Things people do that baffle you 2

[jenzzi]

Following this thread https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5520735-things-people-do-that-just-baffle-you?page=40

Things included
talking on loudspeaker in public
very elderly people who shop on Saturday morning
people that stop at shop entrances
people park next to you in a car park that is about 20% full

I think I have figured out the reason elderly people shop at the weekend. Not that I ever thought they shouldn't - but I have wondered why, when surely the week is quieter and more pleasant.

I have figured it out by watching my mother get older.

When she has something on during the day, that is the thing she is doing that day. She can not focus on anything else but that one thing. If she has a doctors appointment at 11am, she absolutely cannot fathom going to the supermarket in the afternoon, at say, 2 or 3pm, because she has doctors that day.

My mum is only 68, and in pretty good health. Barely even retirement age.

By the time people get to, say, 80, they have slowed down even more. A poster on the first thread, before this one, mentioned that her parents don't do anything else on bin day because "we have to put the bins out". What to us is a quick chore we barely even think about, is a whole thing to them. That's their task of the day.

Everything requires more mental and physical energy.

So if Monday is a Doctors appointment, Tuesday is bin day, Wednesday is some other appointment, Thursday is the day a bill is due (which requires going into the bank because they don't do the internet and can't manage touch-dial on a phone) Friday is when the cleaner comes, that only leaves the weekend.

I always think it's really nasty when you get big shops with car parks that have a limit of 45 minutes or an hour. Not even any option to pay for more time - just you have this long and no more.

They've clearly based it around how long a young, healthy, able-bodied person will take at most and maybe added another 50%. Anybody staying longer than that MUST have left their car to go into town or do separate errands elsewhere. No thought or care whatsoever for elderly and disabled people who are indeed only parking there to use their one shop, but cannot help needing far longer to manage to do so.

Adventure, belonging, good money, opportunity to travel, a challenge, fitness, excitement.

Just asked DH who was a soldier for 18 years. He jumped out of planes for a living. He loves challenges, is very disciplined and driven. He now runs ultra marathons for veterans charities and charities for the children of fallen soldiers.

Whinging about bottle cap tethers.

Why would this one baffle you? I find it intensely irritating too and am also unhappy about this forced downgrade in one small part of life.

Apparently, because some people previously threw bottle caps in the street, all of us who would never have dreamt of doing that now have to either have a cap getting in the way when we're trying to drink or otherwise have to rip/cut it off and then have a loose, sharp tag remaining, that prevents you from easily replacing the cap.

Meanwhile, the people who previously chucked the cap with merry abandon will probably still just rip it off and fling it on the ground - if not the whole bottle.

In principle, it's like yesterday for me, when I set off two alarms because of slightly more expensive items I'd bought from Asda (one at the till and another at the exit) and I had to show my receipt twice. Meanwhile, the determined thieves with the angry, aggressive looks on their faces just fill their large rucksacks to the brim and walk straight out, completely unchallenged.

''Celebrities'' and those in the general public who are so far up their own bums, ''look at me, I'm vitally important'' types. We all poo the same brown smelly muck and will all either rot in the ground or be cremated when we drop dead!

What’s baffling is when people complain how it gets in the way. I’ve seen stupid sketches where people are trying to drink and the cap is practically up their nose. Just use your index finger to keep it tucked back and cap rotated so it’s not mashing into your nose.

The blue badge holders will get longer but of course that doesn't account for people who need longer but aren't "disabled enough" to get a blue badge.

It's rarely 45 minutes though, it's usually 2 hours. Although one of our local Sainsburys introduced a 30 minute limit recently but that's because it's near a school and parents were parking there Though if they are parking there to collect kids they are unlikely to need 30 minutes so it seems like a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Maybe the older people just like the buzz of busy shops. Not everyone hates other people

But even then, it's still something that worked perfectly well that has been downgraded to be less convenient. It's hardly the worst example of it, but why wouldn't people find it annoying?

I also wonder if you might feel differently if you had numb, arthritic or otherwise painful and/or less able fingers - and you found that, because of selfish litterers, you could no longer manage to enjoy bottled drinks?

That reminds me of the pre-peeled oranges scandal. Some retailer started selling them, and the outcry made them withdraw them. Leaving people with arthritic hands, busy lunch breaks or kids in tow unable to get a quick fresh-citrus fix. Ironically, the alternatives they would buy are much more full of ultra-processed ingredients and unnecessary packaging than the oranges ever were. We can't have nice things because other people are either inconsiderate or thick.

I actually do have arthritis in my fingers.

Not even sure how it’s less convenient. The tether means I never accidentally drop the cap or have keep hold of it which are both more inconvenient.

I don't understand people who buy overbred dogs who come with a myriad of health issues, The poor deformed things can barely breathe or walk, plagued by skin problems, eye ulcers, reduced lifepan, etc etc. Yes sure all dogs can have problems, but why choose one that is pretty much guaranteed to have them?

The parking next to me thing is so irritating!! Last weekend I parked in a retail park. I tend to park far away from a store entrance if it means less cars are near mine (I am not an amazing parker and can take ages to manoeuvre into small spaces so I avoid if possible!) I parked in a row that was completely empty. On my return a car was next to mine, by my driver's side. The rest of the row was empty! 😂And to make it worse they were so close to my door I had to climb in to my car through the PASSENGER SIDE!

This one will have a diagram.

I'm in a semi detached. My neighbour has a front path that leads to the street.

My footpath is at a right angle, so I come out, turn left and I can walk to the street. It's cul-de sac.

There is a metal fence between the end of our front paths.

When I get a taxi, they almost always drive down as far as the end of my path, back up, turn around and park where the fence is. There is no pavement there and I walk with a stick.

I mean why?

Live in an upstairs flat and not have a door bell. So irritating as someone who lives downstairs