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You know somebody has a twisted sense of humor when you hear "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones as background music in Safeway....
Cecilia (who can't figure out an appropriate smiley for this sort of wierdness)
Do you mean the lyrics, "Cain't get no satisfaction? That's hilarious!!!
How about this one, CeciliaW?
http://www.buddy-icons.info/img/smile/1787.gif
(Taking aim at the speakers emitting the music).
Just point, Mrs,-M, and I'll join you. The local Acme (Albertson's, or maybe Chubb Foods today - who knows?) is apparently being run by adolescents and I can barely stand being in the store due to the obnoxious and overly loud music.
I know it, Jemima. I've met the same a few times while shopping privately-owned clothing stores.
People who tell you they want something you posted on Freecycle and then never show up. Or in the case of the first person who asked for it, never emailed or called me back to make arrangements.
I am so over recycling. The rules seem to get more byzantine by the year: shredded paper goes in transparent bags in your recycling bin; shredded paper should be "layered" in your yard waste bin; styrofoam can be taken an hour or so's drive away; plastic bags can be bundled and deposited in your recycle bin; plastic bags should really be taken back to the store and put in a bin there; rules for the periodic neighborhood hazardous/miscellaneous waste seem to change with every scheduled event...So I have piles of used batteries, bins in every room for paper and cardboard, boxes with electronic gear waiting for the next pickup. It feels like a part-time job. Of course I'll carry on--I know I should appreciate that my community has a robust recycling system--and I do--and of course a partial solution is to buy less, but the whole process peeves me. It never ends.
I am so over recycling.
I hear you on this. And it can be taken to extremes.
Friday I got roped into helping clean out a lab that had belonged to a professor who retired. Someone decided that we must recycle all the glass and plastic containers he'd kept samples in. So as we were emptying these jars clouds of pecan shell dust and other crap was floating all in the air. No to mention having to handle the samples of actual pecans - from 1969, no less - that had to be rancid as hell. My sinuses went ballistic that night.
And there's still lots of jars to be emptied. >8) I'm pretty sure I'll have research to be done offsite the next couple of days.
I am so over recycling. The rules seem to get more byzantine by the year: shredded paper goes in transparent bags in your recycling bin; shredded paper should be "layered" in your yard waste bin; styrofoam can be taken an hour or so's drive away; plastic bags can be bundled and deposited in your recycle bin; plastic bags should really be taken back to the store and put in a bin there; rules for the periodic neighborhood hazardous/miscellaneous waste seem to change with every scheduled event...So I have piles of used batteries, bins in every room for paper and cardboard, boxes with electronic gear waiting for the next pickup. It feels like a part-time job. Of course I'll carry on--I know I should appreciate that my community has a robust recycling system--and I do--and of course a partial solution is to buy less, but the whole process peeves me. It never ends.
Jane that is not very earth friendly of you.:D
As I stand and sort and exercise my "awesome compacting ability" (that's DH's subtle dig at my excess poundage) on our household waste, it's kind of my zen moment. I do it mindfully and keep the bad ideas out of my head because really, I know that it has limited utility but there is little I can do about the actions of others. You think that my ghetto neighbors bother to separate green compost products from recyclables from "regular" garbage, let alone pull out #6 plastics from all of the others? Not bloody likely. Hell, I'm happy if they actually get throwaways in a receptacle of any kind, keeping it off of my garden. It's entirely unrealistic to expect them to sort according to any kind of schematic, no matter how "simple." Pigs.
Jane that is not very earth friendly of you.:D
As I stand and sort and exercise my "awesome compacting ability" (that's DH's subtle dig at my excess poundage) on our household waste, it's kind of my zen moment. I do it mindfully and keep the bad ideas out of my head because really, I know that it has limited utility but there is little I can do about the actions of others. You think that my ghetto neighbors bother to separate green compost products from recyclables from "regular" garbage, let alone pull out #6 plastics from all of the others? Not bloody likely. Hell, I'm happy if they actually get throwaways in a receptacle of any kind, keeping it off of my garden. It's entirely unrealistic to expect them to sort according to any kind of schematic, no matter how "simple." Pigs.
In fairness, pigs recycle food scraps...
LOL......yeah....don't give pigs a bad name. haha
I know this will make some of your skins crawl, (that doesn't sound right...haha) but I wish they would make recycling mandatory. I'll bet just a small fraction of people recycle.
I'm pretty compulsive about it.
LOL......yeah....don't give pigs a bad name. haha
I know this will make some of your skins crawl, (that doesn't sound right...haha) but I wish they would make recycling mandatory. I'll bet just a small fraction of people recycle.
I'm pretty compulsive about it.
There's been an interesting response to mandatory composting/recycling in Portland. Last fall they instituted a schedule where they'd only pick up Garbage every two weeks and but would pick up Compost every week. So of course now they're all up in arms about people putting Garbage in the Compost bins every week. Imagine that.
domestic goddess
6-12-12, 3:30pm
There are gremlins in our house! Every night before I go to bed, I make sure that the kitchen is tidy, that dirty dishes are either washed or placed in the dishwasher, that sinks are cleaned, counters wiped, etc. Same in the bathroom. Yet, when I get up in the morning, there are food containers, some with food in them on the counters, dirty dishes in the sink, cigarette ashes in sinks and on the stovetop and counters. Just the other morning I woke to find that the bathroom sink had sprouted a fur coat of beard trimmings! Ewwww!! I don't know how the other people in the house stand it! We have to stay up some night and see if we can catch this little creature, and put an end to this, and I don't really relish staying up all night, but I guess we will have to. It only takes a few minutes to clean up each mess, really, but my back hurts so badly that I hate to waste the little time I have before I have to quit cleaning each day cleaning up after the little monster that has no respect for the work I have already done. Now I am done with my rant, and I feel a little better. I'll report back when we have caught the culprit and tell you what mysterious place he comes from.
Mighty Frugal
6-13-12, 12:28pm
LOL......yeah....don't give pigs a bad name. haha
I know this will make some of your skins crawl, (that doesn't sound right...haha) but I wish they would make recycling mandatory. I'll bet just a small fraction of people recycle.
I'm pretty compulsive about it.
It is mandatory in my city and surrounding cities. Here our garbage is picked up bi-weekly. Recycling bi-weekly-and we can put all recyclables in our blue bin-paper, plastic, etc.
Weekly we have a green bin pick up-that's organic matter-we are not permitted to put food scraps etc in our garbage, nor recycling in our garbage
Raccoons love green bins!
treehugger
6-14-12, 6:19pm
This is such a petty peeve, but I just have to get it out there into the universe. We just had our annual review cycle at work, and I got promoted. I have worked very hard during the 2 years since my last promotion, and I am very proud of my accomplishments. My peeve? In prior years, there has been an announcement email sent out to the office each year at this time, detailing the promotions. That didn't happen this year for some reason, and since it's really pretty strange to mention ones own promotion in casual conversation, I can't talk about it. I wanted my 15 minutes in the sun, dammit!
Kara
early morning
6-15-12, 7:54pm
I'd be happy to send out that email for you, Kara! Of course the people on my email list would be very confused, but hey, I confuse them constantly anyway...
Congrats on your promotion!
My pet peeve? People who edit their own posts immediately, when they realize that they didn't actually respond to the thread topic - oh wait! Can I BE my own pet peeve? :~)
fidgiegirl
6-15-12, 8:30pm
Well, no more Friday night social plans with DH's family. I am too crabby and tired on Friday nights to have the patience I need to have a good time with them. It takes a lot out of me to be with them. I just know that. And I am TERRIBLE about concealing my annoyance with people, no matter how hard I try. And I hate that about myself, but try as I may, I can't do it. But sometimes I do better than other times. And tonight I thought I did a pretty darn good job and had a good time and then I get home and DH informs me that maybe I need a nap. >:( Nice.
Well, no more Friday night social plans with DH's family. I am too crabby and tired on Friday nights to have the patience I need to have a good time with them. It takes a lot out of me to be with them.
Kelli, if it makes you feel any better, my wife and I have long declined Friday night social plans with anyone. We were just too wiped from the week to really want to discharge the batteries some more by electing to be with people. Now it has to be a pretty special event that we can't move before we commit to a Friday night. There's no shame in taking care of yourself, and that is what you are doing.
ApatheticNoMore
6-15-12, 9:09pm
Well the cleaning crew is throwing away my walnuts again. :|( Ok course I was dumb enough to leave them on my desk yet again.
Another pair of pants ruined by lily pollen. Why can't I learn not to wear anything but black when I work with lilies????!!!! I really liked these Goodwill pants, too.
Another pair of pants ruined by lily pollen. Why can't I learn not to wear anything but black when I work with lilies????!!!! I really liked these Goodwill pants, too.
LOL. I read this before I was caffeinated and initially thought you had ruined your underpants. I was wondering what you could possibly have been doing to get lily pollen on your underpants. :)
Miss Cellane
6-16-12, 8:24am
LOL......yeah....don't give pigs a bad name. haha
I know this will make some of your skins crawl, (that doesn't sound right...haha) but I wish they would make recycling mandatory. I'll bet just a small fraction of people recycle.
I'm pretty compulsive about it.
My town hasn't made recycling mandatory, but there are recycling bins outside most homes on trash day. You see, trash *must* be put out in special trash bags that cost $1.35-$1.60. Recycling pick-up is free. So you can either pay to have your bottles, cans and cardboard hauled away, or have them taken away for free. Your choice.
Today's peeve:
Neighbors who act like they are the sole universe, and no one else matters.
One of the neighbors is marrying off their only child today, and have a number of out of town visitors staying with them, including some people who brought along their travel trailer. Before 9am, their next door neighbor (across from me) starts mowing the lawn, starting right next to where the travel trailer is parked (within 20 feet). You couldn't do the rest of the lawn, or start in the back? Did you maybe think that after a rehearsal dinner, people might want to sleep in?
sweetana3
6-16-12, 11:55am
Hey, I had to tell my husband that 8 or 9am on Sunday morning was too early to mow our urban yard. He had been up since 5 and could not understand why it was a problem.
domestic goddess
6-16-12, 12:51pm
Herbgeek, that seems to happen often out here in the western 'burbs of Chicago. At 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings, you can expect to hear the sounds of lawnmowers, and leaf blowers in season. Now I realize that sometimes they are lawn care companies starting early (though not usually at 7 am), but really, You can't wait until most people are into their day before you start up that loud and obnoxious noise? Really?! It isn't really the sleep I miss (though I do miss it when I have worked the night before and am therefore into my "night), but what I really hate is the lack of a peaceful start to the day and the noisy intrusion on what is a time of prayer and contemplation for me. But it was pretty quiet this a.m., so I will now shut up.
domestic goddess
6-16-12, 12:54pm
Sweetana3, I have to shamefacedly admit that in my younger and more mischevious days I enjoyed getting up early on Sat. morning to mow the lawn, because my neighbors kept me up until 3 or 4 a.m. with their music. Back then, I felt that a little payback was in order. I have mellowed, slightly.
Originally posted by Domestic Goddess.
There are gremlins in our house! Every night before I go to bed, I make sure that the kitchen is tidy, that dirty dishes are either washed or placed in the dishwasher, that sinks are cleaned, counters wiped, etc. Same in the bathroom. Yet, when I get up in the morning, there are food containers, some with food in them on the counters, dirty dishes in the sink, cigarette ashes in sinks and on the stovetop and counters. Just the other morning I woke to find that the bathroom sink had sprouted a fur coat of beard trimmings! Ewwww!!There would be (you know what) to pay if I were dealing with such!
domestic goddess
6-16-12, 4:21pm
Well, normally I would just let them have it, but dd gets very defensive about dsil if I get a little upset. Then she chronicles every time in my life that I left anything sitting anywhere. It just really isn't worth it. So I am just going to quit cleaning up after them. If I can't cook because the dishes are dirty, so be it. If people come over and see the fur coat on the bathroom sink, I hope they are embarassed. That's just the way it is going to have to be.
Herbgeek, that seems to happen often out here in the western 'burbs of Chicago. At 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings, you can expect to hear the sounds of lawnmowers, and leaf blowers in season. Now I realize that sometimes they are lawn care companies starting early (though not usually at 7 am), but really, You can't wait until most people are into their day before you start up that loud and obnoxious noise? Really?! It isn't really the sleep I miss (though I do miss it when I have worked the night before and am therefore into my "night), but what I really hate is the lack of a peaceful start to the day and the noisy intrusion on what is a time of prayer and contemplation for me. But it was pretty quiet this a.m., so I will now shut up.
I had a moment of guilt this morning, mowing at 9.00 am because I feel the same, but then like Domestic Goddess, my neighbors are truly inconsiderate with their music and noise and late hours. Hmmmm. oops! But I don't make a habit of it.
By the sounds of it, my neighbor is coupling and uncoupling boxcars, or perhaps stacking sheet metal. I was hoping rain would keep things quiet around here today. But alas.
treehugger
6-19-12, 6:05pm
I'd be happy to send out that email for you, Kara! Of course the people on my email list would be very confused, but hey, I confuse them constantly anyway...
Congrats on your promotion!
Just seeing this now, but thanks, early morning! I think I may be over this peeve by now...but I definitely appreciate the congratulations.
Today's peeve? The ongoing one of my who has been nothing but trouble since she was hired 3 months ago (attitude and skills issues), and now she suddenly has job-related repetitive stress injuries. *sigh*
Kara
Today's peeve: tradespeople who schedule to meet you days in advance and then show up early. Not at the beginning of the time they said they would be there; 20 minutes early. -1 point for this contractor....
fidgiegirl
6-23-12, 2:49pm
Well, normally I would just let them have it, but dd gets very defensive about dsil if I get a little upset. Then she chronicles every time in my life that I left anything sitting anywhere. It just really isn't worth it. So I am just going to quit cleaning up after them. If I can't cook because the dishes are dirty, so be it. If people come over and see the fur coat on the bathroom sink, I hope they are embarassed. That's just the way it is going to have to be.
You go, DG. You aren't the maid, anyway.
It's. so. hot.
Today was supposed to be the cool day :( It's hotter than any of the others!!!!
After cat-sitting for a friend for the past three nights, I am rethinking my desire of getting another cat, as for the past three nights kitty has awakened me in the middle of the night with his constant yowling, just for the sake of hearing his own voice. I can hear him through ear plugs, a closed bedroom door, and a fan in the window on medium speed. Sorry kitty, tonight you will be banished two floors down to the basement.
After cat-sitting for a friend for the past three nights, I am rethinking my desire of getting another cat, as for the past three nights kitty has awakened me in the middle of the night with his constant yowling, just for the sake of hearing his own voice. I can hear him through ear plugs, a closed bedroom door, and a fan in the window on medium speed. Sorry kitty, tonight you will be banished two floors down to the basement.
Having a companion animal is--or should be--a lifetime commitment. Like children, they can be expensive and annoying. They bring with them their own personalities and quirks. For all your little charge knows, he's been forever abandoned by a loved one. I think your impulse not to get a cat is a sound one.
Not if SiouzQ makes a lifetime commitment to her cat. If she loves her cat she will be able to deal with the issues. Most cats don't have issues anyway. Don't know that that cat's history is but it's possible it just misses its owner and is mourning. Maybe when the owners are there Kitty never yowls.
I have a very lovely cat who is very sweet and very affectionate but she is needy and constantly wants to be petted. But I deal with it. My dog is a barker. And a digger. But I love them both and have made a lifetime commitment to them so whatever issues come up, we will work through them even if that only means me learning to accept the issues.
Once you learn to love your kitty you'll be ok being patient as you work on any problems that arise.
Plus, you know how many kitties need homes.
I would advise you getting a young kitten (6-8 weeks) when you do get a cat.
Good luck, whatever you decide.
AmeliaJane
7-14-12, 11:34pm
On Saturdays, I usually bring home a "treat" for lunch--I went two different places and both were running late with opening, so weren't ready to serve :(. I had ice cream in the trunk, so I only had so much time for errands... Also, my Internet has been in and out for days. I have a back-up in place, but it's expensive and not nearly as good bandwidth.
For people for whom "organic" produce is important, why don't you learn what that term it means? No the local farmers are not automatically "organic." No DH's garden produce is not "organic." It's pretty unlikely that you are going to find certified "organic" at most fresh produce venues.
Political &/or religious posts on Facebook. I don't care what your belief/persuasion is - you can't have a reasonable discussion there.
Facebook in general. Although it can be useful for keeping up with old friends, and former classmates, it can also be a big time-suck and a source of misunderstandings. I deactivated my account today, when I realized that I was getting ready to respond to someone's post with an argument. Totally stupid, and not the place to do it. I'll probably get around to deleting my account altogether, when I have more time.
I wonder if we're the only nation in the northern hemisphere that doesn't get a summer?
I wonder if we're the only nation in the northern hemisphere that doesn't get a summer?
I'll trade you ours...
^ let's meet in the middle :) Give me 10C of your heat, and we'll call it even!
I wonder if we're the only nation in the northern hemisphere that doesn't get a summer?
You can have mine, too. Southeastern Pennsylvania looks like the scenery for a day after doomsday movie.
Hehe, I'll pass you over some of the torrential rain as well :)
My next door neighbor's obsession with power tools for every single task (can't SWEEP the driveway, which looks perfectly clean to me, must use a loud gadget to blow the thin dust layer off). Eek. And he's retiring. Double eek. Better than the last people with the dogs chained out in the snow barking, I suppose.
iris lily
7-21-12, 11:39am
The MAll! Almost one giant peeve. But I will limit it to:
1) Whne did the mall become completely boring? (except for Anthropologie)
Oh a speaking of shipping, I took DH to a real store to buy new clothes for his high school reunion, to JC PEnney's. I like Penneys anyway, and I like their new marketing approach, limited "Sales"
. The St. John's Bay pants that are 34" waist are NOT that, they "run small" according to the salesman. How stupid is that!!!!????? Men's clothes were the one constant thing about shopping, the waist size is the waist size. Now I've got to bring a tape measure, I guess. When these start hitting the thrift stores in a few years I will no longer be able to shop for DH without having him along to try on stuff.
sweetana3
7-21-12, 12:47pm
I am so with you on the Mall. I make it a point to not enter one. They were so chain store, expensive full retail, current look (meaning not wearable), too bright, etc.
If I have to got to Sears for underwear, I go in the side entrance and leave the same way.
Simpler at Fifty
7-23-12, 5:08pm
My peeve today is about road construction detours. We have a roundabout going in about 2 miles from here. It is a main crossroads. They set the detour up but there is a shorter way which it appears most people are using. The problem is they just pull out in front of you from a stop sign when you do not have the stop sign. The rules don't change just because it takes a few more seconds to get across the highway people! Maybe after the first major car accident they will install temporary lights.
60mph speed limits on narrow, bidirectional roads! Whose idea was this?! In what way does it sound safe to zoom by another vehicle headed in the opposite direction, a mere 3ft apart at high speed?? Am I the only one who would be satisfied if every road had a speed limit of 40 or under? I'd rather get somewhere slowly than get there dead!!!
fidgiegirl
7-31-12, 11:53pm
When I'm in the middle reading something interesting and I have to stop and do some dumb project that could wait.
Simpler at Fifty
8-4-12, 8:15am
We have a double standard in our State. A 35 yr old woman had sex with 3 teenage boys dozens of times and gets no prison time. She has jail time but no prison time. ONLY 21 mos in jail!!! If a man had sex with one teenager he would be in prison for life. I wonder if the judge was a woman if the sentence would have been different. Such a double standard.
fidgiegirl
8-5-12, 12:06am
My father-in-law bought a Mac. He finally decided, after years of us saying he'd prefer one and find more success with it, that it is the best according to Consumer Reports and he MUST HAVE IT. The ONLY thing I asked if he were going to buy a Mac was to buy it directly through Apple and get AppleCare. Well you guessed it. To save $100 he bought it through Best Buy. So I ended up setting it up (which Apple would have done for him for free) and I am troubleshooting a wireless problem. He did buy the Apple Care but doesn't have it yet (it actually comes literally in a box). Well, I'm thinking he can get on the phone to Apple and figure it out himself. DH and I are the only ones in the family with Mac background and we cannot be helping him with every little problem. He's on the verge of returning it. Good. At this point, I hope he does.
Not sure if I am more mad at him or more mad at myself for not sticking to my limit up front. I told him before he ever bought it that I am not a technician and can't fix every little thing on his schedule (RIGHT THIS INSTANT), but then I'm doing it - wait, attempting it - anyway. Or if I'm mad at Apple for not resolving a HUGE HOLE in their OS! I can't believe so many people are having the same problem that my FIL is having! And I'm a die hard Apple girl! I had a pink iMac when everyone still thought Apple was going down the crapper!
Rant finished. Thank you.
Fidgie, I SO get it! I somehow ended up being considered *the* expert on our industry-specific software we've been using for three years (I essentially taught myself the system with some very cruddy screen prints). We're going to a new version in several weeks. The company we merged with is going on this software for the first time. I trained our corporate customs compliance person on the software. She let slip, when visiting another office, that I'm the one to go with on questions. I didn't mind a few here or there, but Thursday, I spent an HOUR on the phone with two people in that other office.
I spent considerable time putting together very good, very clear, very detailed screen prints and notes. Why people cannot use these is beyond me.
Thursday was the last straw. I went to my manager, who is going to our regional GM, who will put a stop to this immediately. I've got enough to do.
When said person called me on Friday with several questions, I nicely told her I was sorry, but I didn't have the time to help her. She was OK with that, but I've got enough on my own plate, which includes being unofficial IT in my own department, in addition to learning my own new duties as Customs Compliance manager.
I told him before he ever bought it that I am not a technician and can't fix every little thing on his schedule (RIGHT THIS INSTANT), but then I'm doing it - wait, attempting it - anyway.
After years of attempting to help DOS and Windows users who could not be bothered to maintain anti-virus subscriptions or to not "preview" email rife with malware and never backed up critical files, I finally declared to family and friends that I would be happy to be their tech support as available -- only if they bought a Mac, even a used one. If they chose to "save money" by buying a Windows computer, I would be willing to point them in the direction of training or live help or how to phrase questions for Web searches, but I was no longer going to spend hours of my life rebuilding infested systems or dealing with cr@ppy driver software only to have the work abused by people who didn't care to know better. I still find myself spending more time than I want on fixing Windows issues, but it's been a pretty good line in the sand for me.
There's also the awkward discovery that he has been visiting - ahem - certain websites that most likely very much contributed to the virus issues he was having on his PC. And no way to alert him to this, because he would die if he knew that I know. *Sigh*
Thanks for the love, all . . . he's vacillating between returning and waiting it out. If he returns it, his PC friend isn't available until Tuesday night to help him set it up, anyway. So he might as well wait it out until I can get on the phone to Apple with this weird wireless issue. I set up one computer. I'm not setting up another one.
decemberlov
8-6-12, 10:28am
I work for a printing company and the designer here drives me crazy!!!
I'm especially agitated by her process (or lack of) for sending out proofs to our customers.
We have jobs that come in, get designed and she emails them to the customer for approval. Many times we will have jobs sitting out waiting to be approved for a week or more. She never calls them on the phone to let them know they're in their email. Not everyone is at a desk all day like us checking their email every 5 seconds!! Make a phone call and let them know it was sent so they don't have to go searching through a hundred emails a week or 2 after it was sent!! It frustrates me to no end! The faster we get jobs approved, the faster we can print and bill and get paid! Most of the time I have to take it upon myself to make the phone call. Not my job. When I first started working here they had me emailing the proofs for her!! What designer do you know that doesn't email their own proofs out ???!!! Seriously??!! Luckily I changed this pretty quickly...still very frustrating though.
treehugger
8-10-12, 2:25pm
Waiting around at home for someone to show up for an appointment (in this case, a re-fi appraiser, but it could be anyone). Why are they almost guaranteed to be late? I have things to do! This is my last day of vacation! *sigh*
Kara
I am sick of hearing my husband say that Tyler has taken on more than he can handle. (Regarding college, marching band & xc). His school work is going to suffer. It's a bad idea. Over! & Over! I am just tired of hearing it!
I realize Ty has taken on a lot. But you know what.... maybe he CAN do it. Maybe he should get the chance to fulfill a dream. He knows what he has to do if it's not working. So just drop the attitude already.
My left eyebrow is turning white! WTF? So much for symmetry...
I cannot believe that my sons academic adviser is is advising him to sign up for 21 Credits! I am appalled and more than a bit po'd. I can't believe that he would suggest that to anyone let alone a freshman! He also smooth talked DS into changing to a music education major.
DS was heading off to another meeting with the adviser when we left him this afternoon and we haven't heard from him since but I am hoping that he now has a more reasonable schedule.
I cannot believe that my sons academic adviser is is advising him to sign up for 21 Credits! I am appalled and more than a bit po'd. I can't believe that he would suggest that to anyone let alone a freshman! He also smooth talked DS into changing to a music education major.
DS was heading off to another meeting with the adviser when we left him this afternoon and we haven't heard from him since but I am hoping that he now has a more reasonable schedule.
Sounds like a recipe for failure.
Tell me about it, Tiam! sigh...
Well, at least Ty was able to see his adviser and get it down to 19 credits. Three of the classes are trombone lessons, guitar lessons & intro to aural skills. So those should be pretty easy for him. It's just the amount of time involved.
We have been doing online stuff for years with no problem - until lately. I have had to deal with more weird things re: online services in the last six months. Bah!
Today my peeve is:People who sit in their cars with their brake lights on, which indicates to me that they plan to move any moment. I am trying to find a space to pull into at the downtown grocery store. PEOPLE! Either move your ass or turn your car off and sit in it.
And it just pizzes me off that I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME properly use "its" the possessive, I always use the contraction "it's." WHEN did this happen? I once knew and used the correct form daily.
Uggghhhh... I had a doozy of a day. I was way late to work because I wrote down my schedule wrong, and it just got worse from there. I dropped things, I banged my head about six times on hard inanimate objects at work, and I felt way off in dealing with customers. Even though I knew why it was happening (major PMS, which I have never really had before) it was (and is) kicking my butt today and once again, I allowed it to spiral out of control. Thank god tomorrow is another day and I can choose to start all over again. No caffeine, no alcohol, no cigarettes. Must get back on track. This sucks big time. Over and out. Sleep is the great healer of all things amiss....
The girls irritating friend came over last night and now I'm feeling very Get Off My Lawn. I am not even kidding you, the kid ate my dinner. Not the dinner I had prepared for the family, my dinner. As in I had to eat chips and cheese at 11PM because I didn't get to eat. I told her she had to go home for dinner since I hadn't planned on guests and I was working on a big baking project and she came back while we were eating. Zach let her in. I was up and down checking on the cookies for my dads Franciscan thing tonight and while I was in the kitchen she ate my food. Zach felt terrible. He was distracted and didn't realize it.
She also sat at the table pounding on it and demanding cookies. Zach gave her one. Why? I don't know. She complained that they had brown sugar in them. Guess who isn't coming over for a while?
Seems I have a little plumbing problem under the kitchen sink that will require me to put in a new trap or connector, or both. Should be easy, but the trick knee couldn't handle it. So now I have a bad knee and a bad sink. And a bad attitude. Sucks to be me.
Mighty Frugal
9-14-12, 10:00pm
My eldest son-he's 7-came home from school with lice. sigh. And my head feels itchy!
I'm rather peeved at the guy who smashed into my parked car last night in my complex, causing a good bit of damage. He had a fight with girlfriend, took off at high speed, skidded on wet pavement going around a corner, and bang, right into my car. Pushed one front tire onto curb, almost sending my car into the one next to it, but not quite. Rear right corner is really messed up. Stopped just short of my gas cap. Guy could have blown it sky high! Bumper is pushed into contact with tire, so it couldn't be driven. I have a Focus and this guy was driving a Jeep SUV. My car is 7.5 years old, paid off, with a bit more than 82K miles on it.
The best part? It happened a bit before midnight. Someone out walking their dog saw it happen, but guy drove off. Straight to the police station. He didn't have a valid insurance card on him (expired a few weeks ago), so at least he got a ticket and a court date for *something.* Cops were banging on my door for five minutes straight last night to tell me, but I was dead to the world. I'm a heavy sleeper. This morning, I was up at 5:40, doing some work, and cop came knocking. I am SO angry. I do NOT need this right now. 19 days before the customs brokers exam. Merger mayhem at work. I could go on...
Good thing I still had full coverage on my car (my insurance is cheap - $80 a month for car and renter's with State Farm). Went with a collision place SF works with, very close to me. They arranged for tow. I have rental car coverage, but I couldn't wait the two hours for Enterprise to bring me a car. I called my choir directors who are very close friends, and asked for the loan of their spare beater car, which I got (wife of couple off today). Dropped off my car key at collision place, then went into work about 10 am and worked 11 hours. Collision shop said, from a photo I took, that it's very possible it will be two weeks before I have my car back. Possible frame damage. My hatchback was hit, too.
I have to cough up my $250 deductible, though. SF will go after numbnut's insurance.
Idiot.
Oh, I'm sorry Tradd! What a mess.
OOH, MightyFrugal. Yuck. I know. Just hearing about someone having lice can make you all itchy.
Tradd, I have state farm too. The one time I was hit by someone that didn't have insurance (bald tires, wet road on a hill, took it too fast and slammed into my car) state farm kept after them. It took the girl about 3 years of making weekly payments to state farm and just when I'd forgotten about it....a check from state farm arrived in the mail. They had her making payments to cover my deductible that I had to pay out of pocket for the repairs to my car.
fidgiegirl
9-16-12, 1:11pm
Just trying to resist the constant rush-rush-rush, do-do-do of life. We not bad people if we've held on to a few checks for 2 weeks and haven't yet send them to the bank. We are not bad if we haven't gotten around to watering all our trees. We are doing fine even if we have a few boxes of stuff that hasn't been attended to.
AmeliaJane
9-16-12, 6:23pm
I try to only grocery-shop once a week--most times if I run out of something, I will come up with a substitute. I definitely don't go on Sunday afternoons when everyone is grouchy and in a hurry because the weekend is ending, but this time, I was out of windshield wiper fluid and a key ingredient for dinner (thought the jar was full when it was almost empty :(). Three stores to choose from--of course, the first one I picked only had one of the two so I had to go somewhere else for the rest. Sigh.
"Have you ever thought of cooking the eggs in bacon grease?"
"GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!"
(No, I really didn't yell at him...) We love each other dearly, but talk about Pushme-Pullyou! I cook my eggs in butter. Period. Bacon on the side, usually. Short of Oscar and Felix, you would be hard-pressed to find two people who disagree more on how to do absolutely everything. Once, he instructed me on the most efficient way to exit the Safeway parking lot to get to the jewelry-repair shop a block away. In my town, where I drive the same way every time. Hey! My car, my gas! Gaze of doom.
We love each other dearly, but talk about Pushme-Pullyou! I cook my eggs in butter. Period. Bacon on the side, usually. Short of Oscar and Felix, you would be hard-pressed to find two people who disagree more on how to do absolutely everything.
Oh, man. I can so relate. His mantra is "I say black, you say white." I want NOTHING on my food, which he tells me is flat out wrong. "All the professional chefs use a lot of salt." (I know I must be crazy, but Kosher salt is much saltier than Morton's) It can't be just cheese, it has to be cheese drizzled silly with honey. It can't be scrambled eggs, it has to be one part eggs to three parts half-and-half. He's the Paula Deen to my Helen Nearing.
So, we're walking every evening for Health and Wellness. Tuesday evening I stepped on an uneven patch of sidewalk and turned my left ankle, bruised my right knee, right elbow and outside fingers on right hand when I fell. So, several days of ice and rest and the swelling and bruising are going away. Nothing broken, thank whatever power you believe in, because the Last thing I need at this point is more medical bills.
I tell ya this exercise stuff is Dangerous!
Current foster dog meets potential adopting family today, everyone gets along, the potential dad is really on board (not sure about the mom) and then Mr. Rescue Dog decides to LIFT HIS LEG AND PEE ON THE CHAIR IN THE LIVING ROOM!
He has never done this before.
doh you idiot. This is not showing yourself to be lovable.
Was this at the adoptive family's house? I'd take that meaning he likes it there. I always hope for the best match. Maybe that wasn't it...
Was this at the adoptive family's house? I'd take that meaning he likes it there. I always hope for the best match. Maybe that wasn't it...
nah, it was at my house. This dog has been with use for 8 weeks, twice as long as normal. He's a great dog. Several situations have fallen through. We are falling for him and he has GOT to get out of here.
It's obvious to me he wants to stay. Resign yourself and chip him.
Pump bottles for lotion. Apparently I do not know how to even spring out the nozzle to get a new one started, as evidenced by the mess I made trying to start a brand new bottle of body lotion I got from work. Aren't you supposed to spin the nozzle thingy until it pops up? Well, or so I thought, I spun and spun and nothing popped up; it just popped out altogether and now I have a nozzle-less giant bottle of body lotion.
And that is just the beginning. I hate it when you have pump bottles when you think it's the end and nothing squirts out only to find out that there is at least a month's worth of product left in there and every time you go to use it it involves a lot of fussing with the spent nozzle-wand, tapping, banging or whatever one needs to do to get the full money's worth. At the very end I resort to cutting the dang thing open with a box cutter and scooping out the remainder. Oh, the things we do for frugality.
Helped host a free Happy Hour event for an association at a nice downtown hotel. Weeks of publicity via email and meeting announcements. Planned for 30, get 40 RSVPs - great, the more the merrier. Actual attendees: 22.
I understand a few no-shows: flat tire, babysitter cancelled, whatever. The rest of you - bah!
My ex-wife used to sell Tupperware. Her standing rule (which proved surprisingly [disappointingly?] accurate) was to count on 1/3 of the people who said they would come. By that standard, you did well. But it's still a disappointment -- and irksome when you have to plan around it.
I really wish people would believe me when I tell them I don't know how to do something. Getting peeved at me when I don't do something because I really do NOT know how to do it - not helpful.
(Not work releated!)
Not good car news!
Numbnuts at body shop! Chick told me late this morning she would give me a call late this afternoon about when I could pick it up as they close at 5:30. Nada, so I just called. Not ready until TOMORROW. I gave the manager a piece of my mind and told him it must be done by tomorrow lunchtime. Not maybe. Must. Period. Idiot. And then I'd like to give the a--hole who smashed my car a real piece of my mind. I am not happy. ARGH!
I have to drive 90 minutes up to my friend's I'm staying with tomorrow night before exam. I want my car!
I talked to the body shop chick late this morning and she told me she would call me late this afternoon about when I could pick it up as they close at 5:30. No call. So at 4:45 I called. Not ready. There is no excuse for her not calling me.
Why is it that every time I park in one of the Five Minute Book Drop parking spaces there is at least one other car there and no one else at the book drop? I expect courtesy and literacy from library patrons, but apparently...
You and me both, Tradd, about people not believing when others don't believe you really don't know how to do things you really don't know how to do. And I never understand why they do that.
iris lily
10-30-12, 1:15pm
Let me state my peeve! then I will go off to remedy it.
For months now the Red Cross has been calling our home, trying to reach DH to sign up for giving blood. He is a regular donor and has been for ten years. He has the blood type that is a universal donor and he has big fat veins where the blood just pours out in 15 minutes. In other words, he's a prime blood giving candidate.
I used to make his Red Cross blood donation apppointments for him, but that didn't always work out since I don't know his schedule, so I stopped making his appointments. I left messages for him to call the Red Cross, but he doesn't call them back. He will cheerfully sign up for a blood appointment when they call him but he won't call them back.
I have asked the Red Cross: PLEASE call our home landline after 6:30 at night to reach him. Please. I won't give them his cell phone number. That's his business number and he may be on top of a ladder or talking to a customer when they call and he doesn't have a calendar handy then, anyway.
They apparently cannot call after 6:30 because they all go home. doh. Seriously, people--you want others to donate their time and blood and you cannot call during non-business hours because you cannot bestir yourselves to work evening hours? Ok!
Now I am off to find a solution for this. I want him to give blood, he wants to give blood, we will make somehting work, but I am not impressed with the Red Cross in this particular matter. Otherwise, I will say that they are always very nice when they call and are consious of the hassles that blood donors go through.
SteveinMN
10-30-12, 1:25pm
I want him to give blood, he wants to give blood, we will make somehting work, but I am not impressed with the Red Cross in this particular matter. Otherwise, I will say that they are always very nice when they call and are consious of the hassles that blood donors go through.
My experience as well. The people calling for appointments are unfailingly nice -- but they can't see to do much of anything besides book an appointment or make a note to call some weeks later. When I was donating at work, the local office (which was coordinating the blood drive at work!) would call me a week or so after a work donation asking if I could donate again. No, according to Red Cross rules, I cannot. They never seemed to get their act together, so I told the local bank to not call me; I would just donate at work.
Scheduling definitely is one area in which the Red Cross could do better. Iris Lily, you have encouraged me to call my local Red Cross and make some suggestions. Thank you.
Here is my pet peeve for today: Those mailings that come all sealed up where you have to tear off three sides of the envelope along the perforations. I can never get the blasted things to tear smoothly and end up just ripping the thing to shreds.
iris lily
10-30-12, 8:56pm
RE: The Red Cross
Their blood donor schedulers at the national number DO work at night, but they can't put a note in the records to call only at night.
So, tonight I stood by DH and with him scheduled his next blood donation appointment. That worked, and I guess that's what we will do in the future, I will get him to commit to a phone call.
treehugger
10-30-12, 9:02pm
So, tonight I stood by DH and with him scheduled his next blood donation appointment. That worked, and I guess that's what we will do in the future, I will get him to commit to a phone call.
Is he willing to schedule his next appointment when he checks in for his appointment? That's what I do. No phone calls needed (and I agree, their customer service/organization/training for callers is somewhat lacking). I donate every 8 weeks like clockwork, and I love scheduling my appointment this way. Then it goes into my calendar that is always with me (on my phone), and I don't have to remember anything.
Kara
P.S., I know this is a rant thread not a solution thread. ;)
JaneV2.0
10-30-12, 11:27pm
So my beloved happened to mention that some cat shelter near him was having a function (C.A.T in Sherwood, OR), which led me to look it up, merely out of curiosity. They have lots of homeless cats*, each more gorgeous than the next. Truly, I've never seen so many stunning cats in one place: lynx points, tortie points, flame points, snowshoes... But the thought of driving all the way down there and then back with a couple of stressed out cats in the back seat was unappealing. Which led me to check Petfinder for local cats. I do this from time to time and never seem to find what I'm looking for. But I was immediately struck by a familiar face. A very familiar face. I know there's an impulse to try to replace a lost pet with a little replica, and I've always thought that was doomed to failure. But this cat, and her straightforward challenging expression set me back on my heels. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19936028?rvp=1
So I called. What will come of it, time will tell. I don't need or want any more responsibility. If this gets complicated or expensive, I blame it on my beloved, who got the ball rolling.
*It's 2012, there are free spay clinics everywhere. People are idiots.
iris lily
10-30-12, 11:44pm
Is he willing to schedule his next appointment when he checks in for his appointment? That's what I do. No phone calls needed (and I agree, their customer service/organization/training for callers is somewhat lacking). I donate every 8 weeks like clockwork, and I love scheduling my appointment this way. Then it goes into my calendar that is always with me (on my phone), and I don't have to remember anything.
Kara
P.S., I know this is a rant thread not a solution thread. ;)
hahah solutions might be ok. I don't know if he is willing to schedule it that far in advance. But I will mention that to him.
iris lily
10-30-12, 11:46pm
.... But I was immediately struck by a familiar face. A very familiar face. I know there's an impulse to try to replace a lost pet with a little replica, and I've always thought that was doomed to failure. But this cat, and her straightforward challenging expression set me back on my heels. http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/19936028?rvp=1
Wow, that's something. Keep us informed, Chantrell is lovely.
PMS...menopausel PMS...all day I've been feeling a little off, increasingly tense and grumpy, then I remembered...I am also having insatiable hunger. I ate an entire pan of steamed collard greens and an entire block of sesame tofu in one sitting (it could have been worse, like a carton of ice cream). Actually, that sounds good too.
I also said something really snarky about someone else to my roommate last night and I am feeling bad about it and would like to apologize to her for involving her in something really stupid. It's not even like me to do something like that, but after a few beers and impending PMS, I guess anything can happen.
Meh...
Chantrell is beautiful reminds me of my Zanzibar. I'd love another long hair cat if it wasn't for the long hair.
JaneV2.0
10-31-12, 11:04pm
Um. When the porch light is off, and in fact all the lights in the house are out, YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY CANDY!!! So stop knocking on my door, you drooling mob of cretins. !pow! Ahem.
And, in other news...I'm thinking I just had an instant, visceral response to Chantrell's virtual identical expression (picture 3) to my lost lamented kitty, and that I will just back off and wait until another little urchin shows up on the doorstep. It's not like LLK is replaceable, anyway.
iris lily
10-31-12, 11:30pm
We avoided the Halloween crowd by going out to dinner then sneaking home and going into the house with all lights off but for our auto motion sensor. Fortunately there were not crowds of kids on the street tonight. Sometimes I like Halloween, sometimes I do not. When I like it I'll play along but on my terms.
fidgiegirl
11-1-12, 7:21pm
When a friend asks you via text "Hey, can I stay at your house on Nov. xx-xx?"
and the day before she's supposed to arrive, the text you get is "We'llbe arriving around dinner."
making you want to say no to said friend altogether, which makes you feel like a horrible person, when it was friend's fault she didn't say anything about an additional guest earlier.
My twice a year Pet Peeve: I hate time change. Pick one or the other and stay with it. Repeal Daylight Savings Time!!
I am SO SICK of the robo calls. We're on a Do Not Call list, but I guess the political robo calls are allowed. We got about 7 of them yesterday.........and 2 after we were in bed!!! :devil:
I have to pet peeve Blogger. Regardless of the fact that all of my photos are of similar file size and are jpeg, it seems to pick and choose which ones it will allow me to upload. And the majority get the little orange triangle fail sign. This has been happening since I started using it. Pulling my hair out. And then, sometimes it will put the 'failed to upload' photo into Picasa, which I don't even want to use.. and is baffling that it will upload to Picasa but not onto the new blog post. Bang. Head. On. Wall. I'll just be a photoless blogger, if this continues.. :treadmill:
treehugger
11-5-12, 11:17am
My twice a year Pet Peeve: I hate time change. Pick one or the other and stay with it. Repeal Daylight Savings Time!!
I am totally with you on this. It takes me at least a week to reset my internal clock twice a year. I simply do not understand the excitement over "we get an extra hour of sleep!" Doesn't work that way for me. *sigh*
Kara
As part of new position, I have something Customs-related that each customer has to renew annually. We need them to sign off on it. No auto renew. I love the customers who just ignore me. They don't respond to phone calls, faxes, OR emails. Drives me batty. We'll see how they are wh this thing isn't renewed and they can't get anything through Customs!
As part of new position, I have something Customs-related that each customer has to renew annually. We need them to sign off on it. No auto renew. I love the customers who just ignore me. They don't respond to phone calls, faxes, OR emails. Drives me batty. We'll see how they are wh this thing isn't renewed and they can't get anything through Customs!
Is there any way you can change to auto-renew/opt-out? You'd hear from them soon enough.
Is there any way you can change to auto-renew/opt-out? You'd hear from them soon enough.
Nope. We need the paper trail of a customer specifically authorizing us to renew. CYA is a perpetual need in my industry. It's saved our arses before.
Awkward situation in that my new roommate sprays WAY too much perfume or something on before she goes out at night. My house smells really different now that I have a roommate-her shampoo/body wash or whatever is a wee bit cloying should I say. I am a non-scent-type of person, not that I am allergic per say, I just don't like a lot of scents other than a light, fresh citrus-y smell. Not into baby powdery/floral yuk...not sure what to say or do but I can even smell it seeping into my bedroom :(
mtnlaurel
11-13-12, 6:20am
Awkward situation in that my new roommate sprays WAY too much perfume or something on before she goes out at night. My house smells really different now that I have a roommate-her shampoo/body wash or whatever is a wee bit cloying should I say. I am a non-scent-type of person, not that I am allergic per say, I just don't like a lot of scents other than a light, fresh citrus-y smell. Not into baby powdery/floral yuk...not sure what to say or do but I can even smell it seeping into my bedroom :(
That might be a deal breaker for me. My olfactory senses are really powerfully connected to my thoughts/feelings.
What a bummer!
open letter to my friends: I love you all, but I don't want to be responsible for being the social planner *all* the time. The emails noting that "it's been so long since we've gotten together" are hints for me to start the email chain to figure out when/where/what.
I'm stepping back. It's not that hard to say "I read a review of a great restaurant - let's try it on the 14th, who wants to meet there at 6 pm?" instead of - "I'd like to meet up, you tell me when and where. ..."
Nope, your turn!
This roommate experiment is not working...I finally fell asleep at 4am only to be woken up by roommate and her new friend leaving for work at 5:45 this morning. She's not a bad person at all, but our lifestyles are too different and I am a very sensitive sleeper. My house has very creaky wood floors and stairs and squeaky doors. Bad things happen to my psyche when I don't get enough sleep; I've been drinking WAAAAAY too much coffee so I can function at work. I don't like how my time in my house is being challenged because she's sleeping in after being out super-late. It means I can't play my guitar in the morning, or work on my jewelry (noisy pounding). I am not looking forward to having a talk with her, as I do like her a lot. It's just a major difference in lifestyles ~ she is 15 years younger than me and is kind of a party girl. I am 51 and I cannot. I have to be very careful about the lack of sleep thing as I can start getting a little hypo-manic and really run myself ragged trying to keep everything going. And we are heading into retail hell season; I HAVE to be able to function at work. I need to reclaim my sanctuary. $250 a month is starting not to seem worth it. I have to be at work at 2:30 this afternoon. Now I am going to waste a perfectly good stretch of morning time trying to get some sleep so I can function later.
SteveinMN
11-16-12, 10:18am
SQ, it sounds like the "roommate experiment" is not working out with this roommate. If you got someone who wasn't so much of a "partier" or someone on a similar work schedule, I'm guessing it would work out far better for you. Good luck! I know what you mean about having to get enough sleep; DSD finally moved out of the house after a few months and accommodating her early-to-bed and the slamming screen door every work morning at 6 was -- well, I'm glad she's in her own house now. :)
fidgiegirl
11-17-12, 1:26pm
Squirrels in the crawl space. Grrrr.
Laser_Cat
11-19-12, 11:09pm
open letter to my friends: I love you all, but I don't want to be responsible for being the social planner *all* the time. The emails noting that "it's been so long since we've gotten together" are hints for me to start the email chain to figure out when/where/what.
I'm stepping back. It's not that hard to say "I read a review of a great restaurant - let's try it on the 14th, who wants to meet there at 6 pm?" instead of - "I'd like to meet up, you tell me when and where. ..."
Nope, your turn!
Lainey I definitely understand!! I'm always in the same situation! Why is it that people can't just pick a date and pick a time and make it happen! On a related note, if I organize a dinner outing and make reservations to go to a restaurant, please don't cancel last minute or worse yet not show up at all and think it's "okay" to do that, especially to a friend or co-worker!
iris lily
12-17-12, 9:04pm
uh, dude? Your sister calls to ask if she & her clan can come to stay overnight on Christmas Day, you aren't even going to be here days prior to that, and you said yes? Without even talking to me? Who do you think is going to clean the filthy carpet that you INSIST we must keep? Where are the 3 sets of dogs (who poo, pee, fight and spread blood all around) who must be separated going to stay with all of these people in the house? Who is going to clean this place? This is holiday time, you don't just get housecleaners in or shlepp 4 dogs off to a kennel this time of year, they are full up.
ApatheticNoMore
12-17-12, 9:18pm
Monday
To the world at large (well, I have a targeted person in mind)
I know that "rescue" is currently fashionable and a "rescue dog" is the thing to have. But please be honest, if you buy a puppy from a breeder, that is not "rescue" and don't represent it as such. Own up to buying a puppy from a breeder. It's not a sin, it's not against the law. Just don't insult me by giving a long story about how you "rescued " a puppy. No you didn't, you put $500 in the pocket of a backyard breeder whose sole purpose in dog breeding is to make money.
Oh and by the way, if you breed that puppy as you are talking about, I WILL be shunning you.
We went into a little boutique pet store yesterday to buy a bully stick for our Frenchie. With our Frenchie. The lady at the counter told us, "Oh, the owner breeds those. Want another puppy? You can come into the back and see them."
Uh, no. I don't want to see a puppy mill operation in the back of a pet store. Ours truly was a rescue, and we feel good about the home we've given him despite people like YOU, pet store owner lady.
But really, I'm feeling the sting of having to pay for a vacation I didn't really want at all. Grumpy that my FIL booked us a beach condo in Florida, halfway across the country, proud that he's paying for it for us. But we still have to fly, rent a car, take a hundred dollars in ferries, buy groceries at jacked-up resort prices, and pay the credit card bill when it comes in with $2000 we can't afford on it. I should've found some diplomatic way to say no thanks, but I didn't think. (kicking self)
But we still have to fly, rent a car, take a hundred dollars in ferries, buy groceries at jacked-up resort prices, and pay the credit card bill when it comes in with $2000 we can't afford on it. I should've found some diplomatic way to say no thanks, but I didn't think. (kicking self)
I don't know as there's a diplomatic way to refuse such a gift, but maybe you can tell FiL that you're very pleased he thought of you with such a (air-quotes) generous gift, but that when you toted up all the costs you would have to incur, you found you really cannot afford to do it, what with the impending refrigerator purchase and all?
People who had a dog, who they leave outside and uncared for and are now divorcing and cannot "afford" the dog. The house is $450,000, with 3 cars in the driveway and a house full o'crap. Umm..yeah..thanks for allowing me to foster this beautiful creature. And may you NEVER have another animal in your life.
People who had a dog, who they leave outside and uncared for and are now divorcing and cannot "afford" the dog. The house is $450,000, with 3 cars in the driveway and a house full o'crap. Umm..yeah..thanks for allowing me to foster this beautiful creature. And may you NEVER have another animal in your life.
Bless you, MamaM, for what you do, and thanks, Steve, for the thoughts. Too late to change anything now, but next time I'll try to be more on the ball.....
People like that tend to view their animals with about the same value they place on their houseful of crap. Couldn't live without "it" when they got it, but easily thrown away when it's inconvenient, or they just don't have the urge to have it any more. Never occurs to them it's a living thing they have a responsibility toward. I have scary urges to hit people like that over the head with heavy objects daily. (would never do it, but my daydreams are vivid)
pug, I am sending you Frenchie Love today.
pug, I am sending you Frenchie Love today.
Thanks, I.L. His little head is finally starting to widen and he's getting chunkier. So adorable at this stage, makes me such a grumpy protective dog-mama.
I have lived in some pretty icky places all so I could keep my dog(s) and cat(s). I did what I had to do to keep us together as a family. I have a 119lb dog. I go through $120 worth of food/medications/shampoos a month. Probably around $50 for the cat. I give up fancy shoes, a new car, fancy house stuff because I love my animals. People and pets are not disposable.
What kind of a person comes into the library and asks to have their address written down for them?
They are living locally, sure, to attend the college. But how could you not know your address?
Why do people have to bring their sick children to public places? My boys and I were at the library when another kid got sick. Grandma said, "Oh no, not again." Fast forward two days, and we're all sick. I'm peeved and bitter.
To a certain someone at work, to quote Raymond Carver:
Will you please stop talking? please
Just SHUT UP and stop yakking about yourself!
To a co-worker: you left me a voice-mail message with an urgent request when I was gone for the day. When I returned, I worked it first thing in the a.m. and then sent you an email explaining status, upon which you replied, "don't worry, I figured it out and got it done while you were gone."
Thanks - that's 20 minutes that I wouldn't have wasted if you'd sent me a 10-second follow-up message. Simple etiquette, people !!
SteveinMN
3-19-13, 10:43pm
To a co-worker: you left me a voice-mail message with an urgent request when I was gone for the day. When I returned, I worked it first thing in the a.m. and then sent you an email explaining status, upon which you replied, "don't worry, I figured it out and got it done while you were gone."
Geez, my old boss has a new job?? :0!
My next paycheck I will have only worked 3 days, THREE DAYS out of a two week pay period. My fall happened on my "Monday", the start of my work week that week...
On a brighter note however; I've saved some money because of not smoking...I'm on day 10 :)
decemberlov
3-20-13, 10:34am
On a brighter note however; I've saved some money because of not smoking...I'm on day 10 :)
Good for you SiouzQ :)
SteveinMN
3-20-13, 12:09pm
Go, SQ, go!!
Not sure where to put this, but today I am feeling bad because I have caused someone hurt who doesn't deserve it and there is nothing I can really do about it. I finally, finally confirmed to myself for once and for all that it is better to be alone than be with the wrong person, even if they are sweet and kind and did nothing glaringly wrong. It has taken me a long time to admit to myself that I don't (and won't) have the same kind of feelings for this person as he does for me, and now I believe he is finally, FINALLY getting it. He posts EVERYTHING on FB but cryptically...his posts from this morning are sad and I know he knows I am seeing them. And I hate knowing I caused him to feel the pain of a hope dying.
Yet on the other hand, I finally feel free of this 9 month long questioning of myself and my feelings toward him and figured out I just can't force myself to be in a relationship with this man. He is a good person and I hate knowing that at times, because of my own confusion about the situation, I wasn't very graceful or communicative. He didn't deserve that but in the past few months I have made it pretty clear that I wasn't able to make the kind of commitment he was hoping for...
SteveinMN
3-25-13, 10:50am
SQ, I'm glad you finally were able to arrive at a conclusion several of us saw when you mentioned this relationship some time ago. As the book (sort of) said, you just weren't that into him. There's no foul and no wrong in that and you were smart to avoid further commitment while you figured this out. As I recall, your suitor appeared content to wait until you realized what you wanted (though I'm sure he wanted the decision to be different). Breaking up is not easy, but now both of you are free to find relationships which are better fits. It just isn't you for him or him for you. Good for you for finding the strength.
And, in later news, a peeve of my own:
As DW and I were going through our "stuff" with our financial planner, we determined that some pension information had not yet been updated to include DW. So I contacted that employer and asked what I had to do. I was told that I needed to provide a copy of our marriage certificate -- but that since I was not updating this information during our first year of marriage, I would have to provide additional documentation (!). Some of the acceptable proof wasn't going to happen, like adding DW's name to the mortgage. But they would accept utility bills in both our names.
So I called up Xcel Energy and the local water utility and asked to add DW's name to the bills. Done. One call each, no delays, no questions beyond how DW's name was spelled. They asked for no proof at all. I probably could have told them my wife's name was Katherine Upton and they would have been fine to type that into their computers. So in the next month or so, I will receive utility bills in my and "Kate's" names and these will be submitted to my former employer as "proof" of our marriage.
Ridiculous.
peeve of the day today:
Cookies and how I can not control myself around themcow-hi
And, in later news, a peeve of my own:
As DW and I were going through our "stuff" with our financial planner, we determined that some pension information had not yet been updated to include DW. So I contacted that employer and asked what I had to do. I was told that I needed to provide a copy of our marriage certificate -- but that since I was not updating this information during our first year of marriage, I would have to provide additional documentation (!). Some of the acceptable proof wasn't going to happen, like adding DW's name to the mortgage. But they would accept utility bills in both our names.
So I called up Xcel Energy and the local water utility and asked to add DW's name to the bills. Done. One call each, no delays, no questions beyond how DW's name was spelled. They asked for no proof at all. I probably could have told them my wife's name was Katherine Upton and they would have been fine to type that into their computers. So in the next month or so, I will receive utility bills in my and "Kate's" names and these will be submitted to my former employer as "proof" of our marriage.
Ridiculous.
Steve, that does seem ridiculous.
The corporation I work for went through a similar exercise about 5 years ago in requiring proof of legal relationships for insurance reasons. Seems like a lot of people "forgot" to delete their kids from the policy when they became of age, or had actually gotten divorced but kept the -ex on their policy. Lots of people were removed from insurance rolls when this audit was done.
Steve, that does seem ridiculous.
The corporation I work for went through a similar exercise about 5 years ago
I know that bureaucracies create the rules they do out of overreaction to particular situations. It's easier to create a rule than to examine a situation and deal with transgressors individually and thoughtfully. I get that (though I don't like it). I can see an audit exposing a lack of controls over the eligibility of people, especially for expensive benefits like insurance.
It just gets me that it is pretty much no barrier to provide the additional (but required) documentation they want to verify a marriage certificate (a certified copy of which I also must provide). Useless hoops. And further proof that the private sector can be fully as screwed up as any government.
The neighbor has taken to floodlighting his house and keeping all the inside lights on well into the night. I'm not sure why, and I usually have my head under a pillow anyway, but--like everything else he does--it's inconsiderate and annoying.
What can you do with a person who says, "I don't know if I told you this story before, but..." and starts into said story. I reply, "Yes! I do remember when you told me about that! It sounded just awful!"
Then they proceed to tell you the story AGAIN. WTH?!
frugalone,
sounds like what happened to me when I went to big chain bookstore tonight. I know the cashiers are required to offer you the spiel about their membership card, but I already have a membership. When I went to the counter the cashier robotically asked, like he'd asked the 5 people in front of me, do you have a membership card? I said Yes, and pointed to the card I'd just laid on the counter. He then said, Would you like to save 10% with a membership? I said, again, I already have one, and pointed to my card again.
At this point he blinked his eyes and came back to life, so to speak, and shook his head and apologized.
Slow down, service workers, and listen to what your customer is saying, and life is better for both of us.
The pathetic and sad state of affairs this forum has become! i.e. Total lack of participation and involvement by members other than about a dozen of us regulars.
As of today, a regular I am no longer.
Every damn meal I drop silverware on the floor. Or food. Klutzyville.
treehugger
4-3-13, 11:52am
My peeve for the week: people who can't see the forest for the trees. At my job, I need to see both the details *and* the big picture. That's part of what makes it interesting. But I am constantly mediating/doing battle between the detail-oriented and the big picture focused. They speak different languages!
Kara
As of today, a regular I am no longer.
:( In my opinion these things ebb and flow, so please don't stray too far away!
I'll echo what Lainey says. It seems that participation is lower in the good weather months. I take it as a sign that people are getting up from their computers and going outside, which isn't a bad thing. Boycotting participation on the site only diminishes the value for those who do regularly participate and facilitates a downward spiral. Please stick around Mrs M!
The retail world is irritating me lately. The local gas station raised prices for a car wash, and it didn't even get the car clean. Bought two boxes of tissue from Trader Joe's and they were so rough you could practically sandpaper the walls with them. Tried a new brand of hard cider and a new type of cheese and they were both totally unappetizing.
Also, how come the police never seem to be around when people are driving like maniacs?
And sometimes I irritate myself...I hate changing the sheets and always put it off too long. Today I was so proud of myself for getting it done, looked around for the pillowcases as the last step...and realized I had put on an old pair of sheets I kept for back-up after the cases got ruined, absent-mindedly ignoring the nice new set that was right there in the linen closet. Sigh.
I'm having a bit of irritable rage I need to talk myself down from right now. It all started when I decided to drive my new car down to a blues jam I used to go to sing at pretty regularly. Tonight I just felt like driving my new car, as I had a rare Sunday night off (except that I have been up since 4am and worked from 6am until 2:30) and I've been trying to be at least a little social. This is what happens when my shift changes - my eating schedule gets all screwy because I can't eat anything before work at 5:30am as it makes me a little nauseous to eat that early. So I had some granola and fruit around 9am, some almonds and apricots around 1pm. So when I got home at 4:00 after running a few errands after work I was really hungry and made a cheese omelette and PB toast. So was that "breakfast" for lunch or dinner? Consequently, I never made dinner because I wanted to go to the blues jam. I get there and have one beer and was kind of hungry so I am perusing the menu but I didn't feel like spending a bunch of money on a real dinner so I ordered deep-fried pickles-WTF? They were $5.99 and I basically got three deep-fried pickles spears cut into a couple of chunks. Was I ever pissed off - what a rip-off! I ate them because I was hungry but I complained to the waitress, who really couldn't do anything about it but I asked her to please tell the manager or owner that their price on this appetizer wasn't at all worth it and I felt ripped off. I told her I would never order food there again. The weird thing is I feel so much anger at wasting this money in the first place and I can't let it go for some reason...I think a lot of it could be hormonal but I still can't let it go. Why didn't I feel this sense of outrage when I'd waste $6 on a pack of cigarettes?
Come to think of it, I don't think I put a nicotine patch on today...hmmmm...
Today's peeve is recipes in which ingredients and cooking methods show up like moles in a whack-a-mole game. One of today's recipes mentioned chicken buillion powder in the ingredients and never mentioned it again. (Fine, I left it out. I don't have any anyway.) The reverse for garlic, unspecified in the ingredients list but mentioned with some other ingredients that had to be sweated before being added to other ingredients. (I threw in a couple of cloves.) >8)
There's a reason I rarely use recipes and when I do I consider them rough drafts.
Today's peeve is recipes in which ingredients and cooking methods show up like moles in a whack-a-mole game. One of today's recipes mentioned chicken buillion powder in the ingredients and never mentioned it again. (Fine, I left it out. I don't have any anyway.) The reverse for garlic, unspecified in the ingredients list but mentioned with some other ingredients that had to be sweated before being added to other ingredients. (I threw in a couple of cloves.) >8)
You may be using amateur recipes. Look, I don't know what your recipe source is, but an editor prevents that simple mistake (or rather, the editor's minion.) So here's a plug for professionally written, edited, and produced cookbooks and websites. All Recipes is great but it's amateur-land out there.
Not crazy about All Recipes. Or Cooks.com. The huge number of relatively-undifferentiated results just ... it's like someone dumping a big bunch of folders on my desk and asking which one I want. Besides, they just don't have that many recipes I find interesting. I appreciate the plug for professionally-written/edited recipes. But I like finding home-style ethnic recipes from people who grew up cooking and eating that kind of food. So I'll just have to remember to proof the recipe myself. I guess I'm peeved at myself for not remembering to do that. :~)
Mighty Frugal
4-9-13, 4:28pm
All this left over Easter chocolate...not sure whether to put this into the 'peeves' or the 'gratitude'!
Really pissed at the Universe for giving my pug cancer. He's suffered enough in the past year or so, and now this. Give the poor little guy a break already, you big freakin' bully.
ApatheticNoMore
4-15-13, 3:01am
Well it's heck on earth time again. That's right taxes. It's not that I owe, probably not. No, it's worse than that, it's the sheer infinite insolvable complexity of the whole thing. Schedule D has gotten worse - more complex.
So suppose you have a taxable fund that reinvests dividends/capital gains etc. on a regular basis. It realistically becomes near impossible to determine the date of aquisition, when all these little piddly aquisitions (reinvestments) are going on all the time (or not all the time, but if you hold a fund for awhile ...). Now this used to be easily handled under schedule D by using an average cost basis and listing "various" as the date of aquistion (this may not be tax saving optimized but it is simplicity). But apparently "various" is no longer allowed (at least in tax software). So ..... sigh. And *this* isn't even tax complexity. I've had complex taxes this is just a very ordinary thing if you have a taxable fund that reinvests.
But still, I need some kind of long term solution to my tax problem. Possible solutions:
1) don't hold anything beyond bank accounts in taxable accounts. Only put anything else in IRAs, 401ks. Ok but this solution is stupid. It's locking the money up for what seems like forever not EVEN to save taxes, just because the complexity of taxes is driving me batty
2) don't have anything beyond bank accounts in taxable funds reinvest - instead have them cut dividend checks or whatever. I could accept this solution. It seems a really stupid choice just to have to make because taxes are so complex though
3) figure out some method by which tax reporting becomes straightforward for this. I.e. maybe if I used LIFO or FIFO, date of aquistions would show on broker forms and all would be happy. I don't know if that's true or not. I suppose I'd have to research it. Not a bad solution. Haha, I'm not even trying to minimize taxes here, I mean yes sure if I could do so without complexity I'd want to, but I'm mostly trying to minimize complexity - because the situation is bad
4) Always pay accountants to do my taxes and beg for mercy. Ok this seems like a great solution, right? The problem is if I'm struggling because the data is not on the forms, maybe they would too. I mean they know much more about taxes than me, so maybe they know a way out, that's like duh that I just don't see, but even tax accountants struggle with missing data *sometimes*.
They had to go and make taxes even more complex! :doh:
I vote for #4. Tax accountants (important distinction; accountants have specialties just like doctors and IT people) know the rules, in part because they can spend far more time on them than you and I. I know what we spent on our tax accountant this year would pay for several years of "TurboTaxCutatHome" but she found deductions I never found with TTCatH and has been well worth the $$.
My mom's and brother's taxes are far simpler than ours and change little from year to year. This year, instead of spending $30 on tax software for just their simple returns (frugal!), I did them by hand. Line by line, the rules are convoluted and have as many forks in them as a cafeteria. It does make one long for a simple flat tax. But I suspect that, if that ever happens, we'll be surprised at the positive behaviors which go away without special tax treatment and the unexpected shifts in behavior caused by same. Nevermind the phalanx of tax accountants, lawyers, software companies, and more that would shrink but not without a fight.
Really pissed at the Universe for giving my pug cancer. He's suffered enough in the past year or so, and now this. Give the poor little guy a break already, you big freakin' bully.
I'm so sorry puglogic. Thats hard.
Really pissed at the Universe for giving my pug cancer. He's suffered enough in the past year or so, and now this. Give the poor little guy a break already, you big freakin' bully.
I am sorry to hear that about the little pug.
sweetana3
4-15-13, 10:34am
I vote for tax simplification. When I started in 1973 with IRS audit, we did all our computations by hand with pencil and paper. Easy peasy.
When I left, no one could use paper and pencil since it was too complex. People on the counter were even formally trained in each area and never allowed to answer any! question not in their direct area no matter the simplicity of the question. They would be written up. They had scripts on the computer for answering the questions that went on and on to try and identify each and every permutation that could arise from even a simple question. If they missed something, again written up. Plus there were areas that none of the counter people were trained on since the areas were deemed "too complex". Customers were directed to the phones. Some is understandable. There are accountants making 6 figure salaries trying to make complex decisions and a counter person making $25,000 can hardly be expected to "know everything".
I even had people in my own office refuse to answer a question from me and we both worked there and it was a business related question. I was steamed and they heard about it.
So my peeve is tax complexity.
ApatheticNoMore
4-15-13, 11:50am
I doubt a tax preparer would pay for themselves, as I take the standard deduction and doubt I can beat it with no mortgage interest (cause renting) and no major healthcare expenses (because I'm not sick - thank heaven). But yea just complexity, makes it worth what it will cost, that I fully expect to pay for out of pocket.
I have had taxes so complex that tax preparers don't understand them (and it wasn't the cheap people at H&R block either - but like I said this years aren't *that* complex). I think having tax software at this point is becoming self-fulfilling in making tax more difficult, they dont' even care if they vote for ever more complex taxes because the software will do it (of course while it makes it less difficult, that's not entirely true).
I vote for tax simplification too, it doesn't even have to be a flat tax, the brackets themselves aren't the complex part (and they've existed for ages), just tax simplification. It would change behavior? Oh bully you mean I wouldn't have left my money in an old 401k from a job I had 2 years ago, because I dont' want to move it until I talk to a tax accountant about that specific issue even though I know it should be tax free? Because that's really how tax neurotic I have become after repeatedly being burned. My parents did their own taxes for years, I always thought I could do the same, but I have hired accountants some years, and I have begun to suspect taxes may never be simple enough to ever do any years tax return myself ever again. And I wonder if I'm stupid because my parents for years ... only I *know* I'm not stupid or unable to do simple math or follow a logical chain (like tax logic), but sweetana is right, they're just becoming more and more complex. I am going to take my guess at this years taxes, finish them up, and file, because I've gone to far to bother with an accountant this year, but in the future yea ... need major tax consulting.
I love my oldest DS. And I am so very proud of him. However.... He is stressing out big time right now due to end of the school year stuff and the responsibilities of the solar car team. Which makes him impossible to talk to. He snips at everything we say. Nothing we say is right. He's grumpy and irritable. As much as I want to know what he's up to and how he's doing I can't stand to talk to him for more than 5 minutes.
OK, now DS#1 has really ticked me off. He got the package. He didn't seem to appreciate it much. To be fair he did say he loves us a couple of times. But... he said he is eating good (ha! I have my doubts about that based on his history). Said he is sleeping 8 hours most nights. Just different 8 hours than I do lol Said he the most stressed when he talks to us because he then he has to talk about how he is failing 1 class, not doing so well in another and how he is so far behind on his solar car stuff. He doesn't have anything new to say. And there are things he just can't talk about now regarding solar car because it is top secret.
Sounds ok doesn't it? However, it was 2 long FB instant messages. He said we never seem to get that he is constantly busy. He can't tell us about solar car unless we ask him specifics which would require him to give us an hour of background information to even get to. He is frustrated with always have to tell us the same things. blah blah blah
I know part of why I am so mad right now is that my feelings are hurt. But I just want to give him a good shake for being such an arrogant jerk!
treehugger
4-17-13, 5:12pm
Getting sick after posting in the gratitude thread that I hadn't gotten sick.
Kara
Gardenarian
4-17-13, 5:52pm
Getting sick after posting in the gratitude thread that I hadn't gotten sick.
Kara
Well, that sucks. Isn't the universe supposed to provide or something?
My peeve(s): airplanes waking me up at 5am, dog peed on the floor, dd took everything out of her closet and threw it on the floor (AGAIN), doctor says I need foot surgery for broken big toe (after telling me 2 years ago it wasn't broken!), dentist estimate for my teeth came to $11,000 USD, and the full-time job I was offered disappeared - the college district de-funded the position.
Ooh, Gardenarian :confused: Sounds like a good night to crawl into bed, pull up the covers, and forget what happened today.
fidgiegirl
4-18-13, 9:08am
My mother does not get, and she's a smart woman, but simply DOES NOT GET, that I do not find her needling and teasing and poking and jabbing about grandkids funny. DO. NOT. And now she's taken it to Facebook. I literally cannot mention the words baby or kids, I cannot share with her that friends are pregnant or tell funny little kid stories, because she takes ANY mention of a baby as a chance to get her little jab in. No matter how many times I tell her this bothers me. It's hurtful, it's annoying. I think she honestly thinks she's being funny. And I feel like an idiot because it quickly puts me squarely in the emotional realm of "rebellious teenager." "Ha! She thinks that's the way she's going to get a grandkid! Well, I'll show her!! There will be no children in this house!" Really mature. Doncha just love how those emotions have a mind of their own?!
Rant over.
My mother does not get, and she's a smart woman, but simply DOES NOT GET, that I do not find her needling and teasing and poking and jabbing about grandkids funny. DO. NOT. And now she's taken it to Facebook. I literally cannot mention the words baby or kids, I cannot share with her that friends are pregnant or tell funny little kid stories, because she takes ANY mention of a baby as a chance to get her little jab in. No matter how many times I tell her this bothers me. It's hurtful, it's annoying. I think she honestly thinks she's being funny. And I feel like an idiot because it quickly puts me squarely in the emotional realm of "rebellious teenager." "Ha! She thinks that's the way she's going to get a grandkid! Well, I'll show her!! There will be no children in this house!" Really mature. Doncha just love how those emotions have a mind of their own?!
Rant over.
well that sucks badly. So let me be an alternate-universe mom to fidgie and say: My daughter is so great! She's got a great job and hubby, and they just renovated a fab old house. They did all of that work themselves, can you imagine! She's got so much energy! Her summer project is a new community garden. And she's got all sorts of ideas for businesses and activities. Her life is so full and busy! Oh, grandchildren? Why does she need them? I certainly don't care if she has kids or not, it's her life.
DH likes to poke and tickle physically--me and our dogs. He does it much less since I told him that he thinks that because he likes it, we do, but I need him to stop. It's fun for him but not for us, I said.
Middle-of-the-night horrendous leg and foot cramps that have me hopping around the bedroom like a maniac practically howling in pain while the cat looks on in alarm...this is happening all to frequently lately.
Middle-of-the-night horrendous leg and foot cramps that have me hopping around the bedroom like a maniac practically howling in pain while the cat looks on in alarm...this is happening all to frequently lately.
Oh that is the WORST!
We've got a rescue bulldog dog who, due to health issues, is not neutered. One of our own dogs, due to health issues, is not spayed.
So guess who is in heat!!!????This is a formula for disaster.Someone will have to spend days in the basement.
I will say that so far, he is not interested in her. He is interested in ME. He is a Mommy's boy.
Could be you're a little low on potassium that will cause cramping at night.Eat a banana or an orange
I am getting bored! 10 days post surgery... No lifting over 10# for 6 weeks!!! The garden beckons. Oy. :)
Middle-of-the-night horrendous leg and foot cramps that have me hopping around the bedroom like a maniac practically howling in pain while the cat looks on in alarm...this is happening all to frequently lately.
Start taking Calcium and magnesium twice a day.
I am getting bored! 10 days post surgery... No lifting over 10# for 6 weeks!!! The garden beckons. Oy. :)
Seed catalogs. They are keeping me going lately, and the best part is that a friend is sharing them with me, so no extra paper waste on my conscience. :~)
I take calcium & Vitamin D everyday, and eat bananas too! Didn't happen last night, thank god!
@Redfox: glad you are feeling well enough to be bored - that enthusiasm to get back to your regularly scheduled life will help the healing process along, as long as you follow the doctor's rules!
My house refuses to clean itself.
fidgiegirl
4-22-13, 7:36am
Snow is forecasted. Again. A lot of it. I could almost cry.
My house refuses to clean itself.
haha I laughed out loud at that one!
SteveinMN
4-22-13, 10:14am
Snow is forecasted. Again. A lot of it. I could almost cry.
I purposely scheduled a car repair miles away late in April so I would not have to make the trip in the snow. Looks like I may anyway. Worse, I wanted them to put the summer tires back on the car. But it seems it's too early for that, too. >:(
treehugger
4-22-13, 11:38am
I am getting bored! 10 days post surgery... No lifting over 10# for 6 weeks!!! The garden beckons. Oy. :)
That 10-pound restriction is tough to stick to. Heck, a gallon of milk weighs 8 pounds. I know you know it's important to follow it though, so I don't have to lecture you about getting help with groceries and around the house and such. :) There must be some little tasks you can do in the garden in the meantime. Good luck getting through those 6 weeks. I'm pulling for ya!
Kara
treehugger
4-22-13, 11:41am
I take calcium & Vitamin D everyday, and eat bananas too! Didn't happen last night, thank god!
Remember that there are a lot of better sources of potassium than bananas. Milk, orange juice, melons, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms...Concentrate on eating more of all of that for a week and see if the leg cramps ease up. Another remedy: tonic water (vodka or gin optional). I have lots of experience with this from when my DH was on a potassium-restricted diet. His doctor actually "ordered" him to drink tonic. :)
Kara
decemberlov
4-22-13, 1:29pm
Remember that there are a lot of better sources of potassium than bananas. Milk, orange juice, melons, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms...Concentrate on eating more of all of that for a week and see if the leg cramps ease up. Another remedy: tonic water (vodka or gin optional). I have lots of experience with this from when my DH was on a potassium-restricted diet. His doctor actually "ordered" him to drink tonic. :)
Kara
pickle juice is also great for leg cramps!!
Start taking Calcium and magnesium twice a day.
The calcium helps you absorb the magnesium and the magnesium is the key for reducing leg cramps. My daddy swears by a bar of ivory soap at the end of the bed.http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2005/12/07/soap-under-the/
May 2 in SWMO and there is a forecast of snow flurries. It's been in the 80's and I just saw the first fireflys of the year Tuesday night (hope their little sparkly butts keep them warm tonight).
The calcium helps you absorb the magnesium and the magnesium is the key for reducing leg cramps. My daddy swears by a bar of ivory soap at the end of the bed.http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2005/12/07/soap-under-the/
You beat me to the soap thing. That and the gin-soaked raisins are my favorite People's Pharmacy tips.
Not really a peeve per say, but I don't know where to put this until I have time to sort it out. I just do not know where I fit in in the scheme of things, like maintaining friendships, maintaining family ties, dealing with my introversion and generally feeling horribly socially awkward about what "normal" people do. I am first to admit I guess I am somewhat of an oddball and it's really bothering me today...
Okay, off to work now.
SiouzQ, I struggle with the same thing and have been wanting to write about that. It seems that there are many people at this forum who feel much the same way. So, I started a thread. Think it is my first one.
Not really a peeve per say, but I don't know where to put this until I have time to sort it out. I just do not know where I fit in in the scheme of things, like maintaining friendships, maintaining family ties, dealing with my introversion and generally feeling horribly socially awkward about what "normal" people do. I am first to admit I guess I am somewhat of an oddball and it's really bothering me today...
Okay, off to work now.
This is a common and normal issue.
From my perspective, my life is to be generally upbeat, look for the good in everything, be aware of the shadows that come into everyone's life and work to ensure that they don't take over my life and finally to contribute by nurturing the best in people and organizations with time, energy and effort.
Lindsay Lohan. And this whole thing about worshipping gay athletes as heros.
AmeliaJane
5-5-13, 11:53am
This is probably going to be the last weekend in awhile when we can have our windows open and enjoy fresh air before the summer heat and humidity set it. The apartment complex decided it would be the perfect weekend to lay down some incredibly smelly mulch. Sigh.
Cars and the expense, my peeve today.
Thanks for reviving this thread, I hadn't seen it before! I've been laughing all morning :)
[Deleted by moderator -- hate speech]
iris lilies
5-7-13, 9:34pm
self-edited.
[Deleted by moderator -- hate speech]
iris lilies
5-7-13, 9:39pm
self-edited.
Chopper777
5-7-13, 10:01pm
[Deleted by moderator -- hate speech]
Just when we were congratulating ourselves on our maturity and refreshing lack of moderation...
Just when we were congratulating ourselves on our maturity and refreshing lack of moderation...
Exactly.
I am horrified and repulsed by the disrespect of Chopper's comments. This is a civil place, with respectful discourse, regardless of one's sexual orientation.
Please take these comments down ASAP. There is no room in this forum for such language.
[Deleted by moderator -- hate speech]
:laff::laff::laff:
You have painted a better picture of yourself than I could ever do in a thousand years.
I have no problem with my entire post being pulled, as it contains the offensive post.
I suspect this is simply Chopper's way of asking for a date....
I suspect this is simply Chopper's way of asking for a date....
Oh dear... I have always wondered about the tiny minority of "straight" men who seem obsessed with their own ideas & imaginings of the sexual practices of others... Creeeeeeepy.
[Moderator hat on]
Original posts #446, 448 and 450 above can be considered hate speech and are completely inappropriate on this forum. These comments are being removed immediately, and anyone posting hate speech will be banned.
I am also deleting the offensive text from other posts where it was quoted directly
For the record, this act of moderation was discussed and agreed upon by members of the moderation team. It is not a one-sided action on my part.
[Moderator hat off]
Thank you.... Nice hat!
Back to May Daily Peeve...
<sigh> recovering from surgery during the most GORGEOUS spring in Seattle! Of course, I'd probably be crankier if I was recovering in the drear of winter... still, it's hard to not overdo it in the garden.
Back to the daily peeve?
Or should we start a new thread?
I had the last of my replacement windows installed last week and the one for the garage didn't fit so now I have a large half sheet of plywood screwed into the window frame and will wait for 3 weeks for the new one to be made. It was properly measured by the contractor but incorrectly ordered. What a nuisance!
How would you handle this situation?
I phoned the company and was advised by the owner that the window will be installed on Friday afternoon so my peeve is null and void, it seems. How does one undo a peeve? :)
Back to the daily peeve? Or should we start a new thread?
I phoned the company and was advised by the owner that the window will be installed on Friday afternoon so my peeve is null and void, it seems. How does one undo a peeve? :)
I say, let's reclaim this one! And, nice outcome...
Main Entry: peeve [peev] Show IPA
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: something strongly disliked
Synonyms: annoyance, bother, gripe, nuisance, pest, sore point, vexation
Antonyms: attraction, desire, like, love, want
I am peeved at doctors who dose their patients with addictive pain meds for weeks after a surgery, then allow the patient to withdraw cold-turkey without any warnings. Especially when the patient is on vacation here in my remote paradise, and loses it at 4am...
Recurring peeve: People who post nasty reviews/remarks about recipes found online AFTER they have mangled the recipe beyond recognition ("I substituted velveeta instead of parmesan and 2% milk instead of cream....I found this recipe tasteless and awful!")
P.S. way to go, Ihamo and team!
[Moderator hat on]
Original posts #446, 448 and 450 above can be considered hate speech and are completely inappropriate on this forum. These comments are being removed immediately, and anyone posting hate speech will be banned.
I am also deleting the offensive text from other posts where it was quoted directly
For the record, this act of moderation was discussed and agreed upon by members of the moderation team. It is not a one-sided action on my part.
[Moderator hat off]
First of all, I meant every word I said. I was right, and still am. It doesn't matter what other people think.
The remainder of this post has been deleted after being determined to be a violation of forum guidelines. The user was previously warned that this would not be tolerated.
Chopper777 is surely this year's poster child for sex positivity, eh?
From my observations, Chopper, heterosexual lovers engage in the same general set of activities that homosexual ones do. Parts is parts. I'd go into more detail, but at this point I suspect the effort would be wasted.
Blackdog Lin
5-8-13, 9:25pm
This is wonderful.
I've always avoided this thread because, well.....I try to stay away from negativity, in general. I have LOTS of personal peeves, but they're not something I've ever wanted to type out, which would make me think of them, which would make me dwell on them, which would make me feel negatively.....
I DO try to seek out and dwell on humor. That's how I live my days, seeking the beauty and humor in human life.
And here we have.....well, what I have read here in a recent post. Hilarious! I had no idea there was such humor in the Peeves thread. (Thank you bae: "parts is parts". Yep. It's pretty much all the same.)
I plan to check back on this thread regularly, looking for chuckles. I didn't know.....
Ban chopper now, please. His hate is not welcomed in our safe & respectful community.
Ban chopper now, please. His hate is not welcomed in our safe & respectful community.
Upon reflection, I pity him, actually. His hatred is a product of his own mind, he has to suffer with his own demons. Someone has wounded him deeply, and he is suffering. It is hard for me to understand going through life so burdened - I wish him peace.
Alas, interacting with such folks over ASCII text generally provides little chance of developing mutual understanding, or moving forward.
iris lilies
5-8-13, 9:54pm
ah Chopper, I like my vulgarities as well as the next person but you've got to make me laugh with them. Epic fail here. Probably Louis CK could do something with this material but you can't. Give it up.
Upon reflection, I pity him, actually. His hatred is a product of his own mind, he has to suffer with his own demons. Someone has wounded him deeply, and he is suffering. It is hard for me to understand going through life so burdened - I wish him peace.
Alas, interacting with such folks over ASCII text generally provides little chance of developing mutual understanding, or moving forward.
Yes to all the above... and, I want our forum to be free from his poison.
I am peeved at doctors who dose their patients with addictive pain meds for weeks after a surgery, then allow the patient to withdraw cold-turkey without any warnings. Especially when the patient is on vacation here in my remote paradise, and loses it at 4am...
Good grief! That is awful... For all involved. Seems pretty irresponsible of the MD. On the other hand, knowing addicts... many will do anything for a dose. I hope said vacationer/patient gets appropriate med help!
Good grief! That is awful... For all involved. Seems pretty irresponsible of the MD. On the other hand, knowing addicts... many will do anything for a dose. I hope said vacationer/patient gets appropriate med help!
This wasn't an addict, it was a poor unsuspecting mother-of-many-children who was here for her first day of vacation, didn't know what hit her :-(
Turned out well though, so yay!
Oh dear... Withdrawal can be truly awful...
ApatheticNoMore
5-9-13, 12:08am
Ban chopper now, please. His hate is not welcomed in our safe & respectful community.
Well if he/she wants to post on topic then I say let him/her. Beyond that anything is just feeding (where to start ... nah that would be feeding), since the point of "daily peeves" isn't actually random rants about things that have nothing to do with one's day.
Here's a daily peeve: on break, amusing myself picking inedible small red berries off a bush and throwing them down stairs by an apartment (not stairs anyone walks down - in fact they are blocked off to prevent homeless from sleeping down there). Object of the game I just made up: throw them with enough force to get them to roll all the way down the stairs. Caveat: they have to roll down though, can't be directly thrown down, so there's some bouncing involved. Just kind of lost in amusing myself, not even thinking about it. Someone pops out to say "you can't throw that stuff down there". Leave, with bitter thoughts about humanity.
Recurring peeve: People who post nasty reviews/remarks about recipes found online AFTER they have mangled the recipe beyond recognition ("I substituted velveeta instead of parmesan and 2% milk instead of cream....I found this recipe tasteless and awful!")
Good point. I don't mind it when people post a couple of changes, as in: I didn't have any onion powder so I omitted it, but yes, sometimes people vary so far from the original they might as well not bother reviewing it.
I hate it when a higher up tells you to send documents to a gov't agency (Customs), but in such a way that makes NO sense at all, and totally contradicts what is in the gov't regulations. However, I have it in writing (email) what I was told to do and how, so if it blows up, my butt is covered.
thinkgreen
5-15-13, 12:13am
So, I took a family member to the neurologist today. When I picked them up at the assisted living facility there were no handicapped spots available. Then there were no short term pick up or drop off spots available. Then there were no visitor spots available. So, goody two shoes me, who never cheats ... parked in a vacant administration parking spot to run in and wheel out my loved one in their wheelchair. Wouldn't you know it, the admin person returned in those ten minutes and double parked thus blocking us in. Didn't even leave enough space for the wheelchair to get through to the car. Whine! I had to go to reception, find out whose car it was and get them to move so we could go. Needless to say we were late for the appointment. In my defence I had previously been told by staff that if no other spots were available to go ahead and use an admin spot.
My stupid political representatives in the Missouri House and Senate sent me birthday greetings. Oh ya, I totally want their resources, whether tax supported or private funds, to go to this kind of stupidity. I mean, it's not like I am 100 years old. When the President of the U.S. sends birthday greeting to someone who reaches 100 years, that is fine with me. But not this. Stooopid stooopid politicians.
I sent both of them letters asking them to stop the madness.
Why can't I roast vegetables? Either I incinerate them or they're undercooked. It's the latter this time, so at least they're salvageable...
ApatheticNoMore
5-19-13, 1:58am
In the store parking lot got a compliment said thanks. Then the person came up to me, and said "you're very nice". Thanks. I was in a quite chill and favorbly disposed to the world mood. Then she gives me a whole long horrible story asking for money, how she needs $40 (probably to get back somewhere, that's always the story). This is not unusual. Feeling moderately charitably disposed I give her a dollar. I just expect a curt thanks and moving on (that's how it usually is) and that would be fine with me, a dollar is nothing much so whatever. Instead I get an absolute glare of horror that I'm only giving a dollar, just sits there glaring at me for awhile. Like she really expected $40 or a $20 or something. So I imagine she goes off thinking about my "heartless greed and indifference" or something and I go off thinking: "be more guarded".
My stupid political representatives in the Missouri House and Senate sent me birthday greetings. Oh ya, I totally want their resources, whether tax supported or private funds, to go to this kind of stupidity. I mean, it's not like I am 100 years old. When the President of the U.S. sends birthday greeting to someone who reaches 100 years, that is fine with me. But not this. Stooopid stooopid politicians.
I sent both of them letters asking them to stop the madness.
I have precisely the same response to such nonsense!
Chipmunk under car's hood today, driving our 4 dogs into a frenzy. A couple of weeks ago one dog caught and ate a skunk and his breath was real skunky for the first couple of nights, as he slept in his place under my side of the bed and breathed.
Caught and ate a skunk????? What kind of dog is this? The Hound of New Mexico?
Great question, Jilly. I hadn't thought about his heritage in relation to this skunk-eating. Judging from his looks and geniality, I think he's part Bernese Mountain Dog. Judging from his actions as a puppy, however, I assume he's also part Catahoula Hog Dog. They're the only breed originating in the US, Louisiana to be exact, where they're used (in groups of three often) to corner kill the wild hogs that can be prevalent in LA, getting into people's yards and homes. Wild hogs are not animals to play with, so maybe this is where he got his fearlessness with the skunk . . . and the squirrel and two chipmunks that he's participated in killing in the past month. His little buddy, part coyote, flushes them out (with the squirrel he also climbed most of a pretty bushy tree to get it to come down) and then Tony grabs them and parades around with them in his mouth--eating only the skunk, I don't know why.
I assume he's also part Catahoula Hog Dog. They're the only breed originating in the US, Louisiana to be exact,....
There are quite a few breeds created here in the United States, including Black & Tan Virginia Foxhounds, Bluetick Coonhounds, the Plott Hound, Treeing Walker Coonhounds, Redbone Coonhounds, the Majestic Tree Hound, the American Blue Gascon Hound (Big N Blue Hound), a variety of other inferior non-hound dogs, and of course, the best of them all, the Black and Tan Coonhound.
Let me introduce you to mine. "Cromwell", or "Crom" for short. (Because we call to him, but he does not listen... :-) )
You can probably hear him from where you live :-)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HfWeRi5noLE/UOYk8zh1PLI/AAAAAAAAHEg/NbEjBf0U_RI/s640/Awesomized.jpg
ApatheticNoMore
5-22-13, 12:23am
Ugh, think these new curtains need to go back, they smell horrible. Major outgassing. The smell almost like: you know the distinctive odor of grass fed dairy and beef, yea but stronger than that, more like the smell of cooking a gamey animal like lamb and the smell of the gamey grass fed lamb fat. Only an artificial version.
I eat all those things sometimes, but I don't want my curtains smelling like that, especially as they are entirely petroleum, saying to me: "we are poisoning you!!!" I'm not much of a shopper so I don't buy a *lot* of new stuff but I've never been *paranoid* about what I bring in my place, worrying about toxic outgassing or anything, but these curtains are making me so! (making vows like: from now on only organic cotton stuff) They just stink so much. I had good green intentions, they are thermal curtains, so I thought I'd use less power. Yea but they are made of poison I guess. Also lighter color than the previous curtains so they wouldn't attract so much heat. So I really want them to work but ...
bae, thanks for educating me, and the pic is great. ApatheticNoMore, I too don't want to live with petroleum, however if you want to keep the curtains, I've heard hanging chemically stinky stuff outdoors for three months will get rid of the stink. In my experience it works on some things and not others. Right now I have a thrift-store smelling shirt hanging on the line. I got it at a yard sale for $1,but I guess they got it from the thrift store because I've heard they're required to clean their clothes with a certain product that I've often smelled on their things.
city planning and zoning paperwork. enough said >:(
Back to having weird sleep problems...been mainly on the 6am shift and I am having a real hard time adjusting everything. Going back to coffee has caused more problems than it is worth but I am addicted again...sigh.
Yesterday I finally crashed after work from 3:30 to 6:30pm, after which I stumbled around the house like a discombobulated zombie for a few hours. I went to bed around 11:30pm, then woke up at 2:30 am and have been up ever since. I can't go back to bed because I am taking my mom in for her eye surgery at 6am.
Vacation cannot come soon enough! I really need to step back and assess my situation regarding my physical abilities to do my job and the toll all this is taking on me. My left knee is still crapping out and my back hurts again. I am starting to wonder how long I will be able to work such a physically demanding job...
ApatheticNoMore
5-25-13, 2:12am
Returned stinky curtains for a full refund, a pain, but felt amazingly happy to be rid of them! Can't see how anyone can stand them. Might get an alternate lighter summer set of curtains in addition to my old dark slightly faded curtains, but they will be a natural material this time (yea maybe even organic if I could find it). Fabric breathability is probably better than insulation for hot weather anyway (not for cold) - natural is better see :~)
Going back to coffee has caused more problems than it is worth but I am addicted again...sigh.
yea life is usually more managable without caffeine, but I couldn't do it with a crazy schedule.
AmeliaJane
5-25-13, 8:51am
This isn't so much a peeve as a sigh...I was looking at some budget numbers last night and realized I have not come nearly as far as I would like on my project of saving for a down payment. I know why this is...spring is an expensive time of year anyway due to annual expenses like the car inspection and taxes, and then several of the unusual expenses came together (television on its last legs, three houseguests with special occasions to celebrate, etc)
>:( I never think hubby hears or listens to what I talk about. I have been thrilled to have Wrens nesting in the back yard. Mentioning to everyone and asking everyone to give them space. Today hubby power washes the shed, where they are nesting. What Bird Nest, he says.
ApatheticNoMore
6-2-13, 7:12am
For how long am I even going to be able to keep doing work which is DESTROYING my body in the process? That's apparently what sitting in a cubical typing does! Nah don't mean the stress, I mean hand and wrist pain is getting worse and worse! I probably should also not use a computer much in my free time .... Sigh ...
ANM, I learned to mouse left-handed because I knew my (otherwise-dominant) right hand was getting a lot of use. I know where I was working, the company was required to accommodate ergonomic issues (seating needs, workstation height, adaptive computer equipment). Could that be the case where you work?
I'm blaming it on an incompetent gaggle of city managers. They've been touting an upcoming renewal project for years, complete with community park, mixed retail and high-density housing--especially mid-range condominiums with a nine-year tax abatement deal, all approved and signed off. It languished and languished while development went on all around us. Now they've announced that there will be apartments instead of condos, so no permanent housing, no abatements. I would like to pummel someone.
When you finish there, Jane, please consider coming here, as my gripe is similar.
A large building, nearly the entire block, has been empty since the company closed. There was a lot of interest in providing affordable housing in the downtown area. Funds were allocated, grants provided, tax cuts given. Two years later, the building is still empty, and the latest information that was shared in the newspaper is that the rental fees for the now luxury apartments are going to be more expensive than just about anyone in this town can afford, much less the people for whom it was intended to help.
Apparently the tax breaks will still help the renters for the commercial retail portions a great deal. Not that that aspect is bad or anything, but the focus of this recovered space was to help support the lower, affordable rents.
Today's peeve is companies whose telephone systems collect all kinds of information ("Please enter your 20-digit customer ID number now, followed by the pound key.") and then fail to pass that along to the poor humans who eventually answer the phone -- and who immediately ask for your 20-digit customer ID number before they can do anything for you. It's a PITA to use a telephone dial for the first one; doubly so when you know the effort is going for naught.
And a special place in he!! for companies which haven't yet figured out that the smartphones that so many of us have exclusively now do not contain the old letter/number pad that dates back to rotary dials. "Type the first thee letters of your destination" only works when I can type 6-7-5, not O-R-L (ando). It's the 21st century, people...
ApatheticNoMore
6-9-13, 2:42am
Never go shopping 1/2 before the place closes. Ok I went shoppnig and with a list but they announce over the loudspeaker, in 20 minutes we're closing, then in 15 minutes we're closing etc. (I think I was leaving the store before they gave the 10 minute announcement and by then half the stuff was put away).
So before then I'm running around like a madwoman just throwing any old thing in the basket ... because time running out, time running out ... time is running out!!!! So I ended up spending much more money than I would have otherwise, I was going by a list but not one with prices and frankly the price of some things would have had me scratch them off my list if I was thinking straight (but no instead I was just thinking: time is running out! time is running out! get it now, before time runs out!).
It was an attempt to get my weekly grocery shopping done without it eating up too much weekend time but I have to say the experiment was a giant FAIL. Whatever I'll eat food, I don't think I bought vastly more than I'll eat, though less planning than usual, and I spent more, didn't have time to think, and maybe the worst part: I stressed myself out racing against the bell.
As for Steve's previous reply to a previous comment of mine: I use some serious ergonomic peripherals, though I could get more I guess. I paid for them myself because well I wasn't going to wait for them to get around to it knowing how they are, and whether they care or not I still have *my* body to look after. It significantly reduces but doesn't eliminate the pain, I think desks at work are just set up all wrong. The whole setup is wrong. :\
fidgiegirl
6-11-13, 10:49pm
Dear registrants for our free event,
If you are going to cancel the night before the event, that's functionally the same as a no show. We cannot find anyone to take your place in that case, so don't waste my time emailing me about it. And I don't care why you can't come.
Thank you.
I so love when a potential client comes to me and says, "I need a new web site to replace the one I made myself online on one of those do-it-yourself sites. It looks like crap." Asks for guidance and a project plan/estimate. Ponders it, then comes back and says, "Hey, I just found this OTHER site where I can make my own web site. Thanks anyway!"
No hard feelings, but I hope people have more respect for HER time than she had for mine.
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