For those folks really bored, I found some things to offend/piss me off today

[The Straight Story]

I am not usually the type to be offended by much, but today I decided I wanted to be. So I spent some effort to examine events/signs/etc as my day unfolded:

1. A crosswalk near a school I was at had a neon green sign - on it was a 'person' carrying what seemed to be a purse and a small person in what one would guess is a dress (a triangular garment). Ummm... Hello? Men don't walk boys to school and cross the street? Then perhaps I thought I was just being silly, maybe it was a man they were depicting and his son, but the universal symbols I have seen on bathrooms implied otherwise. Can't they have something less sexist on signs?

2. I was getting some prescriptions filled and the person behind the counter said 'Have a nice day'. Well hell, what does that MEAN? For all she knows I am serial killer and to me a nice day means offing someone, was she condoning that? Why bother to say such a thing? Why do people have to say anything to you at all - just ring me up and shut up, I don't care if it is 'Merry christmas', 'Have a blessed day', or 'Have a nice day' it all means the same thing to me.

3. My daughter wanted to go out to eat for lunch, so we went in and sat down at skyline chili. In the door, turn left, then left again into a booth and there was a no smoking sign. And on the sign there was 'no smoking' in braille. How in the hell is a blind person even supposed to find the damned sign to touch in the first place?? Why not have it right there on the door or have an audio recording when you open the door? I didn't see braille menus or any other way for the visually impaired to even get to the counter - but somehow you are friendly to the handicapped because you have a sign they can't find?

4. 20mph in a school zone? Hell, I couldn't go that slow if I parked my car, put on the parking brake, ripped off the tires, hooked up a 100lb chain to my miniature dachshund and made him pull me through the zone. Who came up with that stuff anyway? Teach kids to use the cross walk (And we all know there is a religious reference there....) and to watch for traffic. Sheesh.

At any rate, I took time out of my day to find things to be pissed off and offended by (and I didn't even mention that most signs for businesses and streets were ONLY in English...Hello???).

So, what upset you today?

;)

[ZombieHorde]

1. A response.

A crosswalk near a school I was at had a neon green sign

You said it best: I was just being silly

'Have a nice day'

This is a set phrase used to make life easier, and it works.

'no smoking' in braille

Almost all signs of this ilk have braille on them to conform to disability laws.

20mph in a school zone?

It's 25mph in Montana, but 20mph is very easy to drive for people with at least average driving skills.

So, what upset you today?

I did not get upset today, I guess that I had a very good day.

[RufusTFirefly]

2. A suggested response to "Have a nice day!"

... is (not original with me):

"Thanks, but I have other plans."

One thing bothers me even more than "Have a nice day" and that's "Have a good one." A good what?! It's like a lazier version (if such a thing is possible) of the already painfully perfunctory "Have a nice day." It's as though the person has begun the traditional robotic salutation but just doesn't have enough energy or interest to bring it to completion. Talk about pathetic.

From time to time when someone tells me "Have a nice day," I actually attempt to take the boilerplate message to heart. I respond as though I'm truly touched by the sentiment behind the wish and answer with an oh-so-pleasantly-surprised, "Gosh!.. Thanks!!" (as though someone has read my mind and bought me the gift I have secretly be dreaming of for much of my adult life.) But of course by then the underpaid, often unhappy clerk has already moved on and my presence is something even less than a memory.

[lib2DaBone]

4. "Have a Nice Day".. Outdated?

Somehow this phrase reminds me of times long ago. Very 70-ish. Sort of like the "Baby-on-Board" signs.. remember those? What was that all about? LOL And of course those signs degenerated into "Golfer-On-Board", Tennis Player on Board", etc, etc.

[RufusTFirefly]

7. I still hear it in a pretty cutting-edge town

But yes, the "Have a Nice Day" mantra probably dates back to the emergence of smiley buttons, which I first recall seeing in the late 1960s.

By the way, lib2DaBone, I recognize your sig line, but I know it as coming from Sinclair Lewis, not John Sinclair, whom I've never heard of.

[Contrary1]

3. Nothing bothered me much today.

But you really should slow down in a school zone. Some years ago, my daughter was walking home with her friend. The bus driver motioned for them to cross, and out of nowhere came a cadillac doing about 40.

Fortunately, my daughter was a couple steps behind her friend. Unfortunately, her friend was hit and thrown 40 feet. If she had landed on the concrete, instead of someone's yard, she probably would have been killed. As it was, she had to have surgery on her leg to repair the break, and wore a neck brace for a while.

The police around here don't mess around when it comes to school zones. If you get caught speeding, you pay a hefty fine. Five years ago, it was $175. for 1 to 10 miles over the limit, and it went up from there.

Dismiss what is not important. You'll feel a whole lot less pissed off.

[lonestarnot]

5. Lost a filling last week and had to have it filled today.

Dat was upsetting. Ick needles.

[Obamarama]

11. I had to call my dentist today to have him redo dental work he did 2 weeks ago!

This is my new dentist (old one retired), said I needed a filling replaced. No pain, no problems whatsoever, but hey...he's the dentist, so I guess if he says I need a filling replaced, I do.

It's been two weeks since he replaced the freakin' filling and I still have incredible pain with hot or cold food/drink items. I held out for two weeks thinking it would slowly subside. No such luck. Now it's almost FOUR WEEKS before I can get an appointment to get it looked at.

Not pleased. Not pleased AT ALL.

[lonestarnot]

12. Oh shit! Get another one! Fast before you loose your damn tooth!

I'm sorry.

[Ilsa]

6. Not only do I like 20mph in a school zone, I wish hands-on cell phone use

was prohibited in school zones. I've seen distracted mothers on phones drive like idiots on school property, nearly running over kids in their big cars because they couldn't get off the phone for five minutes to be safe with other peoples' kids around.

Special needs kids usually aren't walking to school, but they may be in the parking lot. Some are known to bolt (pry or bite an adult's hands off them) when the urge hits them. Safety first.

[karlschneider]

8. LOL! Well done, sadly it will pass 20,000 feet over some heads.

:D

[muffin1]

9. Ugh!

I really hate that "Have a blessed day" shit. I don't even know what that means.
Offended that Faux is still on the air.
Otherwise, a very good day - great convention, too!

[MiniMe]

10. What cracks me up is braille on the drive-through ATM machines

I never understood that.

[hatrack]

13. Oh, do I have one for YOU!!!

I went to the Price Chopper and what to my wondering eyes should appear above the Express Lane but the following:

"10 Items Or Less"

It's "10 Items Or FEWER!"

FEWER!!

"Would you like more or fewer sugar in your ice tea?"

"I thought Obama really got fewer bang for his buck than he could have with that speech."

AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!