Monday, August 17, 2015

Bones to pick

HoHo and Wendy started a new link-up entitled "That Time of the Month." It's a time for us to air our grievances and get those annoying little things off of our chest.


Here is a hodgepodge of things that are currently irking me to no end:

Construction-pa-looza
Summertime always means road construction, but this year seems to be exponentially worse than most years. I feel like I can barely walk two blocks without being slammed with road closures, gaping chasms in the asphalt/sidewalk, and seas of orange.


Garment stickage
I have a few sports bras that are a huge struggle to get off. They stick to me like they have been glued to my skin! It's a terrible feeling to be exhausted and sweaty post-workout while having to do the awkward contortionist dance. There have been moments that I thought I was going to fracture my shoulder blades.
I definitely put a premium on sports bras that are built for easier user interface, so to speak.

On a tangent - I completely agree with Marcia's thoughts on the removable pads that seem to multiply into oblivion.

Drawing the short lace
I have a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 18s that I like, save for the fact that the shoelaces are way too short. I don't want to replace the shoelaces since they really add to the design. But unless I experiment with lacing them up in some length-preserving method, I may have no choice.
Use it all
There are some folks at the gym who reserve every piece of equipment for themselves. Usually they "mark" things by leaving their towel, water bottle, or left shoe in every direction. It's very frustrating to see an empty machine that I need to use, only to find someone calling dibs for their circuit training.

I am fine being a peon, thank you 
Every time I go to Costco, I get a sales pitch at checkout to upgrade my membership. Telling them "No, thanks" doesn't work, either - they just keep pushing. Now I grit my teeth each time I approach the register.

Your turn. Please tell me what is irking you these days?

22 comments:

  1. The bra thing has become dangerous. I feel I'm dislocating my shoulder to get them off after a sweaty run. Funny, I have the opposite problem with Mizuno laces. Too long! Oh, and I completely agree. People should stop already with their upselling! It makes me NOT want to visit your establishment. Thanks so much for linking up with us!

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    1. YES!!! Dislocating your shoulder is the perfect way to describe the pain of trying to wriggle out of those darned sports bras. What kind of Mizunos do you wear? From what I've heard, the short shoelaces is only a problem with the Wave Rider 18s. And your remarks about the frustrations of being upsold triggered my frustration with Costco, haha. Thanks so much for sharing this link-up - I had a BLAST writing out some of the recent annoyances!!!

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  2. I agree about the construction. I could've gone ape-sh*t on a crew when I got back from vacation. I was trying to get Allie home before she got car sick, and well, I got stuck and she got car sick.

    I'm one of those people who don't care who reserves a weight machine. They're not supposed to reserve them and I'll use it because I need to.

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    1. Oh god - that is the worst when you are stuck in a car amidst road construction traffic, and you literally can't budge. Car sickness is awful, too. I am so sorry that you and Allie went through that!

      GOOD FOR YOU for taking a stand on the "reserved" weight machine!!! Even when the "reservers" tell you outright that they've got that machine, do you still stand firm and take it anyways!?!?!?

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  3. Haha, the sports bra comment made me laugh out loud. That is ALWAYS how I look after a run or tennis. And the construction does seem to be more drastic this year!

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    1. Glad that it isn't just me with the sports bra frustrations!!! When I'm in a locker room, I swear that I'm the only one doing the sports bra struggle and looking darned awkward at the same time!

      The construction is just madness. In downtown Chicago, some streets are down to a single lane! At some point it might make more sense just to close the streets entirely!!!

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  4. When I ran in Asics Cumulus 15s, I had SO much trouble with the shoe laces. I lace my shoes in a way that locks your heel in place (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IijQyX_YCKA - note that this has definitely never prevented blisters for me, as the state of what used to be my big toe and now is just one gigantic blister can attest to :P ), so I need fairly long laces to do that. I like to double knot my laces, too, and the laces on the Cumulus' could juuuuust barely handle it. I'm running in Nimbus' this year and fortunately their laces are much longer!

    Bethany @ Accidental Intentions

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    1. I've started doing the heel-lock lace-tie on a different pair of shoes that are a little loose on me, and it works wonders! But you are absolutely right - you need a decent amount of extra length to pull it off (literally and figuratively), so short laces are very frustrating. I wonder if the manufacturers did some cost analysis and determined that shaving off one inch per shoelace ends up saving some ridiculous amount of money? Who knows. I am glad that your Nimbus have longer laces that are much easier to work with!

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  5. Haha, these are great! I'm so over the road construction! My entire drive to work and all the alternates are under construction. It's awful.

    Thanks for linking up!!!

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    1. Oh god, I shudder to think about how much added time the construction is piling on to your daily commute. Blugh.

      Thanks so much for co-hosting this link-up - I really love the topic!!!!!! =D

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  6. "Garment stickage" sounds like a good theme for a Seinfeld episode! Thank goodness my neighborhood Aldi doesn't harass me at the checkout - well except for the people outside who ask me for 25 cent cart deposit when I return the cart to the corral! Oh yeah and the lady the other day who asked me for 63 cents when I was in the check-out line! :)

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    1. LOL, you are right - that would be a fantastic Seinfeld theme!!! Elaine would obviously be the culprit dealing with the stickage. Either that, or Jerry would be dating some woman with the stickage and it would freak him out!

      I have experienced similar harassment from the folks outside of Aldi! Or sometimes, they try to be more polite about it - they'll approaching me while I'm unloading my groceries into the car and say, "Can I return your cart for you?"

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    2. Yeah, they really want that quarter! Sometimes they creep up behind me at night and ask if they can help me load my groceries into my car. Scary times at the Aldi parking lot! :)

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    3. Yes, I've had that happen, too! We definitely have to be on high alert in the Aldi parking lot!!! Those quarters are like gold!!! =)

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  7. Thank you for linking to Marcia's rant about the stupid bra pad things. I HATE those!

    As for construction, I will not complain about it this year since they're no longer working all night directly below my bedroom window. But if they start up again you can bet you'll hear me complain!

    I get frustrated at the gym when people don't take the plates off their barbell and instead just walk away. Then you're left wondering, "Are they done? Are they not done?" Will they get mad if I start using the equipment?" I'd rather someone leave a towel so that I'm not standing there wondering.

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    1. Aren't those bra pads the worst? I've got a mountain of them in my dresser drawer and it keeps growing.

      Oh yeah, I forgot about how you had massive construction just outside your window for the longest time! It looks like they are making some visible progress on that Halsted bridge, at least. Can't wait for that to be over!

      Oh yes, that is very frustrating when people leave their plates on and then just walk away. It's annoying when people don't clean up after themselves, period!!!

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  8. I swear I've longed for one of those "I've fallen and can't get up" alert bracelets at times when I could not begin to get a sweaty sports bra off. They are lethal!

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    1. That is a fantastic idea!!! You may be on to something there!!! I can just see the TV informercial now. "BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE!!!" =)

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  9. I also struggle w taking sports bras off after a sweaty run. I finally bought some new ones that have the adjustments in the back so now I can unhook it before taking it off. So much easier than fighting w it.

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    1. YES on the ones that have hooks either in the front or back!!! What an ENORMOUS difference it makes!!! I am honestly surprised that there aren't more offerings out there with the hooks - you would think they would be very popular!!!

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  10. I am with you on the construction. Normally, I do not drive as much but it seems like everyone I go, there is some construction going on. So annoying!

    As for the shoelaces, have you tried Lock Laces? They're the best. Send me your address and I will send you a pair.

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    1. The construction downtown is the WORST. There are some streets, like Monroe, which are down to ONE lane. Are you kidding me? Even when they had three lanes, the traffic was god-awful. I can't imagine what it'd be like now. Ugh!!!

      I've never tried Lock Laces!!! Thank you so much for the generous offer, I will text you my address!!!

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