Special Snowflake Stories

[Shalamar]

O/T:  Where are you from, Midnight Kitty?  I'm intrigued by the expressions "choke grinds" and "broke da mouth".     I've never heard them before!

I have another Cheapskate story, which also occurred during that same Dominican Republic trip.  The folks who went on that trip were all young adults (well, young-ish in my husband's and my case), and there was a lot of drinking to be done.  We took turns paying for rounds.  Cheapskate happily sucked down the drinks when someone else was paying.  Finally, someone said "Hey, Cheapskate, you haven't paid for a round yet."  He looked dumbstruck and looked wildly around him for an escape.  When no such rescue was forthcoming, he (very) reluctantly pulled out the teeniest change purse I've ever seen.  I half expected to see moths flying out of it. 

[Midnight Kitty]

O/T:  Where are you from, Midnight Kitty?  I'm intrigued by the expressions "choke grinds" and "broke da mouth".     I've never heard them before!

I have another Cheapskate story, which also occurred during that same Dominican Republic trip.  The folks who went on that trip were all young adults (well, young-ish in my husband's and my case), and there was a lot of drinking to be done.  We took turns paying for rounds.  Cheapskate happily sucked down the drinks when someone else was paying.  Finally, someone said "Hey, Cheapskate, you haven't paid for a round yet."  He looked dumbstruck and looked wildly around him for an escape.  When no such rescue was forthcoming, he (very) reluctantly pulled out the teeniest change purse I've ever seen.  I half expected to see moths flying out of it.

I am in Hawaii.  I like those expressions because, once you think about it, their meaning is crystal clear.

We had hamburgers last week at a place that serves only locally sourced food.  The ground beef is from free range cattle who live on the Big Island of Hawaii.  It is fresh, not previously frozen.  I think I moaned when I tasted the first bite.  It was truly a "broka da mouth" burger.  When the waitress came by to ask if we were enjoying our meal, I couldn't talk because my mouth was broke, but the expression on my face assured her that I was in Paradise.  I'm like Pavlov's dog - just thinking about that free range, fresh burger is making me salivate.

[Snooks]

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

Every time I've seen Shakespeare the programme has had a brief run down of the story in it.  OK it might have cost him £5 but at least he wouldn't have run the risk of being lynched by the rest of the audience.

[snowflake]

When the show started, we realized that the lyrics were translated into English on a small screen above the stage.  It was very discreet and didn't detract or distract from the performance.  We were grateful that it was there. 

Those are called "supertitles," and they are ubiquitous at opera performances in the US. In fact, where I live, the supertitles often are in English & Spanish.

If Translation Hater had never seen a supertitle before, then she can't be the real opera lover she claimed to be.

Agreed.  I saw Othello while in Prague in maybe 1995 and it was sung in Italian and supertitled in presumably Czech.  This is not even something new.

I was playing in pit orchestras between 1991 and 1994 (hiking accident ended my music career).  The supertitles were present even then. I remember watching a few operas in the late 80's that didn't have them, but by the mid 90's they were pretty much everywhere.  The only opera I remember not having them later than that was a production of Hansel and Gretel that was performed in English to an English speaking audience. 

Now, whether or not they detract from the performance is another debate, but not one that's appropriate during the actual performance.

I've seen them everywhere - even in Northern cities.

I was very put out when the supertitles broke during a performance of Tristan und Isolde.  Now, I won't get all prissy because I know that the first act of Tristan is one woman sitting down and singing for over an hour about what a loser Tristan is.  It's Wagner so there are no fun arias and barely any phrasing.  It's not everyone's cup of tea and I won't pretend that I'm high and mighty because it's mine.

That said, I nearly brained the woman behind me who kept saying, "I can't understaaaaaaaannnnnnd!  I can't understaaaaaannnnd!"  People would shush her and she'd stay quiet for five minutes and start up again.  This lasted the whole 20 minutes the supertitles were broken.  I mean, it's Wagner! What they were singing about ten minutes ago is probably what they are STILL singing about.  I was sorely tempted to turn around and say, "She's still whining and it sounds better than you so please be quiet!"

I like to pretend that I was raised better than that.

[MommyPenguin]

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.

That's an interesting assumption.  Actually, you made several "interesting assumptions" which were disparaging of my character. You describe me as a cheapskate, drooling over other people's plates until I guilt them into forking over part of their meal while they go home hungry, when you don't know me and you weren't there.


I gotta say, Twik, this post of yours has changed my opinion of you since it said a lot more about your presumptions than my eating habits.

Midnight Kitty, I'm pretty sure that Twik wasn't meaning *you* specifically, just the generic "you," meaning "if a person is staring hungrily," rather than "if you, Midnight Kitty, are staring hungrily."  I wouldn't take it as a personal insult unless you're sure she's talking to you.

[Moray]

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.

That's an interesting assumption.  Actually, you made several "interesting assumptions" which were disparaging of my character. You describe me as a cheapskate, drooling over other people's plates until I guilt them into forking over part of their meal while they go home hungry, when you don't know me and you weren't there.


I gotta say, Twik, this post of yours has changed my opinion of you since it said a lot more about your presumptions than my eating habits.

Midnight Kitty, I'm pretty sure that Twik wasn't meaning *you* specifically, just the generic "you," meaning "if a person is staring hungrily," rather than "if you, Midnight Kitty, are staring hungrily."  I wouldn't take it as a personal insult unless you're sure she's talking to you.

I hate to say it, but I interpreted Twik's post the same way. I could see MommyPenguin's interpretation for the 1st paragraph, but that 2nd one is pretty clearly directed at Midnight Kitty's specific actions.

[Coruscation]

I was playing in pit orchestras between 1991 and 1994 (hiking accident ended my music career).

if you don't mind my asking, how?

[Shalamar]

once you think about it, their meaning is crystal clear.

Uh-oh.  I must be dumb, because I still can't figure out what "choke grinds" means.     "Broke da mouth" makes a lot of sense, though. 

(Reminds me of when a Southern contestant on Survivor used the expression "So good, makes you wanna slap your mama."  I was all "Um, what?  What did your poor mother do to you?"   )

[Midnight Kitty]

once you think about it, their meaning is crystal clear.

Uh-oh.  I must be dumb, because I still can't figure out what "choke grinds" means.     "Broke da mouth" makes a lot of sense, though. 

(Reminds me of when a Southern contestant on Survivor used the expression "So good, makes you wanna slap your mama."  I was all "Um, what?  What did your poor mother do to you?"   )

I apologize.  Goes to show me that not everyone sees things the way I do.  You are not dumb; I'm dense.

"Choke" means an overabundance.  As in, enough to choke an elephant.
"Grinding" is eating and "grinds" are what you eat.  If you are really hungry, the motion of your arm continuously moving food from the plate to your mouth resembles a grinding action.

So "choke grinds" is enough food to choke an elephant, which is what we ordered.

I love your reference to that Southern expression because, while I understand the phrase through the context in which it was used, I thought the same thing as you - Why would I want to slap my mother?

[Christabeldreams]

My guess is that it is like when I have seen 4 or 5 or 6 year olds at the movies when it is R rated:  it is cheaper than a babysitter (as one couple told me).

Therapy bills, on the other hand, are quite expensive. 
New SS story. I was on vacation, when I spotted an SS honking at the car in front of her, despite the fact she could clearly see the elderly gentleman trying to cross the street.

[ica171]

This was snowflakey, but it was also just weird.

On the way home, I saw a car pull over and pick up a fast food bag off the street. How nice, I thought. Then, a second later, the bag was thrown back out the car door, scattering whatever had been in the bag everywhere and making a much bigger mess than before. I saw as I passed that it was two teenage boys. So I don't know if they were hoping there was food in the bag (gross) or intentionally making a bigger mess, or what. It was odd, to say the least.

[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 just can't get past the part where she just turned off your bike.  Who DOES that?  I know the answer is "Why, entitled Super Special Snowflakes do that!"  but I can't even wrap my head around this.

And those poor kids.   

Yeah, I got into the Y today and got asked if I were the one who she bothered. They are documenting how she treats those kids, apparently this is not the fist time. I was asked to make a statement about her shoving and carrying the children that way and they are approaching the off duty cop that is there regularly about what can be done. If she treats them this way in public - what is going on in private.

[mmswm]

I was playing in pit orchestras between 1991 and 1994 (hiking accident ended my music career).

if you don't mind my asking, how?

A couple friends and I were on a fairly steep trail and near the top there was a bit of nearly vertical rock.  It was only about 25 feet, and since we had all been moderately experienced climbers, we decided to free climb the last little bit up to the top.  Unfortunately, about 5 feet from the top, I slipped and fell to the bottom, then bounced and rolled another 30 feet down the trail.  I tore pretty much every tendon and ligament in my right hand and a fair number of them in my left (in addition to other injuries).  I had played the oboe/English horn, and unfortunately, my hands were never able to recover sufficiently to play at the level required for a conservatory student.

[Twik]

I'd like to apologize to Midnight Kitty. I came off as attacking her, when I did not mean to do so. I spoke very poorly, and I'm very sorry for that.

[VorFemme]

I was going down a two lanes each way with a median road, having managed to get out of the grocery store parking lot in rush hour traffic (6 pm and it is dark already).  I am in the inside lane by the median so I can make the protected left turn arrow to get HOME just that little bit sooner.  I took the exit by the front of the main store. I pull into the first lane, then signal to get into the other lane - I keep on signalling because I need to get into the left turn lane (which has a green protected arrow that JUST lit up). There is a second exit closer to the intersection behind a short strip (restaurant & mattress store).

Some SS decides decides to pull out of the parking lot at the second exit and cross both lanes and starts edging out to get in front of me from the right lane - trying to block two lanes of traffic (too dark to see whether it is a man or a woman driving).  I slow down but don't quite stop - I am not yielding, I am trying to make the left turn arrow....just barely missed it because I had to slow down.....SS ends up behind me when they've completed their illegal (and rude) turn across two lanes while blocking traffic.

When the light changed, I made my turn quickly and got into the inner lane again (another left turn coming up) but didn't want to have any further contact with "oncoming traffic will cut me off if I wait for it to clear" SS.