Monday, March 1, 2010

A Pile of Stuff I Can't Stand

I've been having no luck making it to thrift stores lately. And when I do, I find nothing worth buying. It really is starting to feel like I'm going to have to wait until I can get to a small town to find good stuff. Even still, I'm not sure. My folks live in St. Catharines, a mid-sized town near Niagara Falls. The prices and selection aren't always terrific there either. Heck, they even have a silent auction at the Goodwill down the road from them. My dad has been known to bid on items there. I often see nostalgic Fisher-Price toys from my childhood, but I can't bring myself to get into an auction situation.

March is here and that can only mean that in two more months the weather will be mild enough in Toronto for yard sales to start up again.

Since I have no great finds to share, I thought I'd share some stuff I can't stand. Andy Rooney must be rolling in his grave.

  • Quick edit movies, TV shows, and commercials. It's style over substance that makes me want to grab a tri-pod and clobber the director. This style of editing is so early nineties NYPD Blue. Boring.
  • People who get on a bus, sit in front of you and start talking loudly on their cellphone.
  • The smugness of the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. How about leading our country instead of stalling parliament until you can get the opinion polls just where you like them? Stop phoning in your leadership. Go to fullsize image
  • Oprah, Dr. Phil, and that creepy Dr. Oz guy. I'm sure they all started out with honest intentions, but the sensational programming is too much to take, so I just don't watch these shows. Go to fullsize image
  • Medical studies that everyone starts changing their way of living for, only to have another medical study come out a few months later contradicting the findings. What ever happened to "eat a balanced diet and get some exercise?" Go to fullsize image
  • Being forced to listen to "easy rock" while waiting at the dentist's office. Go to fullsize image
  • People who have no sense of boundaries e.g. people who cannot pick up on your body language or tone of voice that it's time to go or get off the phone.
  • Clusters of people who stop at the top of escalators to talk, oblivious to the meat-packing conveyor belt of people trying to get off.
  • Celine Dion. We don't need to hear about your fertility woes. If you really had wanted to have another child, you would have made it a priority instead of playing Caesar's Palace for all those years for all those millions. Money talks... Go to fullsize image
  • Celebrities, politicians, and professional athletes who make fools of themselves and then hire damage control people to help them save face.
  • When you go out of your way to do something nice for someone and they don't have the courtesy to acknowledge it.
  • Discovering something really good and then it feels like everyone else discovers it and the magic is lost.
  • Being a person who's generally happy and then being interrogated on an off-day for not being cheerful.
  • Being forced to watch commercials before movies begin.
  • Seeing cool actors and musicians featured in magazines and then discovering that they've been "dressed" in $2,000 jeans. Go to fullsize image
  • Discovering that one of your favourite products has been discontinued.
  • Humorless celebrity chefs with massive egos. Go to fullsize image
  • Drivers who don't indicate before turning.
  • People you work with who create a competitive atmosphere rather than a collaborative environment.
  • People who snap at you for things that aren't your fault.
  • People who forget what it's like being young.
  • Those who belittle seniors.
  • E-Harmony dating commercials. I'm happily married and these gooey couples blathering on about how happy they are even make my bile stir. I'd hate to be a single person forced to sit through these. Hit the mute!
  • 10-minutes-of-fame useless celebrities such as Jersey Shore players. Go away!
  • Too much information culture of rehab rehash, etc.
  • When my cat crawls on my black pants just before I'm ready to leave for work.
  • Fruit flies. Go to fullsize image
  • Unsolicited advice. Today a colleague started lecturing me about drinking too much coffee. Go to fullsize image
  • Canned laughter.
  • Canned vegetables. Go to fullsize image
Ahh. I feel better now. I could go on, but I better not. What are the things you can't stand?

10 comments:

  1. I love all your fabulous photos!
    Well, maybe not so much the fruit flies, but most of the photos are great ;)
    Keep up the blogging!

    http://lambaround.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ya know what?

    I agree with every one of your points! And I feel much better now that you've expressed how I feel. Thanks.

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  3. I agree with your hit list too! Psssttt...next time u are headed St Cath way, drop by the thrift stores in Oakville(!) and Burlington, even Waterdown. There is a thrift store in Hamilton called Talize which is like a Value Village. Have found deals there before.

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  4. you know, Dr Phil is indeed a creep. He makes me ashamed to be from Texas. Oprah lost touch with real folks years ago when she recommended that we all rush out and bu a cashmere track suit for $150. If I had $150, I would probably spend it on groceries or the electric bill.

    Want to know what I REALLY hate: stupid girls who aren't really stupid but pretend to be stupid to fit in.

    I also hate the nanny state here in the UK. The gov't tells everyone what to do every moment of the day, regulates us to death, makes us feel bad for every choice we make, but then doesn't understand when folks cannot think for themselves.

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  5. That pisses me off! I just wrote a comment and the internet got cut off so I lost my comment!

    !"/$$%?&*(!!!

    I'm with you on a lot of those points! Here's another one: Collegues that have too much time on their hands and decide to spy on you and tell whatever they think they found to the boss!

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  6. I cannot turn Doctor Oz fast enough. ew.

    I hate music on blogs that just starts LOUDLY and scares the pee out of you. (not links but the Playlist that starts automaticlly)

    Husbands with colds. Wah wah wah. What a baby. Him, not me!

    Bluetooth users next to me in the produce aisle that are very quiet and they say, "I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN, MAN!" and start laughing, meanwhile scaring the crap out of me.

    TV commercials for rough scaly feet, pumps for your...well..you know and colon cleanse commercials. I do not need to know that the average human can hold up to 13 pounds of POOP in three days. I will never, ever get that out of my HEAD! Help me!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Okay - this

    People who have no sense of boundaries e.g. people who cannot pick up on your body language or tone of voice that it's time to go or get off the phone

    those people under any circumstance!! Holy moly - I was at a grocery store and one of them was my cashier....she was checking out this woman who must be 85 ahead of me and telling her about how her old boyfriend keeps calling cause "well, you know what he wants" and shes telling the 85 year old how he wants sex. and im cringing and so is the woman and all the lady says is....oh well, dont give him that, and shes trying to leave and tacky cashiers still going on.

    awful. just awful

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  8. Um... last I heard, isn't Andy Rooney still alive???

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  9. Sorry anonymous and Andy Rooney's family. He is indeed alive. I hope I haven'd jinxed him now. LOL
    Erin

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  10. Somebody needs spring, badly. Do NOT lose your sense of humor! (Not that I'm disagreeing with anything on your list you may have noticed.)

    ReplyDelete

About Me

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I'm a slightly off-beat Toronto-area teacher who enjoys writing and photography. I come from a family of collectors and now I'm dragging my own family around to yard sales. It's just a bit of fun. Enjoy the scenes.