Smiles and positive posts are all well and good, but sometimes I need to vent a bit. How about you? That’s what The Monday Peeve is all about, a chance to blow off a little steam at the beginning of the week, so then we can go merrily on our way once again (hah). I’ll pick a topic that’s on my mind, but you can vent about whatever you please, here in comments or on your own blog. Grab the photo, use the TMP tag, link back to me (or not), and Bob’s yer uncle. I do reserve the right to delete any links that offend my delicate sensibilities. So far, none have, but it could happen. I have feelings!
Okay, so… I had a good week (except for back pain) and am not too fussed about anything. THIS ANNOYS ME. It must be the “calm before the storm,” setting me up to believe that life is sweet and nice (besides, you know, the hideous plague that’s been infecting the U.S., and also COVID-19). Now, I’m left to wonder (Sunday night, when I’m writing this), what monstrosities are in store for me this week. So stressful! Gah.
Please let me know about your peeves ASAP so I can maybe take some on for myself. It’s the least you can do really…
Smiles and positive posts are all well and good, but sometimes I need to vent a bit. How about you? That’s what The Monday Peeve is all about, a chance to blow off a little steam at the beginning of the week, so then we can go merrily on our way once again (hah). I’ll pick a topic that’s on my mind, but you can vent about whatever you please, here in comments or on your own blog. Grab the photo, use the TMP tag, link back to me (or not), and Bob’s yer uncle. I do reserve the right to delete any links that offend my delicate sensibilities. So far, none have, but it could happen. I have feelings!
First, let me say WOOHOO and thank you for sticking with me to my 50th Monday Peeve! Couldn’t have done it without you, for what good is a bitch session if no one is around to nod in sympathy? Second, if you’re thinking, gosh, she’s complained about so many things already… is she really gonna be able to make it to 100 peeves? Fear not! I will manage to scrape up 50 more things to complain about, no problem.
Third, it’s time for today’s peeve, which is my freaking car fob battery changing ORDEAL. First (starting over with firsts now), I didn’t even know these things had batteries… I thought they were powered by car fairy sparkle vibes or something. Never thought about it… why would I? No fob has ever stopped working for me before. I assumed it broke and I’d have to buy a complete new one for hundreds of dollars. But a friend told me they have batteries and you can change them easy peasy. LOL
Second (this is the second thing after the first thing from the third thing, okay?), I happened to find a spare fob while I was looking for something else, so I figured AHA this one will work and no need to deal with batteries. But it didn’t work. I guess it was programmed to die at the same time my first fob died. ANYWAY, my clever son-in-law (well, they’re both clever, but I’m just talking about the older clever one right now) sent me a link to buy new batteries from Amazon, since there are like a zillion choices and I didn’t want to take the fob apart to look. Why not? I don’t know! Scary!
The new batteries came… and like I said, it was scary to think about taking the fobs apart. What if I wrecked something? But I got tired of unlocking my door with the key ~ GAH SO MUCH WORK ~ so finally I said to myself, self, we’re gonna change the damn batteries. Obviously, the first thing to do was open the package of batteries. OH MY GOD! Why do they make the package so hard to open?!? It was beyond ridiculous how these things were sealed up. And after you open them there’s a note saying not to eat them. DAFUQ?
Finally, I was ready to take apart the fob, which as you may know entails wedging in a screwdriver and falooping the whole thing apart. Clearly, some brilliant engineers decided this was the best way to design a key fob. Inside, there’s another SEKRIT compartment that also has to be wedged open with a tool. Finally… TA DA… the battery! I put the fob upside down to remove the battery and all the little widgets fell out. Another brilliant design going on here… make the indicators separate from the whole piece and they’re just wobbling there, unattached to anything. You know what I mean ~ the door open, door lock, trunk lift, etc. ~ all those were plastic whatsits that fell out of their spots. Luckily, I had my SECOND FOB to look at and fix the thing back up.
Then of course I had to do it all over again with fob number two (and the thingies fell out again)… so INSANE! I was positive after all this that the beepies would fail to beep, but they did beep. Everything works fine. The widgets are firmly back in place too after being tightly sealed up with the contraption. But this is why people keep trading their cars in every three years, I understand now. They want to make sure they have a new fob before the old one dies.
Smiles and positive posts are all well and good, but sometimes I need to vent a bit. How about you? That’s what The Monday Peeve is all about, a chance to blow off a little steam at the beginning of the week, so then we can go merrily on our way once again (hah). I’ll pick a topic that’s on my mind, but you can vent about whatever you please, here in comments or on your own blog. Grab the photo, use the TMP tag, link back to me (or not), and Bob’s yer uncle. I do reserve the right to delete any links that offend my delicate sensibilities. So far, none have, but it could happen. I have feelings!
Today’s peeve is short & sour. Why do businesses bother having a “help” email option or any kind of “support” contact? They’re all useless! This last week, I ordered a gift for which all of it except the tax was covered by a gift card. But when I received the receipt, the stupid store made it appear that the entire amount was being charged to PayPal. What happened to my gift card? There were no options to deal with this other than email them at their “help” address. I did. I told them to cancel my order immediately (it was Sunday, so I figured that would happen Monday).
Next, I logged back into PayPal to see if there was anything I could do at that end, and it turned out that, as I had requested, only the tax was charged to me. Idiot store! Why send a misleading receipt? I emailed “help” again and told them that they could proceed but please confirm that only the tax was being paid via PayPal and the gift card used for the rest. No reply Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. Then the gift was shipped. My charge still looks okay, so whatever, I guess.
BUT WHY BOTHER HAVING A HELP EMAIL ADDRESS IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO RESPOND?????
Smiles and positive posts are all well and good, but sometimes I need to vent a bit. How about you? That’s what The Monday Peeve is all about, a chance to blow off a little steam at the beginning of the week, so then we can go merrily on our way once again (hah). I’ll pick a topic that’s on my mind, but you can vent about whatever you please, here in comments or on your own blog. Grab the photo, use the TMP tag, link back to me (or not), and Bob’s yer uncle. I do reserve the right to delete any links that offend my delicate sensibilities. So far, none have, but it could happen. I have feelings!
Today’s peeve is super specific to my situation, but maybe peevers can relate to it anyway. If not, getcher own peeve! I’m in this great apartment that I love, but the one thing that’s not so great is people’s jabbering. Now, I had plenty of annoying noise back in “the dump” (leaf blowers, people clomping up and down the stairs, etc.), but I didn’t hear voices. That sounds like I’m going insane, muhahahaha! No seriously. I don’t mind the happy voices and laughter from the pool area because that reminds me fun still exists in the world. No. What I’m talking about is people TALKING ON THEIR PHONES SO LOUDLY RIGHT OUTSIDE MY DOOR.
There are two types of phonejerks. One is the walk-by… I hear a brief spurt of loudness as someone walks past my patio doors while they’re yapping on their phone. Annoying, but at least it’s over quickly. But then there’s the guy next door. He periodically YELLS on his phone right outside… well, it’s “his” common area too, since he’s standing by his own patio doors, which happen to be about 15 feet from mine. Whenever he starts up (and it isn’t every day, thank GAWD), I close the patio doors and shutters completely, which helps somewhat, yet I still hear him. Sometimes he’ll jabber for a half hour!
I get that we’re all going a bit nuts from being indoors so much, but even so, why would you want your business or personal convo broadcast to all the neighbors? Go sit in your car and yipyap, for cryin’ out loud! GRRRRRR!
What is the value of running writing prompts to your writing in general, and your blog in particular?
I host two prompts: the Monday Peeve and Thursday Inspiration. These prompts don’t do anything to help my writing ~ I continue them because they are fun! 🤩
The Monday Peeve is a feature that people enjoyed on one of my older blogs (gone now), and I decided to try it here. I’m really pleased with all the comments it inspires, plus the several regular participants who peeve on their own blogs. I think it’s my most interactive post, and I like that a lot.
Thursday Inspiration is the opposite really: I don’t get much interaction in comments, though usually it generates a bunch of likes. Some regulars post their take on the theme, and I look forward to reading those. But my main goal of hosting this prompt is pure selfish enjoyment. When I’m working on my Happy Color pictures, thinking of a theme song adds another layer of pleasure to my relaxation. 😍
What I don’t care about are blog traffic stats. Many prompt hosts appear to be motivated by them, but they mean nothing to me since my blog isn’t monetized and I’m too lazy to market my books… the idea being that increased traffic would result in book sales, pffft. I just checked my sales and they are completely flatlined. But I must have sold one a few months ago, since I was notified today about a minuscule payment.
Smiles and positive posts are all well and good, but sometimes I need to vent a bit. How about you? That’s what The Monday Peeve is all about, a chance to blow off a little steam at the beginning of the week, so then we can go merrily on our way once again (hah). I’ll pick a topic that’s on my mind, but you can vent about whatever you please, here in comments or on your own blog. Grab the photo, use the TMP tag, link back to me (or not), and Bob’s yer uncle. I do reserve the right to delete any links that offend my delicate sensibilities. So far, none have, but it could happen. I have feelings!
Today’s peeve is topical, though they don’t have to be: I am sick of hearing about “Karens.” Yes, I get that some women are jerks, whoopdedoo. And for whatever reason, they’re called “Karen” instead of “Linda” or “Susan” or whatever other auntie type name. But you know what, a lot of men are jerks too ~ what do we call them? Nothing. They just get to do what they do, while everyone goes on and on AND ON about women who complain when they feel they’ve had crappy service or when someone is violating a rule. Yes, that’s simply the worst possible thing, especially if you have a “mom” haircut, god forbid.
What do men (who are jerks) do when they’re angry? Yell, stomp, grab a weapon, etc. That’s so much better than demanding to speak to a manager, isn’t it? I went along with the Karen thing for a while, but I’m now viewing it as sexist. Whiny Karens are NOT to blame for the problems in our society. In fact, complaining to a higher-up is the EXACT thing people should do (and why the option even exists) instead of screaming and threatening violence a la a man.
I’ve asked for the manager at times when it was clear the person I was speaking with couldn’t help me or didn’t understand me. I just did this a few weeks ago with an insurance company (asked for the supervisor). And guess what? The supervisor was able to resolve the problem and all was well. Guess I’m a Karen now!
Smiles and positive posts are all well and good, but sometimes I need to vent a bit. How about you? That’s what The Monday Peeve is all about, a chance to blow off a little steam at the beginning of the week, so then we can go merrily on our way once again (hah). I’ll pick a topic that’s on my mind, but you can vent about whatever you please, here in comments or on your own blog. Grab the photo, use the TMP tag, link back to me (or not), and Bob’s yer uncle. I do reserve the right to delete any links that offend my delicate sensibilities. So far, none have, but it could happen. I have feelings!
Last week’s peeve was philosophical and meaningful and sh!t, while today’s promises to be one of the most trivial complaints ever. But that’s okay! Our minor mads are fair game for TMP. Go ahead, vent about some teensy tiny annoyance… it’s perfectly fine. Mine is about the word “stream,” as a verb referring to entertainment, which I find irritating AF. Back in MY day, we watched a show or listened to a program. Or we said a station/channel was showing or broadcasting something. Now, we have a burning pretentious need to announce when we experienced a thing “live” (not actually live though, since you’re still sitting in your damn house or car) by saying we STREAMED it. Omg hate hate hate!
Smiles and positive posts are all well and good, but sometimes I need to vent a bit. How about you? That’s what The Monday Peeve is all about, a chance to blow off a little steam at the beginning of the week, so then we can go merrily on our way once again (hah). I’ll pick a topic that’s on my mind, but you can vent about whatever you please, here in comments or on your own blog. Grab the photo, use the TMP tag, link back to me (or not), and Bob’s yer uncle. I do reserve the right to delete any links that offend my delicate sensibilities. So far, none have, but it could happen. I have feelings!
So… fireworks. I love to watch a professional display of fireworks, though I haven’t for a few years now. They’re gorgeous and dramatic, and it’s fun to hang with family/friends as they’re going off spectacularly. Unfortunately, socializing is pretty much on hold right now, or should be, so I stayed home alone this past 4th. But I got to hear fireworks, from around 7pm until past midnight… and that’s not counting all the random “test” fireworks people have been shooting off the last couple weeks. Saturday night’s craziness was unlike any 4th I’ve experienced before: an unrelenting solid block of rolling thunder punctuated by occasional huge blasts. Periodically sirens shrieked down the street and car alarms activated. Hour after hour. BECAUSE FREEDUMB!
That’s what it’s all about here in the USA: do what you want, and f*ck any consideration for neighbors and the community at large. Gotta blast off my rockets, don’t care if people have infants, don’t care if it terrifies dogs and horses. ME ME ME. That’s what matters. Me! My pleasures. My whims. My fun. That’s why some people won’t wear masks. It’s slightly unpleasant and that’s just too much to ask in aMErica. Don’t care if it helps others. Why should people care about each other anyway?
Now, I can’t stand our current WH occupant just as much as anyone, but this isn’t his fault. We’ve always been selfish and horrible. Remember the fuss people made when airlines did away with peanuts? Why should I care about someone suffocating from anaphylactic shock when I want to chomp on some salted nuts in the skies? People got angry about the installation of ramps and special doors to accommodate wheelchairs. And god forbid we print things in multiple languages to help others understand directions or whatever. That’s such an imposition on ME ME ME. I might have to unfold an extra piece of paper, omg, the agony!
Selfishness is at the root of all this. I don’t pretend to have any idea how to fix it, but we are just people here same as anywhere. Why do folks in other countries have fewer issues with being kind and considerate? Or so I read. I haven’t actually been anywhere.
Smiles and positive posts are all well and good, but sometimes I need to vent a bit. How about you? That’s what The Monday Peeve is all about, a chance to blow off a little steam at the beginning of the week, so then we can go merrily on our way once again (hah). I’ll pick a topic that’s on my mind, but you can vent about whatever you please, here in comments or on your own blog. Grab the photo, use the TMP tag, link back to me (or not), and Bob’s yer uncle. I do reserve the right to delete any links that offend my delicate sensibilities. So far, none have, but it could happen. I have feelings!
This week I’m continuing to rant about people on social media (don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll have another boring driving peeve soon). In particular, I have an issue with those who wish death upon people with different opinions. I know, right? But people are doing that constantly. Now, let me make clear that I am not talking about wishing death upon mass murderers or leaders whom you feel are genocidal maniacs, or whatever… I am talking about those who get so enraged that another poster/commenter disagrees with them that they hope the person dies. WTAF? I know. I know.
This is a bipartisan complaint, btw. I have learned to shrug off folks on the right who regularly wish earthquakes and tsumanis upon California. They can’t bear it that we’re a bunch of liberals out here and they wish the ocean would swallow us all up so they could be free of the burden of our opinions. I find that disgusting and horrible, but it’s old news. Newer news (for me) is the fact that some people on the left are now doing the same thing. They say they hope that supporters of the current President catch the virus and die. I have read versions of this statement countless times now and it’s just as awful each time. Since people tend to cluster with the like-minded, most of the time I see such outrageous statements pass without a peep from anyone saying hey, hold on.
Well, I’m here today to say I find these comments not only terrible but also proof that you’ve lost the argument. When you can’t muster a coherent rebuttal to whatever issue and instead resort to a 5-year-old’s “I HOPE YOU DIE” type of comment… you’ve shown that you have nothing intelligent to add to the conversation. Nanny nanny boo boo!
Smiles and positive posts are all well and good, but sometimes I need to vent a bit. How about you? That’s what The Monday Peeve is all about, a chance to blow off a little steam at the beginning of the week, so then we can go merrily on our way once again (hah). I’ll pick a topic that’s on my mind, but you can vent about whatever you please, here in comments or on your own blog. Grab the photo, use the TMP tag, link back to me (or not), and Bob’s yer uncle. I do reserve the right to delete any links that offend my delicate sensibilities. So far, none have, but it could happen. I have feelings!
Look, I know we all have FEELS about things that are going on and not only that, but we are 100% convinced that our feelings/reactions/values are the true and correct ones. This isn’t something new, but it seems new. More intense because we’re online with everyone’s opinion amplified… mostly just two opinions on every topic though, not much nuance. “This is the worst thing ever!” “No, this is!” It appears that we are more dug in, more polarized, more sure that WE are right and YOU are wrong. But I assure you, this isn’t new. I was 11 years old when Nixon was up for re-election, and things were exactly like this, except no internet. People HATED him. Or they HATED his opponent. If you didn’t agree with someone’s opinion, you were an idiot. Just like now. In the 1980s, those who supported Carter were savaged by Carter haters. His daughter was cruelly mocked for her appearance. Nastiness does not have a decade; human nature is eternal. It’s just sh!t coming around once again.
What’s my peeve then? People screaming every hour of every day that nothing has ever happened like this before. Uh sorry, but read a book. We’ve had nasty neighbors, racist family members, jerks complaining over nothing, and marches and protests and riots and looting and arson and terrible, horrible, no good, corrupt politicians all along. Chill out for five freaking minutes, willya?
