Annoyed in April? Rant about it here! Big or small, all rants are welcome in this APril ranting thread.
So, yesterday, I was at Costco for the weekly shopping run. I didn’t need a WHOLE lot of stuff; some cheese for the dish I’m bringing to my dad’s house for the Easter potluck; time for a new bag of coffee beans; I’ve got fewer than seven filters left for the coffee maker, so better pick up a package of those; a few of our weekly staples.
I get through the list, and I’m in the coffee aisle. I walk up and down a couple of times. There’s the various coffees and teas, and K-cups, and Coffee-Mates. Where the hell are the filters? They didn’t do something boneheaded like move them to the paper goods section, did they? Ooh, there’s a Costco staffer, headed my way; I’ll ask her.
“Excuse me, could you point me toward the coffee filters, please?”
“I’m sorry, we don’t carry coffee filters any more.”
“. . . Can you point me toward somebody I can BLAME for making such a boneheaded decision?”
“That’s a pretty good point. If you want to fill in a 'Tell Us About It” form, we’ll see to it that the buyers are notified."
“In my experience, it’s the buyers who make the decisions about what to order and what to discontinue. I need to point this out to whoever the buyers report to. I don’t think they buyers themselves will be responsive to a feedback form that calls their decision boneheaded.”
I went to the Member Services desk and filled out a feedback note, with a special instruction that it was addressed, not to the buyers, but to their direct report. I just hope that’s enough to ensure that they’ve reversed the boneheaded decision by late next year (I bought a pack of 500 filters at Smart & Final). Still, it was out of my way, so grrrr. 
You know, I get that there are mix-ups with paperwork. I understand that the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly and ponderously. But I’m fucking tired of having no income at all. Since February 23, we’ve actually had negative income - Tony went back to work on light duty, the workers comp insurance folks and the human resources dweebs crossed their wires, and as a result, we had one bank deposit that was reversed due to a stop payment from comp, with the attendant NSF fees. (Only $34, thanks to a really helpful banker.) And one paycheck for Tony - $33.86, thanks to taxes, fees, and back payment on his supplemental insurance that the county has been paying while he’s on leave.
Now, Tony’s back off light duty, with a referral to another doctor. The workers comp guy called yesterday to say that we should expect payment “soon,” and all of the bills (which were finally almost caught up last month,) are behind by a month. “Soon” doesn’t really help much, now does it?
In other news, I’m just about ready to beat my smallest children - the 3-year-old is at that stage where she makes potions of anything she can get her hands on, and I’m tired of finding half a bottle of shampoo mixed with the dog food, or waking up to a bowl of leftover spaghetti mixed with peanut butter and smeared all over the living room table. And the almost-5-year-old (who won’t be celebrating much of a birthday Saturday if a check doesn’t arrive soon,) just stands by and watches, then tattles after the mess is made instead of getting me the minute the shenanigans begin.
And I’m tired of teenage drama. It’s bad enough from the three teenagers in the house, but it’s even more annoying when it’s from a 51-year-old woman who believes that everyone is out to get her. She’s on notice that they are moving out at the end of the school term. Mentally, I can’t deal with this shit any more.
Mostly, I’m just tired…
Speaking of Costco: what is it about the place that makes people wander aimlessly and in slow motion, blocking aisles and gaping stupidly at pallets of Raviolios? It’s like navigating through a herd of particularly stupid cows. Make a fucking list!
Also, you know those big orange flatbed carts? They’re really, really hard to stop when fully loaded. It’s a really stupid idea to just walk out in front of one, as you risk a broken ankle if I can’t stop the forward momentum of 300 pounds of canned goods. Your little darling risks serious injury. Then I get to start up again and pretty much have to lean all 240 pounds into it to get it moving.
Here’s a mini-rant (and something that may get me yelled at since diet around here tends to be a hot topic, but oh, well). My husband challenged me to go vegan for a month. I accepted, thinking that if this makes me more creative about my food choices and better equipped to get more produce in my diet, all the better.
When I let some of my friends know, I got, “Well, if you guys bet money, I hope you’ve already paid him,” “I don’t think you understand how hard it is to be vegan. You won’t like it,” and “Yeah, good luck with that.” I understand the risks and difficulties and yes, I realize it’s hard and that I’m doing this to see if I can and probably not for the best reasons. But can’t you offer some fucking encouragement instead of telling me I will fail? None of you are vegans for fuck’s sake and those of you who are vegetarian aren’t ethical vegetarians, so I don’t think I just pissed in your church. Are you just fucking around with me or what?
This reminds me of when I said I was going to try a marathon and I got, “I wouldn’t run that far even if someone was chasing me with a knife,” and “You’ll never make it - only Olympic athletes can do that.” (For the record, I ran 3.)
Speaking of, the only friend of mine who didn’t caution me about how hard it was and what a bad idea it is was my running partner. From when I ran my 2nd and 3rd marathon.
My work credit card, which I have had for over a decade, got hacked. So I’ve had to cancel it, and now I can’t get my work done until it’s replaced, and some of the work I’ve already done will have to be done over, and I was already up to my eyeballs. God damn I wish this was an April Fool’s joke.
Fucking Taxes.
Soooooo…
I am a system consultant. The company I work for is responsible for selling the contract and placing me. Well, since August of last year I have only had intermittent work assigned - 2 weeks here, then a month without work - a week there, then three weeks without work - etc. They keep telling me that they have me listed for a project that might start any day now, any…day…now. In the mean time - 3 weeks of work, then 5 weeks off. I have been off for about 3 weeks again. Did I mention I only get paid when I work? Yeah, that’s the part I didn’t mention.
OH! And the last real project, the one that ended last August? Well, because it was out of my residence state, and because that project went over 12 months long, the travel expenses that I was reimbursed for are considered taxable. I am legally obligated to pay taxes on all that reimbursement money that I was “paid”. Now, my employer attempts to work it all out with grossing up my pay and paying my extra taxes. But, it’s a fuzzy process. I did my taxes for the year and have a hefty (HEFTY HEFTY) amount I must pay to the IRS and State RIGHT NOW! My employer promises they will work with an accountant to figure out the what they still owe me and take care of it. But in the mean time, I have to pay the tax bill. Did I mention in the previous paragraph that I’m not working steadily (or being paid) at the moment?
OH! And while I’m home not working and not being paid, let’s (just for fun) find out that we have termites! Yeah, that doesn’t cost anything to deal with, right?
…and then there is the out-of-state tuition bill due for the kid, and the vacation my money-clueless spouse planned for the summer…:smack::smack::smack:
I got punked by an April Fool’s prank involving Idle Thoughts claiming to be a girl!
:mad:
It’s so vile! It’s so heartless and cruel! The shame, the shame. Why would you do such a terrible thing, why, why…
I wrote a big ass reply and it took me 10 minutes of my time. Woe is me.
I don’t really care, but April Fool’s, maybe someone will think I was outraged.
Am I doin’ it rite?
Apparently I am a woman also. Whodahthunkit?
flirts with Dr Deth
When come back, bring pie!
Well, pizzaguy, you’re doing it right to the extent that it’s in the MINI rants thread. Because there are apparently a lot of folks who thought it was a MAJOR DISASTER. They were wrong.
Lawl?
Is my response to that.
Another job search related rant…since when do contract workers now have to go on two or more interviews for a temporary assignment? Granted, it’s a ten month assignment, but come ON!
My April mini-rant is the same one as every year: today is my birthday.
It was irritating after 20 years. Now, at a few short of 50, I want to carry around a flamethrower to blast “pranksters” while screaming “April Fool, fuckers!”
Next time I plan on getting born on a less annoying day. Like, Christmas or something.
I wouldn’t call it anything near vile, but it was incredibly stupid and pointless. what an asshole.
I can’t help but think it’s a bad idea to flirt with Deth. 
I always wanted to date a doctor. That way they can check out this 500 pound growth on my neck without charging me.
Will I live, Dr Deth?
No… but I can keep the growth alive forever! bwahahaha!