Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Ranting, pure and simple

Why, oh why, do people who drive big SUVs and mini-vans insist upon parking them in the COMPACT spots? When there are plenty of full-sized spots available, only 20 feet further from the mall. I got news for you lady, your Range Rover is not a compact car! (And no she didn't have any mitigating factors such as little kids or crutches.)

I have resisted a lot of technology as it came along. I was never going to get an answering machine or a cell phone. But i caved, and i like them. But i just hate those ear attachment phone blue tooth thingies. I can see using one in the car, but when people walk down the street yakking away to themselves, i can't tell if they are crazy or on the phone. I see people trying to remain on the phone while going through the grocery check-out line. How rude! Is your call really that important?

It's open window season for the car. I don't want to hear your Puff Daddy (or whatever his name is this year) or your Metallica. Turn down the music. If i can feel it, it's too loud.

And furthermore, don't leave your freakin' grocery car in the middle of a parking spot you lazy ass! At least take it to the gathering spot for carts.

All of these things happened to me today. And i know it sounds like i am in a bad mood, i actually think it's all pretty funny. But sometimes a rant just feels GOOD! Ya know?

meno-showing every one of her cranky old years.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Get tough with 'em, dear. There is, in my experience, a dearth of mouth-breathers in this world, and perhaps if we get enough excitement up about it we can circulate a petition to allow us one week a year of open season, all weapons, no limit on bagging them.

Antonia Cornwell said...

When my friend Ellie was little, her mother used to park the family car in the disabled space closest to the supermarket. Then she'd make Ellie and her brother walk across the car park with a limp.

Gordo said...

A good rant is a cleansing experience, I find. I've always thought that anti-idling regulations should allow for the person discovering said rule-breaking vehicle to take the keys and toss them down the nearest storm sewer.

Joan said...

Are you sure you and I weren't out and about in the same area today because I swear I saw the very same things. Grrrrrr...there's no excuse for poor manners.

Anonymous said...

LOVE the new look!!!

So agree with you on the Goddamn Big Ass Cars parking in spots for compact cars. I'm talking when there are plenty of big spaces for them to use, but they're, uh, maybe two and a half feet further from the door to the supermarket. Geez! I once got really rabid about it and squeezed my car in between two SUVs parked in compact spaces, just as one of the drivers was coming back to her car. I glared at 'er and stepped out of my car, waiting for her to see how she could get INTO her car because it was too damn big to open the door in that space without scratching the door of my car. The conversation that ensued was full of 'get a life' and other such niceties. And of course, she had a SMALL SUV, so it she had every right to park there. She also left her cart floating in the parking lot.

Anyway, thanks for giving me an outlet to rant about one of my favorite pet peeves!

Anonymous said...

Ugh! I KNOW! For me, this week has been rife with rude people. This afternoon, I held the door open for an entire battalion of elementary school kids coming in from an afternoon exercise session. Of those seventy some-odd kids, about five said "thank you" to me - and two of them were MY OWN KIDS! There were only about three of the dozen or so parents, coming to retrieve their children, who even acknowledged that I was standing there, holding the door.

As my grandfather liked to lament; Common courtesy isn't so common anymore.

QT said...

YUCK - all those fit on my cranky old fart list too, especially the expicit lyrics - umm, yes, you can listen to it, but should I have to, too?

Special K ~Toni said...

Ya see, I have this utterly bad habit of telling people how I feel. Whether it be their driving, taste in music, or general appearance.

Someone is going to shoot be one day. Or at least totally kick my ass.

meno said...

irrelephant, i will sign, in a heartbeat.

antonia, oh, that's perfect! All to avoid walking 20 feet.

gordo, another excellent idea!

joan, it's everywhere!

ortizzle, oh you fiesty thing you! You go.

mrs.chili, your own kids! I am so proud of them. Really.

qt, i guess you are a cranky old fart too!

toni, you can be sure that i will attend your funeral, and weep copiously. I swear!

Liv said...

uh, if you could go ahead and talk southernly and refer to a shopping "car" as a buggy and the "gathering spot" as a buggy barn, it would be great... as in the following exchange that I had the other day:

"Miss, do you need help with these here groceries?"

"No sir, I'm parked right next to a buggy barn"

flutter said...

I KNOW!!

Mother of Invention said...

Why does it always happen that the only parking space left at the grocery store has a stray cart in the middle of it?

And they're out of all the advertised specials when I arrive!

And there's someone you know who corners you at the entrance so you have to buy 5 tickets on a quilt raffle and you've bought them every year for 26 years and never won!! I couls have bought one by now!

Stucco said...

I'm feeling particularly cantankerous myself, and I would suggest that I can live with the big vehicle in the small spot provided the driver got it there without having to back up and try again over and over. Also, one shouldn't be allowed to drive an SUV if they slow down (or *gasp* stop) for speed bumps. If the 'roids are that bad, buy a Caddy.

As for the youngsters and the ubiquitous phones- whatever. I'm pretty sure these mouth breathers don't have anything interesting to say anyway. I do not expect enlightenment from someone who can't pull up their pants.

Girlplustwo said...

dude. here, i have this gallon of liquor infused ice cream for you.

it's right here. look. for you.

Schmoopie said...

I have some of those same thoughts about people on the phone at odd times, carts being left in parking spaces etc. etc. People seem to be so rude these days. I see a general apathy, in some of the parents of children in my class, towards teaching them manners. My rule is if you can say "I want more juice" you can attach a "please" to it. It bugs the crap out of me when people don't use their manners.

Andrea Frazer said...

We're both six feet. We both saw Wicked. And now we both had the same day. Ne ner ne ner... (That's Twilight Zone music.)

Lynn said...

I hear your rant...and I second it!

Scott from Oregon said...

I don't know....

I never felt like I was any better than those who you rant on about.

Just a wee bit different.

I'm lucky in that I can actually ask young kids to turn down their crap and it gets turned down.

It pays to be ugly.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

My pet peeve (one of them) is watching someone park in a handicapped space and then sprint for the store.

It used to be easy to identify the crazies on the street. They were the ones talking to themselves. Now, it's hard to tell if they're on a phone or not. I suspect that some people just pretend to talk on their phones so they won't have to communicate with checkers, etc. and so it will look as if they have friends.

AC said...

I've seen folks park in the handicapped space, leave the car RUNNING, and sprint in. grrr. i

Great new look for a rousing rant!

Anonymous said...

I drive one of the largest SUVs they make. I listen to my music loud.

There is no such thing as compact parking spots here, except in parking garages.

However, I do park FAR from the entrance usually (because I don't want to run over any of the old folks coming to and fro), and even though I have two kids and way too many groceries, I always put my cart where it belongs. Unless there is nowhere provided and it's too far back inside the store from my hinterland parking spot.

I sheepishly lower the volume when I come to a stop light (even though I know the others are really in to my tunes! I am the coolest.). I waver between feeling very uncool for turning it down and knowing that it's the polite thing to do. That's a pretty good definition of middle age right there.

the bluetooth phones? yeah, they gotta go.

Bob said...

it is amazing how many times people circle the parking lot to avoid having to walk an extra 20-30 yards.

I too am caught in the dilemma - is that person passing by talking to me? I have more than once responded to a comment to find that they weren't talking to me, they were on their cell phone.

my biggest pet peeve in parking lots is the abuse of the handicapped spaces. even if someone doesn't park in the space, shopping carts are frequently left in the blue-striped spaces beside it, thus preventing the use of the space by handicapped adapted vehicles with unfolding ramps. I have also seen people park in the blue-striped spaces. it really makes me angry. I assume the people who do these things are mentally handicapped.

jaded said...

Ah the evaporation of common courtesy, one of my favorite soapboxes...GIve me a leg up and I'll join you up there.

Why park in a handicap space when you can park in the fire lane. Yes, really. Bluetooth headsets, its just a gadget people use to hide schizophrenia. They don't really work : )

Kellyology said...

And to think I was heading out to the store today...I don't think so!

Lynnea said...

Here here on all of those! I laugh at people who sit in the parking lot waiting with their blinker on for minutes and minutes holding up everyone else when there are spots to the back. Learn to use your legs!

On grocery carts - one time when someone parked next to us and there was a cart by their car, they pushed it and propped it ON our car as we were walking out of the store. So we waited till they went in the store and we parked it directly behind their car along with our cart, and several others. They must have had such a fun time putting all those carts away so they could leave. :-)

TTQ said...

Amen Sister..

Society as a whole sometimes seems like an elementary classroom left unattended... Basic manners are thrown to the wind. Makes me appreciate my husband that much more, he still opens doors, he will walk an old lady across the street, he greets cashiers and grocery baggers, I never have to take the garbabge out or clean the cat box. No wonder I never want to leave the house.

thailandchani said...

LOL.... all of these things are the very same things that annoy me. Sometimes my zen goes right out the window when I encounter them.

It's all just simple consideration.

As for cell phones, I refuse to have one.. but I do have an answering machine. :)


Peace,


~Chani

Princess in Galoshes said...

Can I add double-parking to the rant?

I feel like parking your pretty Lexus or Hummer smack dab over a yellow parking line is an invitation for me to "bump" it with my grocery cart, or key.

...

Come to think of it, I feel that way about Hummers in general. Even if they're parked correctly.

karmic said...

Rant is good at times. :)
I see people trying to remain on the phone while going through the grocery check-out line

I heard someone use one while sitting on the can the other day at work.

meno said...

liv, sorry! It's always good to learn new vocabulary. Buggy barn sounds creepy though.

flutter, you too huh?

moi, and don't forget those cute little girl scouts or veterans selling things!

stucco, the hill up to my daughter's school must have 10 speed bumps, and the SUVs slow waaaaay down to cross over each one. It cracks me up, as i don't even slow to go over them in my little car. I'll have to inquire as to the state of their 'roids!

jen, thanks, i needed that.

schmoopie, you keep on working on those kids. It might just take with a few of them.

mamap, maybe we are living in a parallel universe!

lynn, let's start a petition!

scott, you may be right, but i try reasonably hard to not be an inconsiderate ass. I've seen your picture, you're not quite ugly enough to frighten small children!

hearts, oh that is the pits. A pox upon them.

AC, while the handicapped person waits in the car, right? Violating the spirit, if not the letter of the law.

de, it's okay to drive a big car, just don't pretend that it's tiny. I lower my music at the lights too. We ARE old!

bob, might be part of the reason we are trending towards fatness. I have answered a few prople in the grocery store who were standing next to me, but not talking to me. Mentally handicapped, we need a special parking space for THAT. :)

patches, come on up and help me rant. Frothing at the mouth is helpful.

kelly, the only safe thing is to stay at home and have the groceries and the wine delivered.

maggie, oh a revenge story! Most excellent. I'll remember that one.

ttq, we need some adult supervision. Is your husband available for all of society?

chani, i tried to be zen-like about it, but after a while i am just a pissed off bitch.

princess, oh feel free to add your rant. Ranters love company in the "ain't it awful" sweepstakes. Hummer drivers have tiny penes. It's a fact. (Yes, that really is a word. It's plural.)

sanjay, that's really over the top. Although i have heard it too. I try to make disgustinbg noises to be helpful.

sari said...

I think everyone needs a designated venting day!

luckyzmom said...

Amen!!!!

So, happy to hear someone say it. I make it a habit to take a stray cart that someone has left in the middle of the parking lot, sometimes when the place for them is just a car butt away, and I always park it in the designated area when I am done. I have taught others.

And I could comment similarly on all the other peeves.

My husband says, "Ooow, that person must really think that they are so special and needn't follow the rules like the rest of us."

Thanks for venting for me.