Things that make me crazy

Now there are some who would just say I am crazy without the need of outside influences.  This post is about pet peeves, little irritations in life.  Things that make me yell obscenities. 

Right now I am ticked off at me.  I nearly always wear an apron when cooking and eating at home.  I am just a little messy.  Well today, while wearing white, I forgot to wear an apron.  The juicy tomato on my sandwich dripped down the front of my shirt.  I am now trying to salvage my shirt so I can wear it tonight.

We have neighbors who have a deep sense of entitlement.  No more than two cars per apartment is the rule.  They have three that they just park where they want, behind their other cars, in front of their apartment which makes it hard to get through the cars to our space. Their guests park in illegal spots too.

Neighbors who put their trash in our cans rile me.  I am not just talking about the apartment complex people, the property next door has two houses and only have one set of cans.  So when their cans are full they put their trash in the cans in our complex.  We take it out of ours and put it on top of their cans.  Even if we have room, I don't want their garbage.  Most of these people don't separate compost, recycle, or landfill.  If it is wrong, the garbage company could give us grief.

And speaking of the garbage company, why do they start at 5:00 in the morning?  Why can't I ever live where there is an afternoon pickup?  Why every Tuesday do I have to be awakened at 5:00 hearing them go up the other side of the street and just as I fall asleep again, they come down our side.

My biggest pet peeve, incorrect grammar usage by people who should know better. You would think to be a TV or print reporter the correct use of the English language would be a requirement.  I know grammar is still taught.  We teach our first graders contractions, possessive, verb and pronoun tense, how to write a complete sentence. The reporters have no idea of what pronoun to use.  Last night a reporter said, "Them and her went to . . ."  In print your and you're, they're their and there are used incorrectly.  I want to get a big red pencil and go mark up what they have written.  I have just about given up on the correct usage of can and may.

I grew up in mountains of Kentucky and trust me they taught English.  From day one in the first grade you were corrected if you spoke or wrote incorrectly.  And this teaching went on until you graduated from high school.  I am betting 90% of the people in my high school class still could conjugate verbs and know which contractions or pronouns to use. Because if they use them incorrectly they know Mrs. Riddell and Mrs. Pope will rise from their graves and make them do it over and over until they get it right.




 

Again with the garbage truck

Last week the green waste truck skipped us. Our pick up is on Tuesdays.  We didn't know until Saturday they hadn't picked it up.  Marty did some yard work and saw the can was over half full.  Too late to call and complain.  He did his yard work, filled the can up and then filled a smaller one that is ours and not Waste Management.

Tuesday, pick up day, I hear the truck.  I look out later and the can is open and sitting full at the base of the steps to the street.  WTH???  I called the company.  "Your can is too heavy.  We tried to call last week to let you know, but the number we have is not a working number."  Too heavy? Not a working number?  Not as heavy as the recycling can, and that driver yanks that can up with ease every week. 

We were told no more than 65 pounds in the can.  That is nothing in the garbage world.  I told them we would get the can to the street and they then could use the mechanical arm to dump the can.  No, if it weighs too much the mechanical arm on the truck will snap off.  Really, I don't even  believe that.  We were told to dump their can and place the contents in other paper bags or cardboard boxes.  I told the clerk it is raining and that would not work.  I told her we would put it into smaller cans that we owned.  She then said there would be a charge for an extra pick up.  I threw a hissy fit on that one.  They did not tell us why they skipped us.  If they won't pick up they should notify us.  Finally she agreed to do a free "courtesy" pickup.

So Tuesday afternoon Marty and I dumped the contents onto a plastic sheet, gathered it up, and dumped it into another can.  Then we did that with another can. Green waste is yard waste and food scraps, bones, seafood shells, paper that has food on it. Trust me after two weeks, this was right up there with Dirty Jobs. Rubber gloves and a lot of gagging and we got the job done.

This morning they picked up the green waste.  And then the driver took the three cans back down to our yard. We have read all the info we have from Waste Management.  No where does it say limit 65 pounds.  If they want it that light, we should have two cans instead of one huge one.

Garbage truck update

Yesterday I ended the blog with, One more truck to go.  That was the recycling truck. I had given the office info over the phone Monday.  She promised they would start the yard service the next day. This was the can we really have trouble getting up to the street.  We had so much stuff to pick up.  I was worried.  We had so much it would be awful if they skipped us. We had 200 pounds in the can, and beside it, 8 grocery bags full, tied up cardboard strips, and lots of other stuff. 

The truck came up the hill.  I was ready to run out and flag him down. No need to.  The truck stopped, the driver came down the steps, and carried everything up the steps.  The system worked the first time.

Stayed tuned for next week.  Will the 2 trucks I flagged down stop next Tuesday?

DID YOU EVER CHASE DOWN THE GARBAGE TRUCKS?

Today is garbage day. And I have a long tale to tell. 

I decided to take advantage of the senior/medical disability service of our garbage companies. We live in the Oakland Hills and are downhill from the street. Even young people have trouble getting cans to the street.  The first flat spot to store our cans is down 12 steps from the street.  That would be 12 steps to drag the cans up when the cans are full.  We are the king and queen of recycling.  That can is huge and always weighs at least 150 -200 pounds. Poor Marty is killing himself dragging that up to the street.  And then there is the green waste can and the "what won't go in the others" can.

I called for info and they told me to fill out the form, get the doctor to sign it, and fax it in. They would even set up things with the recycling company which is a separate company.  I questioned that and she said it  would be taken care of.  Sounds easy doesn't it? 

There are no forms online, so they mailed it nearly a week later.  I had emailed my doctor about the problem of getting older and some things just get harder to do.  In less than 24 hours I had picked up his letter.  Man, I love Kaiser!  When we finally got the form, I filled it out and Marty faxed it to the garbage company.  Nearly a week later no news on when the service starts.  I called Friday, they hadn't received the fax.  We sent it again, requesting they call us when received.   No call. 

On Monday they called, fax received.  The service would start Tuesday (today).  I made a remark about how heavy the recycling is and she said, "You have to contact them.  We have nothing to do with recycling."  I threw a hissy fit.  The one can we had real trouble getting up the hill, and I have to start over.  They lost the first fax, they didn't contact me about service starting, they gave me the wrong info, and now no service for the recycling this week.  The clerk was rude, nothing was their fault and tried to hang up on me.  I out yelled her and got the information on who to contact at the other company.

I called the recycling company, no problem.  She took the info over the phone and said if  I faxed the form and doctor's letter; they would pick up on our day this week.  That would be today.

I couldn't sleep because of the heat, so I was up early for me.  I heard the garbage trucks coming up the hill.  They picked up next door, skipped me (no cans on the street), and picked up the next house.  Damn, all cans are full and with the heat the green waste is really stinky and has ants. 

I went out to talk to the drivers.  I was a vision of loveliness:  bed head, no makeup, my 12 year old dress length T shirt, and flip flops.  I didn't get there in time.  So I waited, they turn around at the corner and come downhill.  I waved at the first driver, he got in the truck and started driving, I stood there.  He stopped, I explained they were to pull the cans up.  He hadn't received word, no problem.  He would do it now.  The next driver, same thing.  YAY.

At 7:45 the garbage company called.  How was my second week of yard service going? Second week?  She had received the first fax and set everything up.  I told her I had to chase down the trucks, and all the stuff vented above.  She will take care of it.  We will see. 

One more truck to go.