Special Snowflake Stories

[Kaora]

...My special snowflake for today is my cat.  Despite have free access to and from the outside from the back of my house, she prefers to wait in the front of the house and meow until I let her in - even though she went out the back.

"But Mom, I want in THIS way!"

Our cat does it occasionally.  We'd be trying to get him in through the front door, and he'd insist we must go all the way around the house and through the garage to let him in through the side door.

[MrTango]

She has a neurological condition that causes her heart rate to spike and her blood pressure to drop (yeah, I don't get it either) any time she physically exerts herself or gets excited.  This means that even standing up out of a chair can cause her to pass out.

I'm not a doctor (and I don't even play one on TV), but if you look at it the other way (her blood pressure drops, and then her heart rate speeds up to try to compensate but it doesn't work it kind of makes sense.

It does make sense. Cardiac output = stroke volume x heart rate. When your blood pressure drops the heart has to work harder to keep blood circulating to appropriately perfuse your tissues and it can only do this in so many ways, the easier being speeding up.

I know it's terrifying to lose independence like that, but driving like that might just be itching for a Darwin Award.

Sadly, I'm less worried about that than I am about the idea of her killing someone else...

In any case, I've gotten to the point where I actually blocked both her and her boyfriend on FB so I don't have to see her complain the next time a curb/fence/tree jumps out at her.

[oz diva]

She has a neurological condition that causes her heart rate to spike and her blood pressure to drop (yeah, I don't get it either) any time she physically exerts herself or gets excited.  This means that even standing up out of a chair can cause her to pass out.

I'm not a doctor (and I don't even play one on TV), but if you look at it the other way (her blood pressure drops, and then her heart rate speeds up to try to compensate but it doesn't work it kind of makes sense.

It does make sense. Cardiac output = stroke volume x heart rate. When your blood pressure drops the heart has to work harder to keep blood circulating to appropriately perfuse your tissues and it can only do this in so many ways, the easier being speeding up.

I know it's terrifying to lose independence like that, but driving like that might just be itching for a Darwin Award.

Sadly, I'm less worried about that than I am about the idea of her killing someone else...

In any case, I've gotten to the point where I actually blocked both her and her boyfriend on FB so I don't have to see her complain the next time a curb/fence/tree jumps out at her.

I think that's what the Yellow Wiggle suffered from.

[Soprych]

The SS cat reminds me of my SS chicken.  This hen does not like to get her feet dewy.  She also prefers to sleep on the rail on my back porch rather than in the coop with the others.  In the morning the hen will repeatedly bang on my back door until I pick her up, carry her through the house and let her go out the front door.  The front of the house faces the sun rise so it is a bit dryer and really good for insect foraging.  Lazy little thing.

[Shoo]

The SS cat reminds me of my SS chicken.  This hen does not like to get her feet dewy.  She also prefers to sleep on the rail on my back porch rather than in the coop with the others.  In the morning the hen will repeatedly bang on my back door until I pick her up, carry her through the house and let her go out the front door.  The front of the house faces the sun rise so it is a bit dryer and really good for insect foraging.  Lazy little thing.

It sounds like she's got you trained really well! 

[Jocelyn]

I used to do radio and if I ever slipped up and mispronounced a word, some anonymous listener would photocopy that page in the dictionary, highlight the word and the pronunciation and mail it to me. 

I actually understand the anonymous listener's feelings here, but he/she had no business correcting you.   

Well...if the mispronunciation were extended and made for mockery, there's a case for informing the person of their error(s).
Such as a former pastor of mine, who told this story on himself: he was in high school and was assigned to read from a translation that described that when the Angel of the Lord arrived, Abraham was sitting next to a brazier. Except he didn't know the word, and pronounced it with the emphasis on the second syllable.

And the former pastor who preached an entire sermon about the missionary journeys of Paul and Barabbas. Who was the thief released instead of Christ, not Paul's fellow missionary. 

[CrochetFanatic]

I ran into a juvenile SS yesterday at the store.  I was already in a foul humor because I couldn't find the final ingredient for a caramel apple cheesecake (the caramels!), and I was making my third pass down the candy aisle in a futile attempt to see if I had merely overlooked them.  Seriously, I ended up having to go to four different stores.  It wasn't that they were out of them, they just didn't carry them. 

Anyway, I stopped in front of a candy I hadn't seen before, and moved in for a closer look.  I didn't want it, I was just curious.  This little boy, I would guess he was about eight years old, butted in front of me and grabbed it up as he said, "That's mine!"  He was definitely old enough to know better.

I was startled, and a little annoyed, so I answered him instead of staying quiet.  "Okay?  I don't really want it, though."

The man the kid was with gave me a dirty look as they left the aisle, probably for talking to his (I think) son.  Maybe he was just an uncle, I don't know.  I do know that if I had pulled something like this at that age, I would have been made to apologize, leave the store without a treat, and endure an "I'm very disappointed in you" lecture on the way home before having to sit in my room for a while.

I probably shouldn't have said anything, I know.  And I wish I could say that I was surprised he didn't get in trouble.

[Shalamar]

I saw two SS examples in the post office yesterday.

The first was a lady who wanted to mail a Christmas present overseas.  When she was told that it would cost $5, she spluttered "FIVE DOLLARS?  That's more than the gift cost!   Forget it!".  (My thoughts:  "You spent less than five bucks on the person's Christmas present?  And now they're not even going to receive it because you're too cheap to pay to mail it?  'Kay.")

The second wasn't actually seen, but he/she made her presence known anyway.   The post office sells boxes for shipping larger items.  People often grab a box, put the item into it, write the address info on it, then pay for the whole thing all at once - box and shipping costs.  I've done this myself.   Well, SS must have changed his/her mind, because I saw an abandoned box with a scribbled-out address on it.   Never mind that the box will probably be considered unusable now.

[PeterM]

The first was a lady who wanted to mail a Christmas present overseas.  When she was told that it would cost $5, she spluttered "FIVE DOLLARS?  That's more than the gift cost!   Forget it!".  (My thoughts:  "You spent less than five bucks on the person's Christmas present?  And now they're not even going to receive it because you're too cheap to pay to mail it?  'Kay.")

My first thought is, Lady, they're charging you five bucks and they'll send it to the other side of the world in a remarkably short time. Pay up, and give thanks you live in a society where that's possible.

People who gripe about reasonable post office charges annoy the snot out of me.

[Mediancat]

they should know that the state of Maryland is pronounced more like 'MERI-lund' than 'MARY-LAND'. it made the place sound like a fun park.

It is??? Goodness, I'm a Brit, and I've been pronoucing that wrong my entire life!

I guess you learn something new every day.

Locally, it's pronounced MARE-lun.  Mare like the female horse. That person who heads a city government is also a mare.   And that city Baltimore?  BAWL-mur.  The baseball team is the OR-yuls.  That large bird on the US money?  That's an iggle. They can't really do much to mess up the football team name Ravens.

I would note that I've lived near Baltimore for the vast majority of my life, and I say MARE-uh-lind. And BALLD-uh-more, for that matter. But MARY-LAND is just wrong.

Now, just don't get into Lancaster, Pennsylvania . . .

Rob

[BabyMama]

The first was a lady who wanted to mail a Christmas present overseas.  When she was told that it would cost $5, she spluttered "FIVE DOLLARS?  That's more than the gift cost!   Forget it!".  (My thoughts:  "You spent less than five bucks on the person's Christmas present?  And now they're not even going to receive it because you're too cheap to pay to mail it?  'Kay.")

My first thought is, Lady, they're charging you five bucks and they'll send it to the other side of the world in a remarkably short time. Pay up, and give thanks you live in a society where that's possible.

People who gripe about reasonable post office charges annoy the snot out of me.

I wish I was mailing a package to where she's sending hers! I'm sending one to Canada in the next couple of weeks and the cheapest quote I've gotten is $32. Granted, it's probably a lot bigger than whatever +/- $5 gift she got 

[MariaE]

The first was a lady who wanted to mail a Christmas present overseas.  When she was told that it would cost $5, she spluttered "FIVE DOLLARS?  That's more than the gift cost!   Forget it!".  (My thoughts:  "You spent less than five bucks on the person's Christmas present?  And now they're not even going to receive it because you're too cheap to pay to mail it?  'Kay.")

My first thought is, Lady, they're charging you five bucks and they'll send it to the other side of the world in a remarkably short time. Pay up, and give thanks you live in a society where that's possible.

People who gripe about reasonable post office charges annoy the snot out of me.

I wish I was mailing a package to where she's sending hers! I'm sending one to Canada in the next couple of weeks and the cheapest quote I've gotten is $32. Granted, it's probably a lot bigger than whatever +/- $5 gift she got 

That's what I was thinking! If I mail anything larger than a standard letter, it costs more than $5 - even nationally.

[PastryGoddess]

I'm Baltimore born and raised (Ok Woodlawn) I usually say Mare-lund.  If I'm really tired it comes out Mer-lin.  I almost always enunciate Baltimore so it comes out Bawl-ti-more.  When tired though Bawl-mor is much more likely to be heard


ETA: I'm thinking we should take place name pronunciation to another thread as well.  Don't want to derail this thread anymore than it has been

[LadyClaire]

I just got a part-time seasonal job at a big department store. We get a pretty good discount when you factor in that it stacks with coupons and sale prices (one of the women working there said she ended up paying $36 for a $200 sweater). Suddenly everyone I know is asking if they can use my discount. First, it's against policy..only my husband is eligible to receive my discount, and they do keep an eye on the registers to make sure you're not misusing it. Second thing is, you get the discount by using a store credit card that they give you. So in order for someone else to use my discount, I'd have to hand over my credit card to them, or buy the item myself and have them pay me back. Which I am not going to do, because again..credit card. I'm not racking up debt just so people can save some extra money, especially since I wouldn't trust some of the ones who are asking to actually pay me back. One even said "Oh, it's a credit card? So you could buy it for me and I could just pay you back at the end of the billing cycle!"

Another person asked if I could give a discount by marking the item as damaged (those get an extra 10% off) even if it's not. Um..no. Stop asking! If you want a discount, get a job at the store yourself.

[CrochetFanatic]

I just got a part-time seasonal job at a big department store. We get a pretty good discount when you factor in that it stacks with coupons and sale prices (one of the women working there said she ended up paying $36 for a $200 sweater). Suddenly everyone I know is asking if they can use my discount. First, it's against policy..only my husband is eligible to receive my discount, and they do keep an eye on the registers to make sure you're not misusing it. Second thing is, you get the discount by using a store credit card that they give you. So in order for someone else to use my discount, I'd have to hand over my credit card to them, or buy the item myself and have them pay me back. Which I am not going to do, because again..credit card. I'm not racking up debt just so people can save some extra money, especially since I wouldn't trust some of the ones who are asking to actually pay me back. One even said "Oh, it's a credit card? So you could buy it for me and I could just pay you back at the end of the billing cycle!"

Another person asked if I could give a discount by marking the item as damaged (those get an extra 10% off) even if it's not. Um..no. Stop asking! If you want a discount, get a job at the store yourself.

Ugh, I hate that!  I lost a so-called "friendship" over it when I refused to let them use my discount.  It turned into a huge fight (not on store grounds, luckily), and I asked, "Is my worth to you measured by what you can get out of me?"  The response was, "You're so selfish!"  Yeah, I guess I am!  Such as it was, I wanted to keep my job.

I also had a customer report me to a manager for rudeness by giving her a flat-out "no" when she asked for the same.  She didn't like "blunt refusals", according to her.  She didn't get her discount.