matthewschwarz.com

Yes, it’s been forever since I’ve written a blog post.  In truth, I bought matthewschwarz.com because it was available (mattschwarz.com has been occupied for years with the same picture of some creepy German guys), and set up this blog having no real purpose and no idea what to write about.  So now, for the second time in about 6 posts, I find myself talking about my pet peeves.

First off, we have another instance of the so-called “first since” fallacy (I like “first since fallacy” better than the ”hasn’t since exaggeration” that I called it in my entry about the Olympics not coming to Philadelphia.)  It reared its ugly head again in this article about the A’s winning the AL West.  It’s their first AL West title since 2003! Wow, really? So they didn’t win it last year OR the year before?  What a cold streak!  Let’s see, there are 4 teams in the AL West, so hypothetically each team should win once every 4 years.  And the A’s won in 2003 AND 2006?  That line should read “won their second title since 2003.”  I won’t quit until “first since” is only used legitimately, like in 2090 when the headlines will read “Red Sox win first World Series since 2004.”

On to Pet Peeve #2: Line Cutting.  I don’t know why people who cut lines bother me so much, but they always have and I imagine always will.  Not just lines in the traditional “waiting on line to buy tickets” sense either.  Like when I drive to work in the morning and people go into the shoulder in order to move up 3 cars because neither the left nor right lane are moving fast enough for them.  Or when the traffic at a highway exit is backed up past the start of the exit lane and people go past the whole line in a moving lane, then slam their brakes and try to merge in right at the exit.  Don’t these people realize that they’re CAUSING MORE TRAFFIC?!?!  I try my best to cut them some slack, because every once in a while I’m sure it is a person who legitimately didn’t realize the backup was for the exit lane (this happened to me once and I swear the guy I cut in front of followed me for about a mile after my exit.  I could see him screaming at me in my rear view mirror.)

Anyway, I hadn’t even intended to go off on such a tangent about automobile line cutting because the real pet peeve I wanted to write about is Checkout Line cutting.  Specifically this scenario: You are second or third on a rapidly growing line of people at a supermarket/convenience store/other kind of store with multiple cash registers.  You’ve been waiting 5 or 10 minutes to even get to be second or third.  Finally, store management realizes they’re undermanning the check out counter and has someone open up a new register.  What does the new cashier always say? “I can help the next person in line.”  What happens more often than not? People from the BACK OF THE LINE jump to the new register!!!  The fact that I’ve stood on line to pay for the last 10 minutes doesn’t mean I’ve made a commitment to this register.  If I join a line ahead of you, I expect to be done with it before you.  It’s the old First In, First Out system.  It’s beautifully fair.

Are these all stupid and trivial things to care about? I’m sure. Should these things not piss me off so much?  Probably.  Is it just me?  Probably not.  I admit they bother me more than most other people.  But I’d bet everyone’s got something ridiculous that they care about more than they should.  But if you’re a shoulder passer, traffic cutter or a line jumper and reading this makes you think twice about doing it the next time, then my blog has found a purpose after all.  And if you want to send me YOUR pet peeves and I’m an offender, I promise to at least consider changing my errant ways. 

Unless your pet peeve is stupid and trivial, that is.

We got back on Wednesday from our week long trip to the Pacific Northwest.  The first four days we spent in Portland with Kathleen’s family, culminating in her cousin’s wedding.  The wedding was a lot of fun and it was nice to spend some time with Kathleen’s family and finally (after two years of dating) meet her brother.  What was less nice was the hotel we were staying at.  I don’t know what story I can tell to truly capture the beauty of this place.  Maybe it was that most people didn’t get the type of room they had booked months earlier, or that some didn’t come with toilet paper or towels, or that our shower curtain was covered in mold, or that unless you were staying for at least a week, there was no maid service (maid service COULD be purchased for an additional $15 per day).  No, I think the one that sums it up best was the family of wedding guests who decided to check out after finding a particularly disturbing stain on their bedspread (let’s just say it was a white, sticky stain…there may be kids reading this blog). 

After going to the wedding on Saturday evening, we had one last breakfast in Portland and then drove with Kathleen’s brother and sister-in-law up to Seattle where we had about an hour to relax in our new hotel (no complaints) before heading off to the Seattle Rose Gardens for the ceremony.  Again, the wedding was very nice, though Kathleen had never been carded to drink at a wedding before. 

Finally we had Monday and Tuesday to spend in Seattle.  Monday we went to the Experience Music Project, a large museum all about music, with a big interactive exhibit that teaches you some of the basics of playing different instruments, mixing tracks, and synchronizing beats.  I learned that I will never be able to play the guitar, as I was brutally unable to keep up with the beat of “Louie, Louie” on a single guitar string.  Tuesday we went to the Seattle Aquarium and spent literally over an hour watching the Sea Otters play.  If you’ve never seen otters, you’re really missing something.  I dare you to watch them eat a clam off their belly and not crack a smile.  Finally on Wednesday we were off to the airport to return to the East coast.

Congratulations to Rick & Stephanie (Portland) and Lauren & Kenny (Seattle).