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

[Annber03]

When my dad was having health problems, he often had to go to a hospital two hours away, because the hospital in the town we were living in at the time didn't have all the necessary means to help him. 

This caused a real problem for my mom in terms of trying to find time off work to take him (she worked retail at the time. Good luck getting out of retail for a period of days). Plus, the car we had then was older and often needed repairs. 

So as a result, much of the time, my dad would have to take an ambulance down there. And a two hour ambulance ride is....not cheap, to say the very least. 

Yeah. We absolutely need to do better in this regard. 

[jennifer6973]

Re: rides to appointments

Around here they have a senior bus that will take you to appointments.

Also the local veterans services group will take Veterans to their VA appointments.  Only problem there is you have to wait to come back until all appointments are done.

So what I'm saying is look it up and see if there anything like that your local town/city provides.

[theredhead77]

My eye doctor has a machine that does the eye dilation without those awful drops. I straight refuse the drops, I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to them. My eyes don't just burn, they feel like they are on fire for hours after the fact. 

[kristen111]

57 minutes ago, jennifer6973 said:

Re: rides to appointments

Around here they have a senior bus that will take you to appointments.

Also the local veterans services group will take Veterans to their VA appointments.  Only problem there is you have to wait to come back until all appointments are done.

So what I'm saying is look it up and see if there anything like that your local town/city provides.

Right.  Maybe those are the busses and vans I see all over the place where I live. I see them around doctors offices, the supermarkets, etc.  Maybe lots of seniors don’t know what’s available.  Once, I saw one of those big special busses at Walmart even.

Edited August 28, 2022 by kristen111

[oliviabenson]

2 hours ago, GaT said:

This is something I wonder about, what if you literally don't have anyone to drive you to appointments? No family, no friends. What are you supposed to do? Just say "welp, no treatment for me"?

That’s me. No one cares about me. I might be dead for weeks before anyone notices. Or get kidnapped/missing. Again no one will notice.
 

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, GaT said:

This is something I wonder about, what if you literally don't have anyone to drive you to appointments? No family, no friends. What are you supposed to do? Just say "welp, no treatment for me"?

Good point. One reason I've put off getting a boob job is because there's no one available who I'd both feel comfortable with and trust. I can't imagine needing medical treatments and not having a ride. :(

[kristen111]

18 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

That’s me. No one cares about me. I might be dead for weeks before anyone notices. Or get kidnapped/missing. Again no one will notice.
 

You’re kidding, right?

[oliviabenson]

3 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

You’re kidding, right?

No I am serious 

I have no living family left 

[peacheslatour]

1 minute ago, oliviabenson said:

No I am serious 

I have no living family left 

I'm so sorry. I care about you. 🤗❤️

[kristen111]

3 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

No I am serious 

I have no living family left 

No cousins, close girlfriends?  People you work with and trust?

[ebk57]

2 hours ago, kristen111 said:

Or eyes dilated whenever you go to the eye doctor.

I, um, drive myself home after those appointments (which I have twice a year).  So far, no problems. 

[PRgal]

24 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

No cousins, close girlfriends?  People you work with and trust?

I'm not Kristen, but yeah, some people don't.  And why I worry about me.  I have severe social anxiety after an experience in middle school and have basically zero close friends (I'm working on it now that I have a young child by finding mom friends from my son's school).  Of course, I could be living in an independent living community when I'm in my late 70s/early 80s, complete with shuttle service!!!  

[ebk57]

The hospital where my sister was being treated for cancer had a deal with Lyft to transport people to and from appointments.  Not sure if that would hold true for procedures where you need a relative or friend, but for regular stuff, if was great.  Maybe the hospital (or doctor's office) would know about this for anyone who needs transportation.

[jennifer6973]

2 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

My eye doctor has a machine that does the eye dilation without those awful drops. I straight refuse the drops, I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to them. My eyes don't just burn, they feel like they are on fire for hours after the fact. 

I prefer the drops because I can't keep my eyes open long enough to have them puff my eyes.

I think that may be due to the eye surgery I had when I was 7.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, oliviabenson said:

That’s me. No one cares about me. I might be dead for weeks before anyone notices. Or get kidnapped/missing. Again no one will notice.
 

I'm so sorry to hear this, this is something I worry about because except for my spouse my family is mostly gone, & the ones that aren't are on the other side of the country & I wouldn't even know how to contact them.

[GeeGolly]

There are a couple of ways to get medical transport - through senior services and if you're lucky through your insurance. If you're on Medicare or Medicaid you may be entitled to care management services. The services includes transportation for appointments, grocery shopping, church and one or two social events a month. You can request a companion through the service or request that your own companion come with you.

[oliviabenson]

50 minutes ago, kristen111 said:

No cousins, close girlfriends?  People you work with and trust?

I don’t attract nice/kind/loyal people. So to answer you nope. It is what it is.

I can’t make people want to have a relationship with me.

Edited August 28, 2022 by oliviabenson

[RealHousewife]

Okay, this isn’t serious like the above, just a first world problem pet peeve.

Spotify used to take me back to the episodes of the podcasts I was listening to, now it just goes to the top. Annoying to have to scroll and find where you were. I wonder if I accidentally messed with my settings or what. 

[theredhead77]

2 minutes ago, jennifer6973 said:

I prefer the drops because I can't keep my eyes open long enough to have them puff my eyes.

I think that may be due to the eye surgery I had when I was 7.

It's not the puff. It's a bright light. 

[crazycatlady58]

4 hours ago, jennifer6973 said:

Re: rides to appointments

Around here they have a senior bus that will take you to appointments.

Also the local veterans services group will take Veterans to their VA appointments.  Only problem there is you have to wait to come back until all appointments are done.

So what I'm saying is look it up and see if there anything like that your local town/city provides.

I think we have a senior bus at least we used to but that wouldn't help for a procedure like colonoscopy. You have to have someone say they will be with you or they will check on you throughout the day.

[kristen111]

1 hour ago, RealHousewife said:

Okay, this isn’t serious like the above, just a first world problem pet peeve.

Spotify used to take me back to the episodes of the podcasts I was listening to, now it just goes to the top. Annoying to have to scroll and find where you were. I wonder if I accidentally messed with my settings or what. 

I know zero about electronics.  You have a problem with Spotify, and I have a problem with You-tube.  I had a library of about 100 songs on my I- pad that I listened to all the time with headphones.  One day, it was all gone.  I don’t know why.  Maybe they charge money now?  Anyone know anything about u- tube?

[jennifer6973]

1 hour ago, theredhead77 said:

It's not the puff. It's a bright light. 

That too, that's my personal peeve, that I can't keep my eyes open to do all those tests they want.

[ABay]

1 hour ago, crazycatlady58 said:

I think we have a senior bus at least we used to but that wouldn't help for a procedure like colonoscopy. You have to have someone say they will be with you or they will check on you throughout the day.

That hasn't been my experience. The first time, my friend had to come in with me and say she'd pick me up, but not check on me. That time they were adamant that a ride service was not acceptable. The second time, she dropped me off and I gave them her number, but a ride service would've been fine.

[kristen111]

I’ve had four colonoscopies.  Each time we went straight to the diner and had breakfast.  No problems.

[Calvada]

On 8/27/2022 at 4:23 PM, peacheslatour said:

I hate to sound like the cranky old bat that I am but damn,  if they can invent all this amazing technology, why cant't they figure out a way to make this easier on people?

Fellow cranky old bat here, and I could not agree more.  After they make colonoscopy prep easier, I hope they focus on making mammograms easier.  

[Yeah No]

On 8/16/2022 at 1:25 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

The tags on the rental BMW I'm using also has Connecticut plates! What? Do all the luxury rentals come from there?😆

I've been living in CT for 3 decades now and despite my husband and I renting cars over the years we have never even seen a BMW in the rental lot much less gotten one.  I often shop in a place near the Enterprise in my town and have never seen a BMW.  Could that be in Fairfield County?  Because things are different down there.  Although I lived there for a decade and never saw that down there either.

On 8/16/2022 at 3:12 PM, annzeepark914 said:

When I was growing up in NYS, we always heard about the CT state troopers nailing folks for speeding. And then, there's just something about CT. I could always tell when we crossed the state line. The houses were all colonial style & at Xmastime, they all had blue lights on their outdoor shrubs and trees. 

I had the same experience.  I remember the toll booths on the Merritt Parkway when they used to have them.  They were all wood.  We used to call them the "Smokey the Bear" toll booths, LOL.  There was that little "Welcome" house near the state line too.  I have pictures of me in front of it when I was about 8 years old.   Coming from New York City I always felt CT was so colonial and "old knotty pine".  Interestingly Fairfield County gave me that feeling more than the Hartford area.  When I moved up here and saw all those old beautiful mansions in the West End of Hartford near the Mark Twain House I got a completely different feeling.

On 8/18/2022 at 1:48 AM, Gramto6 said:

LOL the being late thing reminds me of my ex-sister in law. She could never be on time to anything. It got to the point that we would tell her the event started an hour earlier. Even then sh would be a little late, but not much. Deceptive, but it kept everyone else  and the food on schedule. Otherwise we would be waiting 2+ hours for her. 

I used to do that with my father after he got very old and started not being ready on time anymore.  Of course I gave him lots of slack because of that.  And he never knew we asked him to be ready a half hour earlier than we really expected him to be.

[Yeah No]

On 8/21/2022 at 3:34 PM, kristen111 said:

My Peeve .. When are the networks going to put some new movies on t.v.?  Every week it’s the same crap.  Sweet Home Alabama, Meet the Fockers, Sixteen Candles, etc, etc.  We are paying thru the nose for cable.  Go in the vault and put new movies on already.  I’ve seen these movies a million times already.

OMG that's one of my BIGGEST peeves right now.  Here's more:  Shawshank Redemption, Braveheart, National Lampoon's Vacation, etc., etc.  And and even bigger peeve is catching my husband watching them for the 500th freaking time!  I finally told him he has to change the channel or turn the damned thing off or I'm going in the other room, LOL.  I hate to say it but even TCM gets in the same rut running the same movies over and over again.  Meanwhile they ignore other really good movies.  I don't know why the cable networks don't realize that they're only driving more people over to streaming to find something different and more interesting to watch.  Although recently we found a couple of movies I don't see on all the time.  One was the Hitchcock film "Marnie", with Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery and the other was "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock.  I haven't watched Marnie yet although I know I must have seen it as a kid.  I watched "The Blind Side" and it was a good movie and a heartwarming story, but I'm glad I didn't pay to see it.

[Yeah No]

On 8/24/2022 at 12:59 PM, MadyGirl1987 said:

A pet peeve I was thinking on this morning; videos of people waking up from anesthesia and acting loopy. To me, it’s not funny, it just seems like making fun of someone at a vulnerable time, recovering from a medical procedure. I would be mad if someone did that to me when I had undergone a medical procedure.

Oh that's not nice, I'd never do that, although I did giggle at my husband when I took him home from his colonoscopy a couple of weeks ago.  He asked me why I was giggling and I told him it was because he was so darned CUTE, LOL.  I had honestly never seen him that way before and he had no clue he was acting that way either.

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, GaT said:

Cabs will work for regular appointments, but what about appointments for things where the patient is going to be sedated? They won't let you take a cab (or any car service) then, they will only release you to a friend or family because someone is supposed to watch you the rest of the day. What happens then? You can't even get basic stuff like a colonoscopy, or have a tooth pulled. 

Around me they've started letting people with no one to drive them home take an Uber or a taxi home even from procedures like that.  They just make you wait at the hospital or facility a couple more hours until you're less sedated.   Too bad if they don't like it, what are you going to do?  There are a lot of single older people with no one that can drive them.  They have to either find you assistance with getting a drive home or allow some alternative.  They are ridiculous.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

That’s me. No one cares about me. I might be dead for weeks before anyone notices. Or get kidnapped/missing. Again no one will notice.

Hey I care about you too!  I have no close living family left either except for my husband.  And I have fewer and fewer friends too.  I only have distant cousins I know through Ancestry.com and only a few close friends, most of whom are far away.   And I feel more isolated now since the pandemic.  My social life has shrunk down to almost nothing.  One reason I find myself here so much these days.  My friends are all feeling the same way.  We need each other and we're here if you need us.

[kristen111]

7 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Hey I care about you too!  I have no close living family left either except for my husband.  And I have fewer and fewer friends too.  I only have distant cousins I know through Ancestry.com and only a few close friends, most of whom are far away.   And I feel more isolated now since the pandemic.  My social life has shrunk down to almost nothing.  One reason I find myself here so much these days.  My friends are all feeling the same way.  We need each other and we're here if you need us.

I feel the same way about this pandemic making us hermits.  Some people are out and about and aren’t afraid of the pandemic.  Not us.. we stay home.  We have three adult children and six grandchildren close by, but don’t interfere with them unless asked.  They have their own lives and are busy, therefor don’t have to entertain us.  Things are different now, not like in the old days, where I had my parents and in- laws over every Sunday when I cooked a big meal and entertained them.  Those days are gone, for me anyhow.  We don’t want to be a burden … let them enjoy their lives while they can.  Seeing them all once in awhile is fine.  Today, I’m going to Walmart .. Whoopi.  I ride around in the scooter until I get my back fixed.  Thank God husband has his sports and I have my I pad.  Pretty soon Winter will be here .. yikes!  In the house again.

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, kristen111 said:

I feel the same way about this pandemic making us hermits.  Some people are out and about and aren’t afraid of the pandemic.  Not us.. we stay home.  We have three adult children and six grandchildren close by, but don’t interfere with them unless asked.  They have their own lives and are busy, therefor don’t have to entertain us.  Things are different now, not like in the old days, where I had my parents and in- laws over every Sunday when I cooked a big meal and entertained them.  Those days are gone, for me anyhow.  We don’t want to be a burden … let them enjoy their lives while they can.  Seeing them all once in awhile is fine.  Today, I’m going to Walmart .. Whoopi.  I ride around in the scooter until I get my back fixed.  Thank God husband has his sports and I have my I pad.  Pretty soon Winter will be here .. yikes!  In the house again.

I hear you.  We went a little nuts this Summer eating out in outdoor seating and taking drives to the shore for Lobster.  It was a long boring Winter last Winter.  This week lunch with one friend today, lunch with another tomorrow.  We're getting it all in.  I hope I can find a way to deal with the relative isolation this year.  It seems like the Winter lasts forever here in CT.  Our leaves don't even turn green until well into May up in these parts and it goes from freezing to boiling in two weeks.

[Caoimhe]

On 8/28/2022 at 5:08 PM, oliviabenson said:

That’s me. No one cares about me. I might be dead for weeks before anyone notices. Or get kidnapped/missing. Again no one will notice.

I worry about that too if my husband goes before me. 

[peacheslatour]

9 minutes ago, Caoimhe said:

I worry about that too if my husband goes before me. 

So do I. My son lives far away and doesn't drive. I'll have to depend on delivery for everything.

[kristen111]

25 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

So do I. My son lives far away and doesn't drive. I'll have to depend on delivery for everything.

I think we all worry about that.  After so many years together, you become one person.  It’s frightening.

[kristen111]

Years ago, after an argument with the husband, I went out with my divorced girlfriend for dinner and drinks at a restaurant/ bar.  She was smiling and said “ isn’t this great, you and me out”?  I said “ hell no, I’d rather be home on my sofa watching tv with my husband.”  Going out to a bar never interested me one bit, as I was a married homebody.  The guys at the bar were all on the make.

[Spartan Girl]

Dear Assholes in My Office:

If you don’t want to wear masks, fine, but can you at the very least not stand outside my cubicle and socialize?! There are plenty of other places on the floor to do that!

Edited August 30, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Angeltoes]

17 hours ago, Yeah No said:

It seems like the Winter lasts forever here in CT.

I dream of that!  I live in Florida where Summer lasts forever.  Believe me, that gets old.  Today I was thinking that it would be lovely to be up North on one of those winter days where it gets dark early and there is a drizzling rain.  And how wonderful it would be to be inside with a fire, good book and a mug of tea.  

[ABay]

To me, winter in CT doesn't last long enough while summer drags on for freaking ever.

[Bastet]

45 minutes ago, Angeltoes said:

one of those winter days where it gets dark early

Those are the worst days of the year for me.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Great Lakes region here, and while I do appreciate the four seasons, I begin to really get irritated with winter in February.  We have mostly been living under a gray perma-cloud for four months by then, and the lack of sunshine and color begins to wear on a person.  In snowy years, the daily snow clearing also challenges my naturally sunny disposition.  Okay, that's a lie, but you get what I mean.

Edited August 30, 2022 by SuprSuprElevated

[partofme]

18 hours ago, Yeah No said:

seems like the Winter lasts forever here in CT. 

Same in nyc.   I hate winter.  And summer flies by.  

[oliviabenson]

58 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Those are the worst days of the year for me.

By 5 pm I’m ready to sleep. Not a fan of The early darkness . 

[theredhead77]

2 hours ago, Angeltoes said:

I dream of that!  I live in Florida where Summer lasts forever.  Believe me, that gets old.  Today I was thinking that it would be lovely to be up North on one of those winter days where it gets dark early and there is a drizzling rain.  And how wonderful it would be to be inside with a fire, good book and a mug of tea.  

I am so ready for not-summer. I don't do spring cleaning but I love fall cleaning. I can open windows without pollen flying in and if there is rainy day in the mix I can get so much purging and cleaning done. 

[Suzn]

3 hours ago, Angeltoes said:

I dream of that!  I live in Florida where Summer lasts forever.  Believe me, that gets old.  Today I was thinking that it would be lovely to be up North on one of those winter days where it gets dark early and there is a drizzling rain.  And how wonderful it would be to be inside with a fire, good book and a mug of tea.  

That sounds wonderful!

[kristen111]

4 hours ago, Angeltoes said:

I dream of that!  I live in Florida where Summer lasts forever.  Believe me, that gets old.  Today I was thinking that it would be lovely to be up North on one of those winter days where it gets dark early and there is a drizzling rain.  And how wonderful it would be to be inside with a fire, good book and a mug of tea.  

OMG .. That’s me.  When husband retired, we moved from N.Y. to a new development near Disney.  It had everything .. golf for him and everything for me.  Bought all new furniture and set up in the beautiful house.  My joy lasted six months.  The only time it was cool was January.  I was in the house all the time because of the relentless heat, and missed my kids.  After suffering for one year, I told him I wanted to move back to N.Y.  I missed the cold and pine trees and kids.  Thank God we sold in 4 months and moved back.  Cost a bundle, but totally worth it.  Didn’t like the bugs, heat, alligators, snakes.  The ideal would be to visit Florida January and February or rent a condo.  If you can afford it.  Not to live there full time.  In the day, we drove to Florida and stood a week or two every February.  I do miss Publix.  They made great heroes, and fried chicken, and lots of hot stuff.  Also missed Bealls.

[annzeepark914]

Here in the DC 'burbs, we haven't been able to sit out on the deck & have a meal since June. I'm so sick of 90°+, high humidity weather. It's supposed to be cooler tomorrow (low-mid 80's). I'll believe it when I feel it. Hurry up, autumn!🍁

[theredhead77]

Peeve: the intentional release of balloons. They have to come down somewhere, which creates litter and puts wildlife in grave danger if they get tangled in the ribbon or try to eat them. Neither mylar nor laytex are biodegradable, so it's just more waste cluttering up the planet.

In addition, there is a global helium shortage, and given that helium is a finite resource, we need to stop with helium balloons in general.

Edited August 31, 2022 by theredhead77
Correcting typos from posting on my phone

[RealHousewife]

People who don't wait their turn in line but act like YOU'RE the one who didn't. My sister and I were recently in line, waited there for a while, and this group of girls suddenly tries to cut in front of us to be with their friend. My sister and I weren't confrontational about it but tried to keep our place by moving up as the other girls were. One of them took issue with that and said "were you in line?" Um yeah, we were both just in front of you. We couldn't believe this group thought ONE person could save all their places. Is this considered a normal thing for one person to hold spots for 4-5 people? I get it if sometimes one friend leaves to get something and comes right back, cool, no prob. But sometimes you're on a time crunch and not going to bother waiting in line if there are several invisible people somehow in front of you. This shouldn't be a thing.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, RealHousewife said:

Is this considered a normal thing for one person to hold spots for 4-5 people?

It depends on how many people are in line for whatever it is, how many people will be let in, and how much being let in earlier will be an advantage.  If it barely makes a difference, I don't care, but if, at the other end of the spectrum, holding a spot for even one person could, as a cumulative effect, cause people who'd put in the time to not get in at all to a popular, limited event, I wouldn't even let the opposite happen, 4-5 people letting a fifth or sixth join them later.*  Everything in between just depends on circumstances.

In any situation, though, it takes some nerve to have an attitude when they're the one cutting!

*I was in this scenario several years ago, when a friend and I lined up early for an event let's say (I don't remember specific numbers) 600 wanted to attend but only the first 300 through the door could.  If even just a few people let just one person come join them later, several people who'd been there for hours would wind up denied entry due to how few were let in.  So the crowd rightly was not having it, and when my friend suggested to her husband that he come join us at the last minute, he said that wouldn't be fair, and I chimed in saying there was no way I'd be part of that.  She's not normally an asshole, but in this instance we had to talk sense.

This is also on event coordinators, though; in a scenario like the one I was in, the first 300 to show up should have been handed tickets, rather than waiting to see who were the first 300 in line by the time doors opened.  Don't leave it up to the crowd to police each other when there are inevitably going to be heated confrontations.