The pet peeve thread

[smr-nj]

4 hours ago, Edman85 said:

Spoken like somebody in the New York bubble! 😄

This was Yankee Stadium at 3pm- no filter.

Air quality numbers in NJ, where I work, at 5pm was 347.  That’s no joke. Eyes tearing, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see past 10 feet ahead of you.

 Fires 450 miles away.

[Edman85]

Oh, I know. I feel for you and everybody there.

 

But it happens all over all the time and doesn't get this kind of attention. That's my only point. 

[chasfh]

47 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

Oh, I know. I feel for you and everybody there.

 

But it happens all over all the time and doesn't get this kind of attention. That's my only point. 

Well, you have to admit that it’s really unusual that it’s happening in the corridor, whereas it’s not at all unusual when it happens in Needles.

[chasfh]

21 hours ago, oblong said:

I love my neighbors so this isn't a criticism but more in the spirit of a peeve..... they're always outside doing something in the yard!  They're snowbirds so the first weekend back they clear everything out, clean up all the winter stuff, etc.  Then each day it's some kind of project involving noise.  No, I don't want them to stop. It's great to be active.  But a part of me does hate the over reliance on watering/fertilizing/etc.  Your lawn and yard doesn't need to look like a golf course or the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.  Let nature do it's thing.  Dandelions are good.  Weeds are good.  Critters are good.  Not every stick/twig or other errant thing needs to be picked up.

 

My neighbor thing is, a guy moved into his mother’s three-flat next door to us a couple of summers ago, and he likes to bring his guitar and amp onto his front-of-the-house balcony and serenade his neighbors with his practicing, I guess. It’s shapeless, formless, noodley electric garbage he plays, but nevertheless he is out there most nights from maybe 630pm to almost 10pm. It’s not super loud, but it is loud enough to have to kick up the TV volume a couple of notches. We’ve never crossed paths and I’ve never met him, so I can’t fairly ask him to moderate this behavior in any way because that’s not the way to meet a neighbor. As long as it’s not disrupting us by being too loud or too late, I guess we just have to grin and bear it. If he … ahem … amps it up much, though, we may have to meet him after all.

[oblong]

5 minutes ago, chasfh said:

My neighbor thing is, a guy moved into his mother’s three-flat next door to us a couple of summers ago, and he likes to bring his guitar and amp onto his front-of-the-house balcony and serenade his neighbors with his practicing, I guess. It’s shapeless, formless, noodley electric garbage he plays, but nevertheless he is out there most nights from maybe 630pm to almost 10pm. It’s not super loud, but it is loud enough to have to kick up the TV volume a couple of notches. We’ve never crossed paths and I’ve never met him, so I can’t fairly ask him to moderate this behavior in any way because that’s not the way to meet a neighbor. As long as it’s not disrupting us by being too loud or too late, I guess we just have to grin and bear it. If he … ahem … amps it up much, though, we may have to meet him after all.

I really hate when I go to a gathering of some sort and.... guitar guy shows up.

Sitting around a fire talking and having some drinks... here comes guitar guy to sing Gordon Lightfoot and break up the fun....

 

[Shades of Deivi Cruz]

We have lived in this house for about ten years, and the same people have lived next door the entire time. We have never met them. 🤣 

[chasfh]

Most people really hate it when other people are late, meaning really late, and especially chronically late. Yeah, I hate that, too.

But just as much, I hate when appointments come early. I don't mean five minutes early. That's fine—preferable, even. I mean, like, really early. Fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes early. That's what I hate, because I got stuff that I'm working on, and now I gotta stop because they're here early?

Maybe they think it demonstrates that they are eager for the business, or maybe they even think it's a sign of respect that they'll come to see you soon as possible. Me, I don't think it's respectful—I think it's borderline disrespectful, or if not exactly that, then at least maybe a tad ... I don't know, thoughtless? After all, I'm a busy man, and I have things to do. I plan out my schedule based on when they're going to arrive, so if they show up twenty minutes early, all of a sudden I'm supposed to stop what I had planned out my time out to do and deal with them instead?

Media reps would do that **** all the time. They'd show up fifteen minutes early when I'm in the middle of working on a big client deck. I would ask them to hang out in the lobby until our appointed time but I always felt like they thought I was being a jerk asking them to do that, then I'd feel like I would have to apologize to them for not being able to see them until our scheduled time instead of super early.

Whenever I would go to see someone for an appointment and I happened to be really early, I would let the receptionist know I was there but then ask them (1) is it OK if I hang out in the lobby and catch up on stuff until the appointment time, and (2) please don't let my appointment know I was there until five minutes before the appointment. Sometimes my appointment would be crossing across the lobby, see me, and say hey, didn't know you were here already, and I'd be like, yeah I got here really early and I didn't want to disturb you until it's time, and then I would spool out my philosophy to them on arriving acceptably early versus unacceptably early. I made a couple of converts that way.

I would also explain this to college graduates who would inevitably come to the interview half an hour early to show how eager they were for me to hire them, and then I would explain to them the same philosophy, and I loved seeing the light bulb go on when I did. They're still flexible thinkers so they would totally get what I meant. I love molding young minds.

There will be people here who disagree, but if you're one, you won't be able to change my mind about this.

[Motor City Sonics]

When I have had job interviews,  I always drive the route the day before and then I plan to arrive 30 minutes early (planning for traffic situations that I can not control)  and then if I arrive at the building 30 minutes early, I sit in my car and wait - walk in 10 minutes before the interview time.  Always 10 minutes.    10 minutes does a few things.  It shows that you are READY for the interview at it's start time, not fumbling around with things at the start time.   It also shows the interviewer some respect and it gives you a chance to observe people walking around the office.   Does everyone look miserable or content?  Do people interact well with each other?   Does anyone seem rushed?     

When I did my first interview for the radio station in Ann Arbor back in 2004, when I was in the lobby waiting, one staffer walked by and said "are you sure you want this?", walked into the PDs office, talked to him a little bit and walked out laughing and as soon as he looked at me he stopped laughing, got this dour look on this face and as he walked by me, shook his head and said "you poor bastard"......I knew I would fit in well there.   

[oblong]

being early is also kind of rude when you are having events at home... say a birthday party or get together.  People are still getting ready and cleaning.  Then they have to entertain you.

 

[chasfh]

21 minutes ago, oblong said:

being early is also kind of rude when you are having events at home... say a birthday party or get together.  People are still getting ready and cleaning.  Then they have to entertain you.

 

Yes, I have a friend who’s the type who says he’ll be there between 11:00 and 11:30 and he shows up at ten to 11. That happened just this past Sunday before we went to a ball game. Then on those occasions when I allow for him to be early, I’m sitting around waiting toward the end of the window. It’s like he’s a mind reader. 😁

He’s also the same guy who, I get to the bar early, he calls to say he’s just looking for parking and he’ll be in in two minutes, I order him a beer, and he shows up twenty minutes later. And I’m smiling and saying hi and thinking to myself, sorry your beer’s a little warm, man.

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, Motor City Sonics said:

When I have had job interviews … if I arrive at the building 30 minutes early, I … walk in 10 minutes before the interview time … it gives you a chance to observe people walking around the office.   Does everyone look miserable or content?  Do people interact well with each other?   Does anyone seem rushed?     

This is really great advice, if you can manage to remember to do in those few times you’re interviewing for jobs.

[oblong]

5 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Yes, I have a friend who’s the type who says he’ll be there between 11:00 and 11:30 and he shows up at ten to 11. That happened just this past Sunday before we went to a ball game. Then on those occasions when I allow for him to be early, I’m sitting around waiting toward the end of the window. It’s like he’s a mind reader. 😁

He’s also the same guy who, I get to the bar early, he calls to say he’s just looking for parking and he’ll be in in two minutes, I order him a beer, and he shows up twenty minutes later. And I’m smiling and saying hi and thinking to myself, sorry your beer’s a little warm, man.

yep.  Then I'm one beer ahead....

used to not be an issue but now I limit myself.

 

[Edman85]

Chaz, don't you work in Chicago? If somebody is early, is that just a sign they planned on traffic and it didn't happen?

A former boss of mine used to comment I was always right on time for meetings. I don't know if it was a complement or an observation, but it is my goal to maximize my time and other's times.

For my barber, I like to show up early. Usually I'm his last appointment so I'm actually trying to help him out if he has a gap before me and can end his day sooner. If not, I can knock out Wordle or catch up on the day's news in the waiting area.

[CMRivdogs]

 For those of us remembering band class, "Early is on time, on time is late"

Unfortunately real life isn't band class. I used to get a bit annoyed when my work replacement walked in the door exactly on time. That usually meant by the time he was brought up to date and ready to take over, I put in an extra 10 minutes or so.

There was one time recently that being early did work to my advantage. A recent visit to Duke Medical Center allowed all tests to be completed early. Then rather than having to occupy myself for two hours to see the physician, she was free and saw me almost immediately. I was back on the road 2 plus hours ahead of schedule.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Biff Mayhem]

1 hour ago, oblong said:

being early is also kind of rude when you are having events at home... say a birthday party or get together.  People are still getting ready and cleaning.  Then they have to entertain you.

 

My aunt shows up two hours before an event begins. Hope you enjoy watching us clean and organize!

[CMRivdogs]

1 hour ago, oblong said:

being early is also kind of rude when you are having events at home... say a birthday party or get together.  People are still getting ready and cleaning.  Then they have to entertain you.

 

I agree here. We hosted an event several years ago (an anniversary party) where any early arriving guests would have run into a confluence of painters and cleaning service finishing up just minutes before the scheduled start. 

[oblong]

All of this talk makes me think of the anecdote "I'll let you know" means "I'm not coming"

 

[chasfh]

It happened again today!

We had someone coming in to bid a paint job for us and he'd said yesterday he'd be around this morning between 9 and 10. Around 830am this morning, he emails us and says he will be here at 915am. Fairly precise.

A minute or two before nine, nature calls. I figure, I have almost fifteen minutes, so I answer the call. The moment ... errr, how do I put this delicately? ... the moment the music started, DING DONG!

YAAYY! HE'S FIFTEEN MINUTES EARLY! YAAAAAAYYYYY!

[chasfh]

42 minutes ago, oblong said:

All of this talk makes me think of the anecdote "I'll let you know" means "I'm not coming"

 

You reminded me of my favorite cartoon of just about all time:

[chasfh]

Every grocery store has eight or ten or twelve available checkout lanes, and at any given time you go, exactly one of them is open as you get into a long line waiting to check out. 

[oblong]

It’s shifted how we buy groceries now. We do the meijer or Kroger pick up thing for non perishables and other week go week items on Thursdays .  Hit our local fruit market for fruits, veggies, meats on Sunday .  And we have an Aldi close by.  We have turned one pain in the ass trip into two or three quick hassle free.  Better for our sanity. We also have a middle eastern market within walking distance for quick things we might have run out of.  I like going there because I always see something I haven’t before. 

[chasfh]

5 hours ago, oblong said:

It’s shifted how we buy groceries now. We do the meijer or Kroger pick up thing for non perishables and other week go week items on Thursdays .  Hit our local fruit market for fruits, veggies, meats on Sunday .  And we have an Aldi close by.  We have turned one pain in the ass trip into two or three quick hassle free.  Better for our sanity. We also have a middle eastern market within walking distance for quick things we might have run out of.  I like going there because I always see something I haven’t before. 

Flip side, I hate going Krogering to Mariano's (or "Krogerano's" as I like to call it) because they are continually SKU'ing out line items I've been buying for years. Gatorade G2? Gone. StarKist EVOO tuna? Gone. Siggi's Yogurt? It's now a third of the shelf space it once had so that's on its way out. The latest? Cascade dishwasher powder! CASCADE, FOR GOD'S SAKE! Literally the best-selling dishwasher detergent brand in America! They don't carry the powder anymore! Everything now is liquid or pod-based at twice-plus the price per wash. I challenge anyone to go to their local Kroger to see if you can find it.

Over the past decade especially, America is becoming less and less the land of plenty we happily bullshirt ourselves into thinking of it as, and more and more the land of line consolidation and outright shortages. We can blame COVID for it all if we want, but really, it started long before COVID, which just accelerated the the slow-motion conditioning of the American consumer to expect less while paying more, while continuing to insist we're still the only land of milk and honey on the planet. We've already come to expect garbage customer service, so that's what they give us. They conditioning us to expect product shortages, too.

This is especially true of middle-of-the-line items. Everything anymore seems to be either cheap off-brand or private label stuff, or fancy schmancy overpriced stuff, some of which is of dubious quality anyway. It's basically an allegory for the disappearance of the American middle class altogether. Here in the Land of Opportunity™, you either you got all the money, or you got nothing.

</rant>

[Biff Mayhem]

On 6/24/2023 at 4:18 PM, chasfh said:

you either you got all the money, or you got nothing.

</rant>

I read that in Adam Carolla's voice and it was awesome.

[LaceyLou]

It seems as if no matter when I go food shopping, there are always a bunch of people unpacking new inventory, and blocking half of the aisles, as well as many of the spots where the stuff I need to buy happens to be. 

 

Gotta love first world problems. 

[jz68]

1 hour ago, LaceyLou said:

It seems as if no matter when I go food shopping, there are always a bunch of people unpacking new inventory, and blocking half of the aisles, as well as many of the spots where the stuff I need to buy happens to be. 

 

Gotta love first world problems. 

Hold up, I thought that only happened to me.  I was just at Kroger today and if I needed 10 specific things, there were people blocking 8 of them.  Then we can talk about people who, for some reason, insist on stopping right in the doorway to check their receipt.