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

[Mittengirl]

When I got my driver’s license in Michigan back in the mid ‘80’s you didn’t have to take a road test if you had taken driver’s ed. and had learner’s permit.  You just had to pass the written test and were then released upon the public roads.  I think it was a cost savings measure.

[Bastet]

Just now, Mittengirl said:

When I got my driver’s license in Michigan back in the mid ‘80’s you didn’t have to take a road test if you had taken driver’s ed. and had learner’s permit.

Did driver's ed include actual driving?  Here, to get your learner's permit, you had to complete driver's education, which was all classroom learning about the rules of the road, and pass a written test on that material.  Then, once you had that permit, you had to complete a certain number of hours (just a few) of driver's training, which was driving with a licensed instructor in one of those "student driver" cars.  (With the permit, you could also drive a regular car with a parent or other adult [of a certain age; I don't remember the specifics, but your 18-year-old friend did not count] in the car.)  With that completed, at 16 you could take the driving test; if you passed that, you got your license free and clear.  I think now you get a provisional license for a couple of years.

[Mittengirl]

Yes, our drivers’ ed, through my school, did include behind-the-wheel practice and classroom learning.  I don’t remember for sure, but I think we took a “practice” test of the actual state test in class.  In my school district, driver’s ed was a summer class where everybody attended the classroom part in the auditorium and we were also assigned to a 3 (?) person team for actual driving, both in the school parking lot and OTR.  I hated the actual driving part because I was the only one in my car who had literally never been behind the wheel, so the teacher (the football coach) & my carmates criticized and yelled at me.  Of course, that made driving with my mother easier, since she did the same (& still does).

[MargeGunderson]

20 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

When I got my driver’s license in Michigan back in the mid ‘80’s you didn’t have to take a road test if you had taken driver’s ed. and had learner’s permit.  You just had to pass the written test and were then released upon the public roads.  I think it was a cost savings measure.

Same when I got my license at 16 in Iowa. We did drive on the roads (and interstate) in my drivers ed class. Oh, and we had to pass the driving part of the drivers ed course, not just the written part. Your drivers ed teacher could mark you to take the driving test on the card you took to the DMV verifying that you took drivers ed.

[ginger90]

I took driver’s ed mainly because it made the car insurance cheaper.

[Browncoat]

Driver’s ed was part of PE class in 10th grade in my high school.  As soon as we got our learner’s permits at 15 and a half, we’d go out with the driver’s ed teacher during PE.  Three students in the back seat, and the driver and teacher in the front.  I don’t remember how the timing worked — if we switched out drivers during class.  There were also driving sessions before and after school and at the weekend, but it was school-sponsored.  No one had to pay for private lessons.

[Leeds]

8 hours ago, isalicat said:

Given the good fit of the job itself and history you personally have with this particular non-profit, may I suggest you take the time to write a concise letter about your interview experience and send it to a higher-up at the company (get the appropriate name off the website or elsewhere)? I realize you may have concluded that no way do you want to wind up actually working for the individual who interviewed you, but you might be doing the non-profit a service if you have the inclination.

Thanks Isalicat.  I have a call in to the director - it won't be an easy conversation, but at the same time I'm glad I'll be doing it.

[ChrissyB]

Does anyone else seem like the older u get the more things get on your nerves?

PET PEEVES

1. Drivers not yielding when they have a yield sign

2. Drivers who wait and cut u off right before their exit.

3. When people talk to me like I'm stupid. THIS IS A BIG ONE 😡

4. When people can't do their jobs. If u can't do a job correctly u shouldn't have that job.

5. No names, but the caregiver for my Mother.  OMG I have a WRITTEN list of what she should do & not do and SHE STILL can't do her job correctly.   UNREAL 😡

6. When someone is tailgating me, I just go slower for spite there is no reason to be riding my ass

7. I don't know how to put this nicely so here goes. Did u ever have a job where people above u were not very bright & doing a crappy job & making more $ than u? I have to wonder how they got the job in the first place. I know u shouldn't compare yourself to other people but it gets on MY LAST NERVE when u can't find a good job that pays well when u are POSITIVE that u could do double the work of the people making more than u. 

8. WHEN SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING AND DOESNT DO IT.  If you aren't true to your word DONT SAY ANTHING AT ALL 😡

 

[kristen111]

Out of nowhere, my playlist of songs on my I pad disappeared. I didn’t touch anything.  Does anyone know how to get it back?

[RealHousewife]

Employees trying to help at the CostCo self-checkout. I'm sure they mean well; they may be trained to help every customer. However, with covid, I really like my space. There's a reason I do not go into the line for a cashier. I'm a young, able-bodied person shopping without kids and just have a few items to ring up. I don't need assistance, and the help just adds to the time and doesn't speed up the process. The other day the lady was about to ring up an item I'd already scanned, and I had to stop and explain to her. I think she then got annoyed (even though I was very polite and didn't show any annoyance of my own). The last time I was there waiting in line, I got a text to get something else, so I was going to leave and look for it. But an employee just started ringing me up. Just let me be!

Edited February 22, 2022 by RealHousewife

[bilgistic]

My health insurance is such bullshit. I am on my agency's plan because without the subsidy on the marketplace, which I used to have, plans started at $500 a month for my needs (I'm on a shitton of meds and see doctors fairly often to manage chronic issues). I'm no longer eligible for the subsidy because I'm eligible for my agency's plan, which is hot garbage. Just because you have a job that offers a health insurance plan doesn't mean you can afford it! I actually pay more now for my premium ($400 health insurance only) than I did before through the marketplace ($300).

My insurance hasn't decided if it's going to pay for the colonoscopy and endoscopy I had a month ago. So that's $6000+ hanging over me. I also got a $700+ bill for the pathology lab, so I don't know if they ever filed (I don't see the claim in my insurance's goofy app) or if my insurance just said they aren't paying it.

I also pay for dental insurance--another $30 or $40 a month. I had one filling early this month. My copay was $62 and I still have to pay another $50-something for 50% of what the insurance doesn't cover.

Insurance is bullshit and a racket, and I will die on this hill.

Oh, and I owe a cool grand in federal taxes because I got "too much" of a subsidy last year (it's always based on the prior year's wages), even though I adjusted it in August.

[GaT]

5 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Insurance is bullshit and a racket, and I will die on this hill.

Wait until you get to be Medicare age & discover what a complete piece of crap that is, you will never think good thoughts about the phrase "donut hole" again.

Edited February 23, 2022 by GaT

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 2/18/2022 at 8:46 AM, Browncoat said:

All I had to do for my driver's license (in Virginia, in 1980) was drive around the block.  No parking at all, turns in only one direction, and no backing up.  It took about 10 minutes.  The parking lot was so full when we returned that the examiner just told me to put the car anywhere I could find space, and that part wouldn't count as part of the test.

I took the Virginia test in 1971, and I had to pass a 100 question multiple choice written test, and the parallel parking test was awful, three tries, smallish parking space, and orange cones on the outside corners, and the road test was quite long.     By the time my younger siblings took it, the written test was very short, and easy, the parallel parking test was no longer required, and the driving test was once around the small neighborhood block.   

In college they eliminated the mandatory requirement for either a swimming class, or a proficiency test, the semester after I had to take it.   

Edited February 23, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[theredhead77]

7 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

But an employee just started ringing me up. Just let me be!

You are right, it is supposed to speed up the self-check line because we all know people who have no business using a self-check line end up holding up the line.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with an employee thinking you were rude. I usually tell them I've got it and they leave me be. Hopefully you just ran into someone on an off-day.

[Nicmar]

On 2/19/2022 at 5:48 PM, Bastet said:

Did driver's ed include actual driving?  Here, to get your learner's permit, you had to complete driver's education, which was all classroom learning about the rules of the road, and pass a written test on that material.  Then, once you had that permit, you had to complete a certain number of hours (just a few) of driver's training, which was driving with a licensed instructor in one of those "student driver" cars.  (With the permit, you could also drive a regular car with a parent or other adult [of a certain age; I don't remember the specifics, but your 18-year-old friend did not count] in the car.)  With that completed, at 16 you could take the driving test; if you passed that, you got your license free and clear.  I think now you get a provisional license for a couple of years.

I took drivers Ed in the late 80's and there was class room work as well as actual driving on the road, not highways just down the street in neighborhoods. I remeber when I actually took my drivers test and I could not parallel park at all I failed.

[Katy M]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:48 PM, Bastet said:

Did driver's ed include actual driving?  Here, to get your learner's permit, you had to complete driver's education, which was all classroom learning about the rules of the road, and pass a written test on that material. 

I also took driver's ed in the '80s. You could get your permit without driver's ed (which you would have to already have for the driver's part), but couldn't get your licence until you were 18 without it.  

13 minutes ago, Nicmar said:

I took drivers Ed in the late 80's and there was class room work as well as actual driving on the road, not highways just down the street in neighborhoods. I remeber when I actually took my drivers test and I could not parallel park at all I failed.

We had to learn to parallel park in driver's ed, but I sucked big time at it.  My instructor signed my sheet, but told me I definitely needed more practice before trying for my license.  She was right.  I didn't take my driver's test until I was 20 and failed. I took it a couple of months later and passed, but again, the instructor said it wasn't the best road test he'd ever seen.  I haven't killed anybody yet.  I don't think I even had to parallel on the test I failed. Probably because I'd already lost so many points there wasn't any reason to put him through that trauma.

[ABay]

I had to learn to parallel park, and in a car without power steering.

Edited February 23, 2022 by ABay

[Nicmar]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I also took driver's ed in the '80s. You could get your permit without driver's ed (which you would have to already have for the driver's part), but couldn't get your licence until you were 18 without it.  

We had to learn to parallel park in driver's ed, but I sucked big time at it.  My instructor signed my sheet, but told me I definitely needed more practice before trying for my license.  She was right.  I didn't take my driver's test until I was 20 and failed. I took it a couple of months later and passed, but again, the instructor said it wasn't the best road test he'd ever seen.  I haven't killed anybody yet.  I don't think I even had to parallel on the test I failed. Probably because I'd already lost so many points there wasn't any reason to put him through that trauma.

Parallel parking was the only thing I failed and I still passed. But that was my second time doing it lol 

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, ABay said:

I had to learn to parallel park, and in a car without power steering.

Uphill - both ways!

[theredhead77]

22 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Uphill - both ways!

In the snow!

[Leeds]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:08 PM, Browncoat said:

Driver’s ed was part of PE class in 10th grade in my high school.  As soon as we got our learner’s permits at 15 and a half, we’d go out with the driver’s ed teacher during PE.  Three students in the back seat, and the driver and teacher in the front.  I don’t remember how the timing worked — if we switched out drivers during class.  There were also driving sessions before and after school and at the weekend, but it was school-sponsored.  No one had to pay for private lessons.

Yet another tragic indictment of the American educational system.

[Mondrianyone]

39 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Yet another tragic indictment of the American educational system.

Do you mean this seriously, @Leeds? Or are you being sarcastic?

Because I thought it was a great thing. Our driver's ed classes were very similar to what @Browncoat describes. I see it as a way of providing lessons to kids whose parents might not have been able to afford them or parents who worked all day and couldn't take their kids out to drive except after dark (which I don't even think was legal under the learner's permit system). If you want new drivers to be safe drivers, which benefits everyone, what better way than to teach good driving in school? I still remember points of law and driving techniques I learned way back then.

[supposebly]

When I was in grade 4, we had driver's ed classes for bicycling in traffic, so we would know all the traffic rules once we were allowed on the roads.

ETA: we even got a "licence" since there was a test at the end!

Edited February 23, 2022 by supposebly

[Browncoat]

2 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Do you mean this seriously, @Leeds? Or are you being sarcastic?

Because I thought it was a great thing. Our driver's ed classes were very similar to what @Browncoat describes. I see it as a way of providing lessons to kids whose parents might not have been able to afford them or parents who worked all day and couldn't take their kids out to drive except after dark (which I don't even think was legal under the learner's permit system). If you want new drivers to be safe drivers, which benefits everyone, what better way than to teach good driving in school? I still remember points of law and driving techniques I learned way back then.

We thought it was great, too.  10th grade was the last grade we were required to take PE, and we were all ready not to have to change into gym clothes any more!  Our parents thought it was great because they didn't have to pay for private lessons.

[GaT]

On 2/19/2022 at 6:08 PM, Browncoat said:

Driver’s ed was part of PE class in 10th grade in my high school.  As soon as we got our learner’s permits at 15 and a half, we’d go out with the driver’s ed teacher during PE.  Three students in the back seat, and the driver and teacher in the front.  I don’t remember how the timing worked — if we switched out drivers during class.  There were also driving sessions before and after school and at the weekend, but it was school-sponsored.  No one had to pay for private lessons.

 

2 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Do you mean this seriously, @Leeds? Or are you being sarcastic?

Because I thought it was a great thing. Our driver's ed classes were very similar to what @Browncoat describes. I see it as a way of providing lessons to kids whose parents might not have been able to afford them or parents who worked all day and couldn't take their kids out to drive except after dark (which I don't even think was legal under the learner's permit system). If you want new drivers to be safe drivers, which benefits everyone, what better way than to teach good driving in school? I still remember points of law and driving techniques I learned way back then.

I agree, this is how I learned to drive also, it was part of my lessons at school. I remember the first time it was my turn behind the wheel, I almost had a heart attack because I had no idea how heavy a car felt. We got to drive around the parking lot, park ( I also suck at parallel parking ), & there was a big circle in front of the school which we got to go round and round and round.

[Browncoat]

37 minutes ago, GaT said:

 

I agree, this is how I learned to drive also, it was part of my lessons at school. I remember the first time it was my turn behind the wheel, I almost had a heart attack because I had no idea how heavy a car felt. We got to drive around the parking lot, park ( I also suck at parallel parking ), & there was a big circle in front of the school which we got to go round and round and round.

You were lucky!  My first time behind the wheel was on a four-lane highway, then I had to turn off on a tiny little rural road that was about a lane and a half wide.  I think my driver's ed teacher hated me, too.  At one point, she had me drive down an even tinier road that dead-ended.  She wanted me to make a three-point turn to turn around, but it ended up being about a 49-point turn because the road was so narrow.  We never practiced in a parking lot, and I remember one girl who, when handed the key, looked at it and genuinely asked what she was supposed to do with it.  

[DrSpaceman73]

I was in the group who took driver's Ed and didn't have to take rhe test. 

Parallel parking is not really something you have to know in most cases. I can count on one hand the number of times in 30 years I've been forced to parallel park. 

[emmawoodhouse]

18 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I was in the group who took driver's Ed and didn't have to take rhe test. 

Parallel parking is not really something you have to know in most cases. I can count on one hand the number of times in 30 years I've been forced to parallel park. 

If you live in a city you need to know how to parallel park. 

[festivus]

Please take the driver's test stories to the chit chat thread.

[theredhead77]

I go to extreme lengths to avoid sad animal commercials. I quit watching L&O marathons on USA and avoid most cable networks during the day because they are full of them. So you can imagine how peeved and upset I am at the "one sad animal commercial during every fucking commercial break" happening today during the "Atlanta Humane Society's Day of Giving". They aren't quite as bad as the ASPCA but I don't need to hear the horrific things they are saying.

I can't believe guilt trip marketing works better than positive story marketing. Though I'd pay a lot of money to never ever see another one on any network ever again. Why can't that be an option.

[Anela]

I heard that Amazon was really raising their annual price for Prime again. I can't afford that - we only really kept it for the two-day shipping (or next-day), but that isn't a thing at the moment, and it's a bloody cheek, knowing how much more they've made during the pandemic. With that, and other things, I really need to cancel Prime, before it renews in July. 

I've also noticed the price gouging on some things. At other times, they've just incorporated a shipping fee into the price, and claimed it was a steal. As if. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by Anela

[Browncoat]

Pettiest of pet peeves -- when movie studios and theaters heavily advertise a movie, but then do not show it in any theaters within several hundred miles of me.  There are several of the theaters near me (Regal), but none of them has Cyrano.  They did the same thing with Licorice Pizza, too.  Meanwhile, though, they are still showing Sing 2.

So annoying!

[Katy M]

2 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Pettiest of pet peeves -- when movie studios and theaters heavily advertise a movie, but then do not show it in any theaters within several hundred miles of me.  There are several of the theaters near me (Regal), but none of them has Cyrano.  They did the same thing with Licorice Pizza, too.  Meanwhile, though, they are still showing Sing 2.

So annoying!

When I was a kid we had one single screen movie theater in town.  We would get all the movies (more or less), but months after their releases.  There were two exceptions to that--Funny Farm, because it had some scenes taped in the area, and Space Balls, because I don't know why.  

So, when I went to college I got a little overwhelmed with the movie choices.

But, my pet peeve is that I wanted it to snow, it's snowing, and now I'm annoyed that I had to walk to work and fall down (not hurt) and get wet.  And now I will actually get to work as I should be.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Comcast, I'm talking to you.

Edited February 25, 2022 by SuprSuprElevated

[bilgistic]

20 hours ago, Anela said:

I heard that Amazon was really raising their annual price for Prime again. I can't afford that - we only really kept it for the two-day shipping (or next-day), but that isn't a thing at the moment, and it's a bloody cheek, knowing how much more they've made during the pandemic. With that, and other things, I really need to cancel Prime, before it renews in July. 

I've also noticed the price gouging on some things. At other times, they've just incorporated a shipping fee into the price, and claimed it was a steal. As if. 

Amazon has a discounted Prime membership rate for food stamp recipients—$5.99 as opposed to $12.99 for regular price (before the recent hike). They've raised that price $1 a month to $6.99. Amazon is nothing if not all about sheer greed. Imagine raising prices on people who can't afford food.

And before people ask why someone on food stamps should have an Amazon Prime account, it's because people need to save money however they can. Unfortunately, Amazon almost always beats the local store price on household goods, including toilet paper, which you cannot buy with food stamps. You can buy food with food stamps on Amazon, which again, often saves money.

I try to divest from Amazon, but it's unavoidable at times. The software platform on which my company creates our financial reports runs on Amazon servers. I can't divest from that.

[Anela]

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

Amazon has a discounted Prime membership rate for food stamp recipients—$5.99 as opposed to $12.99 for regular price (before the recent hike). They've raised that price $1 a month to $6.99. Amazon is nothing if not all about sheer greed. Imagine raising prices on people who can't afford food.

And before people ask why someone on food stamps should have an Amazon Prime account, it's because people need to save money however they can. Unfortunately, Amazon almost always beats the local store price on household goods, including toilet paper, which you cannot buy with food stamps. You can buy food with food stamps on Amazon, which again, often saves money.

I try to divest from Amazon, but it's unavoidable at times. The software platform on which my company creates our financial reports runs on Amazon servers. I can't divest from that.

I wouldn't ask why anyone on food stamps would need a prime account. I would probably be on them, if it weren't for my dad. He made a bit more money than usual, last year (he said something about December being busy), but we are still just getting by. I get tired of hearing that people need to cut corners, not buy that drink that they like, or that dessert. my sister was on SSI, and had a bank account, she didn't have anything that showed her as being a recipient of government assistance, which I was glad about. I remember seeing posts from people (elsewhere), who would check what was in other people's carts, when they realized that they had food stamps, and would judge whatever they were buying "with their hard-earned money". 

[ECM1231]

People posting their daily Wordle scores on Facebook. I really don't give a crap.

[bilgistic]

17 hours ago, Anela said:

I wouldn't ask why anyone on food stamps would need a prime account. I would probably be on them, if it weren't for my dad. He made a bit more money than usual, last year (he said something about December being busy), but we are still just getting by. I get tired of hearing that people need to cut corners, not buy that drink that they like, or that dessert. my sister was on SSI, and had a bank account, she didn't have anything that showed her as being a recipient of government assistance, which I was glad about. I remember seeing posts from people (elsewhere), who would check what was in other people's carts, when they realized that they had food stamps, and would judge whatever they were buying "with their hard-earned money". 

USDA data says that 74% of people in the U.S. who live in households in which someone earns income from a job are eligible for SNAP benefits. That data is from 2019, so I can only imagine what 2020 and 2021 looked like with the pandemic.

So much for "living off the government and not working". When three-quarters of working folks in the U.S. qualify for financial help to afford food, it says an awful lot about how low wages are.

Edited February 26, 2022 by bilgistic

[peacheslatour]

Quote

And before people ask why someone on food stamps should have an Amazon Prime account, it's because people need to save money however they can. Unfortunately, Amazon almost always beats the local store price on household goods, including toilet paper, which you cannot buy with food stamps. You can buy food with food stamps on Amazon, which again, often saves money.

I have a disabled friend who relies on Amazon for almost everything. She would probably starve without it.

[Anela]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I have a disabled friend who relies on Amazon for almost everything. She would probably starve without it.

My dad said that we mainly had it for the two-day shipping, but I've said it before: I can't drive, I'm mostly isolated. He drives, and is out almost every day, so when he says that he can just pick something up, he isn't thinking beyond that. 

I buy my special toothpaste through Amazon, I buy a few other things, but they really bumped up the prices on some things, like the dripdrop I could no longer find in my local walgreen's, or the body wash I was getting at times from Target - the reviews actually said, "buy it in the store, it will be a lot cheaper." 

I'm just pissed at their price gouging on an annual fee, when they do not need to do it. I heard it would be something like $154. 

17 hours ago, bilgistic said:

USDA data says that 74% of people in the U.S. who live in households in which someone earns income from a job are eligible for SNAP benefits. That data is from 2019, so I can only imagine what 2020 and 2021 looked like with the pandemic.

So much for "living off the government and not working". When three-quarters of working folks in the U.S. qualify for financial help to afford food, it says an awful lot about how low wages are.

Yep. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

5 minutes ago, Anela said:

I heard it would be something like $154. 

Mine is going from $119/annually to $139 annually.  If paying monthly, I believe it is a $2 increase/mo.

[Anela]

2 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Mine is going from $119/annually to $139 annually.  If paying monthly, I believe it is a $2 increase/mo.

I don't know if my dad will pay that, either. It's up to him, right now.

That was another thing: his delivery company is supposed to give him money for his gas expenses, since he's driving all the time. He's been with them for over a decade, and he lost one steady route in 2019, when they lost a big account. Two years ago, he requested this route that he's still doing, which should guarantee him a certain amount every week. Since the gas prices have increased, they haven't increased the amount of money he gets, to make up for it. 

[ginger90]

Mileage reimbursement is all over the place here. I know someone who gets .52 a mile. Meanwhile, I get $1.00 a mile. Nuts.

[SuprSuprElevated]

2 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

Mileage reimbursement is all over the place here. I know someone who gets .52 a mile. Meanwhile, I get $1.00 a mile. Nuts.

Beginning on January 1, 2022, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be: 58.5 cents per mile driven for business use, up 2.5 cents from the rate for 2021.

Most employers use this as their guide, but it isn't mandatory.  This would be the number used for IRS/tax filing purposes.

[bilgistic]

18 hours ago, ginger90 said:

Mileage reimbursement is all over the place here. I know someone who gets .52 a mile. Meanwhile, I get $1.00 a mile. Nuts.

I get the federal rate of $0.585 per mile to go to the bank for work...while gas is now $3.45 a gallon.

I don't get reimbursed for mileage going back and forth to the office when 2/3 of the rest of the company is fully remote.

Edited February 27, 2022 by bilgistic

[RealHousewife]

Not being able to blow dry my hair like my stylist can.

My hair looks kinda like this when she gets done with it.

Unfortunately it looks more like this once I blow dry. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Shallow note- I miss my thick hair. Fucking chemo.

[Anela]

He's put in another request for an increase, since gas prices are expected to be raised again. 

[Spartan Girl]

I hate my wavy bangs. I finally get it just right with the iron, but by the end of the day they get all messed up again.

[Gramto6]

My "covid " hair is longer than those beautiful blond waves above. Top of head is going gray bottom length is still auburn. With all that is going on in my life right now I just want to take scissors and cut it shoulder length. Wish I had the nerve to do it.

Edited February 28, 2022 by Gramto6
added on to post