Tuesday, February 10, 2009

A Gripe (or two, or four)

People who don't know how to walk on an indoor track
It's a 3 lane track. The sign says slow walkers/runners stay on the inside lane. People! Assume you are the slowest and move to the outer lanes to pass. Please don't meander down the middle of the track with your walking buddy, essentially taking up the entire track and making me break stride when I have to suck it in and press up against the wall to pass you. Come on! It's like freeway driving. There are slow lanes and passing lanes.

Oh, never mind.

Kids who come into my house and don't shut the door
I know I've got a super fun house and playful kids. I'm happy to have you here. Just SHUT THE DOOR for the love of Pete! I'm pretty sure this is the same rule in your house because as I drive up and down the street, I've noticed the doors to your homes are always closed. You need to close every door when you come in...garage, back, front...close them! Especially when it's, you know, FREEZING outside. Or when it's 102 and I've been running the AC just to keep the house at a balmy 80. CLOSE THE DOOR!

Extreme food and lifestyle choices and the people who push them
I agree that there are problems with transporting watermelons to my grocery store from Chile in January. It's creating issues with pollution and probably global warming but it's just not natural. Watermelons are for July. OK? They taste better in July. It makes sense to wait. Additionally, I admire you for your choice to eat only local foods grown in season. YAY! You are amazing. I don't know how you do it...especially in January when there is pretty much nothing growing unless you live in Southern California.

But you do realize that not everyone has the luxury of living on 20 acres and spending the time when most people have to go to work tending heritage turkeys and heirloom tomatoes, don't you? Or gathering wild morels for crying out loud.

Some of us have microscopic yards and CC&R's that prohibit livestock.

And yes, I realize that buying from Farmer's Market only seems more expensive; that the real cost is in the damage we are doing to the world by perpetuating genetically modified plants and bringing hard, unripe, flavorless food thousands of miles to sit on a shelf for 5 days. But not all of us get a royalty check every month supplementing our household income so we can pay $2 for a bunch of kale at the farmer's market instead of 50 cents a bunch in the store. (Not that I'd eat kale in the first place.)

A shortage of heart shaped Valentine Jr. Mints
Just can't find them anywhere. They are even better than regular Jr. Mints, if that can be possible.

And while I'm on the subject of Valentines, I really miss the valentines that used to come with cute little white envelopes. You know, the ones you'd get for people in your class? Now you just fold over a teeny tiny little piece of card stock which is expected to hold together with a miniature heart sticker. Whatever.

6 comments:

Erika said...

Totally agree with you on the valentine envelopes! I was so disappointed when I found out years ago that they didn't make them that way anymore! What a rip! They were so cute. And the door thing...AMEN! My kids are even known to leave the car doors open too, along with the bathroom door! What are they thinking? And I have yet to try some kale. I found a yummy looking soup recipe that calls for kale that I was thinking of trying, maybe.

megan said...

You are too funny! I was also thinking the same thing about the envelope thing. My girls now fold them and put some heart sticker on it to keep it closed AND the stickers don't even keep it close.

Also, about these heart shaped Junior Mints. I haven't found them anywhere! Maybe it a west thing. Bummer.

Marah said...

Cranky about your book, huh? Hope to see you Thursday night!

I went to Dollar Tree and got the little packages of candy, and my kids just wrote their name on the package. I was thinking that I was so clever because it was an easy way to go, rather than taping a piece of candy to a piece of cardboard. It wasn't until this morning that I thought, it used to just be white envelopes and no candy--what happened there?

Debbie said...

I have never seen heart shaped junior mints!!! I bet they are amazing! I wish I could try them! If you can't find them there then there is absolutely no hope for me! I did FINNALLY find peanut butter cups (real ones) from Candy Empire here! They had them special for valentines day! I bought six packs of 3 each! Good then they freeze well!

As always, thanks for the laughs today! I especially like..."when I drive down the street I notice the doors are closed"!!! :)

Debbie said...

Greg and I have been talking about doing a gripe post for awhile...or maybe a top 5 things that bug us about singapore...

One of those would definetly be slow walkers! Everywhere you go everyone walks SO SLOWLY!!! I've never been in a big city where people walk slow...it drives me absolutely CRAZY!

Gwen said...

I hear you on the indoor track. BYU has an indoor track that I have started running at and it is five lanes but sometimes I have to create a sixth lane in the "industrial aile - please don't run" because the walkers think they are sprinters.
Haha you are so funny.