Special Snowflake Stories

[Shalamar]

Recently, when I was in the lineup at the grocery store checkout, the lady behind me kept hitting me with her cart.  Not hard enough to hurt; just hard enough to be annoying.  She'd pushed it so that it was far too close to me, so every time she made the slightest motion, it banged into me.

I'll probably go to EHell for this, but my passive-agressive response was to hip-check it slightly so that it bumped very gently into her.

[siamesecat2965]

Recently, when I was in the lineup at the grocery store checkout, the lady behind me kept hitting me with her cart.  Not hard enough to hurt; just hard enough to be annoying.  She'd pushed it so that it was far too close to me, so every time she made the slightest motion, it banged into me.

I'll probably go to EHell for this, but my passive-agressive response was to hip-check it slightly so that it bumped very gently into her.

I've been tempted to do that as well. My peeve at checkout is that I prefer to bag my own stuff. So I'll move the cart to the end, bag, but sometimes have to move back up to use the pinpad to pay.  Where the next person has moved up, so I have to politely say "excuse me" and they have to shift back, sometimes shifting several people in line, as they ALL move up when the first one does. I always wait since you never know how people will pay, plus its the polite thing to do.

[PeterM]

NOpe you were fine. I was also grocery shopping yesterday and encountered my own SS's. Several couples who felt the need to park their cart, and then one would stand next to it, blocking the aisle, discussing in minute details what they needed to buy, and why. Also, those who feel the need to park their carts parallel to differnt areas, freezer cases, and so on. i get that you might need to peruse the selections, but pelase don't block it all for the rest of us!

We were behind a woman yesterday who drove me nuts. I was trying very hard to keep my temper, because my wife was in a bad mood and nothing good comes when we're both  mad at the supermarket. Usually I'm the mad one and she stays calm, so when she gets annoyed I try extra hard to keep calm, since I figure she deserves the chance to let it out.

Anyway, we only had to deal with this woman in one aisle but but she really hit all the classics in the short time we were together. Parking her cart badly on one side of an aisle and then taking up the entire other side while she looked for her item. Stopping next to someone else who's already stopped, so no one can get through from either direction. Pushing her cart very slowly and erratically to make it hard for anyone to get by. The works. This woman really had her routine down. Even the East German judges would've given her a perfect score.

The best part, though, was when she pulled out a move I've never seen before. Towards the end of the aisle and sweet, sweet freedom she stopped standing behind the cart to push it like a normal human being and instead pulled it against her hip and walked alongside it. This had the dual effect of both essentially doubling the amount of space she took up AND slowing her down to a snail's pace. It was truly a masterful move.

[ica171]

Yesterday DH, the kids and I were on our way home from my mom's house. We were driving down the highway going about 50 mph. We were coming up to an intersection, but since it wasn't a stale green light DH didn't slow down. There were a few cars on the right side of the intersection waiting to turn right onto the highway. The highway in front of us was clear, so if any one of the cars had wanted to turn they had had ample opportunity to do so. I'm sure you all know where this is going--just as we entered the intersection a car waiting to turn zipped out directly in front of us. Thankfully she floored it and thankfully DH was able to move into the next lane, so we didn't rear end her. (When we pulled up next to the car at the next light, we saw it was a young late teens/early twenties woman, so I know it was a her.) I said "I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she's got an emergency and is going to the hospital or something, even though I know she's not going to the hospital because it's back the way she came."

The next set of lights was in front of a large shopping center. It was red for us and for the right turn lane she was in, but she zoomed down into the center in front of several other cars turning from the other direction and ran the first red light inside the shopping center. At that point it was 3:55, so we figured that she had almost caused at least a few serious accidents so she wouldn't be late to work. I hope she didn't drive the way she did just to go shopping.

[Midnight Kitty]

JadeAngel's story reminded me of going out for dinner with our friends, John and Jane, and Jane's brother Cheapskate.   My husband and I ordered an appetizer for the two of us to share, and before we'd even taken one bite, Cheapskate asked "Are you going to finish that?"   

I call him Cheapskate instead of, say, SS because his cheapness is legendary.   That bit of behaviour I described is typical - he'll deliberately order a very small meal to save money, assuming that other people at the table won't be able to finish their food.  If and when that happens, he swoops in and eats the leftovers off people's plates (without asking if they'd planned to have them boxed up to take home).

Hi! I think Cheapskate is my long lost twin.  I don't eat much and most meals are way too much for me to finish in one sitting, which is why my nickname is "Midnight 'Doggy bag' Kitty."  When I am in a situation where I can't do the doggy bag routine, I order an appetiser or salad to be served with everyone else's dinner.  DH usually lets me have a couple bites of whatever he's having.  Last time I did this, we were dining with 2 other people.  Both of them gave me something off their plates, too.  One said, "I can't eat both pieces of bread.  Would you like one?"  I left after eating a sufficient amount of food and minimized the amount that was thrown out.  Win - win 

[Elfmama]

Recently, when I was in the lineup at the grocery store checkout, the lady behind me kept hitting me with her cart.  Not hard enough to hurt; just hard enough to be annoying.  She'd pushed it so that it was far too close to me, so every time she made the slightest motion, it banged into me.

I'll probably go to EHell for this, but my passive-agressive response was to hip-check it slightly so that it bumped very gently into her.

I turn around and say "I'm sorry, but banging your cart into me is NOT going to make this line go any faster!"

I've also asked people to step back when they crowd me as I'm entering my PIN.  I don't feel as if either of these actions is rude.

[Shalamar]

Oh, yeah, but there's a difference between people offering you the food they can't finish and Cheapskate assuming that he somehow has the right to take everyone's leftovers.

I have another example of his parsimony - a group of us visited the Dominical Republic one January.  Cheapskate is an avid golfer and brought his clubs, talking excitedly about how he couldn't wait to hit the links.  (We live in a very cold climate, and usually the earliest he'd be able to golf is April.)  When we arrived at the resort, Cheapskate asked the front desk clerk about using the golf course.  The clerk told him where he had to go, then added "It costs ten dollars per day."  Cheapskate's expression was a sight to behold.  He sputtered "It's not INCLUDED?"  "Well ... no."  That was it.  He didn't golf.

[doodlemor]

Another gross out at Wegman's [McKinley store] over the weekend.

A woman beside  me was selecting from the bouquets of fresh herbs.  Apparently sniffing for freshness is the thing to do, but she buried her nose and about half of her face in each bunch of herbs before selecting one.  She took long breaths of the scent of each the way one might do with a Valentine's bouquet.  Those she rejected were put back on the shelf.

I would have been annoyed even if NY wasn't in the midst of a flu epidemic.  I think that she knew that her behavior was unappealing. She glared at me after I was momentarily mesmerized by the spectacle and peeked at her longer than I normally would. 

[Diane AKA Traska]

Oh, yeah, but there's a difference between people offering you the food they can't finish and Cheapskate assuming that he somehow has the right to take everyone's leftovers.

I have another example of his parsimony - a group of us visited the Dominical Republic one January.  Cheapskate is an avid golfer and brought his clubs, talking excitedly about how he couldn't wait to hit the links.  (We live in a very cold climate, and usually the earliest he'd be able to golf is April.)  When we arrived at the resort, Cheapskate asked the front desk clerk about using the golf course.  The clerk told him where he had to go, then added "It costs ten dollars per day."  Cheapskate's expression was a sight to behold.  He sputtered "It's not INCLUDED?"  "Well ... no."  That was it.  He didn't golf.

Don't you love it when a person's behavior is its own punishment?

[Tea Drinker]

Another gross out at Wegman's [McKinley store] over the weekend.

A woman beside  me was selecting from the bouquets of fresh herbs.  Apparently sniffing for freshness is the thing to do, but she buried her nose and about half of her face in each bunch of herbs before selecting one.  She took long breaths of the scent of each the way one might do with a Valentine's bouquet.  Those she rejected were put back on the shelf.

I would have been annoyed even if NY wasn't in the midst of a flu epidemic.  I think that she knew that her behavior was unappealing. She glared at me after I was momentarily mesmerized by the spectacle and peeked at her longer than I normally would.

If it's any comfort, she is putting herself at risk too, from anyone else who similarly stuck their noses way into the herbs. Those of us who select our herbs mostly by eye, and take them home and wash them before we use them, are much less likely to be infected.

[Iris]

Oh, yeah, but there's a difference between people offering you the food they can't finish and Cheapskate assuming that he somehow has the right to take everyone's leftovers.

I have another example of his parsimony - a group of us visited the Dominical Republic one January.  Cheapskate is an avid golfer and brought his clubs, talking excitedly about how he couldn't wait to hit the links.  (We live in a very cold climate, and usually the earliest he'd be able to golf is April.)  When we arrived at the resort, Cheapskate asked the front desk clerk about using the golf course.  The clerk told him where he had to go, then added "It costs ten dollars per day."  Cheapskate's expression was a sight to behold.  He sputtered "It's not INCLUDED?"  "Well ... no."  That was it.  He didn't golf.

Don't you love it when a person's behavior is its own punishment?

I don't know, most people I know who behaved like this ended up paying off their mortgage faster that anyone else and had really comfortable later lives. I occasionally think I should emulate them but then realise I could never keep it up for longer than about 14 seconds.

[mmswm]

Oh, yeah, but there's a difference between people offering you the food they can't finish and Cheapskate assuming that he somehow has the right to take everyone's leftovers.

I have another example of his parsimony - a group of us visited the Dominical Republic one January.  Cheapskate is an avid golfer and brought his clubs, talking excitedly about how he couldn't wait to hit the links.  (We live in a very cold climate, and usually the earliest he'd be able to golf is April.)  When we arrived at the resort, Cheapskate asked the front desk clerk about using the golf course.  The clerk told him where he had to go, then added "It costs ten dollars per day."  Cheapskate's expression was a sight to behold.  He sputtered "It's not INCLUDED?"  "Well ... no."  That was it.  He didn't golf.

Don't you love it when a person's behavior is its own punishment?

I don't know, most people I know who behaved like this ended up paying off their mortgage faster that anyone else and had really comfortable later lives. I occasionally think I should emulate them but then realise I could never keep it up for longer than about 14 seconds.

I've declined to participate in an activity I enjoy because it wasn't included in a package deal.  I don't make a big deal about it, I just don't spend the extra money.  I think though, there's a line between "cheapskate" and "SS Cheapskate" in these cases.  I won't go on and on about something not being included, though I might express a momentary disappointment.

[Diane AKA Traska]

Oh, yeah, but there's a difference between people offering you the food they can't finish and Cheapskate assuming that he somehow has the right to take everyone's leftovers.

I have another example of his parsimony - a group of us visited the Dominical Republic one January.  Cheapskate is an avid golfer and brought his clubs, talking excitedly about how he couldn't wait to hit the links.  (We live in a very cold climate, and usually the earliest he'd be able to golf is April.)  When we arrived at the resort, Cheapskate asked the front desk clerk about using the golf course.  The clerk told him where he had to go, then added "It costs ten dollars per day."  Cheapskate's expression was a sight to behold.  He sputtered "It's not INCLUDED?"  "Well ... no."  That was it.  He didn't golf.

Don't you love it when a person's behavior is its own punishment?

I don't know, most people I know who behaved like this ended up paying off their mortgage faster that anyone else and had really comfortable later lives. I occasionally think I should emulate them but then realise I could never keep it up for longer than about 14 seconds.

I've declined to participate in an activity I enjoy because it wasn't included in a package deal.  I don't make a big deal about it, I just don't spend the extra money.  I think though, there's a line between "cheapskate" and "SS Cheapskate" in these cases.  I won't go on and on about something not being included, though I might express a momentary disappointment.

This guy lugged a bag of clubs off his home continent and was excited about the golfing, though.  That easily sounds like "I'd pay extra for that" territory to me.

[CakeBeret]

Recently, when I was in the lineup at the grocery store checkout, the lady behind me kept hitting me with her cart.  Not hard enough to hurt; just hard enough to be annoying.  She'd pushed it so that it was far too close to me, so every time she made the slightest motion, it banged into me.

Oh, my goodness. A few weeks ago I was in line at the grocery store. I thought I was pushing my cart up against the barrier...turns out I was pushing it against the man in front of me! I apologized profusely, and thankfully he was unharmed.

[mmswm]

Oh, yeah, but there's a difference between people offering you the food they can't finish and Cheapskate assuming that he somehow has the right to take everyone's leftovers.

I have another example of his parsimony - a group of us visited the Dominical Republic one January.  Cheapskate is an avid golfer and brought his clubs, talking excitedly about how he couldn't wait to hit the links.  (We live in a very cold climate, and usually the earliest he'd be able to golf is April.)  When we arrived at the resort, Cheapskate asked the front desk clerk about using the golf course.  The clerk told him where he had to go, then added "It costs ten dollars per day."  Cheapskate's expression was a sight to behold.  He sputtered "It's not INCLUDED?"  "Well ... no."  That was it.  He didn't golf.

Don't you love it when a person's behavior is its own punishment?

I don't know, most people I know who behaved like this ended up paying off their mortgage faster that anyone else and had really comfortable later lives. I occasionally think I should emulate them but then realise I could never keep it up for longer than about 14 seconds.

I've declined to participate in an activity I enjoy because it wasn't included in a package deal.  I don't make a big deal about it, I just don't spend the extra money.  I think though, there's a line between "cheapskate" and "SS Cheapskate" in these cases.  I won't go on and on about something not being included, though I might express a momentary disappointment.

This guy lugged a bag of clubs off his home continent and was excited about the golfing, though.  That easily sounds like "I'd pay extra for that" territory to me.

True.  I have to admit that I would have checked about what's included before I left home, dragging a bag of clubs half way around the world.  Though, for me it would be cross country skis and clothing.