Faux Life: Things That Happen On TV But Not In Reality

[DrSpaceman73]

If someone works for a large company and a friend or relative asks for a job, they always get one in the mailroom. 

[Mabinogia]

20 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

If someone works for a large company and a friend or relative asks for a job, they always get one in the mailroom. 

I wish it worked like that. the relatives in my company usually get jobs as supervisors or above. Jobs they are completely and utterly unqualified for. Of course some of them probably aren't qualified for the mailroom either. lol

[Shannon L.]

I love how people on TV show up unexpectedly at someone's house with take out and that person is always hungry and willing to sit down and eat. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by Shannon L.

[Moose135]

I'd love it if people randomly stopped by my house with food!

[Raja]

32 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

I live how people on TV show up unexpectedly at someone's house with take out and that person is always hungry and willing to sit down and eat. 

I remember an Adam-12 episode where that was a plot point. They brought food so that the wife wouldn't think it was a death notification team for her officer husband

[RealHousewife]

52 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

I'd love it if people randomly stopped by my house with food!

I'd love it except for another thing that's different in my reality . . .

How many of us are presentable 24/7? I certainly am not! I don't like the idea of anyone dropping by without a little bit of notice. I don't need to be dolled up, but if I'm lounging in PJs, no makeup and glasses on, I don't want just anyone seeing me like that. lol 

[Mabinogia]

5 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

but if I'm lounging in PJs, no makeup and glasses on, I don't want just anyone seeing me like that. lol 

Depends on what they are bringing me. Ben *& Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie, McDonalds fries and/or a sausage and mushroom pizza from my local place, I don't care if they catch me in my hair dye stained bra and sweats with a shower cap covering my in the process of being dyed hair. I'm opening that door! Anything else, and I'm telling them to just drop it at the door and go. 

[Bastet]

If someone knows me well enough to pop by with food, they know me well enough to see me in house clothes with frizzy hair piled on top of my head.   Hell, I've gone to the grocery store in house clothes with frizzy hair piled on top of my head.  (And I never wear make-up, and always wear glasses - so I can, you know, see - so everyone sees me that way.  No one has fainted.)

[Zella]

I'm really introverted, and I almost always hide if people stop by unannounced, regardless of what goodies they could be bearing. It's not even about being shy. I'm not. I just find social interaction very draining, even if I otherwise like the person in question, and having it sprung on me in a way that I have no control over is genuinely upsetting to me. As well as physically exhausting. Give me a head's up, so I can mentally prepare or reschedule, and it's all good. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by Zella

[DrSpaceman73]

I'm the same way.  People I see randomly in public health Im like oh geez, did they see me?  

On the other hand any dog I see walking outside I have to wave at and say hi.  

[Moose135]

35 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

On the other hand any dog I see walking outside I have to wave at and say hi. 

Well of course - rules are rules!

[Katy M]

15 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I love how people on TV show up unexpectedly at someone's house with take out and that person is always hungry and willing to sit down and eat. 

You bring me free food I guarantee I'll eat it.  

[DoctorAtomic]

My friend was always showing up at my place unannounced when I lived in the SF bay area, usually to use the bathroom. It was very sitcom. But he was always down to get a drink or play x box, so I didn't really mind. 

Now, with a house elsewhere, I do have someone text first if he can come by if he's in town. 

[Blergh]

Somewhat on topic: Are there any parents/guardians with working brains in NYC (or any other city) who   let their minor child's friends come and go at random at all hours of the day and night via said offspring's fire escape window instead of insisting that the friends enter and leave via the apartment's front door (and greet the parents/guardians) as was done in Girl Meets World?

[DrSpaceman73]

4 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Somewhat on topic: Are there any parents/guardians with working brains in NYC (or any other city) who   let their minor child's friends come and go at random at all hours of the day and night via said offspring's fire escape window instead of insisting that the friends enter and leave via the apartment's front door (and greet the parents/guardians) as was done in Girl Meets World?

Or Dawson's creek. 

Or any movie/show about teenage boys trying to sleep with a girlfriend.  

[RealHousewife]

12 hours ago, Zella said:

I'm really introverted, and I almost always hide if people stop by unannounced, regardless of what goodies they could be bearing. It's not even about being shy. I'm not. I just find social interaction very draining, even if I otherwise like the person in question, and having it sprung on me in a way that I have no control over is genuinely upsetting to me. As well as physically exhausting. Give me a head's up, so I can mentally prepare or reschedule, and it's all good. 

That's part of it for me too. It's one reason I drag out getting ready. As much as I love seeing certain people, I'm too introverted for surprise social interaction.

[DoctorAtomic]

In keeping with the surprise theme, here's a tv one that happened in real life over here - christmas carolers! I think it was actually last year because I didn't travel for xmas. There were actual carolers that showed up at the houses across the street and started singing. 

I froze - I thought I was trapped in tv - then I realized I better shut the blinds and turn off the lights. 

I'm just not into traditional xmas songs, they're too treacly. I'm not a grinch. I like stuff like Bruce Springsteen's Santa Claus is Coming to Town, even some Sinatra. 

[JustHereForFood]

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

Somewhat on topic: Are there any parents/guardians with working brains in NYC (or any other city) who   let their minor child's friends come and go at random at all hours of the day and night via said offspring's fire escape window instead of insisting that the friends enter and leave via the apartment's front door (and greet the parents/guardians) as was done in Girl Meets World?

I have never seen those fire escapes that lead to an appartment IRL. I would be certainly too scared to live at such a place. What is the official procedure if you see someone you don't recognize on it? Do you call the police?

[DoctorAtomic]

My friend in Boston had a multi room apartment with a fire escape. Which helped because I had to use the bathroom but walked in on some chick doing coke, then somehow we got locked in, so she got on to the fire escape and shimmied over to the kitchen to knock on the window. 

[meep.meep]

21 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

I'd love it except for another thing that's different in my reality . . .

How many of us are presentable 24/7? I certainly am not! I don't like the idea of anyone dropping by without a little bit of notice. I don't need to be dolled up, but if I'm lounging in PJs, no makeup and glasses on, I don't want just anyone seeing me like that. lol 

Have you learned nothing from this thread?  All you have to do is take off your glasses, slowly shake out your hair, and you'll be gorgeous!  Totally presentable.

When people spontaneously stop by my house with food, they're usually selling candy bars to raise money.  Not so much in pandemic times though.

[Mabinogia]

9 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

On the other hand any dog I see walking outside I have to wave at and say hi.  

I know the name of every dog in my complex. I know....one person's name. I've met other people. I've met Maggie the Malamute's mum, and Mable the Corgi's mum and Buddy's mum. I've met Dexter the Doodle's dad. No clue what any of their names are. Wouldn't recognize a single one of them if they didn't have their dog with them. 

 

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

There were actual carolers that showed up at the houses across the street and started singing. 

That actually happens IRL? I have never seen a real life caroler, and I don't want to. I would do to them what I do to the Trick or Treaters at Halloween...Turn off all the lights and pretend I'm not hope. 

[DoctorAtomic]

As god as my witness, I swear turkeys could fly there were carolers on my block.

Only the one time though. 

[Bastet]

22 hours ago, Zella said:

I just find social interaction very draining, even if I otherwise like the person in question, and having it sprung on me in a way that I have no control over is genuinely upsetting to me. As well as physically exhausting. Give me a head's up, so I can mentally prepare or reschedule, and it's all good.

I'm the same way, and would be quite put out if someone showed up - even with food - for an unannounced visit.  That's rude, unless you know the person you're popping in on is cool with such surprises.  (I still wouldn't care what I looked like, which is what I focused on in my post - I look how I look, and while I may choose to dress up, wear jewelry, and/or style my hair in certain circumstances, I have no problem with anyone seeing me in my natural state - but I'd be equally annoyed by the intrusion no matter how "presentable" I was.)

I was thinking about surprise food delivery in the context of how it actually happens to me - my next-door neighbor sometimes brings me food when she's made extra of something.  But she doesn't come in, or do anything more than describe the dish and accept my thanks.  That's nothing but a win (even when she brings me potato-based dishes, which I cannot stand, as I just pass it on).

Edited July 27, 2021 by Bastet

[BlackberryJam]

3 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

As god as my witness, I swear turkeys could fly there were carolers on my block.

Only the one time though. 

I think you meant, “With Bob as my witless.”

[KWalkerInc]

My father's old church, which didn't have too many members, used to have a caroling event each year.  They would carpool to the homes or retirement centers of some members who were older or had health problems (the people were called and gave their okay ahead of time).  A friend and I used to go every year, just to have an excuse to hang out and sing, and people would be excited to see us because we were considered "young" and think we were going to go to services again.  The other residents at the retirement centers seemed to like the singing, but the neighbors of the people in houses probably did think it was weird.  I think once we sang at the wrong house, but either no one was home or they just kept the lights off (I probably would too).

[janie jones]

On 7/25/2021 at 5:44 PM, RealHousewife said:

I'd love it except for another thing that's different in my reality . . .

How many of us are presentable 24/7? I certainly am not! I don't like the idea of anyone dropping by without a little bit of notice. I don't need to be dolled up, but if I'm lounging in PJs, no makeup and glasses on, I don't want just anyone seeing me like that. lol 

I'd like to be able to put on a bra and tidy up a bit. But to me it's less about being presentable and more about the intrusion. It's not like I'm sitting around staring at the walls all day. I have plans that don't involve entertaining unexpected guests.

Edited July 27, 2021 by janie jones

[ShortyMac]

On 7/20/2021 at 10:31 PM, Cloud9Shopper said:

I’m almost done rewatching ER, and although it’s one of my all-time favorite shows, there is no way I’d ever go to County General if it were a real hospital unless it was the last place on Earth and I was going to die in five minutes and needed my life saved now. It was generally fine in the first six seasons but after that the disasters got bigger. Still! You had doctors getting stabbed to death, exploding helicopters and ambulances, doctors getting held hostage at gunpoint in the hospital, doctors showing up to work drunk, shootouts. And not to mention female doctors wearing open-toed shoes, hair down and in their face (there’s also an intern in the last season whose hair half the time looks like she just climbed out of bed), or wearing three-inch heels. Maybe it’s just me, but all the female doctors and the female PA I’ve seen IRL wear flats (closed-toed) to work and dress business casual but polished, and their hair isn’t hanging in their face or mine.

But granted, most TV workplaces are unprofessional anyway. So yeah. And the pregnancy disaster thing that @GaT mentioned above also happened consistently on that show, with lots of women never even going up to OB to deliver or have their emergency dealt with. 

Don't forget a chemical spill, possible ricin attack, pox virus quarantine...

[Mabinogia]

4 hours ago, janie jones said:

But to me it's less about being presentable and more about the intrusion. It's not like I'm sitting around staring at the walls all day. I have plans that don't involve entertaining unexpected guests.

Even if I am just sitting around staring at the walls I don't want someone just showing up. Well, Chris Hemsworth could just show up if he really wants to, which he doesn't, so I'm not going to bother changing out of my PJs or combing my hair at this time. Hemmie, if you're coming by just give a ring first, or a text so I can at least brush my teeth. 😜

[Zella]

LOL I am more likely to be staring at the walls than actually doing something, but I still don't want another person crashing my recreational isolation without giving me a head's up. 

[RealHousewife]

7 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Even if I am just sitting around staring at the walls I don't want someone just showing up. Well, Chris Hemsworth could just show up if he really wants to, which he doesn't, so I'm not going to bother changing out of my PJs or combing my hair at this time. Hemmie, if you're coming by just give a ring first, or a text so I can at least brush my teeth. 😜

I love my family and friends, but yeah, I don't get surprise visits from any Hemsworth brothers either. That's another TV thing. That super hot guy next door. My last cute neighbor was when I was a kid. Took him for granted!

[GreekGeek]

On 7/26/2021 at 5:59 PM, Mabinogia said:

 

 

That actually happens IRL? I have never seen a real life caroler, and I don't want to. I would do to them what I do to the Trick or Treaters at Halloween...Turn off all the lights and pretend I'm not hope. 

I've been part of a caroling group in the local mall and on the church steps. Never gone door to door though,

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm actually the hot guy next door, so please feel free to move in. 

[Katy M]

9 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

I've been part of a caroling group in the local mall and on the church steps. Never gone door to door though,

Our girl scout troop did it when I was a kid.  Then in college my sorority went carolling in a nursing home.

[Shannon L.]

I'm always fascinated by the quirky characters who have multiple pairs of prescription glasses (ones they wear all day, not the cheap reading glasses you can buy at the drug store).  Are they wealthy enough to buy multiple pairs at a time?  Because glasses are expensive unless you get the cheapest ones so you don't have to pay that much beyond what insurance will cover.  I don't know about anyone else, but my prescription changes every year or so, so it's not like I can get different styles and colors every year and switch it up with my old ones depending on my mood or what I'm wearing.

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Shannon L. said:

I'm always fascinated by the quirky characters who have multiple pairs of prescription glasses (ones they wear all day, not the cheap reading glasses you can buy at the drug store).  Are they wealthy enough to buy multiple pairs at a time?  Because glasses are expensive unless you get the cheapest ones so you don't have to pay that much beyond what insurance will cover.  I don't know about anyone else, but my prescription changes every year or so, so it's not like I can get different styles and colors every year and switch it up with my old ones depending on my mood or what I'm wearing.

Well, my late father needed bifocals but  , he refused to want to admit that. Hence, he had TWO prescriptions, one for nearsighted glasses and the other other for farsighted glasses which he would carry on his person and constantly switch whenever the need for one instead of the other arose. 

[Shannon L.]

1 minute ago, Blergh said:

Well, my late father needed bifocals but  , he refused to want to admit that. Hence, he had TWO prescriptions, one for nearsighted glasses and the other other for farsighted glasses which he would carry on his person and constantly switch whenever the need for one instead of the other arose. 

I'm sure a lot of people do that, but I'm talking about the characters who have multiple colors and styles. 

[Browncoat]

I don't get that, either.  I have one spare pair of glasses, usually the last prescription, just in case something happens to my primary pair, but otherwise, no on the multiple pairs of glasses to suit every mood.

[Bastet]

Yeah, while I have three pairs of glasses all with different style and color frames, my three are for three different purposes, not to have three different aesthetic options.  I have my regular glasses, sunglasses, and then a pair for staring at a computer monitor - same Rx as the other two, but with something added to cut down on glare.

[CoderLady]

5 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I'm always fascinated by the quirky characters who have multiple pairs of prescription glasses (ones they wear all day, not the cheap reading glasses you can buy at the drug store).  Are they wealthy enough to buy multiple pairs at a time?  Because glasses are expensive unless you get the cheapest ones so you don't have to pay that much beyond what insurance will cover.  I don't know about anyone else, but my prescription changes every year or so, so it's not like I can get different styles and colors every year and switch it up with my old ones depending on my mood or what I'm wearing.

To give an actual TV example of what you're talking about, on one of her guest judging appearances on Beat Bobby Flay, Bobby asked Carla Hall how many pairs of glasses she owns and she said 53. Now, they might just be a fashion accessory for her but since she always wears glasses I'm thinking they must be at least mildly prescriptive.

WTF. I've been extremely nearsighted all my life with my prescription worsening every few years and I can't imagine buying multiple pairs of glasses which I wouldn't be able to wear without constantly having to replace the lenses to recoup the investment, because frames are fucking expensive.

I'd be pissed at Carla but damn! That lady has the most glorious natural hair on the planet.

 

[Haleth]

20 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I'm sure a lot of people do that, but I'm talking about the characters who have multiple colors and styles. 

Al Roker has several different color frames that he matches to his suits (and obviously he can afford as many as he likes), so it can happen in RL.

[Mabinogia]

6 hours ago, Haleth said:

Al Roker has several different color frames that he matches to his suits (and obviously he can afford as many as he likes), so it can happen in RL.

For me the multiple glasses thing falls into the same category as the designer house and designer clothes thing. If the character is meant to be well off/rich, it doesn't bother me, if the character is supposed to be middle class or lower, it starts to get annoying, depending on the situation. 

If, say, Sue from The Middle had a different pair of glasses for every outfit I'd be thinking WTF? Her family can't afford to fix their appliances, why are they buying their teen daughter so many pairs. If one of the kids from The Nanny had glasses for every outfit, I wouldn't think much of it since their daddy is rich and they have a nanny, of course they're going to have glasses for each outfit.  (yeah, my references are very dated. lol)

[GaT]

You don't actually have to get new glasses every time your prescription changes, you can just get the lenses replacement & keep the old frames, as long as they're still in good condition.

[Irlandesa]

On 8/7/2021 at 3:18 PM, CoderLady said:

WTF. I've been extremely nearsighted all my life with my prescription worsening every few years and I can't imagine buying multiple pairs of glasses which I wouldn't be able to wear without constantly having to replace the lenses to recoup the investment, because frames are fucking expensive.

There are discount frames places.  Not that I think she goes there but how much she spends on her glasses can vary.  It's doable, even for "regular" folks (not poor but with a decent middle class income) by using those discount sites if their prescription is pretty simple and doesn't change all that much over the years. 

I fall into that latter category. I could probably wear the first pair of glasses I got fifteen years ago and have no issues seeing even though the prescription has changed slightly I wouldn't have to keep swapping out lenses.

[biakbiak]

4 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

There are discount frames places.

My friend who used to have several frames before she got LASIK would also buy them at thrift stores and flea markets, her prescription was simple and didn’t change much so she would just save up to get the lenses if her insurance didn’t cover it.

[Browncoat]

My lenses are complicated.  They often cost more than the frames.  But I do usually keep a set of frames for several years before I get tired of them, or they wear out/break.

[Rootbeer]

On 8/8/2021 at 8:07 AM, Haleth said:

Al Roker has several different color frames that he matches to his suits (and obviously he can afford as many as he likes), so it can happen in RL.

Nowadays, with sites like Warby Parker and Zenni, where a new pair of glasses costs under 100 bucks, a lot of people can afford multiple pairs of eyeglasses.  They're cheaper than many brands of sneakers.

[Katy M]

5 hours ago, Browncoat said:

My lenses are complicated.  They often cost more than the frames.  But I do usually keep a set of frames for several years before I get tired of them, or they wear out/break.

I literally did not know it was possible for the frames to cost more than the lenses.  Well, I mean, I suppose anything is possible, but I thought as a rule the lenses were usually more.  I usually get new frames every year or two so I have a back up pair of glasses just in case.

[Browncoat]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I literally did not know it was possible for the frames to cost more than the lenses.  Well, I mean, I suppose anything is possible, but I thought as a rule the lenses were usually more.  I usually get new frames every year or two so I have a back up pair of glasses just in case.

If you have an easy prescription with only mild correction, no astigmatism or don't need bi/trifocals and don't want anything special (anti-glare, anti-scratch, insta-sunglasses), your lenses can be well under $100.  I have seen frames that cost several hundred dollars, and I feel confident that there are those that run in the thousands.  I haven't seen them, though -- they wouldn't be big sellers around here.  I think my current frames were a couple hundred-ish.  But my lenses generally run around $400 or so, because they're so complicated.

[Bastet]

8 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Normally, homeowners just shut off their outside lights, and that is supposed to be enough to tell the little kids to hit the road.  I don't think that is enough, at least not for me.

It has always worked for me.  I've never given out candy on Halloween (I only went trick-or-treating twice, as I thought it was dumb, so I have no qualms about not participating on this side of things), and all I do is turn off the porch light - I've never had anyone ignore that and come to the door.

[WinnieWinkle]

7 minutes ago, Bastet said:

It has always worked for me.  I've never given out candy on Halloween

This reminds me of a faux thing I notice on TV - people giving out candy on Halloween from a very small bowl.  If you only get a few kids, sure, but I call this the endlessly refilled bowl as the times I notice this it's made clear that the door bell never stops ringing.  I wish I had a never empty bowl of candy!  Well, on second thoughts, perhaps not!!