So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[vitanola]

Which reminds me, why haven't you moved here? Seems like all the rest of you states residents have! Wish they would all go back to civilization. Once you've tasted freedom, there's no going back!

Beautiful part of the country that you live in! Stunning, in fact. Great active Model T club to boot. Some of us just sort of prefer to grow where we were planted. Heck, with any luck I may be leaving my home of more than twenty years to return to my natal city so that I can better care for Mom and Dad, both of whom are (thank heaven) still with us, though they have recently weakened pretty substantially.

 

[Hercule]

Here's annoying: People who treat their apartment like a frat house. Some of us do have to work in the morning. I have no qualms about calling the authorities. I've lived here 8 years and have probably called at least 15 times. As the kids say, I ain't playin'.

Oh don't I know it! We live in a 3 apartment house and the girl who lives upstairs from us (landlord's niece unfortunately) is about 25 and has the maturity of a ten year old. We were VERY patient for the first couple of weeks (I could tell horror stories - mostly involving 3am) then it only took one phone call for things to quiet down considerably. But the door slamming continues. Don't you know, that's how you shut a door? The boy friend, oddly enough, is really sweet and has a few brain cells to him, though I'm beginning to think he's an absolute moron. They regularly argue and one Saturday night at 3am (after they came home from the bar) they had a really big blow out and she through him out - throwing his stuff out the door and everything. After an hour of tromping up and down the steps it was quiet until she started sobbing with him over the phone. Long story short, the next morning his car, jamb packed with his stuff was in the driveway. Unbelievable, he must be a new species of idiot. He had his chance to get away and blew it!!

 

[pawineguy]

As to people finding annoying the habits of drivers in their new locales ...

A large part of that might be attributed to being more comfortable with one's old surroundings and finding fault with the new. In Seattle, you had better stop for pedestrians, even those who have yet to step off the curb. It's just the habit there, which is reinforced by pretty stringent law enforcement. Yes, you will be cited for failure to yield there, and you will get yelled at by pedestrians for whom you do not yield. Do the same in Denver, and you might well get rear-ended. At the very least, you'll get puzzled looks from the pedestrians.

Oh, and they run red lights here. The default mode seems to be that if you enter the intersection on the yellow, it's okay.

And they block intersections, too. Frequently. And that ticks me off. It not only impedes traffic, it also slows emergency response. The rule: If you can't get all the way through an intersection, don't enter it.

It's all about understanding the local "customs". On the other end of the spectrum, 18 years ago I was in SoCal heading to the Orange County Courthouse to pick up my marriage license. My wife (who's from there and should have known better) and I looked up and down the street, which was perfectly straight with no cars visible for at least a half mile in each direction, although our light was RED. We stepped off the curb to cross the street and made it halfway across before a motorcycle officer appeared. He lit us up and instructed us to finish crossing. Got our IDs while telling us that was the dumbest thing he had seen all day. Looking at our CT licenses he asked what we were doing in Orange. We told him we were picking up our marriage license, and without cracking a smile or indicating he was joking in any manner, told us "well, that's the second dumb thing you're doing today." Handed us our IDs and got back on his motorcycle and rode off.

 

[tonyb]

Surely this has been mentioned before, seeing how I just can't believe I'm the only one who finds it so annoying ...

Please, please, please, Mr. or Ms. Green Apron, don't ask me to speak Italian. I'm just trying to get my caffeine fix in a suburban strip mall. It's a 12- or 16- or 20-ounce container, and that's what I'll call it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The only time in my life I was ever in a Starbucks I had never heard of the lingo they use, and ordered a small hot chocolate. "Tall?" "No, small." "Right, tall." "Small." This could have gone on all day until I pointed to the small cup and said "THAT ONE."

 

[2jakes]

The only time in my life I was ever in a Starbucks I had never heard of the lingo they use, and ordered a small hot chocolate. "Tall?" "No, small." "Right, tall." "Small." This could have gone on all day until I pointed to the small cup and said "THAT ONE."

Sorry you had to put up with the Starbucks lingo.

I’ve never been to a Starbucks. But If I do, I have taken precautions
and made a card so that there is no misunderstanding !

Hope the rest of the week goes better for you .

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I've lost count of the number of Starbucks within a few miles of my house. Two of which are just a ten minute walk.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Surely this has been mentioned before, seeing how I just can't believe I'm the only one who finds it so annoying ...

Please, please, please, Mr. or Ms. Green Apron, don't ask me to speak Italian. I'm just trying to get my caffeine fix in a suburban strip mall. It's a 12- or 16- or 20-ounce container, and that's what I'll call it.

As bad as that is, there are TWO sizes of "venti", one for hot (20 oz.) and one for iced (24 oz.). So when I order, I always say "a 20 oz. caramel macchiato". Then when the "barrista" asks, "Hot or cold?" I point out that there is only one 20 oz., and that's the hot one.

 

[Zombie_61]

On those rare occasions when I venture into a Starbucks, my order usually ends with me saying something to the effect of, "Listen kid, I don't care what you call it. Just pour some coffee into the largest cup you have, and let me pay for it so I can get out of here."

 

[Fading Fast]

My girlfriend and I try (and usually succeed) in avoiding Starbucks, but they are on every block in this city and sometimes they are just in the right place at the right time. And maybe my comments belong more in the "You Know You are Getting Old When..." thread, but I do feel like my Dad in there:

- Everything seems overpriced (growing up, everything was overpriced to him, since he still thought a candy bar should cost a nickel)
- The proper way to order seems too much effort to learn / seems too silly complicated (reminds me of my Dad in a record store - he never new any of the lingo, etc. and was out of place)
- I find myself thinking that this younger generation is a mess of immaturity (he always thought that about my generation)

Sigh.

 

[HudsonHawk]

- The proper way to order seems too much effort to learn / seems too silly complicated (reminds me of my Dad in a record store - he never new any of the lingo, etc. and was out of place)

I'm not sure I get the angst over ordering. Yeah, they call their small, medium and large "tall", "grande" and "venti", but other than that, you simply ask for a "tall coffee" or a "venti cappuccino". There's not much else to it. I suppose you can ask for any specialty you want, but it's not as if they don't understand when you just tell them you want a plain ol cup o joe.

 

[LizzieMaine]

What I don't get most of all is why anybody would want to drink twelve ounces of coffee in one sitting (or walking, as is more often the case.) What happened to the simple little 6 oz cup? Are people really in that much need of that much caffeine? Go to bed earlier.

 

[HudsonHawk]

What I don't get most of all is why anybody would want to drink twelve ounces of coffee in one sitting (or walking, as is more often the case.) What happened to the simple little 6 oz cup? Are people really in that much need of that much caffeine? Go to bed earlier.

I drink coffee because I like the taste of it, not because I'm in need of stimulation. I learned to drink it from my grandmother, who never drank less than a full pot in one sitting, though admittedly 6 oz at a time.

 

[tonyb]

Caffeine is quite habit-forming. I've been addicted since my early teens. (Thanks, Mom.) On those rare occasions when I go 24 hours without coffee, I get a headache.

The coffee pot (a percolator) was essentially always on when I was a kid. "Make a fresh pot of coffee, Ma," on some variation thereon, was heard as often as "How are you today?," or so it seemed. Seriously, the coffee pot was almost always on. If it was left undisturbed for two or three hours, the coffee therein turned bitter and had to be dumped out and a fresh pot made.

 

[LizzieMaine]

We were never a coffee-drinking household --Red Rose tea was the hot beverage of choice, and the best thing about that was the trading cards that came in the box. We did have a jar of Sanka on the table for my grandfather -- until his ulcer made him switch to "acid neutralized Kava."

Coffee always tastes like burnt pencils to me. Maybe because we have a coffee roastery in town here that, when operating, smells like a bonfire made out of burning pencils.

 

[Fading Fast]

I'm not sure I get the angst over ordering. Yeah, they call their small, medium and large "tall", "grande" and "venti", but other than that, you simply ask for a "tall coffee" or a "venti cappuccino". There's not much else to it. I suppose you can ask for any specialty you want, but it's not as if they don't understand when you just tell them you want a plain ol cup o joe.

For what I think was the first time this year, this weekend, we walked into a Starbucks to get an iced tea.

Me: A medium iced tea please

Counter guy: Black, Passion (or some word I didn't recognize)?

Me: Uh, what's kind of the most basic?

Counter guy: (vey nicely goes into a description of each tea and their taste differences)

Me: Passion sounds nice

Counter guy: Or would you like a lemonade iced tea - it's half and half

Me: No thank you, just the passion iced tea (proud that I now had the right name down)

Counter: and you wanted a grande?

Me: Yes (I quickly scanned the board and saw that it was a medium)

Counter guy: takes money, gives change and points me down to another area to wait for the tea. (I waited about 3 minutes)

The same experience at my local small market

Me: A medium iced tea please

Counter person: one second (fills cup with ice, pours in already cold tea, hands me tea and tells me the price, money is exchanged, and after a thank you and you're welcome, I walk out)

 

[HudsonHawk]

We were never a coffee-drinking household --Red Rose tea was the hot beverage of choice, and the best thing about that was the trading cards that came in the box. We did have a jar of Sanka on the table for my grandfather -- until his ulcer made him switch to "acid neutralized Kava."

Coffee always tastes like burnt pencils to me. Maybe because we have a coffee roastery in town here that, when operating, smells like a bonfire made out of burning pencils.

My father worked for Maxwell House (good to the last drop) for many years, and would come home smelling like roasting coffee. I always liked the smell, and so did the cat, who insisted on sleeping on his work clothes.

 

[HudsonHawk]

For what I think was the first time this year, this weekend, we walked into a Starbucks to get an iced tea.

Me: A medium iced tea please

Counter guy: Black, Passion (or some word I didn't recognize)?

Me: Uh, what's kind of the most basic?

Counter guy: (vey nicely goes into a description of each tea and their taste differences)

Me: Passion sounds nice

Counter guy: Or would you like a lemonade iced tea - it's half and half

Me: No thank you, just the passion iced tea (proud that I now had the right name down)

Counter: and you wanted a grande?

Me: Yes (I quickly scanned the board and saw that it was a medium)

Counter guy: takes money, gives change and points me down to another area to wait for the tea. (I waited about 3 minutes)

The same experience at my local small market

Me: A medium iced tea please

Counter person: one second (fills cup with ice, pours in already cold tea, hands me tea and tells me the price, money is exchanged, and after a thank you and you're welcome, I walk out)

But people don't go to Starbucks to get a generic cup of iced tea in a foam cup. That's not their target. It's like going into a pub that advertises 137 different beers on tap and wondering why they fool around with all that nonsense and don't simply serve Schlitz in a plastic cup. That's just not the kind of place it is.

 

[2jakes]

I enjoy the aroma of home brewed coffee in the early mornings when it’s cold more than the taste.
But at times I will take a sip when I’m having “Huevos Rancheros” with flour tortillas.
I prefer hot cocoa !

And a small 6 oz. cup of orange juice at the airport is $5.

 

[LizzieMaine]

But people don't go to Starbucks to get a generic cup of iced tea in a foam cup. That's not their target. It's like going into a pub that advertises 137 different beers on tap and wondering why they fool around with all that nonsense and don't simply serve Schlitz in a plastic cup. That's just not the kind of place it is.

I love going into places that advertise 900 flavors of ice cream and pondering the board for a long time and then finally saying "I think I'll have a small vanilla."