TheKid was pretty put out aver Xmas. All her friends were posting that they had received laptops, iPods, phones… and her family santa bought her a calendar. This, just after her birthday where the same person gave her a calendar. Luckily, they were different, but who the hell needs two calendars? Especially a teen who notes everything in her phone?
Then, my BiL gave his wife (my sister) a Nook. Way nice on his behalf, if you ignore the fact that it takes 20 minutes to download a song on their computer. I asked if they were going to get a new computer so she could use her shiny new Nook: “Eventually. Until then, we’ll use your computer, har har!” WTF? Um, no?
And last night I had the joy of taking TheKid to the local ER due to severe stomach pains and her heart was racing. Thanks, Doc, for being so surprised TheKid’s urine was clear for drugs. And child, when your mother suggests strongly that you should eat something, as the bowl of cereal you had 10 hours earlier - before running around for 8 hours - was way gone from your system, maybe you should listen to her. I don’t care if “nothing sounds good”, frickin eat a few crackers.
I am about ready to duct tape my neighbor’s one dog’s mouth shut!
We put up a display of lights every year, and we have stuff on the lawn. We have candy canes around the palm trees and the curbing, lights on the gutters, around the windows, garage, and porch, and deer on the side of the driveway. The lawn stuff includes a spiral tree, a holographic Santa with sleigh, a holographic Santa with a train, a polar bear, and Opus, a small blue wire penguin that I adore.
We put everything up and my neighbor’s dog runs to their invisible fence line and starts barking at Opus. He refused to stop barking until his mother brought him over to see that it was not real…
The dog barks at everything. A leaf could fall and he will bark at it…and she lets him out at 5.30 in the morning to do his business, and he barks…great wake up call…
Years ago I made a really great snowman and gave him a carrot nose. I woke up the next morning to the neighbours Springer Spaniel barking his head off at it. I looked out the window just in time to see him attack the snowman, rip his nose off and then carry it away and eat it.
To the nice rep: You seem like a lovely, helpful person. I have to say seem, because I cannot understand half of what you are saying because of your heavy accent. This is not about outsourcing jobs overseas, or any such thing. This is solely about my having to say “What? Would you repeat that? I’m sorry, what?” repeatedly, because I cannot understand what you are saying.
To the snippy rep: You seem like a genuine, smart ass, jerk who has no business representing your company. You act as though you were unaware that your job involved speaking with the general public. Next time, read the job description more carefully before you apply for an opening. I don’t care if you think being a customer service rep is beneath you, above you, or beyond you. You accepted the job, so do it right. I had nothing to do with you taking your current job, or anything going on in your life. Park your attitude at home, and try to at least pretend to be pleasant, you insufferable cow.
As I may have mentioned (repeatedly) in the past, LG DVRs are pieces of crap, and no one should ever, under any circumstances, buy one. The latest thing that ours is doing is deciding not to finalize disks that we are recording. If the disk is not finalized, it might as well have not been recorded, because it won’t play back. Sigh. Someday, I swear, with God as my witness, I am going to re-enact the printer scene from “Office Space” on this DVR.
I feel you, girl. The last two times I have been in to see my hair dresser I was the first client of the day, and she was 30 minutes late opening her salon. Then it takes another 15-20 minutes for her to get everything situated before she even starts to mix my color. I love her work, and she is a good friend, but damn, really?
This gets right up my nose. I’ve lived in a foreign country for a couple of years, and yes, my accent IS horrible. However, I didn’t try to get a job in that country where I’d have to communicate in a language that was foreign to me. Most of the people who had to deal with me were willing to take the time to understand me, and I did practice speaking some of the more common phrases, so that when I went shopping, I was able to ask how much this or that item was.
But if I go to a doctor whose first language is not American or UK English, then I need to be able to clearly understand him/her the FIRST time I’m given instructions or information. I don’t want to have to ask for that message to be repeated half a dozen times. When I’m trying to talk to a customer rep, this isn’t quite as critical, but really, I think that speaking the primary language intelligibly should be one of the requirements of the job. Particularly at, say, a drive through, or over the phone. CSRs need to be able to communicate well and quickly. Even the nicest, most knowledgeable ones can’t do their jobs efficiently if it takes them four times as long to get the customer to understand them.
The worst call I ever took was from a lady in Ireland. I swear I could not understand a word she said. Even her name (which turned out to be Claire). I had to pass the call to another rep, who assured me she was speaking english.
I got to fly all the way from Greensboro to Chicago last night next to a spoiled little six year old singing a made up song (ala Britney Spears) that went on and on and ON. You may think that’s just darling, Gracie’s mom, but the rest of us were ready to throttle her. It’s not pwecious, it’s maddening after the nth iteration of “oh, baaybeee, uh-huh!”.
squints in puzzlement at Cicero’s post, wanders over to ATMB *
Oh, and a hearty and well-earned “fuck you” to anybody* who veers left to make a right turn. That goes double to anyone pulling this without even turning on their blinker. It goes triple for anyone driving a small, zippy, maneuverable car. And it goes NUCYOOLAR QUINTUPLE to the half-rotten warthog’s taint that pulled that shit this morning when I was right fucking next to him and about to pass him. Motherfucker.
Anybody driving something non-car like an 18-wheeler is excused, of course, from this rant.
I’m seeing more of this, and I’m also seeing its close companion, turning realllllllly wide instead of turning neatly into your own lane (often taking a wandering detour through the lane next to it and ending up in the proper lane). Hello, incompetent drivers - unless you’re driving a semi or a farm truck, you really don’t need to do this. In fact, you WILL get clipped by someone some day, doing this stupid shit (probably by someone on a cell phone whose attention isn’t on their driving and doesn’t notice you being stupid).
Why is it when I need to cancel an appointment, I have to give the doctor 24 hours notice, but when *they *need to cancel, they can call me the day of the appointment–after I’ve already rearranged my work schedule–and give me four hours notice?
Ok, that’s not true. I hate english majors who have clearly never taken a linguistics class in their life. Shut the fuck up with your stupid little rants about the dumbing down of language. Epic is not a sign of the apocalypse and I’m getting very tired of this holier than thou dialect shit.
I’m an English major who minored in linguistics for a bit. I have much appreciation for dialect, being a speaker of several such myself. I use my knowledge to mess with the holier than thou. The fact that I have a significant Southern US accent makes it even more fun.
I’d like to make a PSA for those of us living in urban areas who use public transit during the winter; While waiting for the train or bus if you place your bag down in the slop outdoors. Once you get on the train or the bus and sit down the seat next to you isn’t for your slop ridden bag.
I’m tired of seeing this crusty looking seats on public transit. Learn how to take public transit or stay the fuck home.
This isn’t really a mini rant, but it’s one of those things that wouldn’t make a good thread of its own because there’s not really much else to say.
On behalf of one of my dearest, oldest friends, Fuck You Cancer. A few years ago, my friend’s Mom was diagnosed with bone cancer. Against all odds, she kept pushing through and living longer than the doctors thought she would. My friend and the rest of the family were preparing themselves to say goodbye, and had come to some sort of peace with the situation.
Then, out of the blue…her father had a heart attack and died with no warning. And earlier today, on the one-year anniversary of his death, my friend’s Mom was finally sent to hospice. My friend is only 34…she is too young to be losing both of her parents this way.
Oh and did I mention my friend just found out she’s pregnant? Fuck, fuck, fuck.
