I dunno - I’ve been with the government for 32 years, 21 of those years among engineers of many disciplines, and I swear she is the only one I’ve encountered who acts like this. To me, poor social skills might include awkwardness in a social situation or not knowing how to make small talk around the office. Adults acting like a 5-year-old - a bit beyond poor social skills.
monstro
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The macaroni and cheese from KFC. It. Just. Ain’t. Right.
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Having worked there for many years as a manager, you just don’t want to know.
Here’s mine:
I’m a crafty person, I’ll get my craft on and give someone something, I might have worked for hours on it, or longer or shorter. It depends. I know that many people around me don’t get it, but damn, could you take notice a little to that hand stamping, or whatnot? I continue to do this because its usually cheaper, and I like to do it.
Being a packrat and not being able to part with things you haven’t seen or had use for in years.
Putting importance on material things.
Using your credit card for small purchases.
Eating McDonalds.
I assume you mean debit cards as well. I do it because I usually don’t carry cash. The only way for me to get cash is to go to an ATM, of which there are none closer than a mile to me, or pay for something with my card and get cash back, which brings us back to using a card for a small purchase. But if i have cash, I’ll spend it. By that, I mean I’m more likely to spend cash at places that don’t take cards, like getting a slice of pizza for lunch instead of eating what I already have. If I didn’t take that cash out of the ATM in the first place, I wouldn’t have spent it at the pizza place, and would still have it. So buy using my card as much as possible and not having cash on me, I actually save money.
I’m sorry, but I’m absolutely not crafty at all, so I’m not likely to recognize hand stamping.
It’s just easier to use a credit card for everything- you don’t have to worry about how much cash you have, and you don’t have to deal with change. I was down to $5 cash in my wallet for a couple of weeks (I kept putting off going to the ATM), and I got along fine because I use my credit card for everything I can.
The obvious reason is that you can’t customize leased cars. If you’re into really making your ride your own, your only option is to own the car.
I don’t do this anymore, but I did when I was younger. I’d carve up the dashboard and install my own stereo components and gauges, put in custom upholstery, add my own moonroof, modify the engine, repaint with non-standard colors, replace wheels and tires, and add new speakers. Today, you can add custom mounts for iPods, charging cradles for cellphones, cellphone faxes, flip-down trays for notebook computers, navigation systems, and a lot of other stuff. It’s all about customizing your personal space.
You just can’t do these things on a leased vehicle.
Only black people? White people look okay in unnatural colored contact lenses?
Casual doesn’t have to be sloppy. I like my shirt tucked in. If for no other reason, it makes my pockets easy to reach, the shirttails don’t get caught in things, and it keeps my big metal belt buckle away from my bare skin.
How can you not get this? The shower helps me wake up, it feels good, my hair is easier to deal with when it’s clean and wet, it’s easier to shave in the shower (which I also need to do in the morning), and I can start my day feeling clean and fresh. Personally, I’ve never understood showering at night.
I don’t get that, either. Around here (and anywhere else you get snow), you get ruts so deep on the road that your average car has a hard time getting over them. It makes no sense to me AT ALL to buy a vehicle that doesn’t have a problem with snow ruts, and mess around with it so it DOES. WTF, man? Unless these fellows are just parking their trucks for winter, and that doesn’t make much more sense.
Martini Enfield, I have to agree with what Spoons said, with regards to winter being very hard on cars. If you want to hear some really Canadian conversation, ask about our winter cars. Some cars are known for being great in winter; others not so much. We can easily talk about cars and cold, snowy weather for hours. It’s like a Canadian art form.
Plus, a lot of cars sold here truly are pieces of crap right off the production line (mostly domestics - Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler). The funny thing about domestics, though, is that they’re usually better in winter than imports (Toyota, Honda, Mazda).
These people wearing these contact lenses (white or black) - I hope they don’t take it personally when I back off in fright when they turn around and look at me with their freaky, electric blue/green eyes. Yikes.
(raises hand) Guilty as charged. Part of it is sentimentality, part of it is the old “but you never know when you’ll need it!” My family of origin doesn’t understand my fondness for buying and holding on to books. I have several shelves of books, including those acquired when I married Mr. Lucky (who is an even bigger packrat than me), and The Princess already has a nearly full bookshelf of her own, even though she is only in kindergarten. Someday, when I have a house of my own, I plan to have an actual library with bookshelves lining the walls, brandy and cigars (OK, maybe not the cigars, they’ll stink up the books) 
Things I don’t get:
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Telenovelas (Spanish soap operas). They’re all the same - nice, sweet, beautiful yet poor girl falls in love with handsome rich guy whose family despises her - sometimes she starts out as the rich family’s maid. It’s so formulaic I heard in Mexico they call this plot “Las Marias” because the main character always seems to be named Maria. In South American telenovelas the plot is a bit different in that there are no sympathetic characters, and everyone seems to hate each other. This is what I get from hanging out with my female relatives, as my mom and grandma are addicted to these shows. The only good thing about them is, they end after a few weeks and keep Mom and Grandma out of my hair for a couple hours each weeknight. (am living with these people for the duration of my real-life soap opera) :rolleyes:
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Terry cloth one-piece sunsuits for adult women.
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Flavor of Love.
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Beauty pageants for kids. I’m aware every parent thinks their little girl is the most beautiful in the world; I know I do. But why overshadow your child’s natural beauty with a full can’s worth of hair spray, a $200 gown, and enough makeup to keep Paris Hilton busy for a month? I’ve had people on the street ask me if I’ve ever considered putting my child in pageants or have her audition for modeling jobs or acting roles. I don’t want to do this to her because, cute as she is, she just doesn’t have the patience, and I’m about as far from a stage mom as you can get, at least in this regard. I’d rather she concentrate on her writing, learning to count to 100, and riding her bike up and down the sidewalk, hopefully without training wheels.
I get 1-3% back on my credit card purchases. Small purchases (< $10) account for several hundred dollars of my money each month. So that’s maybe $50 in my pocket a year, just for whipping out the plastic. Given the way that stores have streamlined the credit card process, it doesn’t take any longer to pay by card than it does to pay with cash or check, especially when you have to take into account change.
Also, my credit card statement can be downloaded into Quicken and my expenses auto-categorized, which helps me track where my money is going.
And I love the camera on my cellphone. There are many times that I wish I had a camera with me, but not enough that I would actually carry one around. Now I can, without any extra effort.
I used to think text messages were silly, but I’m coming around, at least in the case of mass-messaging. It’s way easier to send out a text message to a dozen people telling them of last-minute plans than it is to call a dozen people. Of course, I’d like it if we could actually plan in advance, but that seems to be harder and harder to accomplish, at least in my social circle.
Any and all carbonated beverages. They just feel loathsome in my mouth: like a thousand tiny ants are crawling over my tongue. Ugh!
The >95% of young people who think it’s fun to hang out at a stifling-hot, crowded, smoky bar or club with ear-destroyingly loud music, and drink till they puke. (Yeah, I had zero friends in college.)
People who don’t bother to read a map or look up the bus schedules online before riding the bus, and waste everyone’s time while the bus driver has to answer a billion stupid-ass questions.
There’s quite a list here!
Here are the things that I just don’t get:
NASCAR. I can see how driving a car in a race would be exciting, but watching it? They just go round and round, until one of them smashes up and either dies or goes to the hospital. This is fun?
Monster Truck Rallys/ Drag Racing: same thing.
Mentioned above, but needs another mention: beauty pageants, period, but bp for little girls especially. It’s just nasty exploitation, IMO.
Jazz: yep, I’m a trogodolyte. Again, I think it would be great fun to play and create and be a part of a group that plays jazz, but to listen to? Not so much. Big Band you can dance to, at least.
Rap music and/or hip hop: no, thanks. It is not musical. It is not melodic. Sure, there’s probably tons of good stuff out there-why doesn’t that go to number 1? Good rock did (and a lot of schlock, but still!).
Robert (Thomas?) Kinkade “art”. I not only don’t get it, I don’t want to…
The Wiggles: wtf ARE these people? Jerry Falwell wets himself over Tinky-Winky, but have you gotten a gander at these guys? (I don’t really care if they’re gay, straight or celibate–I just can’t imagine them not registering on the gaydar of doom for the Christian Right).
Bratz Dolls: and I thought Barbie was bad. These dolls look malformed, no? And the Olson twins must have provided the mold.
“Celebrities”: what exactly is Britney Spears? Actors become famous for their talent or their lack of it or their talent for selling themselves despite their lack of talent. What is Britney? And why should I care?
Court TV-any of the shows. Also the Jerry Springer type shows. Why would you watch people yelling at each other? How is this good or productive or positive or even entertaining?
WWF: WTF?
I agree re the cars. To me, it is a vehicle-I want reliable, good gas mileage and storage space. Anything else is just more stuff to pay for.
Rock concerts. Yep, I don’t get them. No one can hear the band, because everyone is yelling at the band to play their favorite song. Once a recognizable song comes on, everyone sings along, which means you can’t hear the song. Or everyone talks to the people they came with-so that others around them can’t hear. I gave up on rock concerts after my 5th one-what a waste of money…
silicone breast implants, botulism for lips etc. I am all for reconstruction post surgery or trauma, but I don’t get cosmetic surgery. I heard a pt once say that she had gotten X amount of work done, and her husband had too, so that their kids would be gorgeous. I often think of this woman-so ignorant of genetics-and wonder if she ever had kids.
Actually, it has gone to number one. This week three years ago (spooky, huh?), the Top 10 Billboard Singles were all rap/hip hop songs. It was the first time ever all 10 slots were filled with black artists. Bash it all you want, but the public sure loves rap and hip hop.
But even still, I don’t think getting to number 1 is indicative of anything. Have you listened to your local Top 40 station lately? All of it sucks!
Me neither! Flav needs a paper bag over his head, and those girls need to be euthanized.
To be honest, I can’t tell when white people are wearing funky contact lenses. But I can tell when black people do! I’ve known black folks with naturally blue, green, hazel eyes, but their eyes always look real. Folks who look straight out of Africa but have ice-blue irises…these folks look like David Banner before he’d turn into the Hulk!
Oh, for Pete’s sake. This is not a color or a race issue. I said I don’t get rap or hip hop. So, where is the bashing? The public loves reality TV too, but I also don’t get that. Yippee-blacks have filled all the top 10 slots at once. Ok.
I don’t listen to music radio much anymore-because I got tired of being yelled at by various “artists” who can’t carry a note, don’t know how to use rhyme or meter or grammar or English and whose focus is not shared by me. It’s not hard to understand. I don’t “get” hip hop or rap. I don’t like the cadence of the music and the irregular rhyming patterns. I like songs to be…songs. Sung by people who can sing-whatever their race.
I think that’s the whole point.
If I didn’t have such sensitive eyes I’d love to get mirrored contact lenses. Now that would be freaky 
I don’t get people worrying about things they don’t get 
I don’t listen to music radio much anymore-because I got tired of being yelled at by various “artists” who can’t carry a note, don’t know how to use rhyme or meter or grammar or English and whose focus is not shared by me. It’s not hard to understand. I don’t “get” hip hop or rap. I don’t like the cadence of the music and the irregular rhyming patterns. I like songs to be…songs. Sung by people who can sing-whatever their race.
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Whoa.
You totally misread my tone. Perhaps I needed to put more smilies or something in it.
Please excuse me for correcting you and providing an interesting (IMHO) piece of trivia. I promise never to do it again.
Shoot.
Whoa.
You totally misread my tone. Perhaps I needed to put more smilies or something in it.
Please excuse me for correcting you and providing an interesting (IMHO) piece of trivia. I promise never to do it again.
I heard ya already!
Looks like I did misread. Sorry, but I am sick of being told that if only I would listen to it, the beauty that is rap/hiphop would become apparent to me…No harm, no foul.
(Just to further smooth things over…I rarely listen to rap or hip hop myself, although I respect both as musically valid artforms. Today, a white and nerdy coworker had me watch the “White and Nerdy” rap video, and I totally didn’t get that it was a parody of a real rap song. I thought it was something Weird Al made up all on his own. The both of us thought that was funny indeed!)
If you’re a Drug Lord or Drug Baron you’re a criminal distributor of controlled substances.
If you’re the Drug King, chances are you’re the corner drugstore.
Add to this bragging about how they can’t do math (fractions or percents, especially), or can’t understand science / computers / basic investing. Your lifestyle depends on these things, folks.
Folks whose “argument” against evolution is “scientists say evolution is just a theory,” as thought they haven’t had explained to them 5,614 times that “theory” means something different in science. At what point does “ignorant” become “willfully ignorant?” There are plenty of valid grounds on which you can disagree, but this ain’t one of them, and continually repeating it isn’t advancing the discussion.
And with great trepidation, I put mu toe in the “new car” argument:
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There are lots of people for whom leasing makes very poor economic sense: mainly if you drive more than a low-average number of miles per year, or in conditions that will deteriorate the appearance of the car (dirt roads, anywhere they put salt on the roads.) The “make-up” fees at the end of the lease will dissolve any financial advantages.
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The failure curve on cars is a bathtub: failure rates start high, fall to steady for a number of years based on location and model, then rise again. The rate of fall is dependent on maintenance, driving care, and other factors, and for a new car that initial period is under warranty. Buying “used” means you don’t know where you are in the curve (because you don’t know history), and in any case you’re closer to the end of the curve.
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In my experience, buying fleet cars and such at the 1-2 year mark only nets about a 15% savings in cost, that dreaded depreciation that everyone’s so concerned about. Plus, you will own the car at least 1-2 fewer years, so you’ll be buying more cars in a lifetime. Will you pay a little less over the whole period? Sure, but only a little bit, and spread over a lifetime. Big deal. Worse, one “used lemon” can wipe out that savings entirely.
I don’t see that there’s an “obvious winner” either way in this argument. There might be an obvious winner for you, though, given a particular set of circumstances.