We’ve seen this a couple of times in the last weeks, too - a car going around another car who was first in line at a light or stop sign (when there was no lane to use other than the oncoming lane, and we weren’t dicking around - just waiting for traffic or the light like you’re supposed to). My husband’s and my response to seeing that was, “You…can’t…DO that!”
Well, he couldn’t see the first car in line due to the size of the truck in front of me, but even if he was, he literally didn’t give that car enough time to react to the green, never mind the truck and myself.
Crutches are weapons - use them! 
I gotta drive in Boston, see how it compares to Mexico City, which is the worst place for driving that I have been.
I was reminded of another unique driving experience today. Several years ago I was driving in southern Missouri on my way to St Louis in the fast lane on a four lane highway. Ahead were two smaller trucks pulling boats, the sort you waterski behind - I am driving a 3/4 ton big shiny truck (my hubby loves his trucks) with a high cap, and I am pushing 85 to their 55-60. Literally, as I am overtaking the first boat, this fool decides to change lanes and there was no way I was going to be able to drop back in time so I headed for the median.
Because of the speed I was going at the time, throwing gravel, dirt and grass clods, screaming obscenities in two languages as I went by, I ended up passing this guy on the left as he looked at me vacantly. I swayed back onto the asphalt and god DAMN if his buddy in the lead didn’t try to move into my lane. Fortunately, I was able to convince him of the error of his ways thru the continued use of my horn, which meant he probably couldn’t hear my renewed description of himself, his heritage, his lack of driving skills, his lack of simple freaking common sense!
The worst part was, since I was driving a truck from California, these two good old boys probably decided that the whole incident was all my fault, because, well, you know those California drivers! Heh, if I wasn’t versed in driving the S Cal freeways, one or both of them would be dead now…:smack:
Old one. I’m a Functional Consultant, that’s the people who find out what the users of a program will need and translate that into something the programmers can understand and create.
I was taking over from a dude who was in the middle of an angst crisis: can’t call it a “middle age crisis” because he was in his mid-20s. Apparently he’d just received a metaphorical kick to the balls for the first time in his life; he was taking it badly.
He couldn’t figure out how to backup his personal files from his job-issued laptop. He would pop a blank CD into the appropriate drive (and hey, even right-side-up) and just stare blankly at the screen. I started to explain that he needed a special program, such as Nero, but took a look at the drive and lo and behold, it wasn’t a burner; I explained this to him. Explained it again, slow enough for Sesame Street. “I’m not very good at computer stuff, you see”. No shit, but Og’s balls, you work in IT! I don’t care if it’s in the functional end of things, you shouldn’t stare at your computer like you can’t figure out whether it’s Mary Poppins’ handbag or the puzzle box which opens the gates of Hell.
Sadly he was only the first one I’ve met like that. The list includes a couple of programmers (arrrgh) and one network dude (re-arrrrgh!)
A few years back, my wife and I decided we wanted a real-sized Christmas tree - but left it a little late. We finally managed to find a 6’ tree, but it was the last one, the display model. Therefore, no box.
Well, that’s okay. It seemed a bit awkward, but nothing I couldn’t carry. We had to walk a few blocks to the car (we’d been to several stores looking that day), with me carrying this 6’ tall, about 3’ across at the base tree, peeking around the top of it so I could see what was in front of me.
So, basically, the other pedestrians would see a Christmas tree perambulating on the street towards them - I’d have been pretty well hidden behind it. Pretty obvious on the city streets, wouldn’t you say? Someone you’d, out of courtesy*, give a little extra space to?
Apparently not.
I had to spend more time and effort dodging other pedestrians, carrying that damned tree, than I’ve ever had when I was just walking along without my festive traffic hazard.
*Or self-preservation. I really couldn’t see all that well in front of me…and I wouldn’t want a face full of tree, if I saw one coming towards me.
I run a small business table on the weekends. I have a sign that says “Take whatever you want, but donations are deeply appreciated”. And I really mean it. I mean, if you don’t have a single dime on you and you really like something, it’s not a problem if you take it. Especially if I’m not attending the table at that moment. Just pass the kindess on to someone else.
But if I’m sitting RIGHT THERE, working on a piece for passer-bys to see, and you and your family of eight do a snatch-and-grab without at least saying “thank you”, well, I’m going to be like, “Really?!” Especially if I see your asses go into an expensive place across the street and come out with a whole bunch of bags. It’s not the money you didn’t drop in the can, you assholes. It’s the fact that you didn’t even respect me enough to acknowledge my presence with at least a smile. It’s not like I’m the free sample girl at Kroger’s. The things you took spent hours to make and will last a lifetime. Are people that detached from their purchases that they just assume everything they see was made by some heartless machine millions of miles away?
That’s why I like customers who are kids and not be accompanied by stupid adults. They will take the time to ask about everything on my table, how the items were made, what materials I used, what kinds of plants are in the pots, etc. And then, after asking a bazillion times if it’s alright, they will take something they really like. And usually without fail, they will put SOMETHING in the can. Once, a whole slough of little boys dugs into their pockets and pooled their monies together for a donation and were very thankful and happy as they left. I don’t like kids in that “I LOVE KIDS” kind of way, but dammit, I love kids better than adults sometimes.
Driveway on a local 2 lane highway on my way home the other day, I came up on a car doing about 50 in a 65 zone (where most people do at least 70, usually closer to 80). The car kept drifting off the edge of the road onto the rumble strip, would stay there for 15 or 20 seconds, then drift back into the middle of the lane. I figures it was either an elderly driver or someone on their stupid phone.
There was hardly any traffic so I lost no time in getting around them, and looked over at them as I went by. Dude was reading a book, had it propped up on the right side of the steering wheel. :eek: I really hope he hit the deer carcass that was just up the road and right on the white edge line.
Moron.
monstro: To a lot of people, the price *is *the value. They don’t conceive of those as separate concepts.
As such, your free goods were valueless. The price *proves *they were valueless. The overpriced designer-whatevers they bought in that store were of high value. The price *proves *they were high value.
I’m not agreeing with these people’s attitudes. Just explaining them.
But I bet they at least say thank to the check-out person at the high-end boutique they run off to. That person who didn’t put their heart and soul into whatever they sold them at a ridiculously marked-up price…they have no problem acknowledging their presence at the register.
But the person across the street–who is strange-looking, I’ll grant you–who is actually giving them something they want for not cost at all, despite the fact that what they want is hand-made and one-of-a-kind…no, that person doesn’t even warrant eye contact or a smile. It’s like I’m invisible to them. I launched into this project so that I wouldn’t feel this way. So it sucks when that’s how I am left feeling.
I’m still going to run my business the way I’ve been running it because it’s a learning experience. It’s yet another humbling experience.
I was driving home from work yesterday when I came across a piece of tire from a blow-out on a semi. It was about 6 feet long and was spread over the entire lane. This was the first “Really?” moment. There was no semi to be seen anywhere, which means this huge hunk of rubber has been in the middle of the road long enough for the truck that lost it to change the tire and be on their way. Not to mention that the driver of said truck should have gotten it out of the road on their own.
When I saw it I slowed down to a stop but didn’t get out of the lane so as to not surprise anyone behind me with a large piece of rubber suddenly in front of them. As soon as everyone got out from behind me I got in the left lane, passed the tire piece, and pulled over onto the side of the road.
I got out of the car and pulled the piece of tire off of the road and tossed it in the ditch. Here comes the second “Really?” moment: I walked back to my car to get in and leave. No less than 25 cars came at intervals of about 2 car lengths between them. Not one of them got into the left lane so I could safely get back in my car. After standing there trying to get back into my car for 5 minutes there was a break in the traffic. I opened the door, got in, took it out of park and put on my left turn signal. Here comes another line of about 20 or 25 cars all at intervals impossible to get into it. Once again, not a single one gets into the left lane to let me out.
It’s not like there were cars in the left lane. There wasn’t a single one. I will say that most of them, though, served halfway into the left lane when they were within a couple of feet of me and my car, so at least they didn’t actively try to run me over but sheesh. Last time I do something nice.
Here’s one from my commute home last night.
I have to make a right turn at a light. I’m behind a semi in the right-turn only lane. The semi has its right turn signal on, but it just sits there after the light turns green. A car behind me honks its horn to get him to go, but all he does is turn on his emergency flashers.
OK, he’s having a problem. But I now have to maneuver around him, get into the straight-only lane, and prepare to turn right in front of the presumably broken-down semi. This takes a few minutes, because nobody in the other lane will let me in. I then have to wait a few light cycles to get up to the front to make my right turn around the semi.
As soon as I finally get to the front and start to turn right, the semi starts moving! He takes the right turn, almost hitting me.
I have to abandon my turn and go straight, because there’s no way to go right now, with the semi moving and people following it, all making right turns. I go down the block, pull into a gas station, turn around, and come back to the intersection. After making a left turn, I enter the entrance ramp to the highway, only to find the same semi, blocking half of the entrance ramp lane, fully stopped with his flashers on! People are slowly maneuvering around him, but it’s difficult going.
Now the kicker–when I finally reach the semi and start going around him, HE STARTS MOVING AGAIN! I have to pull over to the left to avoid getting hit, driving through gravel and broken glass.
WTF!!! Either be broken down or be moving. I’m sure the only thing this asshole was doing was pulling over to set his GPS or something. If he needed to do this, he needed to pull over somewhere where it’s safe, not keeping blocking traffic lanes, then starting up again randomly.
I found one today:
Samsung wants to see the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 “to avoid future lawsuits and uncanny similarities”
What?
I doubt they do, actually. To a certain type of person, store clerks and waitresses and such aren’t really people and don’t deserve fancy things like eye contact and smiles. And besides, if they weren’t shopping in that boutique, that person wouldn’t even have a job; if there are any thanks involved in their transaction, it should be coming from the person they are beneficently allowing to spend their weekend at work.
And people like that are my WTF, too. Back when I worked at the emergency clinic, I hated working Christmas and Thanksgiving because people would throw absolute tantrums that it was going to take an hour and a half to get their pet’s bloodwork and xrays done and evaluated by the vet. Didn’t I know they had presents to open and holidays meals to eat with their families, or was I just too dumb to understand that it was a holiday and people should be at home with their families on holidays? :dubious: I almost went over the desk after the guy who suggested that we should have more staff working on Christmas so wait times wouldn’t be so long and people could get home to their families. I mean, really. (Granted, I may have been a bit oversensitive that afternoon because it was my first married Christmas and I hadn’t actually clapped eyes on my husband all day.)
Like many other schools in Spain, the Kidlet’s has Wednesday afternoons off. Now, if the kid’s old enough to take care of himself, fine, but the Kidlet’s still in kindergarten. So when SiL (the Kidlet’s mom) got her current position, which requires one or two 24h emergency duty days per week with the next day off, she was planning on always taking her EDD on Tuesdays so she’d have every Wednesday off. Littlebro, being her brother-in-law and not her husband, dared point out that she’d be low woman on the totem pole and that the other doctors are likely to have school-age kids, too. She poo-pooed him… we’re still laughing. Turns out that since all five doctors have school-age kids, they set up the EDD rotation specifically so each gets 1 in 5 schoolyear Wednesdays off.
She was complaining about how having weekend EDDs impinges on her social life and I said “yeah, I know what it’s like”. “Oh no, you can’t imagine how difficult it is!” Her husband, Middlebro: “honey, Nava worked weekend shift for two years. Remember those two years when she could never go anywhere on the weekend?” I’ll admit to not being the most sociable person in the world, but seriously: weekend shift could kill anybody’s social life, specially on 12h shifts. If you’re not at work, you’re either trying to sleep, getting ready for bed or getting ready for work.
Then there are all those people who think that something which would take them days will be done by their subordinates in less time than the office’s coffee machine takes to cough up a plastic cup full of semi-disolved powders. I’m always amazed by how difficult it seems to be to think yourself in somebody else’s shoes, and I know that’s not the right idiom but hopefully you’ll understand what I mean.
You know, my WTF moment is related to yours. I carry those green bags when I’m grocery shopping and I often only need one or two of them for my weekly shopping. I am often found walking up to the register carrying the things, and somehow between there and me paying, the bagger figures that I must be too weak to carry all of my groceries in one or two bags and insists on packing them light and adding plastic bags. In addition, I get the “are you sure?” every time I mention that I can carry them out to the car with an incredulous look. Are there really that many overweight man-sized women out there that can’t carry 20 lbs of groceries out on their own?
The most insulting one was when I was carrying two 30lb bags of dog food and the female cashier insisted on having the other [male] cashier carry my dog food from one side of the checkout stand to the other. So I carried all of this from the back of the store with no problem, and now you can’t believe that I can carry it another 10 feet to the other side of the checkout stand, let alone out the door to my car? Give me a break-- none of this stuff is magically going to get heavier in the two minutes it takes to get it to the car.
I have on more than one occasion seen some folks in our area peel any excess peels (onion, corn husks, etc.) and drop them onto the floor of the grocery store before putting them into their shopping cart. This is in addition to the folks who are snacking on the grapes in the produce aisle; sadly, the stereotype of the cheap elderly person comes out on this one, as it’s the grocery store most populated by old folks doing this who completely destroy the packaging on the pre-weighed packaged produce. Can you please keep your fingers out of the bags and stop ripping them open?
As CrazyCat Lady said, the likelihood of them treating you worse if you were charging money for your creations is pretty high-- folks who pretend you don’t exist when it’s a give-away will often sneer and expect you to grovel if they have to pay for anything you’re offering, IME.
Turnabout is fair play. (The rumour is that the iPhone 5 will substantially copy innovations of Samsung’s Nexus S.)
So I’m coming up on a stop light. There’s four lanes, one left turn lane, two that go straight, and one right turn only lane that turns onto the on ramp for the freeway. The light is red, and I’m in the right turn lane with nobody in front of me. I stop, waiting because people are turning left onto the on ramp from the opposite direction. There’s a Mustang sitting at the front of the next lane over, the driver is revving his engine while he and the girl in the passenger seat glare over at me. The light turns green, I proceed to turn, and Mustang dude tries to jump ahead and turn right in front of me, but he had to slam on his brakes and wait for me to complete my turn before he turned behind me. Maybe he was expecting me to sit and wait for him to go ahead of me, I dunno what the fuck his deal was, but he was extremely angry that I wasn’t psychic, and starts riding my tail, laying on his horn, and screaming obscenities out his window as we round the curve getting onto the freeway. As we merge onto the freeway, the psycho swerves into the next lane and proceeds to drive next to me for half a mile while both of them scream at me.
I’d almost sort of understand if the guy had been actively trying to move into the right lane and I cut him off, but he was just sitting there motionless and revving his engine when I came up to the light, no turn signal, absolutely nothing that would let me know he wanted over…unless engine revving is some sort of signal I should have understood.
Is it possible they’re assuming you’re kinda up there in age (no offense meant, of course)? I work as a cashier, and we get loads of older people. Some of them demand that we always escort them to their cars. Most don’t, but it does happen. Are the local clientele all up there in age?
My personal one from today, during my cashiering shift:
I rang up a cake from our bakery, and my co-worker was bagging. The lady buying it said “I want paper.”
He said “Ma’am, I don’t think this will fit.” She told him to bag it anyway.
Of course, when he did that, the packaging smushed part of the cake. :smack:
He pulled it out of the bag, and said “Ma’am, is this okay?”
She said “No! That’s not okay! I told you to be careful! There probably isn’t another one!”
You know, now that I think about it, I could devote an entire thread to cashier and customer service issues in general. Could be fun to hear other tales from people…
It’s not really the cashier/bagger’s choice. I worked in a grocery store for a year and a half, and there were lot of little “customer service” things that were required, like not putting too much in one bag, always offering to take out your groceries, and grabbing big things like dog food bags from the cart. It didn’t matter whether you looked like Mother Theresa or The Incredible Hulk.
I am 28 and look 24-25. Trust me, they’re not assuming I’m old, just weak.
There is a website devoted to it here.