Special Snowflake Stories

[snowdragon]

     The weight/Cardio area at my Y is 10 and up.  I was there today working on the stationary bike and in the middle of my workout.  Some woman walked up and tapped my shoulder interrupting me and I just looked at her, said "yes?" while continuing to cycle. She replied "I need three bikes together, you'll need move to the other end." I replied that I was in the middle of a work out and she and her kids would either need to  break up or find something else to do and went back to my work out. She tapped me again and said that splitting up won't do - the kids are too young and biking is what she was there for, so I needed to move. NOW.
 because she had kids there. And then she showed me the kids. One was about 3 and the other even younger- no where near old enough to be there or tall enough to be able to sit on the bikes safely. I refused again and went back to my work out. She then shut the bike off and I stood up and called over to my personal trainer to get me some help. Sarah left her client went to the desk and got Andy who is another employee there and he came over.  I told him what was going on and he told her that I did not have to move, she then said she did not want to be that far away from her kids - who were running around like only a toddler can and he said "Oh are those yours? We we just going to page the parent and tell them to remove them, they are not allowed up here, you'll have to get them downstairs" At which point she told the employee what she though about that policy- discriminating, yada, yada, turned around and told me "See what you've done this means I can't work out because of your selfishness."  She shoved one kid and grabbed the other so hard she yanked her off her feet and then carried the little girl by one arm all the way across the first floor.
  The employee asked how much of a disturbance she had been and I told him she had interrupted me 3 times and that the last time she had shut the bike off entirely. He replied with - just start over as if you had just started, and go for the entire time the bike will allow ( 30 min)
    Really no one is going to look askance at an 8 or 9 year up there - but toddlers are a problem, because they are a danger to themselves and others because of their need to be moving all the time. 
   This is not the first time I have seen parents break the rules, but she was the most insistent I have seen in a long time.

[ica171]

     The weight/Cardio area at my Y is 10 and up.  I was there today working on the stationary bike and in the middle of my workout.  Some woman walked up and tapped my shoulder interrupting me and I just looked at her, said "yes?" while continuing to cycle. She replied "I need three bikes together, you'll need move to the other end." I replied that I was in the middle of a work out and she and her kids would either need to  break up or find something else to do and went back to my work out. She tapped me again and said that splitting up won't do - the kids are too young and biking is what she was there for, so I needed to move. NOW.
 because she had kids there. And then she showed me the kids. One was about 3 and the other even younger- no where near old enough to be there or tall enough to be able to sit on the bikes safely. I refused again and went back to my work out. She then shut the bike off and I stood up and called over to my personal trainer to get me some help. Sarah left her client went to the desk and got Andy who is another employee there and he came over.  I told him what was going on and he told her that I did not have to move, she then said she did not want to be that far away from her kids - who were running around like only a toddler can and he said "Oh are those yours? We we just going to page the parent and tell them to remove them, they are not allowed up here, you'll have to get them downstairs" At which point she told the employee what she though about that policy- discriminating, yada, yada, turned around and told me "See what you've done this means I can't work out because of your selfishness."  She shoved one kid and grabbed the other so hard she yanked her off her feet and then carried the little girl by one arm all the way across the first floor.
  The employee asked how much of a disturbance she had been and I told him she had interrupted me 3 times and that the last time she had shut the bike off entirely. He replied with - just start over as if you had just started, and go for the entire time the bike will allow ( 30 min)
    Really no one is going to look askance at an 8 or 9 year up there - but toddlers are a problem, because they are a danger to themselves and others because of their need to be moving all the time. 
   This is not the first time I have seen parents break the rules, but she was the most insistent I have seen in a long time.

I'd be most annoyed with her because I had to do extra bike time. Better than extra elliptical time, I guess.

[Cami]

     The weight/Cardio area at my Y is 10 and up.  I was there today working on the stationary bike and in the middle of my workout.  Some woman walked up and tapped my shoulder interrupting me and I just looked at her, said "yes?" while continuing to cycle. She replied "I need three bikes together, you'll need move to the other end." I replied that I was in the middle of a work out and she and her kids would either need to  break up or find something else to do and went back to my work out. She tapped me again and said that splitting up won't do - the kids are too young and biking is what she was there for, so I needed to move. NOW.
 because she had kids there. And then she showed me the kids. One was about 3 and the other even younger- no where near old enough to be there or tall enough to be able to sit on the bikes safely. I refused again and went back to my work out. She then shut the bike off and I stood up and called over to my personal trainer to get me some help. Sarah left her client went to the desk and got Andy who is another employee there and he came over.  I told him what was going on and he told her that I did not have to move, she then said she did not want to be that far away from her kids - who were running around like only a toddler can and he said "Oh are those yours? We we just going to page the parent and tell them to remove them, they are not allowed up here, you'll have to get them downstairs" At which point she told the employee what she though about that policy- discriminating, yada, yada, turned around and told me "See what you've done this means I can't work out because of your selfishness."  She shoved one kid and grabbed the other so hard she yanked her off her feet and then carried the little girl by one arm all the way across the first floor.
  The employee asked how much of a disturbance she had been and I told him she had interrupted me 3 times and that the last time she had shut the bike off entirely. He replied with - just start over as if you had just started, and go for the entire time the bike will allow ( 30 min)
    Really no one is going to look askance at an 8 or 9 year up there - but toddlers are a problem, because they are a danger to themselves and others because of their need to be moving all the time. 
   This is not the first time I have seen parents break the rules, but she was the most insistent I have seen in a long time.

I declined to join the nearest gym due to repeated situations like that when I had a trial membership. Although the rules clearly state that no one under 16 can use the equipment or be in the equipment room, there were kids running all over the place. They kept changing the tvs to kiddie shows, etc. When I complained I was told, "Oh, we don't enforce that rule. You just have to learn to tune them out." At that point I handed my trial card back to her and said, "No, actually I don't. If I wanted a kid running around while I exercise, I could do that at home."

[snowdragon]

     The weight/Cardio area at my Y is 10 and up.  I was there today working on the stationary bike and in the middle of my workout.  Some woman walked up and tapped my shoulder interrupting me and I just looked at her, said "yes?" while continuing to cycle. She replied "I need three bikes together, you'll need move to the other end." I replied that I was in the middle of a work out and she and her kids would either need to  break up or find something else to do and went back to my work out. She tapped me again and said that splitting up won't do - the kids are too young and biking is what she was there for, so I needed to move. NOW.
 because she had kids there. And then she showed me the kids. One was about 3 and the other even younger- no where near old enough to be there or tall enough to be able to sit on the bikes safely. I refused again and went back to my work out. She then shut the bike off and I stood up and called over to my personal trainer to get me some help. Sarah left her client went to the desk and got Andy who is another employee there and he came over.  I told him what was going on and he told her that I did not have to move, she then said she did not want to be that far away from her kids - who were running around like only a toddler can and he said "Oh are those yours? We we just going to page the parent and tell them to remove them, they are not allowed up here, you'll have to get them downstairs" At which point she told the employee what she though about that policy- discriminating, yada, yada, turned around and told me "See what you've done this means I can't work out because of your selfishness."  She shoved one kid and grabbed the other so hard she yanked her off her feet and then carried the little girl by one arm all the way across the first floor.
  The employee asked how much of a disturbance she had been and I told him she had interrupted me 3 times and that the last time she had shut the bike off entirely. He replied with - just start over as if you had just started, and go for the entire time the bike will allow ( 30 min)
    Really no one is going to look askance at an 8 or 9 year up there - but toddlers are a problem, because they are a danger to themselves and others because of their need to be moving all the time. 
   This is not the first time I have seen parents break the rules, but she was the most insistent I have seen in a long time.

I declined to join the nearest gym due to repeated situations like that when I had a trial membership. Although the rules clearly state that no one under 16 can use the equipment or be in the equipment room, there were kids running all over the place. They kept changing the tvs to kiddie shows, etc. When I complained I was told, "Oh, we don't enforce that rule. You just have to learn to tune them out." At that point I handed my trial card back to her and said, "No, actually I don't. If I wanted a kid running around while I exercise, I could do that at home."

Try your local Y - every time I have had an issue they have moved quickly they have moved quickly to correct it - even revoking the memberships of repeat offenders.  That's why I get so annoyed when it does happen.

[PastryGoddess]

I agree,

My Y is fantastic at getting rid of kids who are running around. I heard about a temporary ban, but I wasn't there when it actually happened .

The rule is 16 and up but I've seen kids as young as 12 or so there, but they were always well behaved and good about not hogging machines during busy times.

[Midnight Kitty]

I am in awe of snowdragon's shiny spine and Andy for enforcing the rules.

[kherbert05]

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.

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.

That type of bump especially if it hits my heal or ankle area can cause my skin to fissure and to bleed. It sets off a cycle and then it can take up to 6 months for it to heal.  I protect myself by grabbing the cart and stopping it - then I tell the person they have to back up. When I was a kid the bullies would kick me in the heal or stomp on my foot to make this happen. My white socks would be blood red at the end of the day.

[kherbert05]

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.

Didn't he pay extra just to take the clubs? Dad always took is to PEI to play Brudenell. He always had to pay extra and that was before the airlines started to nickle and dime us to death. Besides $10 a day is cheep for green fees in my experience.

Just an aside - Sis and I thought Brudenell was the nicest country club we had ever been to   growing up. We were teenagers before it clicked that it was a Provincial Park. Sis was on a country club swim team so we had pretty much been to every club in Houston. That is how nice Brudenell is.

[Minmom3]

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.

What did it cost him to fly his clubs all the way there and NOT USE them?  Why didn't he research that before he left, so he could leave the clubs at home for free?  He may become a millionaire in due time, but he's still a mannerless boor at the table!

[Angel B.]

I can't see Les Mis...the SS seem to have taken over any venue I go to! I'm pretty sure I already posted about my first trip to see it, but here you go:

I went to see it in London over the summer and sat next to a man who cracked his gum the entire first half. Between him and his family who were translating the entire musical into Spanish, I ended up leaving. I asked them repeatedly both in English and Spanish to please stop talking. The ushers asked them to stop talking. But of course, they HAD to translate the musical, or they couldn't understaaaaaand. I get doing it between set changes or intermission, but the entire time? Give me a break.

Second time, I opted to go see the movie. Now, I live in a country where English isn't the primary language so I have to go to a special, expensive cinema to see it in the undubbed format. I'd been looking forward to it seeing as I hadn't been able finish seeing the musical in London. So of course, I get SS-I-Sing-With-The-Movie. I did lean over and asked her to please stop singing. What does she do? Sing softer. 

I give up.

[Margo]

I feel your pain. I saw a production of 'Othello' at the Globe in London a few years ago. There was a man seated immediately behind us who was translating for his girlfriend (at a normal, conversational volume) the whole.way.through. Eventually both we, and 2 others people nearby asked him to stop. He got really indignant and said his grldfriend couldn't understand and we were being selfish. He only stopped after we spoke to a steward.

What got me, apart from the entitled attitude, was  is that this production was sold out, and it sold out (except for standing room) really  fast, so they almost certainly booked the tickets 2-3 months before the performance. And it is not exactly hard to get copies of the play in whatever language you want, in fact the theatre itself has a bookshop attached to it.

Dfortunately the steards, after speaking to him, stayed quite near by for the rest of the performance and when he started again about 10 minutes into the second act they reminded him and warned him he would have to leave if he didn't stop

[CakeEater]

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.

 

[Twik]

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.

Not really. Even in their "later lives," they spend their time worrying about how to save those extra pennies. They don't relax and spend their money then.

[Twik]

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 

It's win-win if the people eating with you *really* don't want the extra food. However, if you're sitting there with two scoops of salad, staring wistfully at everyone else's Lobster Newburg, until they fork over part of their meal out of guilt, it's only a win for you. It's a loss (in food plus enjoyment) for everyone else.

I'd say if you're looking so hungry that someone is passing over their bread, you just might be overdoing it. And if you are not full until three other people provide you with part of their own dinners, you were hungry enough you could have eaten your own meal.

[Elfmama]

So of course, I get SS-I-Sing-With-The-Movie. I did lean over and asked her to please stop singing. What does she do? Sing softer. 

I give up.

I can't tell you how many times I've had to elbow DH at a concert and hiss "People around you want to hear the performer, not you!"