What's bugging you? (2010)

[RightFieldCoder]

Someone who is currently on public assistance approached me in a store recently, to ask if I would let her buy my stuff on her card (they use a plastic card now, not paper food stamps anymore), and then she would have me hand her the cash outside the store, repaying her for my items. In case anyone missed that, the point was to use her food stamp card to get cash, so that she could buy things for herself which are not covered by the program.

 

OK, people need help sometimes in life, and times have been particularly tough for a while now...I have no issue at all with someone being on the food stamp program...but welfare fraud really ticks me off.

 

I nearly called the police, instead, I told the store manager what she was up to, and he booted her from the premises.

It seems like once a month a person ahead of us at Woodman's has an EBT card. They usually have a cart full of name brand food and wearing name brand clothes. They usually have Coach purses and Tiffany jewelry. We have off brand clothes and a cart of off brand food. My SO couldn't find a job, and when she did it was two part time jobs that added up to 30 hours a week. She's now down to one part time job around 20 hours a week. She was told she qualified for $10/month in food stamps. Wow, thanks for the assistance.

 

I once saw a gentleman use his EBT card to buy a Star Trek set of Pez dispensers. I had seen them, but thought $18 was a little much for 6 pez dispensers. I wouldn't have thought that if the taxpayers would buy it for me.

 

The cashiers all think it's ridiculous. We talk to them, and they can't do anything about it. They have to run the card and see if it goes through.

[davego]

"They usually have a cart full of name brand food and wearing name brand clothes. They usually have Coach purses and Tiffany jewelry."

 

...the emotion is understood, but I'm going to question that "usually" someone on assistance has these items.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Because I work on computers for a living, my family automatically assumes I am now 24 X 7 FREE tech support.

 

I don't ask my mechanic brother to fix my car for free.

 

I dont' ask my carpet cleaner brother to clean my carpets for free.

 

Why do they expect me to not only be able to do it NOW, but to do something that would likely cost them a pretty penny at a PC repair shop, for free?

[Invader3K]

Because you haven't told them.

 

Maybe it would be worth saying something like, "I work on computers all day, because I'm paid to do it. I don't really feel like working on computers when I come home at the end of the day."

[MJLiverock]

"They usually have a cart full of name brand food and wearing name brand clothes. They usually have Coach purses and Tiffany jewelry."

 

...the emotion is understood, but I'm going to question that "usually" someone on assistance has these items.

I'd actually question the authenticity of those items. I am willing to be that 90% of the Coach, Louis Vuitton, Prada, etc. stuff seen in WI is a knockoff. My wife probably has half a dozen knock off purses acquired over the years and I can even spot some of the really bad knockoffs/counterfeit bags a lot of women carry.

 

It is actually a what's bugging me thing. I teased my wife about the fake brand stuff so much that she won't even use the fake bags anymore. To me it makes me think less of the person, i.e. trying to seem rich or trying to seem like they have expensive items but in reality havinig a piece of junk that probably isn't even worth the $30 it cost. The whole image is everything and hide the truth but in reality advertising just how fake the person is. If you get out of a '88 Datsun don't try to fool me that you are carrying a $700 Louis Vitton bag or that $3000 Louis Vitton luggage set is real. Sort of like the guys who "debadge" their cars. The removal of the model number on a BMW or replacing the model number with a more expensive model number. I can look at the car and know it is a 1 or 3 series and not the 5 or M series the badge has on the trunk lid.

 

[DuWayne Steurer]

Because you haven't told them.

 

Maybe it would be worth saying something like, "I work on computers all day, because I'm paid to do it. I don't really feel like working on computers when I come home at the end of the day."

I have said this in a subtle way, and then last week in a not so subtle way. I told the person that's pestering the crap out of me today last week that "This isn't really a hobby for me, I don't really like messing around with this stuff when I'm not at work".

 

So today he texts me "My computer isn't worken"

 

I text back "I'm at work right now, and I'm busy the rest of the day, I really can't help you"

 

I get a reply "Please, I really need your help with this"

 

And then 5 minutes later, he calls me and leaves a voice mail that "this is really important, call me asap"

 

Ok, first of all, I'M AT WORK.

 

Secondly, you're not using this computer in a business application. WHATVER is wrong with it, it can WAIT.

 

I have received 14 texts from this person today, and I've only replied to a few of them to let him know I'm at work, and then later on that I'm busy, and don't have time to deal with it.

[Baldkin]

Tell him, $30 an hour, cash is your going rate.

 

I tell my close friends and family I will gladly look at their stuff and fix it if needed, thankfully none of them pester or bother me all too often, it's sort of a "whenever you can" sort of thing usually... and I almost always get a 6 pack or dinner or something out of it.

 

It's when I get calls from people who never talk to me otherwise that I get angry. I mean, if you only call me to get something for free you'd otherwise have to pay for... why can't you pay me?

[dadofandrew]

See, being unhandy pays off once again.

[1992casey]

According to the commercial, when you brush with Colgate Total, you end up with "a lot less germs." We should be finding that our mouths have "a lot fewer germs."

Since I posted this, the commercial bugs me even more. If this qualified as a slogan, I wouldn't be bugged. It's not creative enough to be a slogan, though.

[Invader3K]

I enjoy being able to listen to radio stations online. I like listening to 540 ESPN and the like, which I can't normally get on my home stereo. What I don't like is hearing the same PSAs ad nauseum. I don't need to repeatedly hear about people getting mangled in car wrecks to know that drunk driving is bad, and such.

[splitterpfj]

I just realized this thread is now four years old. *sniff*...I'm so proud.

[wallus]

Woodmans and all your perishables being way too close to expiration. It really is making me consider not shopping there anymore.

[Godspeed]

MPTV in Milwaukee swapped some channels around today, with the end result being a diluted HD stream on 10.1. I don't watch PBS often, but when I have left it on the channel, I've always been supremely impressed with the quality of the picture and have ended up unexpectedly watching some programs in their entirety. Going from no sub-channels to three is a pretty significant drop off. Boo.

[hawing]

Woodmans and all your perishables being way too close to expiration. It really is making me consider not shopping there anymore.

And sometimes beyond expiration. We can scarcely overlook the selection and prices for less perishable items, but we don't touch produce there and always check for expiration dates before selecting the "dated" items we do buy there.

 

Also bugging me: my returning students don't yet seem overly willing to help train my new employees. I typically offer additional hours the first two weeks of class to returnees so I don't spend 13 hours a day at the library, incurring unpaid overtime and overworking my voice in the process. I kind of want to shout at these people that I can't work every night, but I don't have enough voice to shout right now. The problem should be resolved in about two weeks, but that doesn't help me tonight.

[JimH5]

The dimpled, dark-haired actor who is featured in the State Farm Insurance commercials.

 

I'm bothered by State Farm's attempt to hip it up. Insurance is supposed to be sold by dumpy awkward-looking people who you would otherwise see at a church picnic.

 

Instead, they have this good looking guy with a bright smile and cool confidence chatting it up with random strangers at a ballgame.

 

And then I'm bothered yet again, as someone as good looking as him shouldn't have eyebrows as out-of-control as his are. He can spring for the teeth whitening, but not a little tweezing?

 

This guy haunts me.

[Gobias Industries]

JimH5: You read my mind. (I'm assuming you didn't see my mention of him earlier in the thread). He started out by being kinda rude and long winded, and now he's just getting creepy. There's one where he's just kind of lurking in the background. He's dying to be parodied by SNL (If it was still funny).

[JimH5]

Gobias, you beat me to the punch by about 5 months. . .I just found your stake to this claim from early April.

 

We do indeed think alike. That guy is very off-putting.

[1992casey]

I believe that people who sell insurance are supposed to look like Robert Young.

 

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/fatherknows/fatherknowsIMAGE/fatherknows.jpg

[hawing]

I was thinking William Schallert, but 1992casey and I are probably on the same track here anyway.

 

http://www.cinefania.com/pics/personas/9/9162.jpg

 

Another bug: Now that school is back in session, our bus is full of high school students for the first few stops of our ride to work. It's not a problem to stand for a few stops, but it bugs me when they crowd the bus so much that we can only stand by the exit, then get impatient when we're blocking the exit when they want to leave. I think they'll figure it out eventually...before June, I hope.

[Diskono]

Insurance is supposed to be sold by dumpy awkward-looking people who you would otherwise see at a church picnic.

Or Pedro Cerrano, of course.

[craigharmann]

I'm bugged by the fact that it's my birthday and I can't watch the Packers deliver my birthday present. Oh well.

[NeedMoreFans]

I have 37 freshmen in one of my classes. That is a lot of freshmen.

[wallus]

I have 37 freshmen in one of my classes. That is a lot of freshmen.

Holy cow! I was complaining about my class of 30, I feel bad for you.

[Baldkin]

I'm bugged by the fact that it's my birthday and I can't watch the Packers deliver my birthday present. Oh well.

You wanted no starters playing for your birthday??

[sbrylski]

I'm going through the couple of thousand emails I had in my inbox over the course of my most recent 2.5 years of college, and seeing if I need to save anything because my account is expiring. It's very sad.

 

EDIT: Ha, just found one I sent out at 5:09 AM on a weekday saying: "I'll call you tomorrow afternoon when I wake up." Ahh, college.