him. So I try to explain, except I don't know this stuff all that well because I didn't go to eye doctor school. I'm doing good to remember esotropia, which I didn't until I looked it up and reminded myself. But what I want to ask is didn't the regular doctor tell him why we're coming? Shouldn't he know? I mean, I know he has lots of patients, but shouldn't it be written down in a chart? And shouldn't he at least glance at a patient's chart before going into the exam room?

I think sometimes they ask to doublecheck.  Sometimes they ask because it's faster.  One time, my vet sent me down to an animal hospital (with my cat, of course) and I had to go physically pick up his records and x-rays and bring them down with me.  The surgeon glanced at some stuff and asked me the stuff I would know, I think to save time scanning through the records.

My medical records had been lost or destroyed in the mid-90s when my former doctor was computerizing his records, so when I went to a new doctor I had to answer a metric ton of questions, some of which I had no clue of the answers.

[DeLurker]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

I think sometimes they ask to doublecheck. 

I've had errors in my medical records discovered this way when something got recorded incorrectly. 

[theredhead77]

13 hours ago, auntlada said:

It reminds me of my former gynecologist (he retired, that's why he's former), who every year during the breast exam would tell me that I have fibrous breasts and say, "Have I told you that before?" I always wanted to say, "Yes, every year. Could you have your nurse note that in my file so next year you'll know?"

A few years ago, my GP (who I had been seeing for the last 15 years, since I was 18) started  talking to me about the HPV vaccine and asked if I wanted it. I said sure, but I'm about 10 years outside the eligible range. Without missing a beat she said "how did I [she] get so old?"

[walnutqueen]

I have seen a doctor ONCE in the past decade - only to get the thumbs up for necessary cataract surgery in my really bad eye.  I am hesitant to go back, only because I am fairly convinced said "doctor" will tell me I am rotting from the inside out.  ;-)

[Zola]

On  the subject of gynaecologists - I hated my last visit to my regular gyno doctor last year. I mean it's pretty demeaning to be lying on your back on an examination table with your legs in the air and a speculum hanging out of your "lady bits" while the doctor takes off for an urgent call!

But on the last occasion I was in that same position but I had the pleasure of having two trainees in attendance (the doctor did ask for my permission first, and for whatever reason I said "yeah fine!") Fortunately they were all females, but nonetheless those 5 minutes on the table felt like 5 hours while the doctor poked and prodded about with her fingers, speculum and pick axe if she had the chance! 

Some of the indignities women have to go through makes me despair, even though it is for our own good.

[Tanichka]

58 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

I have seen a doctor ONCE in the past decade - only to get the thumbs up for necessary cataract surgery in my really bad eye.  I am hesitant to go back, only because I am fairly convinced said "doctor" will tell me I am rotting from the inside out.  ;-)

Same here. I thought I would waltz in for cataract surgery but now I find out I have to see my GP.  Hopefully, he’s still a bit of a slacker & signs off quickly.  I was reading that pre tests are not really necessary for this procedure.

[ZaldamoWilder]

22 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

I once went on a "date" with a young man who asked my age.  When I told him, he said: "That's the same age as my Mom!".  I told him: "You just cockblocked yourself, son".

Lol!!!!!

 

^ my exact life, two week ago.    I knew he was hella young(er) (35) because he looked like it.    When we met I said you wanna know how old I am?  He said nope, doesn't matter.     On the date: 

Me: I have an 18 year old daughter

He:  (dead serious):  you were a teen mom? 

Me:  lol! Teen? I wasn't even in my 20s anymore.

He:  {stops chewing}

Me:  Yeah, I said you should probably wanna know this.  

 

3 hours ago, MrSmith said:

OK. I just want to post a peeve about the "new definition" of the word "woke". The Guardian has an article today with a headline about how the Eagles became the NFL's "wokest" team. Whoever the fuck came up with this use of that word deserves to have a fork shoved up their nose and rattled around in their brain can for a while. All of them!

I giggled a little.  Even in its current urban trend form, the meaning didn't change, it still means conscious.    What'd The Guardian say it meant?  

[MrSmith]

1 hour ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

I giggled a little.  Even in its current urban trend form, the meaning didn't change, it still means conscious.    What'd The Guardian say it meant?  

Yeah, but it's being used to mean "socially conscious" or "socially aware". And "wokest" isn't even a real word. It's slang bullshit made up by the same squad who decided to equate "woke" with "socially conscious" and "socially aware". That's the way The Guardian used it, too. I'm capable of and willing to wield the fork...

[Zola]

8 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

Yeah, but it's being used to mean "socially conscious" or "socially aware". And "wokest" isn't even a real word. It's slang bullshit made up by the same squad who decided to equate "woke" with "socially conscious" and "socially aware". That's the way The Guardian used it, too. I'm capable of and willing to wield the fork...

The UK version of The Guardian is just as much pretentious and self-righteous, as international versions. It's so far up its own arse with social introspection that it's almost impossible to take seriously.

[ZaldamoWilder]

7 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

Yeah, but it's being used to mean "socially conscious" or "socially aware". And "wokest" isn't even a real word. It's slang bullshit made up by the same squad who decided to equate "woke" with "socially conscious" and "socially aware". That's the way The Guardian used it, too. I'm capable of and willing to wield the fork...

Lol. I getcha.  Wield at will.  But the squad didn't change what woke essentially means.   I don't mean to mess with your peeve, but pop culture and grammatical accuracy are pretty traditionally adversarial.   

[MrSmith]

1 minute ago, Zola said:

The UK version of The Guardian is just as much pretentious and self-righteous, as international versions. It's so far up its own arse with social introspection that it's almost impossible to take seriously.

Well, I started subscribing because they had some good coverage of things going on in this country, and their coverage was less biased than other outlets (CNN, Faux News, MS NBC, etc). I'm starting to rethink that subscription now, though. They've had a series called "The Mother Load" looking at governmental policies that help or hinder families and especially women in this country. Some of the people they've chosen to profile in this series are very poor choices and some of the stuff they've claimed is just made-up. An example of something made-up is one couple's claim that they couldn't put their newborn son on their insurance because he was born outside of the "open enrollment window" (typically 1 Nov - 30 Nov). That's simply untrue because the birth of a child is a "major life event", which triggers your ability to change your coverage outside of the open enrollment window. It's the same as when you get married: You can add your spouse to your insurance any time within either a 14-day or 30-day window after getting married (I forget which it is, but I'm pretty sure it's a 30-day window).

[backformore]

You know how hospitals have everything computerized so that all your providers can communicate?  

My doctor ordered a mammogram. He sent the order electronically to the mammography department, but they didn't get it. I show up for my appointment, they don't have an order. And no, they said they can't just call his office to get it. Same building, same hospital, and there are computers on every desk, hooked up to the hospital network. But I had to go up the elevator to the doctors office, so they can print out the order from the computer, with an electronic signature, and then I had to walk it back down to the department.

I love computers. But people get in the way of getting things done efficiently. I've had the exact same thing happen with radiology in the past. The computers are hooked up to a network. Sending info from one department to another would be a major reason for having the network. But they don't want to use that.

And, the background information they collect is not updated. A long time ago, I was taking medication . It was on my medical record. Now, every time I see a doctor, the first question is if I still take that medicine. I can say, no, I took it ten years ago for a short time. It's no longer relevant, but they never remove it from the list of "current medications."

[Katy M]

16 minutes ago, backformore said:

My doctor ordered a mammogram. He sent the order electronically to the mammography department, but they didn't get it. I show up for my appointment, they don't have an order. And no, they said they can't just call his office to get it. Same building, same hospital, and there are computers on every desk, hooked up to the hospital network. But I had to go up the elevator to the doctors office, so they can print out the order from the computer, with an electronic signature, and then I had to walk it back down to the department.

I made an appointment to get a mammogram.  I then called my doctor's office and they put me through to someone's voice mail to leave a message so that the could put the order in.  I was supposed to leave my name, birthdate, contact phone number and appointment date.  I did this.  I show up for my appointment and I'm told they didn't get the order.  So, I went next door and explained the situation and gave them my name and birth date again. I'm not in their system. "Maybe you have my birthday wrong.  I remember an issue with the insurance company."  "No, you're not a patient."  "Can't you just try looking up my name?" They repeated I had never been a patient there. I asked how to become a patient.  They said they would need my records from my last doctor's office.  I said, "You are my last doctor's office.  I was here 4 years ago I think."  "No, you couldn't have been here four years ago.  We would have you."  "I was here.  I swear."  She then looked me up by name, and voila, my birthdate was wrong just like I said.  AAARGH.

[TattleTeeny]

4 hours ago, Zola said:

On  the subject of gynaecologists - I hated my last visit to my regular gyno doctor last year. I mean it's pretty demeaning to be lying on your back on an examination table with your legs in the air and a speculum hanging out of your "lady bits" while the doctor takes off for an urgent call!

But on the last occasion I was in that same position but I had the pleasure of having two trainees in attendance (the doctor did ask for my permission first, and for whatever reason I said "yeah fine!") Fortunately they were all females, but nonetheless those 5 minutes on the table felt like 5 hours while the doctor poked and prodded about with her fingers, speculum and pick axe if she had the chance! 

Some of the indignities women have to go through makes me despair, even though it is for our own good.

Ugh, I hate everything about this whole business from the time I make an appointment to days after I'm freed from that torture table. In fact, my doctor prescribes Ativan for me for a routine checkup (more for his benefit than mine, I think; I am not a good patient at all). But one time that damn fucking thing--ugh, I can barely even think about this!--fell out and clanked onto the floor. And then? AND THEN?! My doctor jumped up, said, "I'll be right back with the smaller one," and left the room! WTF, OMG. I mean, this couldn't happen to a person who would actually be able to appreciate the ridiculous dark humor of it?!

Edited January 31, 2018 by TattleTeeny

[bilgistic]

Oh dear god! And the noise the speculum makes...the clanking and clicking! I'm absolutely certain some delicate part of me is going to get pinched or clamped in it.

[TattleTeeny]

YIIIIKES!

Edited January 31, 2018 by TattleTeeny

[Zola]

13 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

Oh dear god! And the noise the speculum makes...the clanking and clicking! I'm absolutely certain some delicate part of me is going to get pinched or clamped in it.

Tell me about it! Hate the damn things. Even when I go to the park I get queasy looking at the ducks and their oh-so familiar bills! 

[TattleTeeny]

When I was a server at a pizza place, we each had one of those metal things that held the hot deep-dish pan and referred to it as a gynecologist--"Has anyone seen my gynecologist? I put it down on the bar and now I can't find it!" "Who lost a gynecologist? I somehow have two!" "Shit, I left my gynecologist in my boyfriend's car!"

Edited January 31, 2018 by TattleTeeny

[bilgistic]

And now I want pizza.

[Zola]

Two pizzas, but hold the gynaecologist, lol

[theredhead77]

Ladies! Go to the gynecologist every year! I skipped a few years because reasons and when I finally did go caught precancerous cells that were looking sketchy.