Tag Archives: Pet Peeves

As the Stomach Turns – Pet Peeves 2023

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I have a love/hate relationship with several things lately and one of them is Facebook. This week FB reminded me that I needed to write my Pet Peeves blog. It has been three years since my last one. These are the things and happenings that make me want to shout “Fuck off!” This is the one time of year that I let loose and bitch, whine, and complain about any damn thing I choose. If you want to see past issues, you can click here, or here, or even here. Many of those are continuing issues, but this is the current list of additional things that make my head explode. Be forewarned, this post is always filled with foul language. If you are easily offended, you might want to move along.

Social Media

“Influencers”

Who are they trying to influence? I am all for sharing what I love (and despise) with everyone I know and opening a conversation about said topic, restaurant, product, recipe, or idea. No one pays me to rep their product on my socials and I don’t expect anything in return. If you are a paid rep, you are a brand ambassador. Do these “social media stars” really think they are influencing me? Fuck off!

Photo by Sund Shin On Unsplash
Photo by Sung Shin on Unsplash

Additionally, I really get pissed off when my experience is spoiled by “influencers”. It happened in Barcelona at Park Guell. A couple of bimbettes (not old enough to be full bimbos), commandeered the entire gorgeous, tiled staircase so they could get the “perfect shot”. This went on for more than 30 minutes, angrily shooing people out of their shot. Fuck off!

Recently we were at a pop-up event for a soon to be opening diner, and “influencers” were seated near us. In an attempt to get decent shots of the food, they were using lights so bright that we had to shield our eyes. Get a fucking Android and you don’t have to do that! Then they had the nerve to simper a lukewarm apology at us. “Oh, so sorry. We’re influencers and want to get a great shot for them.” The Hubs & I rolled our eyes at them and tried to ignore the glaring light. Fuck off!

“Brand Ambassadors”

For the last goddamned time, NO I do not want free product to be your “brand ambassador”! Brand reps are paid for promotion of a product. In cash. You know…it’s a JOB. If there is no financial compensation attached to your offer, kindly fuck off and leave me alone.

Trolls

Why in the world would you intentionally follow someone you completely disagree with? If you are trying to broaden your scope of knowledge, and really learn what the other has to say, that’s great. If you are there simply to start a flame war, belittle them, call names, or be disagreeable in general, you are a troll. Please go fuck off.

“Friend” Etiquette

Recently, I have noticed a spate of comments and threads where so called “friends” are correcting the OP*. In many cases the OP didn’t ask for opinions, but the “friends” feel they must weigh in and share why the OP is wrong. And they are doing this publicly, basically embarrassing the OP. If you are truly friends with that person IRL*, message them privately and share your concerns, don’t shame them in public. If you are more concerned with being correct than being a friend, you are a troll. See above and fuck off.

And Pop-Up Ads can just go Fuck Off!

Travel

Boarding Flights

  • It has been more than 20 years since 9-11. The protocols by the TSA have changed very little. Why can’t people figure this shit out?
  • Guess what? Crowding the gate because you think you can board earlier than your group doesn’t work. Get out of the way and fuck off.
  • Don’t try to board with group 2 when you are in group 6. They have your number; your ticket will be checked, and you will be kicked out of line. You will just hold up the line for everyone else.

Don’t crowd the baggage claim carousel. It will not make your bag come off the chute faster. You are just blocking everyone who is trying to get to the ones that are actually ON the damn belt.

Appointment Times

This particular pet peeve applies mostly to doctors’ offices. I know I need an appointment, so I make said appointment based on my schedule and available slots. If I don’t show up on time, the office can, and frequently does, charge a “no show” fee. But I am not supposed to get pissed off if the doctor is not on time. How the fuck is that fair? Guess what? My hairdresser, nail tech, lash tech, dog groomer, all require appointments and they run on time. And you know what else? If they are running late, they CALL ME and let me know. I wonder how the doc would feel if I started charging a late fee, or billing them for MY time while I am sitting in their waiting room?

To be fair, I know sometimes it is other patients’ fault that the doc is running late, but a courtesy call would be appreciated so I am not wasting my time. Also, OB/GYN are exempt from this rant – babies come on their own schedule and basically tell everyone, “Fuck off! I am coming!”

And Finally – Other People’s Kids

If you know me at all, you know that I frequently say, “I hate kids”. That’s not true. I like MY people’s kids. I like babies. I like teenagers. However, when it comes to other people’s kids, I get irritated. We recently went to a get-together at a brewery/restaurant. There were 46 – I counted – kids, many of whom were running around, being nuisances. Now, if they were being parented by the adults who brought them AT ALL, I wouldn’t have had an issue. If you insist on bringing your kids in public (and FTR you should), be sure to teach them how to behave properly. Wait. Maybe it isn’t the kids I can’t stand. Maybe it is their parents…yeah, that’s it.

*OP = Original Poster

*IRL = In Real Life

2020 – Pet Peeves – the Shit That’s Pissing Me Off

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Last year I skipped my pet peeves blog because I had nothing new to be pissed about.  It was the same old shit. If you want to see what some of my pet peeves are, you can click here and here for a taste. This is one of my favorite blogs to write because I don’t have to even pretend to be nice. Be forewarned, this is peppered with foul language. You are supposed to snicker, laugh, smirk, roll your eyes, and generally have a good time with this post.

Since I last posted the pet peeves blog, I have become a travel agent. As you read along, you’ll notice that some of my new pet peeves are travel related and others are still food or dining related.  Here we go…

Dining and Drinking

Reservations

A while back we had company in from out of town, I made a reservation at a butcher shop/eatery in the Summerlin area (notice I didn’t mention their name, but you Las Vegas locals can figure this out). We arrived a few minutes early and I expected to wait until our actual reservation time. We waited more than 30 minutes PAST our reservation time. What exactly is the fucking point of making a reservation if you are going to make me wait anyway? I understand the place was busy, and a short wait of a few minutes wouldn’t have put this on my pet peeves list. As a former server, I understand that you can’t make people leave. The part that REALLY pissed me off is that we weren’t even given an apology other than a halfhearted “Sorry. We’re really busy tonight,” from the hostess. (My response was “Yes, I expected that. That’s why I made a reservation.”) The manager never approached us or apologized, and we weren’t offered a complimentary glass of water, let alone a cocktail, while we waited. Needless to say, I haven’t been back there, have no plans to ever dine there again, but I will, and have, hit up the butcher shop.

Basic Etiquette

This one really chapped my ass last weekend. While at a bar celebrating a friend’s birthday, The Hubs and I left our perches at the bar (we arrived a little early and were able to snag bar stools) to go dance. Our drinks, my handbag, and a friend were left to “guard” our seats. A couple walked up to order from the bar and promptly sat in our seats. When told “someone is sitting there” they rolled their eyes at my friend and didn’t move when we returned until I gave her the death glare. To add insult to injury, the bitch swirled her drink with a swizzle stick and plopped said stick into The Hubs’ drink. Yes, really. The excellent bar staff saw this and replaced the beverage. If you are old enough to go into a bar, act like it isn’t your first time.

Travel

Other People’s Feet

I know travel can be stressful and uncomfortable, but seriously people leave your fucking shoes on! No one wants to see your nasty feet. Clipping toenails in public? C’mon! And give it a thought, the floors of the plane, airport, or wherever you are walking barefoot have had people walking with who-knows-what on the soles of their shoes. Rodeo time in Vegas? You can bet there is horse or cow shit that you are walking on with your bare feet.

Using My Seat

One of my biggest pet peeves right now since I have been flying a lot is the use of my seat. If you must get up, kindly use your damn armrests to heave your fat ass out of your seat. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, use the seat back in front of you. I have been woken from a dead sleep by the passenger behind me yanking my seat back and pulling my hair. I have nearly spilled my beverage down my front by someone grabbing my seat back and hauling their ass out of their seat. Also, for fuck’s sake don’t “man spread” yourself into my seat either.

Body Autonomy

Personal Space

Recently on a cruise (and I am finalizing that post as well), I had people literally shove me out of their way. Do not touch me if you don’t know me other than to shake my hand. Do not crowd up my back while in line or paying for something using my credit card.

Smoking Areas

This is one of my consistent pet peeves. I am a smoker. Don’t judge. If I am in a designated smoking area doing my thing, you can go fuck off.  Don’t come by waving your hands in front of your face making remarks about smoking. I could not possibly care less what you think if I am in a designated smoking area. If I am not s’posed to be smoking somewhere and you tell me politely, I will move. This goes for bars, casinos, sidewalks, anywhere outdoors, etc. If you are rude about it, I will tell you to fuck off and then move. And before the comments start rolling in, don’t lecture me on quitting. You aren’t my mother or my doctor (who have already lectured me ad nauseum on this topic).

Smiling

Don’t tell me I would be prettier if I smiled more. I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think of my looks. I have resting bitch face. Deal with it. Usually this happens to women and not to men. How would a man feel if I told him, “You’d be more handsome if you smiled more”?

And finally on this year’s list of pet peeves, Hand Washing

Wash your hands you filthy animal. I can’t tell you how many times I see women walk out of the rest room without washing their hands. The Hubs and the Offspring see men do it all the time. It makes me cautious about shaking people’s hands. If they didn’t wash up, and I shake a man’s hand it’s like I am touching their dick. There is a certain amount of “ick factor” about that. Wash your damn hands. That’s the best protection.

Of course these are my opinions and my pet peeves. Feel free to comment about yours! I’d love to hear them.

Pet Peeves – 2017 – AKA Shit That Pisses me Off

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Ah Facebook, you little darling you! I was reminded through the “Memories” pop up that it’s time for my annual Pet Peeves blog. You know, the one time of year that I bitch, whine, complain and use plenty of foul language. (Consider yourself warned if you are easily offended.) If I am going to be honest, it is probably my favorite blog of the year to write. Be prepared for foul language. I expect you to snicker, smirk, and comment on your own pet peeves. And BTW – if you like the piece, share it to make the world a better place for ME (kidding, not kidding). Share, comment, spread the love and if you aren’t subscribed, what the hell are you waiting for? It’s FREE, I don’t share your info and you only hear from me once a week.

Top of the Pet Peeves list – People who bicker over the check

If you are out to eat with friends, you are probably going to do it again, just split the check evenly; it will all come out in the wash eventually. Friend Lebette calls it a “combat split” and I love that phrase. To be honest, women are guilty of this more often than men. I have been on the receiving end of a check where a bottle of wine was ordered, I didn’t drink any (you all know that!) and still I kicked in an equal share. If you like these people well enough to dine with them, just split the fucking check! Caveat – if it’s a one-time thing, or a business lunch, ask for separate checks at the beginning of the meal so you don’t harass the wait staff.

My “Bar Fail” pet peeves are the same as last year. You can read them here. However, I have started to point out the lack of hooks under the bar as a “fail” to bartenders and managers that I personally know. Miraculously, hooks have appeared!

Step to the Side

Lack of Situational Awareness – For the record, we are all guilty of this every once in a while, especially if we have been imbibing. DO NOT stop at the bottom of the escalator blocking the traffic behind you from disembarking; step to the side. DO NOT stop in the middle of the walkway to have a conversation; step to the side. DO NOT crawl up my ass at the checkout, the ATM or anywhere frankly; give me arm’s length distance. DO “stand right, walk left” when on escalators and moving sidewalks.

People who use the handicap accessible stalls in the restroom when they don’t NEED it really piss me off. Friend Bailey is in a wheelchair and NEEDS that stall. Old broads with walkers NEED that stall. Be fucking grateful that you DON’T, and walk the extra couple of feet. If there is a lineup for the restroom, all bets are off. And it super-duper sends me into fucking orbit when I see kids do it. Their parents must be morons too. Mom always said, “You are fully able bodied, use the regular stall. I don’t care if the handicapped one is bigger!”

And while we are on the subject of restroom pet peeves– ladies, please keep in mind that a public restroom isn’t your personal vanity station. Do your fucking makeup at home. No one wants to look at your hair in the sink, watch you put on false eyelashes or do anything more than touch up your lipstick. Piss, wash your hands and get out of the damn way. Others are waiting (lack of situational awareness again) for you to move your ass. And for fuck’s sake, stop taking bathroom selfies! No one wants to see that shit either!

If you own a dog and walk it in a public place, pick up your dog’s shit! Please, for the rest of us that use that trail, sidewalk or park, be polite. No one wants to step in or smell that.

Corporate Greed

I REALLY despise that the casinos have started to charge for parking here in Vegas. It was always one of the coolest perks to living here. Even the valet at the Caesar’s mall is charging. Ok,let me get this straight – so I’m going to spend money in your establishment and you want me to pay to park my vehicle too? Fuck you! I will spend my money someplace else. I find this annoying in the extreme when I am staying at the fucking hotel for a staycation or a conference. I do not mind paying to park on the city streets with a meter (I do mind it when the meter doesn’t work and I get a ticket). It’s the consistent greed of big business that really yanks my chain. Aren’t the gamblers losing enough money to suit you? Now you want to put your hands twice into the pockets of locals dining at one of your restos or paying to see a show? Fuck you again. And Disney? Six Flags? You are on this shit list too!

If I am in a designated smoking area, do not ask me to put out my butt, move away from you or wave your hand in front of your face to move the smoke or affect a fake cough. YOU walked into this area knowing there would be smoking. And smokers, be respectful of non-smoking areas.

And a short list of pet peeves that needs no explanation:

  • Cheating spouses who blame their partner for their own running around.
  • Men who wear hats (other than a yarmulke) at the table.
  • Vegans who tell you that you suck because you eat animal products.
  • People who try to get me to eat at vegan restos. I am not their target demographic.
  • Fake food and food pretending to be something other than what it is. e.g. Cauliflower “rice”. Vegan “meat”.
  • Phony people.
  • Slut shaming.
  • Body image shaming.
  • Litterbugs.

Don’t be that person

And finally, I can’t stand drunk drivers. It’s fine to get drunk. It is fine to drive. Just don’t do them together. Recently a 16 year old lost his life on the way to school in my ‘hood because some ass was drunk at 6:30 in the morning. Don’t be that person. Call a cab or use Lyft or get a hotel room. All of them are cheaper than the alternative. You could be saving your own life AND the life of someone else.

 

 

 

Pet Peeves 2015

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Before we get into the meat of this – THANK YOU! It has been nearly 4 years since I began this blog, a passion project really, and I appreciate each and every click, like and share. If you are subscribed to this blog thank you twice! My goal this year is to double my readership, so if you love this, share it! If you hate it, share it twice <snicker>. And of course, follow along on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more bites.

I have been crabby and restless lately and it makes me want to write about being crabby and restless. The thing is when I am crabby my pet peeves come to the forefront and as I thought about it, I realized I hadn’t shared with all of you in a while the things that make my head explode. So here’s this year’s list. If I have shared any of them before it’s because they STILL piss me off. Be warned this post will be riddled with foul language.

  • Gentlemen – remove your fucking hat at the damn table unless it is a yarmulke. Few things annoy me more than seeing grown ass men wearing baseball caps, cowboy hats or the hipster trilby and fedora at the table. And while we are on the subject of hats, baseball hats are meant to keep the sun out of your eyes, if you are going to wear one, put the fucking bill in the FRONT where it belongs.
  • Ladies – wear shoes that are your size. No one wants to see you slip slopping out of your too high heels and busting your ass. Additionally I don’t want to see your heels and or toes hanging over the edges of your shoes. I REALLY can’t stand it when a celebrity on the red carpet has toes hanging out of her shoes. Fire your damn stylist woman because she isn’t doing her job.
  • I have been reading a LOT of other work online lately and all I can say is WOW! I know many bloggers write because it is their passion. A few write to placate their own egos and others because they have info of value to share. TIP: Use the spellchecker for Christ’s sake! It’s free! I have seen so many grammatical, spelling and punctuation fuck ups this week that my eyes were bleeding. I read one piece that had so many mistakes I had to stop reading and it was on a NEWS SOURCE. That asshat was PAID to write and it was a disaster. (If you find mistakes in here, post in the comments so I can fix them! I try really hard to keep my shit in line.)
  • While we are on the subject, use real words. I once read a blog post and the writer wrote at the completion of a recipe, and I shit you not, “Wala! It’s done!” Wala?  What the actual fuck is Wala? Did they mean voila? I write “sandWISH”. I hope the capitalization is a clue to everyone reading it that it is a chuckle worthy word and one of my own making, like Rachel Ray’s “sammies”. I usually will put an asterisk with a footnote for first time readers to clue them in.
  • If you don’t want the truth, don’t ask for it. I have been called brutally honest and I consider that a compliment. If you ask me for my opinion and I say, “Do you want the truth, or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?” chances are you aren’t going to be happy with me when I am done speaking.
  • I despise bars where I can’t smoke (don’t judge me). If I can’t light up with my beer, I am going to be irritated. THIS peeve is my biggest problem with the states of California and Washington.
  • And while we are on the subject, if I am allowed to smoke, empty my goddamn ash tray. AND bring it back. I recently had a cocktail waitress at a casino bar who took my ashtray when I asked for it be emptied (Moment of Truth – I should never have to ask for my water glass to be filled or my ashtray to be emptied) and then she was gone for 15 minutes. Where the hell was I s’posed to put my butts? On the carpet?
  • On the topic of bars, it aggravates me when there are no purse hooks under the bar. It’s almost as if they don’t want women to sit there. NO, I don’t want to hang my purse on the back of my chair where it might fall, get knocked off or get stolen (yes that happens). It’s even more aggravating when I am sitting on a true bar STOOL and there is no back to my seat.
  • And finally, I have a real problem with people who talk shit about others behind their backs. Be courageous. Do the right thing. Don’t say anything behind someone’s back that you wouldn’t say to their face if asked. Trust me, you’ll feel better.