Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Whine Wednesday

This is a mom’s nightmare first thing in the morning:

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When you see this, you know the freezer in your garage has been open all night because someone got a late night Drumstick and didn’t put the box away correctly.

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Who puts a box away like that? I’ll tell you who. Hashtag: 14 year old in a hurry to lay on the couch and watch TV. That’s who.

While I am whining, I have another little beef to share. And, I’m not talking filet mignon. It’s about coffee shop etiquette. I bring this up because this has happened to me about three times over the past week and I want to know what you think.

The person in front of me in line at the coffee shop has several drink orders on sticky notes (probably from his/her office). No big deal. The problem for me becomes when each drink order is its own transaction. Yes, each is paid for separately with either cash or credit card, and there are usually 4-5 different drinks. This is the equivalent to four or five people ahead of me in line, when in fact, there is only one person ahead of me in line. I know this is petty, but I do think it’s kind of inconsiderate. Why not get cash from everyone and pay in one lump sum? I don’t think it’s fair to everyone else in line. Yes another FWP for sure.

The good news is that Joie and I got in an fabulous 6 mile trial run this morning out at one of our favorite ugly spots: Picture Rock.

This week is a taper-ish kind of week for the Denver Rock and Roll Half on Saturday. Today’s run was the perfect way to get in a good workout, but not kill myself. It was also the perfect way to take in some stunning views and forget about all of my defrosted food at home. I’m running with Team Refuel on Saturday, so I tried out my new Refuel shirt because you know the saying, “Nothing new on race day.”

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I am just slightly excited that Refuel provides its runners with a VIP hospitality lounge with stuff like private bathrooms (WHAT? I’d have a boner if that was possible) and pre/post race food and hydration.

Just to be a rebel one time I might run a race with everything new. New shoes, socks, shorts, shirt, sports bra. And, I will also eat all new foods and drink. It will be my own little experiment. I will probably crash and burn with all sorts of chafing and sharting, but it will make for a good story!

Anything you’d like to whine about today?

Do your kids ever do asinine and clueless things? Tell me one. 

What do you think of multiple transactions on the coffee shop line?

Ever try something new on race day and have it backfire in your face?

SUAR

60 comments:

  1. Multiple transactions isn't a problem for me (coffee shops in Sydney are generally really busy so I don't think the cashier would tolerate that). But my gripe is coffee shops that don't have a system. I like places that either know you by name or give you a number or write your name on the lid. Shouting out "skim latte" out to a crowd of people waiting for their coffee doesn't help when there are about 10 people who ordered the same thing. Like, who's skim latte is it anyway??

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  2. Ok, confession time. Please don't hate me, but I am that person in line. When I go on a Starbucks run, I always ask people at work if they want anything. At least 5 people always say YES and they all hand me cards. Many of them have gold cards and want their points (myself included) and nobody EVER gives me cash. I always feel like a total jerk when I am ordering. The baristas seem unphased but I refuse to even look at the person behind me. I would let others go ahead, but the line never stops coming. Okay there. I got it off my chest! Please don't hate me.

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    1. Oh it's okay b/c it's you and I like you...seriously, I get why it happens, it's just frustrating! I did see where Starbucks is starting this incentive thing for people who get the coffee for friends. If you order four, you get one free! So you are right, they are unphased.

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  3. As a former barista, I want to punch those people as much as you do... and it's way worse in the drive thru!
    Can I whine about trying to rest? Ran my first marathon last Saturday, and I know I need to give my body a bit of a rest, but I think I've reached my breaking point. I'm running tomorrow... that is, if I don't end up running yet tonight.
    I don't have kids, but I have a husband who gets home from work and often leaves food packages open on the counter allll night. Which pisses me off worst when it's either the bread or the milk. I don't function without copious amounts of milk every morning, so ruining the gallon ruins my whole day.

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  4. Not so much the coffee shops around here, but the Subway? That pisses me off. Multiple orders, all those toppings, 10 people in line behind the multiple order guy AND all separate transactions? Confuses the poor Subway people to no end.

    My husband does more asinine things than the child. (Why is there just a swallow of milk left in the jug? No, I didn't need it for my coffee.)

    I have a ritual for races - clothes MUST be laid out the night before, I have to eat the SAME meal (oatmeal w/banana), and I MUST wear my lucky socks. So, no new stuff here. Can't jinx it.

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    1. Subway is infuriating. The people who wait in line and then when it's their turn have to contemplate what they want. REALLY - it's Subway. You didn't know when you walked in that you wanted turkey? And if you didn't know when you walked in, have you not had enough time while waiting in line for the dude who is ordering 14 sandwiches to decide?!?!?!?

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    2. i heard someone say their husband/kids did that thing with only leaving a drop of milk left so the wife/mom would know she needed to get more at the store. how about no?

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  5. My whine today is when I taped the arch on my right foot yesterday I obviously didn't clean my feet off well enough... and taped a teeny tiny minuscule piece of sand that got trapped against my foot, but resulted in a huge blister. So today ended up being a swimming only day. I don't have kids but I have two nieces and a nephew, and the complaint about them is the amount of food they waste is staggering to me, they may as well leave a freezer door open on a daily basis. Plus they were super whiney and bratty today, and of course it was a short day so they were over for a lot longer.

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  6. I will whine about the a@#hole I hate to work with! My son did drink a very expensive bottle of my champagne once while he was in 10th grade. Told me it was horrible so I'd be less mad!!! Turns out, it was great.Totally want to mace the person with multiple transactions at Starbucks and Subway. I have had many malfunctions that resulted in chafing and nearly sharting due to wearing new clothes or eating new foods. I usually only make these foolish mistakes before half marathons rather than a more reasonable 5k.

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  7. My husband's key move is to go out with his "bros" and come home wasted and hungry. On his late night binge eating mission, he will drunkenly LEAVE THE STUPID THING OPEN. It's happened three times in the one year we've been married. The last time it happened, I hauled his hungover butt out of bed and made HIM throw out all the spoiled food.

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  8. I ALWAYS do something new on race day. I have a HIM on Sunday. Will be wearing a trisuit I have never seen (let alone tried on, someone is muling it down for me), a saddle I've used 3 times and nutrition I've never tried before (adding coffee to my Perpeteum). Prolly other new stuff too like electrolyte fizzy tablets if I can buy some. :) Just the way I roll. Always something new race day. Hasn't failed me yet, from 10Ks to IMs.

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  9. OMG you have no idea! My son left the freezer door open just like that BEFORE WE LEFT FOR A WEEK LONG VACATION!!!! YES!!! you read that right! Puddle, Water, Rot, Stench...you name it! Was HELL cleaning all that up!

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  10. I have 5 kids, 4 are boys (yes, God has a sense of humor).Besides leaving the milk out (I don't care cuz I don't drink it) my pet peeve is dirty clothes laying around. I get revenge by folding or hanging the dirty items back up. When they put them on to go to school and complain they're dirty, I just say I thought they were clean since they weren't in the hamper

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  11. I really hate multiple transactions anywhere. It often happens to me that I see the only line with one person in it, I get excited and hopeful because I am always rushing somewhere, and then, yes, the person in front of me decides to pay for each item seperately. Sigh.. Oh, and while we are on the subject of stores I HATE buying clothes and having the assistant scrunch them up and throw them in a bag, and thats if you get a bag at all these days, but that's another gripe. I used to work in a clothing store and we had to learn how to fold items properly. I suppose its my fault for not shopping in upscale designer boutiques, I bet they fold your clothes properly, and wrap them in tissue paper!
    I also have a teenager - boy, 16 years. He is much less trouble than my husband! Husbands worst habit is that if he has a chocolate bar with his coffee he puts the wrapper in hs coffee cup. He also does this with apple cores and orange peel. I wouldn't mind so much but he often forgets to put it in the dishwasher. Is this a FWP?
    Race day mishaps - nothing happened to me yet, but husband once unpacked his suitcase on race day morning and realised he had forgotten his running shorts and socks!

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  12. My whine for today....I'm at a meeting and someone is typing on their iPad the whole time with the keyboard on, so all I hear is click, click, click and then on the 4 hour drive home, I can not believe the peeps driving in the left hand lane....REALLY?! Drives me nuts!

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  13. Shin splints and I refuse to spend my money on coffee that is free at the office, especially when they spring for the good stuff! :-)

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  14. I hate multiple transaction people even tho, on occasion, i am that person (but not when it's busy). Usually that happens at a craft store when i need a separate receipt for brownies to reimburse me.

    I wore a new running skirt for a 5k. Learned my lesson with chafed inner thighs.

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  15. I'm not the bulk purchaser at Starbucks - way too self absorbed to offer to fetch coffee for others - haha - but your rant reminds me of the time my daughter was the Starbucks challenge. Imagine 36 4th grade girls on a 3-day tour of Boston. 12 moms, one school teacher. Hotel in the city. Breakfast is in the food court of the office building across the street. By day 3, when the baristas saw the 6+ girls who had to have a vanilla bean frappacino for breakfast, they'd just pull out the blender and ask "how many?" Those poor regulars who were behind the girls on those days!

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  16. My whine today is that while feeling like dog do after my 20 miler, and knowing I needed rest-I decided to make dinner DURING the week...after an hour commute each way to work and back, this can be a feat in itself...well, DH and kiddos decided they didn't "like" the yogurt sauce I made for the chicken...REALLY? I threw my hands up and locked myself in the bathroom to un"whind" in a hot shower. Bah!

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  17. I'm sorry, but if I leave the kitchen sink clean and shiny, my kid (14)ALWAYS comes right in with a dirty dish from her room. WHY??!??!?!!?!?!! Grumble grumble grumble... grrrrrr...

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    1. At least she takes the dirty dish from her room. My 16 year old leaves all his dishes, containers, wrappers, etc. by the computer station! My husband just grumbled about being anxious for him to leave the house.

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  18. No whine today...and that is so hard to believe! Good run today, a few no shows made my clinic schedule nice and light...and I have the day off because we are going to the Cubs game.

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    1. Day off tomorrow, I meant to say. Ok, a quick whine and FWP...it is so hard to type sentences on the iPad!

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  20. I don't have children, but I teach elementary music. Last week I had a 2nd grader ask me about harmonicas while I was teaching the kids about the brass family. "No, the harmonica is not a member of the brass family."

    I moved on with my lesson. FIVE MORE TIMES, the kid asked about harmonicas--this had NOTHING to do with my lesson. I finally stopped teaching, looked right at him and said, "No. More. Harmonicas."

    Yes, kids do weird things.

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    1. I teach 2nd grade and this cracked me up!! This is every single day or me!! Hahaha. Totally unrelated stuff. No clue.

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  21. A VIP lounge? That's a pretty sweet deal! Also, I'm loving this Whine Wednesday!

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  22. I don't like it when strangers want to chit chat with me while I'm reading your blog at the coffee shop!!!! I don't know you. Quit talking to me.
    shilohstaste.com

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  23. My whine for the day is that I went to exchange a birthday gift, and the boutique owner talked me into buying jeans a size up (because that's all she had in stock) and now poor me, I have loose pants. I knew I should stick to my size.

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  24. Once, when I was in high school, I left an outdoor freezer containing about 15 frozen turkeys open (we raised the turkeys, then slaughtered them--that's why we had so many). It was at least a week before my mom discovered it. We had to throw the freezer away. You've never seen such maggots.

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  25. I spent all day at the ER with my mom, who got to go home, so I don't have much to whine about besides being exhausted.

    As for the coffee thing, I can't stand people who queue up for a super complicated and pretentious drink order that involves multiple syrups, alternative supplemental dairy products and requests for a certain temperature and multiple cups. Espresso drinks should contain espresso and possibly milk. If you can't handle the taste without a ton of shit in it, you need a new beverage or a new coffeeshop.

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  26. Funny comments here.
    I don't have kids, but my partner does plenty of asinine things! Where to begin... Like most men, he's very messy. He's also absentminded. He once threw away his wallet in our trash bin outside (he was carrying a subway wrapper and his wallet, and threw away both), after he searched for an hour and finally asked for me help, I recovered his wallet in two minutes flat.
    He will also do things like leave the milk in the pantry all day, and the cereal box in the fridge. That only seems to happen when he uses a brand new carton of milk, so that he wastes the maximum amount!

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  27. Anything you’d like to whine about today? yes please...I am over the HEAT.

    Do your kids ever do asinine and clueless things? Tell me one. They used the towel bar as a monkey bar....result hole in the wall...and they did not bother to tell anyone..waited for me to see it...of course...

    What do you think of multiple transactions on the coffee shop line? not a fan of that at all....split the bill at the office

    Ever try something new on race day and have it backfire in your face? yep...socks that were too thick...ended up with 4 huge blisters

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  28. You look stunning in that top...

    Sorry about the freezer, but I would have thought it would have iced up been left open?

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  29. I swear, so far, every race day I have ended up doing 'something new' despite all of the wisdom I know not to do so. Apparently race day makes me think that I don't know how to run anymore and should cart along my entire gear collection of everything I own in case I might need something.

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  30. I don't mind the one person with multiple transactions so much as I mind the people who get to the front of the line and don't know what the hell they want. Stand aside and look at the menu board so that you don't get up to the front and stand there going "ummm, let's see...." while fifteen people in line behind you know exactly what they want. Or if you're at a fancy ice cream shop on a hot night at the beach, when there's a line out the door that is not the time to ask for ten different samples!



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  31. Mmm those drumsticks look good! Maybe not now that they are defrosted. :(

    I would be super annoyed with the multiple payments for a few coffees. I mean, come on. Can they not just take turns buying?? Or like you said, get cash from everyone. Does it need to be accurate to the penny? Sheesh.

    Nice looking top! Have fun with the team at RnR!

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  32. My whining almost always has to do with terrible drivers; the ones who don't use blinkers, can speed ahead of you only to drive slower than you, drive 50 mph on the freeway and then keep going 50 when you hit the 30 mph limit in town, etc. Personally, I think people should be retested periodically and I'd be happy to take a job deciding who keeps their license and who doesn't!

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  33. It's annoying when I go inside and that happens (but I chalk it up to the risk of actually going IN to Sbux) but the real kicker is when people do that in the DRIVE THRU! Ugh!! I am in the drive thru b/c I am in a hurry and I don't really want to sit behind one car that orders 5 venti super custom drinks and then..."so what kind of pastries do you have today?" Ahhhh!!!!!!! GO INSIDE!!! And yes, that has really happened on multiple occasions.

    When I ran RnR Nashville Half last year it was only a couple days after the devastating tornadoes came through Tuscaloosa/Birmingham/Alabama. Pretty much everyone was without power for days, including me. No power = no ability to do laundry and where do you think my preferred running clothes were? So what does one do? Go to the store and buy a new (first time ever) running skirt, tank and sports bra! Only thing not new on race day was shoes and socks. And I was also slightly under-trained b/c my friend and I had decided to run together just the week prior. Luckily no major issues and not even a PW! We did so many things "against the rules" on that race that it wasn't even funny.

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  34. Yay!! Rock it on Saturday! Love the shirt.
    Well.....whining.

    A text I got this morning from a church "friend" saying......

    That grand canyon run you are doing next month....I hope you've training hard for it or it will eat you alive. Good luck!"

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    1. yeah, maybe she needs to look at your trianing log and shut up.

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  35. Whine it is, when the kids don't flush!! My 12 year old is the worst!!

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    1. Whine for me is not only when they don't flush, but could you try to hit the bowl?
      My men (partner and child) both think the seat is the place to go. I told the partner that he keeps telling me how big it is, dunk that bad boy right in the water! By the way, it's not. But the 7 yr old is learning the ways of the father, and they are ratting each other out. My rule now is you spill it, you clean it.

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  36. There need to be two lines at the coffee shop, kinda like the 10 items or less thing at the grocery store: 1)straightforward orders, one transaction; 2)special requests that have to be repeated 3 times, multiple transactions, coupons, food orders, ditherers, menu-readers, people on their cell phones. FWP solved!!!

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  37. Our school cross country fundraiser was last night and is a 5K and 1 mile fun run. Both my kids are on the XC team (high and middle schoolers). Somehow my middle school son made it home from the run without his shoes...the only shoes he had with him. WTH???

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  38. I like Alison's solution--I do get annoyed at the multiple, usually complicated orders all paid separately. If you're going to do multiple orders, PAY FOR THEM ALL TOGETHER and split the bill. If the points are that important to you, go yourself! Totally FWP. My whine is the people who do not signal (ever!) when changing lanes or turning--or else leave their blinkers on when they're done. Oh, and I do something new at almost every race: I usually wear the race shirt, although I do try it on and check for potential chafing problems before committing to wear it. No problems so far!

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  39. My son peed on the toilet so he wouldn't have to flush. Ya. I said that right.

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  40. My FWP of the day is that my mascara, which is supposed to be waterproof, isn't. Hmph. Can you say racoon?

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  41. I think I've only been to Starbuck's once - I live in the boonies - so I can't say that I would notice that being a problem.

    Kid things? I've got 4 kids, so I could probably fill a book. We'll start with 5 minutes ago: My 3-year-old wanted to clean the windows, so she used the de-tangler spray. Which is basically oil. Yeah. And 2 days ago, right before we were walking out the door for xc practice, my 7-year-old pooped. And flushed. And it didn't go down. And we left. My husband and daughters were home in the basement while The Daddy was working out - and on the way to practice I get a call that water is pouring out of the basement light fixtures. {SIGH}.

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  43. My two friends cancelled a lunch date (to celebrate their September birthdays) with me because their husbands "just decided" that they are going to take them out for dinner and my friends don't want to eat two meals out on the same day...WHAT?!?!?!?

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  44. I have a huge gripe today! I almost got run off the road by a car while running, in my own neighborhood, this morning! I was running on the very side of the road, hugging the curb (no sidewalks) and some beyotch, swung a turn exceptionally wide and came within centimeters of me.
    It was light out and I was wearing an orange shirt so I feel like she saw me and did it on purpose.
    I was really shook up and pissed about it. I'm considering sending out a mass email to my neighborhood (I'm the resident "spamer" for the civic assoc.) with the make & model of the car hoping the driver is from our neighborhood.

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  45. Yeah, sorry ... cash or nothing. Not only to be considerate to those in line behind you, but seriously, who's coworkers are like, "hey, thanks for going to get coffee, now you need to get separate tickets for each of us."

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  46. I would like to whine about my coworker that I sit next to...she has long fake plastic fingernails that make the most obnoxious sound when she types!! We need some sound proof keyboards up in here!!

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  47. My kids often left the freezer ajar. It drove me insane - especially when there's a decent amount of meat in there and you know you're not supposed to refreeze meat. Funnily enough though, none of us ever died from eating the refrozen meat so I'm starting to believe it's a hoax perpetrated by meat farmers everywhere.

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  48. Whine: My kid, bless his freakin heart, has got to be the clumsiest little dude alive. Drink glasses are like the china cabinets to his bull. How can one kid knock over so many damn drinks? At least he is big enough to clean it up himself now.
    The trail run looks fun and you look killer in your REFUEL shirt! Good Luck!

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  49. If it makes you feel any better, its super annoying to baristas when people order drinks like that. I've had someone order 16 (yes, 16!) drinks in the drive-thru. Not good.

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  50. I thought you would like to know that I tried to read the post following this one "I couldn't bare it" and I got a nice little note from my IT security team saying that that particular link was blocked due to "Adult Material". Apparently boob tubes, farting and tampons are fine, but whatever that post was about is not. This is what I get for being a week behind in my blog reading. Now I'll have to read it at home just to know what I am missing out on!

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