Pet Peeves

[Sorus]

Good luck. I knew I had a problem going in, but my usual plan-for-the-worst-case-scenario actually didn't cover a failed root canal and them wanting to put titanium screws into my jaw. Which sounds fun, but I can't even delegate any stress to that subject since my stress is all tied up in the fact that they won't even give me an estimate yet. And there's something wrong with that whole thing - the cost of dental work, the general uselessness of dental insurance (which I have, but it's next-to-useless). People using power tools on your face should be the stressful part, but that's always less scary than the bill.

[Avatar]

Always. I should be good, might need a filling, but I think (hope) that's it. And my dentist is really really good. Since I moved out of that area about 10 years ago, (more actually) I now drive 50km to see him rather than try to find one close to me that I like as much.

--A

[Sorus]

I agree that it is absolutely essential to have a good dentist. Half (or more) of my issues stem from going with the low bidder when I had my wisdom teeth out - (this in the dark ages before Google and Yelp and whatnot) - I ended up having an impacted wisdom tooth shatter as it was being removed, leaving enough shrapnel behind to haunt me for the rest of my life. (I signed a form that absolves him of any responsibility. Not many things in my life that I'd choose a do-over on, but that whole ordeal is pretty near the top of the list.)

Anyway, current dentist is awesome, which makes up for him not being convenient or cheap. He's also getting up there in years and I selfishly dread the idea of him eventually retiring. I imagine his practice will remain open, but it won't be the same.

[Avatar]

Yeah, I know that one...mine is probably also approaching retirement age. I have a back-up planned though. Also not convenient, but allegedly extremely good...he's the nephew of the massage therapist that work lays on for us.

--A

[Sorus]

The transit system here is once again whining about being broke. Coming home from work today I watched half the people at my station go through an emergency exit instead of the fare gate. A while back, they locked those doors, but someone complained, and the fire marshal put an end to it. Though it was amusing to watch people sheepishly bounce off the locked door for a day, it wouldn't have been amusing in an actual disaster. There isn't any point in putting an alarm on it - there's supposed to be one, but it doesn't stop anyone and they probably got tired of listening to it. I pay for my pass every month, and the cost went up significantly at the beginning of the year. I don't mind paying my share, but they need to do something about all the deadbeats.

[Avatar]

Probably not much can be done, other than spending more on security for enforcement...Which would probably make your pass even more expensive.

--A

[Sorus]

They have their own police, who are somewhat legendary for never being around. They're losing hundreds of dollars a minute out that door during peak commute hours. And it just keeps getting worse, because people who would (probably) normally pay keep seeing that no one else is, and that leads to the attitude of well, why should they pay?

They have the ability to enforce it. They have the ability to hand out tickets. But instead, they're sitting around and watching.

[Avatar]

Sounds like a good job.

--A

[Sorus]

Transit System Peeve #3762.2-B. They're going to be running holiday hours on Monday because it's Presidents' Day. Let's be realistic here - how many people don't have to work on Presidents' Day? Granted that my current job doesn't acknowledge any holidays, but I've never had a job where that was an actual holiday. Maybe if you work for the Post Office or such, but even my bank is open this year.

So I have to get to work before the trains start running. Which means I have to take the Stabby Bus. Which means getting up a minimum of an hour earlier and standing on a dark and dangerous corner in the rain for upwards of an hour because the posted schedules are always wrong. Or I could take a cab, which I'll end up doing anyway because either the bus won't ever come or it'll be too crowded to pick anyone up by the time it reaches my stop. Taking a cab is not in my budget. It would be more cost effective to call in sick and use some of the sick pay I never get to use, but obviously I'm not really going to do that.

There really isn't any point in stressing over it all weekend; the most logical thing to do would be to just accept that a cab is going to happen, and I might as well just skip getting up early to wait for the nonexistent Stabby Bus.


Rant, rant, rant.

[Avatar]

You make it sound funny, even though it's probably not to live through it...

--A

[Sorus]

It's just frustrating because they recently made a big deal about 'rewarding' people who commute at off-peak times, and now they're cutting corners and we're the ones getting screwed. They're removing seats from the cars to help deal with the commute jam because they can't accommodate the current level of ridership, but at the same time, they're saying they have no money and they need to raise fares and whatnot. Maybe they could start with doing more to ensure that people are paying their fares. And now my rant has gone around in a circle. Maybe they should hire me.

[Shuram Gudatetris]

"Stabby Bus" sounds like something from a nightmare

[Cord Hurn]

"Stabby Bus" sounds like something from a nightmare

Indeed!

[Sorus]

Oh, it is. Absolutely. There are two kinds of people who ride it - people who work weird hours, and tweakers looking for someone to rob to cover their next fix. There are never enough buses vs. passengers, so it's crowded. There isn't much you can do if the person next to you suddenly has a knife against your ribs. Especially with the knowledge that if the bus stops suddenly you're going to get stabbed whether they actually mean to or not. Paying for a cab is cheaper and less of a headache than having to deal with the DMV and whatnot when you have to replace everything in your wallet. I hate getting to work when the trains aren't running.

[Shuram Gudatetris]

So wait, is Stabby the slangy nickname of the bus service, or is it actually called that?

[Sorus]

It's the title that I have personally bestowed upon that particular bus line. They should officially adopt it, but it hasn't happened yet.

[Avatar]

Start a petition.

--A

[Sorus]

I probably could, but it'd be upstaged by the current viral video, which features a large rat riding the escalator at a train station. The punchline is that it's shocking to see a functional escalator.

[wayfriend]

(Worked really hard to make a "pet" peeve joke here. Failed.)

[Avatar]

My pet peeve is rapidly becoming people's absence.

--A