Special Snowflake Stories

[Reader]

They also won't accept dyed hair in my area.  I think it has something to do with damage or a possibility of the color fading.  So when I get asked that question, I reply back with I can't because I dye it.  Seems to shut the person down after that.

[Outdoor Girl]

And a lot of them won't accept gray hair.  I've had white hairs since I was about 25.  Right now, I have enough of them that it looks like I'm becoming a blonde again.  But soon, they'll all be white.

[CharlieBraun]

I thought people parking under no parking signs at preschool was bad, but it's nothing compared to what I saw the other night right outside my house! This is confusing, and I have a hard time explaining the layout, but I'll give it a try. There is a street (Knight St) that ends at the street my house is on (Dragon Ave). My house is right at the T, on Dragon Ave. When I come through the neighborhood and drive down Knight St, I can drive straight into my driveway. There is a stop sign for traffic on Knight street, and after they stop they have to turn left or right. (Or, if it's me, drive straight )

The other night I was outside and I heard someone laying on the horn. I looked up and saw a truck flying down the road. They kept honking and then ran the stop sign, took the turn so fast that they almost ended up in my driveway and flew down Dragon Ave. I have a suspicion about who the truck belongs to, and he would be furious to hear that DS is driving like an idiot. Especially since he's a cop. It will be an interesting conversation when I see him at church this weekend 

Is it possible he was having a brake failure?  That's what we were taught to do if we ever found ourselves in that situation.  Lean on the horn and try to keep control of the vehicle.  I had to do that once when I found myself on black ice just as I was trying to stop at a stop sign.  (we had school in spite of Mother Nature gifting us with an ice storm.    ) Thank DIETY there was no one coming on the cross road.

It happens. I was pulling up to a toll plaza once and a car screamed past me with the horn blaring.  It plowed into a car stopped at one booth.  Never found out for certain, but it certainly looked like their brakes had failed.  This was pre-airbags, so it's probable that people were killed or badly injured.  It was also pre-EZpass, so there was  no moving or clear lane that they could have gone through.

That's a dilemma for you.  Do you hit another car or a truck?  If you hit another car, you won't hit quite as hard because you'll shove the other car forward, possibly minimizing injury to yourself at the expense of possibly hurting someone else.  If you hit a truck, you're not likely to hurt the driver, but you will hit harder, since that truck can't be moved by the impact of your car.

Happened to me - I did everything mentioned (pull the emergency brake, honk the horn) and finally got to a section of roadway that had concrete Jersey barriers and scraped my car along it to slow it as best I could.  A State trooper pulled alongside me, paced my car, and started shoving his car into mine to press it further into the wall.  To celebrate and honor him for saving my life, I puked all over his nice uniform about twenty minutes after it was over.  So I was a SS for thanking him in that spectacular roadside fashion.

[dawnfire]

I've had that happen to me too!    Not only does it get on my nerves to have someone come up to me and touch my hair without permission, but I don't think anyone has the right to scold me for wanting to keep it.  I've had people ask me if I was going to donate it (that's fine), or tell me flat-out that I should donate it (not so fine), that it would grow back, and don't I want to help someone out?  Well...maybe if it was my own idea, and if I didn't have a horrible track record for getting bad haircuts!  Either way, selfish or not, it's my hair.

I once had someone do that do me. I asked her if she'd ever actually looked into hair donation. Most donated hair does not go to make lovely wigs for sick people. The plain fact is that a great deal of hair is unsuitable for wig-making. Frequent washing, blow-drying, straightening/curling, hair dye, and styling products can all make hair weak and unusable. The majority of donated hair is sold or discarded.

that's why I don't donate. My hair does grow fast (I just cut 2 years of growth this week -2 ft)  BUT I get split ends and the hair shaft breaks easily.

[jedikaiti]

I just spent some time traveling*, so I have  few stories for here.

1. The woman seated in the bulkhead row of a completely full plane I was boarding. She and her companion were standing *in the aisle* chatting for maybe 5 minutes after I got there. There were maybe 10 people of the 250 people on the plane seated. They were hanging out at the very front just nattering. The flight attendant was standing behind them, looking at me despairingly. After about 5 minutes of both of us saying "EXCUSE ME!!" they finally clued in and moved (grumpily). There were only about 100 people behind me at that point. The flight attendant rolled her eyes and me, and I gave I shoulder shrug in response. What can one do about terminally clueless people? We both did our best.

2. What is with the people who stand in the middle of walkways in busy public areas? You have a group of 6, DON'T stand spread out across the entire walkway to stop everyone to consult with one another. Really?

3. There was a man in a very public part of a very popular tourist attraction in Central Florida (font color changed if people are susceptible - I will move to Gross Out if desired) pulling his nose hairs and wincing after each one. Seriously?

I'm sure more will occur to me as time goes on.

*See my post in "Good News!"

I'm not sure why the FA couldn't simply ask them nicely to move to others could board the plane.  I would think that would fall under their spehre, no?

She tried, I tried. They were ignoring both of us COMPLETELY. It was amazing.

*snip*

I think that might be grounds for booting, at least in the US.

[nalapuppy]

Happened to me - I did everything mentioned (pull the emergency brake, honk the horn) and finally got to a section of roadway that had concrete Jersey barriers and scraped my car along it to slow it as best I could.  A State trooper pulled alongside me, paced my car, and started shoving his car into mine to press it further into the wall.  To celebrate and honor him for saving my life, I puked all over his nice uniform about twenty minutes after it was over.  So I was a SS for thanking him in that spectacular roadside fashion.

Oh my!  How scary!

[Yarnspinner]

Blizzards of SnowflakeusIwantmycomputerusNOW....

Short version:  Something Bad has happened to all of our public PCs.  Our provider thinks it has something to do with switches that have gone bad as well as some moves and changes made on the part of one of our software providers.  Whatever it is, it causes a pc to deny a person access, demand passwords (that don't exist), crash, shut off before a patron has even started a session and so on.  Oh!  And even if you can find one that works, the connection between the computer and the printer is corrupted and nothing will print out.

Well, the provider managed to get one group of computers up and running, but there is still no print capablity.   

We have had to announce every twenty minutes that ONLY the one room of computers is working and that there is no printer capability.  Don't you know that people who are sitting in the room with us while we make the announcement that printing is not available, who have received written pop-up messages on their computers (twice) and who have been NEXT to us while we TELL THEM THEY CANNOT PRINT come back six minutes later and demand that we print out their very important item.

Hmmm, maybe this should be under Harry Potter instead as I have actually had to say to several people "I really am sorry, but I am not Hermoine Granger Weasley and I do not have the ability to fix it by looking at it."

Well, actually there have been instances of people coming in, seeing the computers that are shut down, trying to bring them up and then sitting and typing random words and phrases into the whole Login and Password areas.  When queried why he did this, one gentleman said "Well, I wanted to use the computer and they were turned off.  How was I supposed to know I wasn't supposed to turn them on?"

Coworker said "Well, there are a dozen signs telling you the computers are off, beginning with the front door downstairs and leading all the way up the stairwell bannister...but the biggest clue should have been that, you know, the computers have all been shut down.,"

Patron replies "You are insulting my intelligence!"

No, I think he was doing a pretty good job all on his little lonesome.

I also had two patrons trying to connect to the internet through two computers that are dedicated solely to two databases.  Period.  (Yes, if you know how, you can probably undercut the system, but technically, the computers are dedicated computers. Period.)

So I explained to them that no, the computers were dedicated and they could not get on to the internet.  They sat there, turning off the computers, turning them back on and typing in random logins and passwords and I repeated myself.  "Uh-huh"  and they kept going.  So I repeated myself a third time and got "I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME, B****!"  "Then why didn't you shut down?"  "I don't have to do what you say!"  They then informed me that I am a rude b***** for telling them they couldn't use the computers and they were leaving and not coming back.  (Promise?)  and, oh yes, because I am a rude b***** I should reconsider my career because I am not fit to work with the public.

Yeah.  That made my day.

[CrochetFanatic]

Please forgive me, but I have to...Their reactions were of the "Does Not Compute" variety! 

[Shoo]

So I explained to them that no, the computers were dedicated and they could not get on to the internet.  They sat there, turning off the computers, turning them back on and typing in random logins and passwords and I repeated myself.  "Uh-huh"  and they kept going.  So I repeated myself a third time and got "I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME, B****!"  "Then why didn't you shut down?"  "I don't have to do what you say!"  They then informed me that I am a rude b***** for telling them they couldn't use the computers and they were leaving and not coming back.  (Promise?)  and, oh yes, because I am a rude b***** I should reconsider my career because I am not fit to work with the public.

Yeah.  That made my day.

And then these patrons were banned from the library, right?

[kitelady1870]

I remember once being at the red light with the "no turn on red" sign, and the guy behind us kept honking his horn.  You know, the long obnoxious beeeeeeeps.  We refused to move and I (the passinger) even stuck my arm out the window and pointed to the sign, but that didn't stop him.  We just rolled our eyes and privately made fun of him, but we did not move until the light was green.  We're not going to break the rules for you, buddy.

I may have already posted this but I had the same thing, only someone honking at me to make a LEFT on red! 

I get that on one way home from work. If I go to my parent's house for dinner, I have to make a left turn downtown to get to the interstate access. The street is a one-way, but I'm still not going to turn left on a red light.

[Morrigan]

I remember once being at the red light with the "no turn on red" sign, and the guy behind us kept honking his horn.  You know, the long obnoxious beeeeeeeps.  We refused to move and I (the passinger) even stuck my arm out the window and pointed to the sign, but that didn't stop him.  We just rolled our eyes and privately made fun of him, but we did not move until the light was green.  We're not going to break the rules for you, buddy.

I may have already posted this but I had the same thing, only someone honking at me to make a LEFT on red! 

I get that on one way home from work. If I go to my parent's house for dinner, I have to make a left turn downtown to get to the interstate access. The street is a one-way, but I'm still not going to turn left on a red light.

In Michigan, we can make left-hand reds on a right as long as it's on to a one-way street.  You can, not that you ahve to.

I do, though, when the traffic is clear.

[2littlemonkeys]

I saw one this morning at school drop off.

Like many schools, my children's school was built at a time when most students walked or biked to school.  Now it's a magnet school and draws from all over the city.  A lot of parents drive their kids.  As such, there is a procedure for drop off.  The school sits between two streets, Main Street and 1st Street.  A long drive runs along the south end of the school and connects Main Street with 1 st.  It's about a block long.  For 1/2 block, it's just a long, narrow drive that eventually opens up into a parking lot for the rest of the distance. 

Parents are instructed to drive up to where the parking lot starts, discharge children from the car and continue driving to allow for other cars to do the same.  The kids line up along the school gate until the school doors open.

This morning, the girls and I were waiting at the gate when I heard a lot of cars suddenly start honking.  Apparently, a parent had decided to bring her kids to the drop off point but instead of letting the kids out, they waited until the school doors opened.  I watched her sit there for five minutes while cars piled up behind her.  Finally she let her kids out and tootled away.  (The other cars couldn't pass her because she was at the very end of the long, narrow drive part and completely blocking traffic.)

If she could have been bothered to drive 10 more feet, she could have pulled over and allowed other cars to pass her but I suppose that wouldn't have been very special.   Normally there is a person directing the drop off but he was nowhere to be found today.  And I'm amazed that no other parents who were made to wait asked her to move up. 

[Cleargleam]

I saw one this morning at school drop off.

Like many schools, my children's school was built at a time when most students walked or biked to school.  Now it's a magnet school and draws from all over the city.  A lot of parents drive their kids.  As such, there is a procedure for drop off.  The school sits between two streets, Main Street and 1st Street.  A long drive runs along the south end of the school and connects Main Street with 1 st.  It's about a block long.  For 1/2 block, it's just a long, narrow drive that eventually opens up into a parking lot for the rest of the distance. 

Parents are instructed to drive up to where the parking lot starts, discharge children from the car and continue driving to allow for other cars to do the same.  The kids line up along the school gate until the school doors open.

This morning, the girls and I were waiting at the gate when I heard a lot of cars suddenly start honking.  Apparently, a parent had decided to bring her kids to the drop off point but instead of letting the kids out, they waited until the school doors opened.  I watched her sit there for five minutes while cars piled up behind her.  Finally she let her kids out and tootled away.  (The other cars couldn't pass her because she was at the very end of the long, narrow drive part and completely blocking traffic.)

If she could have been bothered to drive 10 more feet, she could have pulled over and allowed other cars to pass her but I suppose that wouldn't have been very special.   Normally there is a person directing the drop off but he was nowhere to be found today.  And I'm amazed that no other parents who were made to wait asked her to move up.

They probably all understand that with a special snowflake like that, asking them to employ courtesy is pretty much useless. Unless you have some kind of authority, and even then, some people are awfully resistant to regard for others. 

[JennJenn68]

I'm starting to think that Special Snowflakes are approaching epic proportions.  Whatever happened to people being aware of others around them and employing due courtesy?

I went shopping at my local Costco today--never my favourite activity in the world, because I'm not a happy camper in crowds, and the closer it gets to the holiday season, the more of a zoo Costco becomes.  (I will not shop there on weekends, period.  And once Hallowe'en is over, Costco won't be seeing me again until well into January... which is a pity because there are some things that I can only get there, but the panic attacks just aren't worth it!)  I noticed a definite pattern of Snowflake behaviour today.  Ever noticed that when you are coming up behind someone in a given aisle (which is only wide enough for two carts to pass abreast), someone is coming toward you in the other direction?  So, you politely wait for this person to pass... and both carts reach the point where they are abreast--and both stop dead and the people stare at the shelves like open-mouthed zombies, totally oblivious to the fact that they are now completely blocking traffic both ways.  And they stay there.  It takes at least three repetitions of, "Excuse me, please!" for either of them to turn toward you with a look of vacant confusion on their faces; what could you possibly want from them?

After the first two times, it was either engage in the compiling of statistics or go stark raving mad.  (Since I went mad years ago, I was stuck with option number one.)  Today, this morning, within the first hour of the store opening, I had this happen to me twelve times, and every single occasion involved different people.  I was only in the store for forty-five minutes.  (I would have been out, I think, at least twenty minutes earlier if it hadn't been for these clueless cretins.)  If any of the offenders had had their noses stuck into their iPhones or suchlike, I would almost have understood it (although it still would have annoyed me considerably) but these were all just people who were so blasted spaced out that it didn't occur to them that there was anybody else in the whole store except for them!

Yup, JennJenn's in one of those moods again...

[PastryGoddess]

I'm starting to think that Special Snowflakes are approaching epic proportions.  Whatever happened to people being aware of others around them and employing due courtesy?

I went shopping at my local Costco today--never my favourite activity in the world, because I'm not a happy camper in crowds, and the closer it gets to the holiday season, the more of a zoo Costco becomes.  (I will not shop there on weekends, period.  And once Hallowe'en is over, Costco won't be seeing me again until well into January... which is a pity because there are some things that I can only get there, but the panic attacks just aren't worth it!)  I noticed a definite pattern of Snowflake behaviour today.  Ever noticed that when you are coming up behind someone in a given aisle (which is only wide enough for two carts to pass abreast), someone is coming toward you in the other direction?  So, you politely wait for this person to pass... and both carts reach the point where they are abreast--and both stop dead and the people stare at the shelves like open-mouthed zombies, totally oblivious to the fact that they are now completely blocking traffic both ways.  And they stay there.  It takes at least three repetitions of, "Excuse me, please!" for either of them to turn toward you with a look of vacant confusion on their faces; what could you possibly want from them?

After the first two times, it was either engage in the compiling of statistics or go stark raving mad.  (Since I went mad years ago, I was stuck with option number one.)  Today, this morning, within the first hour of the store opening, I had this happen to me twelve times, and every single occasion involved different people.  I was only in the store for forty-five minutes.  (I would have been out, I think, at least twenty minutes earlier if it hadn't been for these clueless cretins.)  If any of the offenders had had their noses stuck into their iPhones or suchlike, I would almost have understood it (although it still would have annoyed me considerably) but these were all just people who were so blasted spaced out that it didn't occur to them that there was anybody else in the whole store except for them!

Yup, JennJenn's in one of those moods again...

Maybe you need some kind of noise maker.  How about a coaches whistle?  Airhorn? Dinner Bell? Kazoo?