Special Snowflake Stories

[Slartibartfast]

I worked an extremely part-time job for the music department while in college.  This job was usually work-study, for which I didn't qualify, but the chorale was doing an international tour that spring break and I wasn't sure if I could afford it.  I mentioned this to my director, and he was nice enough to pull a few strings and get me this "concert manager" job - I basically set up chairs and handed out programs.  I got to see a bunch of concerts (student recitals and visiting musicians, not the big famous people), I got to do my homework, and I got paid for four hours per concert even if I didn't have to stay that long.  All in all, it was a very nice job.

The "special snowflake" in this story was the music department's receptionist person.  (Not the regular receptionist, so I guess she just worked with work-study and grad students?)  I had to do the W-4's, etc. through her.  She had no problem ranting about how students of my race were all rich, spoiled, and lazy, while students of HER race were hard workers and *deserved* these easy work-study jobs. I think she had some major issues with the fact that I was not actually work-study, because she just wouldn't send in forms.

I thought it odd when I hadn't received my first paycheck after six weeks, so I went back in and she made me fill out everything again.  Still no paycheck.  I called, and she "hadn't gotten around to filing" the paperwork.  I called my boss, who called her.  No help.  I kept pestering my boss, who went up the administrative chain.  I still wasn't getting paid.  I started this job in September.  I didn't get paid until May.  (I did go on the chorale trip, paying from my savings account, because I kept being told that I would get paid any moment now.)  In May, the HR contact from the actual HR department stepped in, had me come to HER office to re-fill out paperwork, and they had me down on paper as working 40 hours a week through the month of May so I would get the correct number of hours paid.

It turns out, Special Snowflake didn't think I should have my job (so someone of her race could have it, I guess) so she never bothered filing ANY paperwork or telling any other administrators I was working there.

[CuriousGeorge]

I despise parking lot vultures; specifically the ones with delusions of high importance (Snowflake Syndrome?).

My husband and were coming out of SprawlMart several years ago when our son was about a month old or so.  SprawlMart very much tries my patience because it's always crowded and I just want to get in and out, so by the time we were done shopping, I was already quite cranky.

The one nice thing (or so I thought) about the visit was that we landed a great parking spot.  After we finished loading groceries in the trunk, I started buckling the kiddo into his carseat.  At this point the lady who had followed us from the front doors of the store to our parking spot and had been waiting for it this entire time became impatient enough to honk at us to hurry up so she could take our spot.

After going more than a few months with little to no sleep, dealing with the crowds, and now being honked at for doing nothing wrong, I completely snapped and stomped up to the lady's car and said something like, "I am TRYING to strap my son into his carseat.  If you can't wait, find another damned spot!"  I think I actually scared her a bit (I'm sure I looked like hell); she ended up driving away.

I felt bad later after I'd gotten home and de-stressed a bit.  There was no excuse for how I behaved.  

[wordgirl]

"You are not entitled to special assistance because you've made your hands unusable" is a sign that needs to be posted in big letters and multiple languages in every nail salon in the country. 

My nail tech has told me of people who wanted her to make their nails so ridiculously long that their hands were unusable. She now refuses to do it, after one of her clients suffered some pretty dire consequences from having her nails too long. (I won't give grisly details, just think Archimedes and levers.)

[Venus193]

I didn't get paid until May.  (I did go on the chorale trip, paying from my savings account, because I kept being told that I would get paid any moment now.)  In May, the HR contact from the actual HR department stepped in, had me come to HER office to re-fill out paperwork, and they had me down on paper as working 40 hours a week through the month of May so I would get the correct number of hours paid.

It turns out, Special Snowflake didn't think I should have my job (so someone of her race could have it, I guess) so she never bothered filing ANY paperwork or telling any other administrators I was working there.

I hope she was terminated over that.

[Visiting Crazy Town]

Gambitgirl's story reminded me of another collegiate special snowflake (not as special as hers, of course). While I was in college I worked for the director of student housing. One of the residents had been caught keeping a cat in her dorm room, and was required to write a 300-word essay explaining why cats were not allowed in student housing. Her essay was 300 words of whining why this was so unfair, why her cat was so special, why she should be allowed to keep it because one cat never hurt anybody, etc. And it was exactly 300 words, because she numbered each word, and stopped mid-sentence at word #300.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA  that part was just too funny

[Slartibartfast]

I didn't get paid until May.  (I did go on the chorale trip, paying from my savings account, because I kept being told that I would get paid any moment now.)  In May, the HR contact from the actual HR department stepped in, had me come to HER office to re-fill out paperwork, and they had me down on paper as working 40 hours a week through the month of May so I would get the correct number of hours paid.

It turns out, Special Snowflake didn't think I should have my job (so someone of her race could have it, I guess) so she never bothered filing ANY paperwork or telling any other administrators I was working there.

I hope she was terminated over that.

Unfortunately, I don't think she was.  The other two "concert masters" besides myself were both of the same race as Special Snowflake, as was my boss, so maybe she didn't pull it with anyone else and the administration didn't believe she could possibly do this?  I don't know.  I think now I would have staged a sit-in protest in her office or something, but at the time it was an 8-hour-a-week job among full-time classes and it wasn't going to make or break my budget so I just kept waiting.

[Moralia]

Azrail, I don't know why they put up with her either.  Frankly, Amanda could have pressed charges, since Bertha stole the bag.  It was probably easier to just have everyone go over and berate her into giving it back (since they all saw her walk off with it), but that's no reason to continue to associate with a known thief.

I'm rather shocked about that, actually.

Dindrane, tell me about it, it drives me absolutely crazy! My father has forbidden Bertha from going to their house, but I think the main problem with all this is that they (the ladies) have the 'Oh, that's just Bertha for you' attitude. I tell mum they should all stop enabling her but I don't think they will do anything, they haven't done anything for the past 10 years, why would they start now? They are all just a big bunch of... enablers.  

So...would it be rude to throw Bertha into a shark-tank somewhere? I've known a few Berthas in my time and think this would be the most eco-friendly solution.

[VorFemme]

I would be afraid that we'd give the poor sharks indigestion.............

[Thipu1]

My Special Snowflake was an ex-Boss I'll call Jan.

It was always said that we worked together as equals rather than Boss and Assistant.  For the most part this was true but, when she was in the mood, Jan had her subtle ways of pulling rank.

This happened back in the bad old days when we shared a computer.  The machine was on a table near my desk.  A single trash can served both the computer station and my desk.  As a result, it filled quite quickly.

On the day in question I'd finished lunch at my desk, neatly bagged up my trash and deposited it in the can.  Jan liked to nibble on salad while she worked and didn't finish eating until around 4 PM.  By this time, the trash can was full.  Without batting an eye or saying a word, Jan reached into the can, pulled out my bag of lunch trash and placed it right in front of me on my desk.  She then deposited her own bag of trash.   

Yes, there were several other trash cans she could have used but a point had to be made. 

[LadyThemis]

Hi,
This happened in the Las Vegas airport about 2 years ago.

My son was 6 at the time and has Cerebral Palsy - so walking is difficult for him as is standing for long periods of time. So we are standing in the REALLY, REALLY, REALLY long security lines waiting our turn to go through when a new security guard shows up - looks at my son and I and the braces on son's legs and beckons us over to the handicapped/stroller line which he is just about to open.

As Zac and I are walking over there SS behind us realizes said lane is now open and RUSHES past my son and I toppling Zac into me and would have knocked me over as well but I fell against one of the security podiums. Zac is in tears because the guy hit him pretty hard AND because he's embarrassed at being knocked over and having everyone stare at him and I am now CARRYING him and comforting him as we maneuver over towards said handicapped/stroller line.

MEANWHILE SS has reached the line and been stopped by the security guy there (THANK YOU SG) who proceeds to have this conversation with SS:

SG: Sir - this is a handicapped entrance - only for use by those that are handicapped, disabled, or that need a little extra time to get through due to traveling with small children do you meet any of those criteria?

SS: No, but that doesn't matter I am late for my flight and I need to make it as I am VERY IMPORTANT BUSINESSMAN and I  have a VERY IMPORTANT BUSINESS MEETING tomorrow I cannot miss.

SG: Sir it is not my fault or that little boy you just knocked over's fault that you did not plan well enough for check-in seeing as it is 3 days after Christmas and the airports are busy. Now if you will excuse me this young lady and her son need to get through.

SS: But I was here first - they can wait! I have a plane to catch.

SG: SIR - you were only here first because you knocked a disabled child into his mother in your hurry to get through security.  In addition you could already have BEEN through security if you had just stayed in the regular line and not tried to run over a small child in order to rush through this line. Now return to the regular lines or I"ll have you detained even further!

Then SG waved my son and I through! I was SOOOO thankful to him for standing up for us! BTW - SS huffed, whined, grumbled and said some pretty nasty things somewhat under his breath  but he did go back to the line.


EDITED because I know I did not FEEL into the podium but FELL - LOL!

[wordgirl]

LadyThemis - that story needs to go on the  main site as well.

This is a wholly awesome thread.

[DottyG]

LT, was your son ok?   The poor thing.

[LadyThemis]

LT, was your son ok?   The poor thing.

He was ok - thanks to my catching him - but I had a bruise on my ribs the next day from smacking into the podium!

[Pinky830]

I've told this story before, but it fits here. I was in the endless line at the registrar's office in college, and there was a guy a few people ahead of me in line whom I knew very vaguely. He'd always struck me as a jerk. As we were all standing there, a girl who worked in the office came past us to go into the office. He touched her arm as she went by him and said, "Hey, can you take this in and enter it for me so I don't have to stand in line?" And you're too good to wait in line like the rest of us because?

Another one...back before they banned smoking in restaurants in Georgia, we were sitting in the nonsmoking section one evening and the people across from us were smoking! We asked for a manager and quietly asked him to please get them to stop. (There was plenty of room in nonsmoking, as there always was.) The manager hemmed and hawed and finally said he didn't want to make them mad. Um, so you'd rather make US mad?

In any case, the smokers must have heard us because when they left, as they passed our table one of the women said loudly, "I sure will be glad to get outside so I can SMOKE!" Huh? Obviously nobody was stopping you already.

[sadie4184]

I despise parking lot vultures; specifically the ones with delusions of high importance (Snowflake Syndrome?).

My husband and were coming out of SprawlMart several years ago when our son was about a month old or so.  SprawlMart very much tries my patience because it's always crowded and I just want to get in and out, so by the time we were done shopping, I was already quite cranky.

The one nice thing (or so I thought) about the visit was that we landed a great parking spot.  After we finished loading groceries in the trunk, I started buckling the kiddo into his carseat.  At this point the lady who had followed us from the front doors of the store to our parking spot and had been waiting for it this entire time became impatient enough to honk at us to hurry up so she could take our spot.

After going more than a few months with little to no sleep, dealing with the crowds, and now being honked at for doing nothing wrong, I completely snapped and stomped up to the lady's car and said something like, "I am TRYING to strap my son into his carseat.  If you can't wait, find another damned spot!"  I think I actually scared her a bit (I'm sure I looked like hell); she ended up driving away.

I felt bad later after I'd gotten home and de-stressed a bit.  There was no excuse for how I behaved.  

I love this!  Wish I had the courage to do that to people who sit and wait and act impatient while you try to unload stuff and get baby in car.  What's always the icing on the cake is when they've been sooooo impatient that they have crept/crawled their cars so close to yours that you can't back out to let them in.  Thanks for the giggle!