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

[ABay]

Feet under knees was my default position in chairs or on couches my entire life until I messed up my thigh and knee about a year ago. Now I can only do it if I'm on very soft seating and even then not for long. I miss it a lot. I also have a footstool under my desk at work because if I don't keep my feet up most of the time, my ankles swell.

[bilgistic]

4 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I've seen Jockey for women at Kohl's.  If you find them, buy 30.  You'll thank yourself later.

There is a Kohl's in the same center as the Ross is where I went today, but good gravy, that place set my anxiety a-poppin'! I very briefly thought, "Kohl's??" And then I thought, "No, get back in the car with air conditioning, dry-swallow a Xanax, then run your 10 other errands."

Just me, or does the extreme heat makes everyone extra assholish?

[auntlada]

It makes me, well, angrier is a nice word.

[Maharincess]

On 6/23/2016 at 6:49 PM, Moose135 said:

On purpose?

Lol.  I've lived in the Bay Area all my life with a lot of those years living in the city,  believe me, I would choose Grand Forks over San Francisco. 

[Maharincess]

On 6/17/2016 at 6:22 AM, ParadoxLost said:

That is how mistakes are supposed to be handled.  I had an arborist that cut down a tree he wasn't supposed to and the one he was, after showing up and doing it without notifying me after I told them that I had to get HOA approval for the one that was supposed to be cut down.  Nothing was free.  He couldn't replant where the one was cut.

Now that I think about it.  Anyone that works in my yard has been a pain in my rear. I should have really taken the hint from the universe when a plane crash cancelled my appointment for the initial landscaping consultation on this latest go around. But the HOA was on my case.

HOAs are a HUGE pet peeve of mine.  I would never, ever live in a place where I'm told what I can plant, what color I have to paint my house etc etc.  No way in hell would somebody tell me what I can or can't do to a house that I bought and paid for.   Besides being told what you can or can't do, you also get to pay for that privilege.   Nothing the HOA fees cover would be worth it to me.  

My in laws old HOA was so bad that my father in law came home one day after work, he had to use the bathroom really bad so he just pulled up to the curb in front of his house so he could run in to the bathroom. He was going to come back out and pull it into the garage.  By the time he came out his truck had been towed. 

[Bastet]

I feel the same way about HOAs for houses.  When I had a townhouse in a 9-unit building, obviously there needed to be an HOA to handle the common areas/shared expenses, and I was fine with the CC&Rs requiring exterior uniformity, because the building looks better that way.  But we still weren't nitpicky about what kind of plants you could have outside or anything like that; just don't paint your front door a different color than everyone else's front door, put up a different porch light, etc.

With my house, though?  No way in hell would I live someplace where I was subject to those kind of restrictions.  The city's general prohibitions on the worst behavior are all the protection from my neighbors I need; if someone paints their house a hideous color or lets their yard go to pot, I'm more than willing to live with that rather than having HOA rules.

[auntlada]

A number of years ago, we had a big ruckus in town about restrictions on how many unrelated people could live in a house and whether or not you could park on the lawn, etc., mostly because of college students. People thought that restricting the number of college students who could live together in one house to three would stop them from having big parties. At least that's what they said. They complained about noise and parties and parking. For two of those (noise and parties), they already have means to do something about them: Call the police. If someone is having a loud party outside (or inside but is loud enough to hear in the next several houses) or otherwise making lots of noise at 2 a.m., the police will come and stop it.

There are also ordinances against overgrown lawns, although it has to be about a foot tall all over to get an order to mow it, and ordinances about dilapidated houses. Mind you, a house has to be practically falling down and probably empty for the city to do anything about a dilapidated house. For all their complaints about the college students, none of those people ever tried to make the landlords provide livable houses. We have some real dumps in town, but the college kids are in and out in 6-9 months, so they'll put up with it, or other people know they can't afford anything better and no one cares if they live in a crappy place that is probably making them and their kids sick -- as long as that crappy place is in another neighborhood. And none of them ever offered to help out someone whose lawn was overgrown or whose house needed work. They just complain to the city.

The complainers finally got an overlay district with those rules (plus no parking on the street without a permit) in a neighborhood right next to campus. The college has been there since (I think) the late 1800s (maybe early 1900s) -- longer than the neighborhood. They knew they were right next to a university when they moved in. What did they think was going to happen? No college students would ever live there? No one would ever park on the street and walk on to campus because parking permits cost an arm and a leg and make you park farther away than the neighborhood?

I worked at the newspaper the first time around and wrote many columns and editorials against it (and also told some college kids at the bookstore that they needed to make sure they were registered here so they could vote against it). Yeah, the city council began to pass it (first reading or something), but then other people protested, and they decided that they may not get re-elected whatever decision they made, so they let people vote on it. It was resoundingly defeated.

I also remember writing that if I owned a house (I don't), it was my property, and if I wanted to put a toilet (unconnected to water or sewer) in my front yard, I ought to be able to put it there. Someone emailed me to tell me about a house in the country with nine or 10 toilets in the yard. Sadly, I never found out where it was so I could go take a photo of it.

It just pisses me off when people complain about the neighbors' yards or houses without even trying to find out why the yards or houses are that way and if there is any way they can help. Maybe the people just don't care, but maybe they are in poor health or have other issues and could use a hand. Or maybe they just want a lime green and purple house and don't care if it brings down your property value. I always think of what a college speech teacher used to say, "You pays your money, and you takes your chances." I've always felt that to be true about buying a house in regard to property values.

[NutMeg]

Regarding bras: indeed, when you find a flattering one, buy all you can, in any colour that's your size and that you like. Patterns change each season, so what you like right now will most likely not be here next season.

As for HOAs, having rented all my adult life - one of the "perks" of being an expat -, I would gladly comply with HOA when I can finally have my own place, which I yearn for more and more as time goes by. I wish I was able to have my own place that I could customize to my tastes without needing the landlord's approval (granted, my landlord is cool, but it feels demeaning somehow to need approval). I also dream of my ideal bathroom which would include an actual bath (very elusive in South-East Asia). But mostly, I wish I had lived in a place that would remain home, instead of having a portable home, because now that my eldest is about to leave after high school I am very aware that he'll never know what "being back home" means when home has kept shifting all his life. And, yeah, I know he got to experience a lot of other stuff and will always be more "international" that I could ever be, but still, I feel bad that he'll have missed out on having a home. I know it's silly, but don't we want it all for our children?  Are there ay of you here who experienced something similar?    

[zxy556575]

4 hours ago, NutMeg said:

I am very aware that he'll never know what "being back home" means when home has kept shifting all his life.

I stopped thinking of California as "home" after my grandparents and parents passed away. Now it's just "where I was born." I was happy to leave the state in my 30s and don't have any lingering fondness for "place", but do have happy, nostalgic feelings about my childhood unrelated to one particular house or town.

When I was living overseas I definitely considered the U.S. to be my home, though. I got pretty homesick and couldn't wait to return after a decade of being away.

Edited June 26, 2016 by lordonia

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 6/25/2016 at 2:30 PM, bilgistic said:

I find "Indian style" slightly humorous in how non-PC it is, but that's what we all learned back in our collective childhoods.

I'm rethinking my childhood.  I not only learned Indian style for sitting cross-legged, but my science teacher in junior high once said (apropos of what I can't imagine) "Indian underwear--you know, it creeps up on you." 

Then again, it was Texas.

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 6/25/2016 at 4:15 PM, Blergh said:

I get where you're coming from, GH. I've had bad customer service at post offices but that's happened in cases in which we were all the same pigmentation.

 

 However; on the flip side, I was furious with another CUSTOMER once who loudly dissed the solo postal worker trying to do her job the best she could while dealing with the line going out the door. After his rant, I actually TOLD him that he shouldn't have taken it out on HER because she was trying her best to take care of this huge line ALL ON HER OWN (and I've been in that spot more than once in my job life). He snarled that 'she didn't care' then left the Post Office. I usually would have let this go but, having been in that spot, I hated seeing someone who WAS trying to do the best with what resources with no one helping her get dumped on just because the customer happened to be on the end of the line. I mean, his rant didn't help the situation nor make anything better.

I just want to know if she was right--that by law she wasn't allowed to read back what my number was, even though I was holding it in my hand and not asking for her to give it to me, say, like, over the phone. And if she was, she just was being nasty and rude, instead of telling me politely.

I've worked in retail, so I know how hard and difficult it can be when you are the only cashier or sales person and are being yelled at, cursed at, by irate customers who feel I should be paying them the attention and not make them wait, while I helped those before them. But that wasn't the situation here.

[Maharincess]

On 6/19/2016 at 9:32 AM, ABay said:

Completely unacceptable. Who is this asshole? The very least your husband should do is text back and say "great. Here's what you need to bring with you and you need to help me finish this DIY project before we watch the game." And leave the tape up, and do not clean. You didn't ask them over, they will take what they get. And your husband should explain to the asshole that is unacceptable since he didn't tell him it was not OK to invite his whole family. And why didn't your husband just say no in the first place? Like, "no, it isn't a good time. Sorry."?

This is from a few pages back but I'm just catching up so please bear with me. 

@ABay,  I completely agree with you.  I'm not sure how old @krimimimi and her husband are but I've found the older I get the less tolerant I am of this kind of bullshit.   I used to worry about looking like I was mean or hurting people's feelings if I said no to self  invites and the like.  No more. I've learned the people inviting themselves and pushing themselves on other people are the rude ones, not the people who say no.  

The nerve of people!  This person's spouse must be just as rude to go along it.   I just can't imagine doing that to anybody.  I wouldn't even do it to people that I know wouldn't care, like my kids.  It's just so rude.   I hope they at least offered to bring food for everyone.  That would be the least they could do. 

People who know me know that I don't even like pop ins.  If I don't know you're coming and I don't expect you, don't knock on my door.   

[GHScorpiosRule]

8 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

@GHScorpiosRule If you have questions, I think all post offices have a post master that you can talk to. If each office does not have one there should be a central one. You should call and ask about this. 

Thanks @stewedsquash! I think I will. Like I said, had I known this, I would have brought my magnifying glass my own damned self, but I really didn't think I wouldn't be able to read the middle numbers! And if it is the law, she could have been more courteous instead of trying to swat me off like a pesky fly so she could continue her conversation with the other agents and customers.

[ethalfrida]

(removed comment because it didn't include quote)

Edited June 27, 2016 by ethalfrida

[Blergh]

16 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I just want to know if she was right--that by law she wasn't allowed to read back what my number was, even though I was holding it in my hand and not asking for her to give it to me, say, like, over the phone. And if she was, she just was being nasty and rude, instead of telling me politely.

I've worked in retail, so I know how hard and difficult it can be when you are the only cashier or sales person and are being yelled at, cursed at, by irate customers who feel I should be paying them the attention and not make them wait, while I helped those before them. But that wasn't the situation here.

As for the postal clerk not reading your number:I'm not sure that that's correct that she was unable to (because they have ZILLIONS of regulations for how they're supposed to do things right down to the number of steps taken from the counter to mailbin). However; I DO agree that she was needlessly rude even if that WAS the case and, yes, I think you should discuss this with her branch manager so she'll be put on notice that even enforcement of regs doesn't justify rudeness to customers.

[ethalfrida]

On June 24, 2016 at 3:21 PM, ABay said:

I do miss how easy it was to get everywhere in Ohio, that  it was safe for my cat to go outside, and I really miss being able to buy wine in a supermarket like the good lord intended. However, I like the scenery here better. 

Where do they not sell wine in a supermarket?

[TattleTeeny]

Ugh, my pet peeve today is the Aquarius forum! If people are interested enough in a TV show to join an online discussion forum, can they at least try to spell the show's characters' names correctly? (This peeve does not apply to the poster whose autocorrect seems to be changing "Charmain" to "Chairman," haha!) This peeve is also illustrated in Real Housewives threads, despite the fact that names are shown on the screen multiple times! 

Almost none of the supermarkets I've been to in my area sell alcohol at all. I've seen a couple, but their booze departments close at, like, 6:00pm and are gated after that.

Edited June 27, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Bastet]

Quote

Where do they not sell wine in a supermarket?

Oh, all sorts of states have weird alcohol prohibitions.  There are also some where wine and beer can be sold in supermarkets, but not liquor.  (And at least one where only wine produced in that state can be sold in supermarkets.)  Some only have state-run liquor stores (in NH, they're along the highway).  Blue laws where you can't buy alcohol on Sunday.  Texas won't even allow alcohol to be served on Sunday flights until you leave the ground (you don't have to leave TX air space, at least).  Some states don't allow liquor sales on certain holidays, or election day.

[bilgistic]

Here in NC, only wine, not liquor, is sold in grocery stores, and it's not been that long that wine has been sold in grocery stores. I think the "blue laws" (no selling on Sunday, or until a certain hour on Sunday) have relaxed, but I think they might still be in effect in SC, and I don't think they sell wine in grocery stores in SC (only beer). In NC and SC, the liquor stores are state run.

[backformore]

Yeah, In Illinois the laws are much more relaxed.  I remember when grocery stores had those huge gates to close off the liquor section after a certain time, and on Sundays.  But really, wine, beer, and liquor are bought at grocery stores by everyone.   There are big liquor stores (Binny's Depot), but you have to drive further, and make a special trip, and little skeevy stores that sell nothing but liquor, cigarettes and, I think, lottery tickets - but those always feel creepy to me, and they smell bad.  Those little stores are also subjected to "sting"  operations all the time, as they sell to underage kids and the local authorities want to close them down.

I'd say in 30 years, I've only bought alcohol some place other than a grocery about 3 times. 

Edited June 27, 2016 by backformore

[TattleTeeny]

You'd think all grocery stores would sell wine; they'd probably make a killing in impulse buys from exasperated moms trying to get the shopping done with kids in tow!

Edited June 27, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[TattleTeeny]

On 6/24/2016 at 9:37 AM, bosawks said:

I live in New Jersey, you get used to it.

If you can't find the beauty in my state, you're just not looking, your loss.....

We have EVERYTHING here, damn it (though I could do just fine with only three of the four seasons, thank you)--except, apparently, booze in our supermarkets! 
 

Quote

When personal belongings go missing at work. Apparently I'm not allowed to leave stuff in the shared corporate refrigerator or hell on my own desk. First it was full cups of coffee, phone charger, pens, lunch, now my dog harness, makeup bag with new nice makeup.

We have the most bizarre and misguided sign on our office fridge: "Be considerate of others: label your food." What?! I am expected to identify myself...so that a thief can decide who is a more desirable coworker to steal lunch from? Labeled or not, you'd think that in a place full of adults, it would be a given that, if you didn't put it in there, you don't take it out. Also, we have free bagels every Friday; because of weirdo thieves, I can't leave my dairy-free cream cheese here, and am forced to carry a splorp of it from home every week in order to partake!

Quote

To change the subject. Not a 'pet peeve' per se but more a 'why are they doing it?' deal- folks sitting in chairs with their legs folded in lotus positions. As I stress, 'to each their own' here BUT I gotta admit I've been tempted to call out 'You're in a perfectly good chair on terra firma so why are you doing the leg pretzel deal like you're at a campfire on the edge of a cliff?'

I tend to pretzel up at work, usually in sort of a collapsed-to the-side-kneel (hip and part of butt on seat, with legs bent at the knees and folded off to the side. Luckily I'm a small person in a big chair). I've gotten a few weird looks from people who come up to talk to me. However, I feel they are just jealous of my flexibility...or maybe just my fancy seat.

Edited June 27, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[auntlada]

32 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

You'd think all grocery stores would sell wine; they'd probably make a killing in impulse buys from exasperated moms trying to get the shopping done with kids in tow!

Ours want to. That's why we are voting on it in November. The liquor stores don't like the idea, in part because they still won't be allowed to sell lower point beer or anything refrigerated. Our liquor laws are very piecemeal and weird. And sometimes they change from county to county.

[bilgistic]

We have "dry" counties, too, or we used to. I don't drink, so admittedly I'm not up on the laws, but it's all so weird. Blue laws are a religious-influenced concept, as are business hours either being, well, none on Sunday (Chick-Fil-A, for example) or 1pm to 6pm, which is still very widespread in the South.

Edited June 27, 2016 by bilgistic

[ABay]

No wine in supermarkets in New England where Package Stores reign. New York doesn't sell wine in supermarkets, either,unless it's happened recently. 

My OH town had a drive-through liquor store. As far as I could tell, it was mostly for pick up trucks to load kegs and cases of beer.

[Quof]

Quote

Where do they not sell wine in a supermarket?

Canada.

Well, Quebec is in a world of its own.

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, TattleTeeny said:

You'd think all grocery stores would sell wine; they'd probably make a killing in impulse buys from exasperated moms trying to get the shopping done with kids in tow!

Campbell's Soup agrees with you...

[TattleTeeny]

I knew it! I'm childless and even I need to hit the bottle after being a food store for more than five minutes.

[janestclair]

1 hour ago, TattleTeeny said:

We have EVERYTHING here, damn it (though I could do just fine with only three of the four seasons, thank you)--except, apparently, booze in our supermarkets! 

I'm not much of a big drinker so it never really bugged me. I'll gladly trade not having alcohol in the supermarket so I don't have to get out and pump my own gas when it's cold out (or ever, really).  When I worked in the grocery store, it was always the out of state people who asked where the alcohol was, and I was always confused.  Growing up in NJ, I never knew you COULD buy alcohol in grocery stores in other states until those people.  I think there are  a couple Trader Joe's that can sell wine, but that's about it.  Liquor licenses in general are super hard to get, from what I hear.  

1 hour ago, ABay said:

No wine in supermarkets in New England where Package Stores reign. New York doesn't sell wine in supermarkets, either,unless it's happened recently. 

My OH town had a drive-through liquor store. As far as I could tell, it was mostly for pick up trucks to load kegs and cases of beer.

A drive through liquor store sounds like a remarkably bad idea.  

[TattleTeeny]

We have this one drive-through convenience store in my area and I love it--it's like an old-fashioned relic. I really think that sometimes I would rather drive the 15 minutes to that place than the five to the Quick-Chek down the road!

Haha, NJ--where we're not trusted with gas pumps or liquor sold near our groceries! When I was last on vacation (too long ago) in Fort Lauderdale, our hotel was next to a 7-11 that had beer. This delighted me so much because I am not only lazy but also classy as hell.

Edited June 27, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[shoregirl]

31 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

We have this one drive-through convenience store in my area and I love it--it's like an old-fashioned relic. I really think that sometimes I would rather drive the 15 minutes to that place than the five to the Quick-Chek down the road!

Haha, NJ--where we're not trusted with gas pumps or liquor sold near our groceries! When I was last on vacation (too long ago) in Fort Lauderdale, our hotel was next to a 7-11 that had beer. This delighted me so much because I am not only lazy but also classy as hell.

 I'm ok with not pumping my own gas especially in the winter :).  I do however wish I could get wine and beer at the grocery store just for convenience sake.  The first time I saw a WaWa outside of NJ/PA area it was in Virginia , we walked across the street from out hotel to get snacks and they sold beer and it was delightful .  I was in the Outer Banks on vacation and they have http://brewthru.com/ and it was definetley something i drove through when I turned 21.  I agree with the statement that Bosawks made, there are a lot of beautiful places in New Jersey.   

[MargeGunderson]

In NY you can buy beer in the grocery store but not wine. And in the wine/liquor store you can't buy beer. It would be easier to just make one trip for all of the alcohol needs. Oh, and you can't buy food in the wine/liquor store.

[Jaded]

14 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

Ugh, my pet peeve today is the Aquarius forum! If people are interested enough in a TV show to join an online discussion forum, can they at least try to spell the show's characters' names correctly? This peeve is also illustrated in Real Housewives threads, despite the fact that names are shown on the screen multiple times!

 In The View forum people will spell Whoopi's name with an e at the end and it drives me nuts. It  hasn't happened lately though. Seeing the word whoopie makes me think of Whoopie Pies.

[bosawks]

47 minutes ago, shoregirl said:

 I'm ok with not pumping my own gas especially in the winter :).  I do however wish I could get wine and beer at the grocery store just for convenience sake.  The first time I saw a WaWa outside of NJ/PA area it was in Virginia , we walked across the street from out hotel to get snacks and they sold beer and it was delightful .  I was in the Outer Banks on vacation and they have http://brewthru.com/ and it was definetley something i drove through when I turned 21.  I agree with the statement that Bosawks made, there are a lot of beautiful places in New Jersey.   

Wawa is a gift from the convenience store gods!

[Petunia13]

In Illinois you can drink alcohol while you shop. At Marianos people offer shop holding a glass of wine or mimosa or browse with a pint of beer. 

All three are sold at gas stations, liquor stores, grocery stores, street fears, block parties ect

chicago is not at all tightassed when it comes to this shit 

[Maharincess]

3 hours ago, janestclair said:

I'm not much of a big drinker so it never really bugged me. I'll gladly trade not having alcohol in the supermarket so I don't have to get out and pump my own gas when it's cold out (or ever, really).  When I worked in the grocery store, it was always the out of state people who asked where the alcohol was, and I was always confused.  Growing up in NJ, I never knew you COULD buy alcohol in grocery stores in other states until those people.  I think there are  a couple Trader Joe's that can sell wine, but that's about it.  Liquor licenses in general are super hard to get, from what I hear.  

A drive through liquor store sounds like a remarkably bad idea.  

We have a drive through liquor store in my city, they are a convience type store but it mosly sells cigarettes and alcohol.   We also sell beer, wine and liquor in grocery stores.  I don't understand why some grocery stores in some states don't sell it.   Do they think if people can't find vodka in the grocery store then they just won't buy it?  What's the reasoning for it?  

I don't touch alcohol so it doesn't bother me I'm just curious. 

And again, I will never ever understand why alcohol is legal and marijuana isn't.  Alcohol is so much worse in every single way than marijuana. 

Edited June 27, 2016 by Maharincess
Because state and stare are not the same thing.

[TattleTeeny]

Find me an apartment, because here I come to Illinois!

Quote

Do they think if people can't find vodka in the grocery store then they just won't buy it?  What's the reasoning for it?  

Maybe some sort of tax red-tape thing or a license issue? I mean, I don't really mind all that much going to various places (and I try to stay out of the grocery store as much as possible--I hate it), but there is a fabulous feeling when it's all right there! The little things, man!

Edited June 27, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Quof]

In those states where alcohol is sold in supermarkets or corner stores, must the cashier be over 21 in order to sell it? 

[harrie]

1 hour ago, Petunia13 said:

In Illinois you can drink alcohol while you shop. At Marianos people offer shop holding a glass of wine or mimosa or browse with a pint of beer. 

 

That is awesome! Reminds me of AbFab a little bit.  I wonder if they find it drives up sales ?

I lived in SC for a year, and I am pretty sure we were able to buy wine in the Harris Teeter. Even so, I still couldn't adjust to living there. 

Edited June 27, 2016 by harrie

[Maharincess]

10 minutes ago, Quof said:

In those states where alcohol is sold in supermarkets or corner stores, must the cashier be over 21 in order to sell it? 

Not in stores here but I think in bars or clubs the server must be over 21. 

The only alcohol restriction we have here is that no alcohol is sold between 2 and 7 am.  

[MargeGunderson]

37 minutes ago, Quof said:

In those states where alcohol is sold in supermarkets or corner stores, must the cashier be over 21 in order to sell it? 

In MA the cashier has to be 18 in order to sell alcohol. Apparently running a six pack over a scanner is the first step on a slippery slope to dissolution if done by someone under 18.

[auntlada]

3 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

In NY you can buy beer in the grocery store but not wine. And in the wine/liquor store you can't buy beer. It would be easier to just make one trip for all of the alcohol needs. Oh, and you can't buy food in the wine/liquor store.

That sounds like Oklahoma (at least until November). You can buy beer in the liquor store, but only if it's stronger than 3.2. The only beer you can buy elsewhere (convenience stores, grocery stores, etc.) is 3.2. I don't know why. I think at one time 3.2 beer was considered non-intoxicating for purposes of where you could buy it, which I always thought was stupid because if you drink enough, it's certainly intoxicating enough that if you drive and get caught, you're in trouble.

1 hour ago, Maharincess said:

I don't understand why some grocery stores in some states don't sell it.   Do they think if people can't find vodka in the grocery store then they just won't buy it?  What's the reasoning for it? 

Possibly. And some people won't, particularly if they live in small towns. (I'm from a town of about 6,500. Everybody knows everything you do.) If they go to the liquor store, someone will see their car and know they are buying alcohol. (Of course, someone would see them at the grocery store, too.) If you go to the liquor store, you have to park in back so no one sees your car. My husband used to tell a joke about the three things Baptists don't recognize (we're Baptist). The third one was "each other at the liquor store." I always thought it would be an excellent idea to open a cupcake store and liquor store right next to each other and put a connecting door (preferably in some hidden spot) so that people could park in front of the cupcake store and then go to the liquor store.

Really, though, I suspect it has continued for tax and licensing purposes, and I suspect that's why government is now interested in changing the law. They can get more money from selling more licenses.

Edited June 28, 2016 by auntlada

[shapeshifter]

My daughter couldn't buy wine in grocery stores in Pittsburgh. 

 

My pet peeve: Wind chimes. They're like the new age version of someone driving his car around a quiet neighborhood with the windows down and the radio blaring music with a heavy bass line. I appreciate that the people who put up windchimes want to share, but I'd like to be able to say, "No, thank you."

[StatisticalOutlier]

36 minutes ago, auntlada said:

 I always thought it would be an excellent idea to open a cupcake store and liquor store right next to each other and put a connecting door (preferably in some hidden spot) so that people could park in front of the cupcake store and then go to the liquor store.

An apt reference, because some liquor laws are relics of prohibition.

In Colorado, the only beer you can buy at grocery stores is 3.2.  Well, except a grocery chain can have ONE location in the state that sells full-strength beer.  WTF? 

As you'd expect, the major grocery chains want to change the law.  Also in the mix is the craft beer industry.  Some people claim the current law makes it easier for craft beer to get into retail because they don't have to have the distribution necessary to serve large grocery chains, and other people worry that allowing craft beers to be sold in grocery stores will harm "mom & pop" liquor stores.

As usual, many competing interests at play.  A bill was passed that would allow for a 20-year phase-out of the restrictions on full-strength beer in grocery stores--in a state where marijuana is legal.  But the governor, who himself founded a craft brewery, hasn't signed the bill.

 

Quote

I'm not much of a big drinker so it never really bugged me. I'll gladly trade not having alcohol in the supermarket so I don't have to get out and pump my own gas when it's cold out (or ever, really).  

I hate that I can't pump my own gas in New Jersey or Oregon.  When I'm in Portland, if I'm planning to cross the border to Vancouver, Washington, I try to do it with an empty tank so I can fill it up myself over there.

I can't stand sitting helplessly in my car while someone inefficiently moves among four cars he's filling up.  My pump clicks off and I sit and sit and sit.  It drives me insane.  I'll admit that in really terrible weather I've been almost glad somebody else pumped it for me, but I actually feel sorry for the guy and regardless, it's nowhere near enough of a benefit to make up for all the other times I would have vastly preferred just to do it myself.

[bilgistic]

57 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

My pet peeve: Wind chimes. They're like the new age version of someone driving his car around a quiet neighborhood with the windows down and the radio blaring music with a heavy bass line. I appreciate that the people who put up windchimes want to share, but I'd like to be able to say, "No, thank you."

I love windchimes, but this made me laugh, namely because my apartment complex has far more bass-booming drive-throughs (at 2:30 in the morning) than windchimes. I have a small set of windchimes hanging on the balcony. I have a couple inside. They're good for chi, supposedly. There's no wind inside.

[ratgirlagogo]

In many states the alcohol rules vary from county to county.  Aside from the no wine or spirits in grocery stores in NY there is the famous "no alcohol sold before noon on Sundays" law in NYC.  Like many people I lived here for years before I even knew about it - I discovered it in a predictably unpleasant way - I was shopping for a Sunday afternoon picnic early on Sunday morning and couldn't buy the beer.  Schlitz!!!

[Moose135]

6 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

In many states the alcohol rules vary from county to county.  Aside from the no wine or spirits in grocery stores in NY there is the famous "no alcohol sold before noon on Sundays" law in NYC.  Like many people I lived here for years before I even knew about it - I discovered it in a predictably unpleasant way - I was shopping for a Sunday afternoon picnic early on Sunday morning and couldn't buy the beer.  Schlitz!!!

Years ago, I went to a Sunday doubleheader at Shea Stadium (yes, it was years ago!) with a friend, got there early to watch batting practice and all, and he goes to grab a couple of hot dogs and beers for us.  Comes back with two dogs and two Cokes - it was 11:30am, and the lady at the concession stand looked at him like he had two heads when he asked for the beer.

[ethalfrida]

In my hometown in Louisiana there are drive thru daquiri bars. You cannot even go inside as a matter fact. You can buy from 8 oz glass to several gallons.

[Babalu]

12 hours ago, ABay said:

My OH town had a drive-through liquor store. As far as I could tell, it was mostly for pick up trucks to load kegs and cases of beer.

And my OH town was dry. Except for the one hotel in town, which had a special dispensation, and a small bar that was only allowed to serve 3.2 beer. You had to go out of town to buy any alcohol you could take out. Weird, since it was a very liberal college town, but I guess there was quite a temperance movement there in the late 19th century.

[BW Manilowe]

11 hours ago, Jaded said:

 In The View forum people will spell Whoopi's name with an e at the end and it drives me nuts. It  hasn't happened lately though. Seeing the word whoopie makes me think of Whoopie Pies.

Hopefully I'm not being a snob or anything, but any forum, in general, where a number of posters can't be bothered to spell names pertinent to the subject or the TV show (hosts/participants, if a reality type show, actors/characters in a fictional show, the city where the show takes place, even the names of important behind the scenes type people, like the showrunner) makes me crazy. I'm like... "This show's been on for X seasons, you've been watching it at least that long, based on your knowledge, etc., & you still don't get that so & so's name is spelled like this....?". I feel like all internet forums all should have, like, a post at the top of the forums/threads where all the names important to the subject are spelled correctly & it's a "read before posting" thing. But... There will probably be people who still won't read it, or won't give a crap about it even if they do & go on misspelling stuff.