Innocuous things that make you irrationally embarrassed

because, for me, embarrassment is a much more common reaction than anger

e.g. when people respond to comedians' tweets or (especially) instagrams with "funny" comments

any type of performance that requires being HAPPY! in a really showy way (which means i can't watch any singing/dancing-based reality show)

eating in public

trying on clothes in department stores

being introduced to new people

"mingling" at parties

every single episode of breaking bad

taking cyrus in to school in the morning. and its not just me, half the people in there could teach a master class on avoiding eye contact.

god yeah, i frantically hunt the playground for the 2 or 3 people i can talk to

being around my dad when he talks to anybody in a shop, pub etc

i could list these things all day but i am too embarrassed

i used to get embarrassed when my dad would ramble on and never listen to the person trying to talk to him but now i don't care. i'm just glad he's still alive so i just watch him and smile. its like watching a big demented baby talk to people. who is hard of hearing. and who listens to jazz all day long and reads the wall street journal. okay, that's a really weird baby...

guys trying to flirt on facebook, publicly

People who comment on the food I am eating, or have just ordered. A truly irrational pet peeve.

People trying to impress their favourite musicians on facebook by posting fawning comments. It's even worse in real life. Note : I have done both of these things myself.

i told kim gordon that i really liked the harry crews album when i was drunk years ago. #bigfatliar

eating chobani yogurt fills me with disgust and self hatred, but i like this one flavor so much that i will suffer through the shame to eat it.

why does it make you feel that way? also, which flavor?

passion fruit

1) the name is so focus grouped that it makes me ashamed to say it, or even think about it
2) yogurt is for woman, and i am a woman
3) stirring up the fruit from the bottom is the worst sound on earth
4) i have long had an aversion to watching people eat yogurt, it's at least 20 years old
5) do i need another reason?

all completely valid reasons! especially #1; that's one of those words i do anything to avoid saying, and if i absolutely must say it, i involuntarily shudder.
passion fruit is one of the best flavors, though. recently i've been buying cabot greek yogurt which is cheaper and way better, but doesn't come in the individual sized cups so i can't bring it to work.

i hate this brand of yogurt so much that i have thought about ways to create my own passion fruit yogurt by making the pulp myself and freezing it in little individual tubes so that it defrosts by lunchtime and i can enjoy my yogurt with peace of mind.

empty shops/restaurants that are clearly struggling for business

people baby-talking to their kids, especially if it's about their faeces.

people pronouncing things wrong. my favourite is when people ask for the beer "bombardier" (pronounced in the ww2 spiffing way) and say "bombard-e-ay" in the french way, just a perfect failure. (i definitely pronounce things wrong myself, obv, sometimes, and then get even more embarrassed)

i heard a mom at the grocery store ask her toddler "do you wanna do oj or peach mango?"
kid in the cart: "let's do oj"

me: shame at having overheard that, it was just too personal and also since when did little kids say "let's do _____" when they want something?!?!

live theatre :-/

i think you mean bad live theatre

there is *a lot* of bad live theatre though, so yeah

Cartoon characters on generic products.

hockey players in advertisements

overheard conversations

generally

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOrvdvczpEA

improv

People who comment on the food I am eating, or have just ordered. microwaving.. A truly irrational pet peeve.

"ooh, that smells nice..."

DO YOU WANT SOME?????

there is *a lot* of bad live theatre though, so yeah

painfully true. but i do tend to be irrationally embarrassed by people ~acting~ in a live setting, regardless of the quality of performance/ production. the closer they are to me physically, the more embarrassed i get.

improv comedy or improv anything?

comedy i guess? i'm not sure what other kinds of improv i'd run into

omg hahaaaa, mooks knows what i'm talking about
that clip is practically canadian
xps

http://youtu.be/vDggoBZ2A48

though the wayne gretzky ones of the 80s/90s were prob worse and more ubiquitous...

Everything I say and everything I do.

irish politics

Oh man. When I correct someone, or answer a question earnestly, and then immediately realise they were only joking. I guess it's rational to feel some embarrassment about that, but probably not rational to feel so much shame I just want to leave work straight away, get the train home, run upstairs to a cupboard, turn out the light and hide under every bit of linen I can find.

stop correcting ppl, it's ama awful habit, even when they're wrong. get home.

*points out typo*

*kills self*

witnessing people bragging

good one

I probably embarrass people when I temporarily bond with sales people (usually at the cosmetics counter).

empty shops/restaurants that are clearly struggling for business

I end up never even going into these places since I know that if I go in and start browsing I will feel obligated to buy something because I feel bad about their business not doing well.

I don't really feel embarrassed or anything though, this is just expensive sympathy.

I feel embarrassed about being a semi-regular small spender in probably not failing local businesses - like the local corner shop you only ever buy emergency toilet roll or teabags in because you do your regular shopping elsewhere. This is related to the embarrassment about whether or not to cultivate a nodding acquaintance with the people you only ever see on the way to or from work. It feels a stupid basis for an acquaintance so I never do, but then when you walk past them every day for months and years... i walk past a guy setting up a jerk chicken stand in the park every morning and i want to break this awful cycle of studied aloofness but i don't know how, and if i do i'll probably feel no less stupid in nodding to him every morning.

people pronouncing things wrong. my favourite is when people ask for the beer "bombardier" (pronounced in the ww2 spiffing way) and say "bombard-e-ay" in the french way, just a perfect failure. (i definitely pronounce things wrong myself, obv, sometimes, and then get even more embarrassed)

― Heterocyclic ring ring (LocalGarda), Wednesday, 5 December 2012 16:47 (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'd probably be guilty of saying Bomard-i-ay cos I'm an idiot. I also can't stop myself saying "Kraftverk" and "Volksvagen" (who else does this? NOBODY!) and yet shudder when people like Stephen Fry don't pronounce the final "T" in 'restaurant' or insist on saying "gar-arge" when referring to music.

My wife reading ilx over my shoulder

How about creating a nodding acquaintance with people you see in work? I keep trying but at a guess I'm well south of 50% success rate. And it's not even just people you pass daily in the corridor, at the printer, etc - even some of the people I've worked fairly closely with for several days retreat into non-acquaintance mode as soon as the project is done. I feel embarrassed to be part of this.

It's not just me btw, I've checked - it appears simply to not be how it is done.

I think I'd say Kraftverk, but also Volkswagen - not sure it comes up much tbh.

anyway, it's folksvagen

play it safe and say folkwaggon imo

or 'b*ngbus'

People who comment on the food I am eating, or have just ordered. microwaving.. A truly irrational pet peeve.

"ooh, that smells nice..."

DO YOU WANT SOME?????

― Mark G, Wednesday, 5 December 2012 17:05 (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"mmmmm, looks good, what did you go for?"
"it's a new thing, it's called a sandwich, now fuck off okay?"

People sitting too close at 'communal eating' tables. However, if you are this person and you want me to budge over while I'm actually chewing, you can fuck off.

Commenting on the food of strangers: this is only OK in busy Chinese restaurants, where you see a group of diners with something good and you want to make damned sure you order that thing.

How about creating a nodding acquaintance with people you see in work? I keep trying but at a guess I'm well south of 50% success rate. And it's not even just people you pass daily in the corridor, at the printer, etc - even some of the people I've worked fairly closely with for several days retreat into non-acquaintance mode as soon as the project is done. I feel embarrassed to be part of this.

this whole area is a nightmare. do i say hi to someone i work with each time they pass me in a corridor? do i say hi to people i work with occasionally or whom i know? offices are the worst.

Thoughts when I don't nod to someone in the corridor: "c'mon i'm only passing them in the corridor, this isn't reunion with a long lost relative ffs". Thoughts when someone doesn't nod to me: "arrogant fucker".

the haunted look which is exchanged goes to the heart of our problems as humans

Plus long corridors create embarrassments of their own; at what point do you start your acknowledgement?

oh god yeah "did they see me nod and mouth 'hello' back there? can't tell. maybe do it again. oh god now they think i'm mental."

doors are a nightmare too. three double doors in a row to get to the bathroom, having to say "thanks" PAUSE "thanks" PAUSE "thanks" when you don't even want to or "notatttall" PAUSE "nottattall" PAUSE "nottattall" like little steam engine.

then once every hundred times a "these doors huh?", "who are you telling?!"

still it's worth remembering that the only people who don't feel this way in these situations are the rude

At my work no fucker acknowledges a held-open door; have occasionally even been glowered at as recipient passes through. Details are obviously all stored for the day of the revolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg5MJyEHKGo

Plus long corridors create embarrassments of their own; at what point do you start your acknowledgement?

and do you look at them all the way, or do you deliberately look elsewhere even though there's nowhere else to look, or? tbh i just turn around and run away.

I rarely get to do it, but running fast down a corridor is an excellent thing to do. I dunno why, maybe the air currents and echoes are all different, but it's so different to doing it in an open space.

Why not do it all the time, clutching a sheaf of papers to look busy and important, then it'll be ok to blank your cow orkers. Can't eyebrow flash! Late for meeting!

Plus long corridors create embarrassments of their own; at what point do you start your acknowledgement?

this can be so unbearably tense. often a quick distant acknowledgement, followed by the realisation that some strange etiquette will dictate another, proximate acknowledgement, which often makes both parties feel forced and insincere. it's a tricky balance between maintaining just enough eye contact to be courteous, but not so much as to make the other person uncomfortable/skeeved out, all the while acting as if the awkward steps until follow-up acknowledgement are occupied by something other than the painful endurance of having to fulfil an obligation. It can give rise to such hollow feelings, especially when you're given a perfunctory acknowledgement for what you're trying hard not to project as a self-conscious, automatic gesture. It's as if you're being confronted with a kind of diluted unspontaneity, and you're in a Tati scene, and you feel as if you're stretching a moment out far longer than any human being should ever have to endure.

People only run in corridors when they think nobody's looking though; the rest of the time they do an embarrassing fast-walk thing, with occasional trot for a few steps until someone else homes into view.

A wild-haired professor at uni is the only person I can recall who would run around openly.

When I was younger, I used to get so embarassed for people on television shows who were about to get in trouble. I can't think of any concrete examples, but like, if the Fresh Prince was doing something he wasn't supposed to, like snooping in someone else's stuff or something, and we in the audience were clued in to the fact that he was about to get busted for it. I would get beet-red flushed to the point where I'd have to turn off the TV or leave the room.

tbh I still repeat to myself "it's only a show, it's only a show"

90% of sketch comedy that involves singing, especially SNL monologues and the Whose Line is it Anyway songs

I rarely get to do it, but running fast down a corridor is an excellent thing to do. I dunno why, maybe the air currents and echoes are all different, but it's so different to doing it in an open space.

― Ismael Klata, Monday, 10 December 2012 12:27 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah totally - sometimes I feel like I could jump and just float down the corridor.

Josie Lawrence: "I know what you mean, about those songs, they seem very obvious and not very long..."

- when people point out a joke after someone else has told it.

I end up never even going into these places since I know that if I go in and start browsing I will feel obligated to buy something because I feel bad about their business not doing well.

I don't really feel embarrassed or anything though, this is just expensive sympathy.

― silverfish, Wednesday, December 5, 2012 1:48 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah I'm totally like this and what's worse is that gf is not at all and always just wants to look around places so we'll have mini-arguments where I'm like "no we can't go in that place! we aren't gonna buy anything, it's not polite, that person inside is gonna get their hopes up" and she's like "wtf nobody cares"

Oh yeah, I totally get like that.

i occasionally get lunch at one of these

http://www.flamersgrill.com/images/fl_logo.gif

in the mall by where i work and one of the dudes there knows my order. the first time he greeted me by saying my order i just wanted to quantum leap the hell out of there

also the dude at the ben and jerrys in the same foodcourt started chatting to me one time and told me about his improv group and now i can't go back if he is there

And then like, I'll want to buy something, but something small, but it's gotta be more than like 10 bucks because I never carry cash and I want to do a transaction that will make the Visa service fees worth it for them, but then I totally don't want to spend 10 bucks, so I end up making an excuse to wait out in the street.

xp: LOL

seeing nuns or priests in public places

it's like they can spot my unclean aura or something

When I was younger, I used to get so embarassed for people on television shows who were about to get in trouble.

still basically can't watch television because of this

what i could never deal with was movies where the protagonist is blamed for/suspected of doing something wrong/evil/criminal/morally indefensible, but you, the viewer, are the only one who knows they are innocent/being framed/mistaken for someone else.

yeah I can relate to that one too. curb your enthusiasm is 100% constructed to fuck w/ this response, also. xp

what i hate though is when someone is being blamed for something they didn't do, and yet for some reason they don't do anything to explain their innocence.

xp My wife was the first person I met who had this reaction to television, specifically to George Costanza. I never understood it; "c'mon, it can't be that bad," etc. Then Curb Your Enthusiasm showed up and it suddenly made sense to me.

one of the cashiers at the local tesco has seemingly conflated me and another regular customer in her head, to the extent that i get anxious going there at the thought of having another awkward embarrassing conversation where i have to follow up on whatever she last discussed with him.

corollary to that embarrassment - having people recognise me from tesco. three times now THREE TIMES i've met people at parties etc and they've said "hey do i see you around the lower clapton tesco?" and i just have to grimly accept that yes i'm the tesco guy.

The waistcoat I'm wearing today is slightly too short and the very end of my tie pokes out the bottom. It's a pink tie, and it's making me a little embarrassed.

Tuck the tie back under itself imo. Did this for a wedding on sat, I'm rubbish at tie knots and the fat end always ends up being too long.

Good idea. I had it tucked into my trousers, but it keeps springing loose and you can just imagine that at some point hilarious consequences will ensue.

At my work no fucker acknowledges a held-open door; have occasionally even been glowered at as recipient passes through.

I get the glower from female co-workers occasionally. Also on several occasions have held the door for couples at e.g. a restaurant, to have the woman thank me while the man follows behind her, glowering.

one of the cashiers at the local tesco has seemingly conflated me and another regular customer in her head

The lady who used to cut my hair years ago had me conflated with someone else, too, and on one occasion asked "You like your hair like Christian Slater's, right?"

ha. did you truly appreciate the embarrassing nature of the situation and go along with it?

(i'm now feeling slight embarrassment seeing the pointless 'in her head' in that sentence.)

I wish I did! I get too nervous in situations like that; I pretty much just stammered "No, that's not me" or something like that. Also, she was pretty bad at cutting hair so I'm not sure that I would have wanted her to make me look like Christian Slater.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City speaking Spanish

spiralli otm -- I kind of wanted to die when the Wendy's drive-thru cashier said 'Hi!' in a manner that signified that she now recognized me

shame spiral in 3 2 1

Someone on my fb recently posted about running into an acquaintance over and over again on different aisles at the grocery store. Or there's also when you run into an acquaintance you don't really like talking to over and over at the same place and you have to do the whole "yep. we're both here again" thing.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City speaking Spanish

― Josefa, Monday, December 10, 2012 12:07 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM

Kraftwerk's Technopop

When I was a kid, the only reason I started referring to my step dad as ” dad” was because I couldn't bring myself to say his name (lex). For whatever reason, I just found the idea of saying it aloud utterly mortifying.

I spent about 2 years calling him ” you”, before I realized ” dad” was a little less awkward.

Kraftwerk's Technopop

― ledge, Thursday, 13 December 2012 15:41 (55 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Why? It's like the others..

except for lack of catchy tunes, high quotient of dated samples, Ralf singing about his sex life.

I dunno, the kids were going "boom -TCHACK!!" for weeks afterwards...

It's an embarrassing album for sure but it's embarrassing in all the best ways

When I was younger, I used to get so embarassed for people on television shows who were about to get in trouble. I can't think of any concrete examples, but like, if the Fresh Prince was doing something he wasn't supposed to, like snooping in someone else's stuff or something, and we in the audience were clued in to the fact that he was about to get busted for it. I would get beet-red flushed to the point where I'd have to turn off the TV or leave the room.

I know the feeling and to be honest this is why I really find it difficult to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm sometimes, it's one of those shows that makes me physically uncomfortable, I can't stop thinking "just drop it, Larry!" over and over again. Which sucks because I know how damn funny it is.

Yeah I can't do it either. It's just not funny for me, I start blushing and having hot flushes of embarrassment, like my scalp prickles and it's physically uncomfortable! Oh cringing.

on the other hand I'm not sure why Louie doesn't invoke the same feeling

i was in C0st Plu$ last night, as always during the holidays there was a long line for the cashiers. An employee was standing at the head of the line with a plate of samples (white cheddar cheese puffs), telling people when the next cashier was available. But she was kinda in that panic mode where she's pretending to be super-friendly but her voice is kinda shrill and panicky like she's moments away from throwing the sample tray to the floor and storming out.

I'd never EVER seen them handing out samples so that was kinda weird and secondhand embarrassing to begin with, because I think most of the other people in line were all, 'why are you here'. Like we can all see the next available cashier, it's fine.

But on top of smiling in a rictus of panick and saying 'go ahead, the cashier's open now!' she insisted on greeting everyone who walked in the door as well. Which again, never happens in this store. it's just a walk in and shop place, employees say hello if they see you but they don't usually greet you when you walk in. The door was a good 20 feet away from where she was standing at the cashier line. So she'd randomly, panic-ily shout a 'HELLO HOW ARE YOU!!!' - and they'd kinda look around like startled deer becuase they couldn't even *see* her from where they were standing. God it was awkward to watch.

I wanted to simultaneously hug her and die of embarrassment for her.

that's not irrational embarrassment -- that's old fashioned empathy!

Greeting people is a commonly used loss prevention technique. They probably had been getting knocked over and LP told them that they had to greet "every single person who comes in the door" or face getting written up or something. In my experience, the greeter comes off as totally awkward and robotic and real shoplifters don't give a shit.

well it didn't really make me IA so I figured this was as good a place as any :)

xpost but I got the feeling she had just came up with the greeting people thing on the fly to fill in the awkwardness of her role to begin with. OR the store just went completely bonkers over Christmas and gave her this stupid new policy to follow which is just as embarrassing for her

it's like the time our vp of sales came back from Seattle after visiting Pike's Market and decided that every time someone took a phone order they should yell 'order up'. I died of embarrassment for everyone who yelled it. It lasted maybe a week before everyone just quietly stopped doing it.

i'm not trying to censor you -- just noticing. pretty much nothing makes me IA, but i would only use this thread for things i am embarrassed about for a completely irrational reason
otherwise i would just post post post post post about moments of empathy all day
and that would be tedious for everyone

Greeting people is a commonly used loss prevention technique. They probably had been getting knocked over and LP told them that they had to greet "every single person who comes in the door" or face getting written up or something. In my experience, the greeter comes off as totally awkward and robotic and real shoplifters don't give a shit.

Yeah this is the worst. The obv. "we don't trust our customers" meshed with fake friendliness makes me IA.

Also being asked "Can I help you find something today?" 5x or more within a couple of minutes of hsving set foot in the place

i've been that guy so i feel a mix of empathy and hatred at the business for bringing ppl so low

Exactly. It distorts the humanity of both the employees and the people shopping there

one thing that sticks in my memory w/r/t this dates from when i briefly worked at this particular central fl bl0ckbust3r that was managed by a dude who was the type of gay that occurs in repressive environments like the south but are also so incredibly stupid and inertia-prone that they remain closeted their entire lives. this dude would be in the back of the store and would bellow "he-LLO!!!" in the most stereotypical richard simmons voice you can imagine. when this happened i would usually be at the front of the store and had already said hello to the person entering like a regular human being out of earshot.

not innocuous at all rly, fuck companies that have "greeters," fuck customer service forever

i was gonna say, that anger is totally righteous and justified

been there too btw

Is anybody else slightly uncomfortable putting down a tip, embarassed if the recipient sees you doing it, and downright mortified if they call out thanks?

yeah i feel that, but you should do it visibly anyway. once a bartender/barista at a bar/cafe in nyc got mad at me because i discreetly put his tip in the jar when he wasn't looking instead of in front of him after he gave me my change and he thought i had snubbed him. well, not "mad", he sort of made this facial expression that i took to mean "un. be. liev. a. ble." then i actually explained to him that i had put two dollars in the jar and that made me feel like the biggest idiot in the world.

Is this a UK thing? You tip openly here, it's better if they do see you, avoids any unpleasantness.

well, in my situation i paid at the register because i just got coffee but the server was also serving alcohol and so i guess in his mind he was a bartender who expects everyone, without fail to tip him. i tip baristas anyway, every time -- i used to be one -- but i usually don't make a big show of slipping some money into the jar.

well, i got coffee and some sort of snack. (full disclosure).

also maybe sometimes at starbucks i don't tip baristas when i use my debit card and don't have cash. (fuller disclosure).

tell us more about your tipping habits

When I was a kid, the only reason I started referring to my step dad as ” dad” was because I couldn't bring myself to say his name (lex). For whatever reason, I just found the idea of saying it aloud utterly mortifying.

I spent about 2 years calling him ” you”, before I realized ” dad” was a little less awkward.

― just1n3, Thursday, 13 December 2012 07:49 (7 hours ago) Bookmark

I am imagining a hilarious sitcom where the lex is your stepdad and has to cook you dinners and help you with your homework on the computer

Also: we had to do this thing called a ”mihi” at school (it's a Maori thing, you introduce yourself and list your parents, place of birth, etc.), and I would use some totally ordinary name like ” john” instead of ”lex”, that's how embarrassing I found it.

yeah i feel that, but you should do it visibly anyway. once a bartender/barista at a bar/cafe in nyc got mad at me because i discreetly put his tip in the jar when he wasn't looking instead of in front of him after he gave me my change and he thought i had snubbed him. well, not "mad", he sort of made this facial expression that i took to mean "un. be. liev. a. ble." then i actually explained to him that i had put two dollars in the jar and that made me feel like the biggest idiot in the world.

― return to the 36 yellowistic chambers (Pat Finn), Thursday, 13 December 2012 22:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svWjtDhGQFg

i used to get embarrassed when my dad would ramble on and never listen to the person trying to talk to him but now i don't care. i'm just glad he's still alive so i just watch him and smile. its like watching a big demented baby talk to people. who is hard of hearing. and who listens to jazz all day long and reads the wall street journal. okay, that's a really weird baby...

yesss

it is very embarrassing to have to wear something for work that isn't obviously job-related. casual acquaintances come in and say "oh hey, what's up?" and you either say instantly "i'm just wearing this visor for work because i have to it's not mine" or imagine them walking out thinking "so she's the visor type. huh."

are you a bookie?

bank teller

pro golfer maybe?

Bartleby the scrivener?

Welder?

Lieutenant Commander of the USS Enterprise?

beer pong champion

is why I really find it difficult to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm s

.. yeah, I have seen about two episodes, and enjoyed neither. Also, I didn't think it funny enough.

all very close; that was when i was a high school aged person working in a bubble tea store. my boss would make me walk up to tables of college students and say "uh, excuse me. hi. sorry. uh, the five chinese vowel sounds are: ah. AH! ah. aaahhh. ah" while he nodded encouragingly from behind the counter. that was not irrational embarrassment though

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mapmg3rb8M1qbqz2wo1_1280.jpg

Wtf ehkarl? What's that supposed to achieve?!

Referring to soda/soft drinks/whatever-you-call-it as "pop". I grew up calling it that & still live in a region where it's the unquestioned terminology, so I can't explain why it makes me cringe now. I'll try to use a specific brand name if I need to refer to the stuff for whatever reason.

Yes, "pop" for me too. Also "dungarees." I think it's because they sound like words a child would say, which also applies to "yummy," I hate when adults say that.

Yes! Those not-quite-proper-words-not-quite-slang are such a dangerous area, especially at school. How you refer to your grandparents is another minefield.

wrt to tv shows, i've found that i cannot watch reruns of kenan and kel now that they're showing them, and i loved it when i was a kid. every episode is just "bad things happen" and it makes me anxious now.

even though i KNOW everything will be fine in the end, it's just some visceral reaction to watching disasters unfold

aw here it goes

When a stranger at the check-out counter asks me If I have big plans for the weekend. Because I'm afraid they'll find what I'm actually doing very lame.

When I was a kid, the only reason I started referring to my step dad as "dad" was because I couldn't bring myself to say his name (lex). For whatever reason, I just found the idea of saying it aloud utterly mortifying.

I spent about 2 years calling him "you", before I realized "dad" was a little less awkward.

― just1n3, Thursday, December 13, 2012

my stepfather married my mom when i was three years and one week old, but i've always called him tony. to other people i refer to him as my dad (as opposed to 'my real father'/'biodaddy')

Referring to soda/soft drinks/whatever-you-call-it as "pop".

I grew up in the midwest, and even though I'm on the east coast now, fuck it, I'm still calling it pop.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Speaking of tipping: I haven't been in one in years but it used to be that if you tipped at USA "mix-in" centered ice cream chain Cold Stone Creamery, all the employees would stop their work and sing a song. Awful. Also bars that ring a bell when they like your tip. Stop!

I have the same response to tense/embarrassing TV and can't stand Curb Your Enthusiasm. Sometimes if its really bad I'll leave the room until the moment has passed.

The lady selling Streetwise in front of the drugstore by my work makes me feel embarrassed bc she is super loud and always says the same thing in the same tone "Streeeeeeeeetwise! Good morning Street-wi-ise! How y'all doing today? Streetwise!"

This episode of TNG where Q gives Riker Q powers and Riker grants everyone their dreams is killing meeeeeeeee

it's been 15 years but i still remember the homeless glaswegian dudes pushing the big issue

of course it took me several days to understand what they were saying

xp loooool

i used to go to the supermarket across the street from my (then) apartment. one particular cashier was always super friendly and chatty, which was nice. one day, however, when i hadn't been to the store in a while, she ran up and hugged me and told me how nice it was to see me and asked where had i been. after that, i was too embarrassed to shop there.

Referring to soda/soft drinks/whatever-you-call-it as "pop".

I grew up in the midwest, and even though I'm on the east coast now, fuck it, I'm still calling it pop.

I thought this was a New England thing (maybe also midwest).

pittsburgh, midwest, canada all otm

xp to contenderizer, today i went to subway in a kind of sullen mood and the cashier/sandwich artist was extremely friendly and talkative. i was so confused, nervous, and embarrassed that i only ordered one sandwich when i had planned to order two (i wanted to get out of that environment). i had a hard time explaining to my mom why i bought her a sandwich and didn't get one for myself. she didn't understand.

i think most days this wouldn't have happened. i was caught off guard.

I always feel about 2 years old when customer service people start being too friendly with me. All my answers become v quiet, shy, one word answers

*yes*
...
*i don't know*
...
*maybe*
...
*um. because?*
...

The Prince and the Pauper

- my dad owned a restaurant from 1989-1992. He mentions this to every server we meet at lunch.

- when I had the cancer, anything cold was painful for me. At one restaurant that I would go to, I would always order water without any ice, preferably warm. To this day, the waitress still gives me warm water with every meal and I don't want to correct her because that would involve getting into a story about my colon with her.

- anytime someone mentions an Internet joke that I've already known about for a week.

- I don't live in the densest of population areas, so when ever I pass somebody on the sidewalk, and I don't make eye contact with them, I think "do people in New York City have this problem?"

- when people point out a joke after someone else has told it.

Haha, yeah, because its not funny anymore when you have to explain it, amirite?

- anytime someone mentions an Internet joke that I've already known about for a week.
eating lunch with some coworkers, one person mentioned this hilarious thing they'd seen recently called honeybadger & no-one else had heard of it so he told them all about it and they looked it up on youtube and watched it for the first time
kill me now

any time someone brings up a fact they learned from a recent cracked article/etc everyone's already read

How you refer to your grandparents is another minefield.

Yes. When my oldest nephew was a baby, and learning to talk, he couldn't say "grandma" or any of the more common variants properly, so what he said came out basically as "mimi." It stuck, and so he kept using it, and then when my other nephew and niece were born, that's they word they were taught. Those kids are 23, 17 and 15 now and it makes me cringe to hear people that age referring to my mother as "mimi."

I thought this was a New England thing (maybe also midwest).

― nickn, Friday, December 14, 2012 11:38 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Nah, if you say "pop" in New England, they don't know what the fuck you're talking about, and/or will taunt you mercilessly.

I always feel about 2 years old when customer service people start being too friendly with me. All my answers become v quiet, shy, one word answers

As someone who does customer service, I always feel 2 years old when I have to make fake-ass friendly small talk with customer (we're strongly encouraged to do so). "So, the weather. You...um...r-rain?"

Typos. Whether online or in academic work or correspondence.

It's a combination of being able to type 90 wpm and years of ridicule by intimidating English teachers. Also my mom was an English major (drop out) and I have never been able to write perfect sentences like her!! I can barely read her grammar school English book. It has sentence diagramming in it!

-bloggers who respond to all the comments people leave them, especially if they're very polite and dutiful and non-controversial. it'll go something like...

blog entry: Here's a review of a book I read. I loved it!

commenter 1: I loved it too!

blogger: I know, huh? Thanks for reading my blog!

commenter 2: I hated it!

blogger: I actually hated it the first time I read it, but I went back to it recently and found that I loved it! Of course you're entitled to your own opinion :) Thanks for reading my blog!

commenter 3: I loved it too!

commenter 4: I loved it too!

blogger: I'm glad you feel that way, commenters 3 and 4! I'm so blown away by all these positive responses! Thanks for reading my blog!

What embarrasses me is the sense that they're grateful for getting any response at all — they feel so blessed and so *famous* for getting 200 hits and 5 comments that they have to express their gratitude publicly.

I'm also embarrassed by youtube users who respond gratefully to comments left on their own videos. It's even worse if the video isn't even their own creation (especially if it's a shaky home recording of a Family Guy clip) and the uploader still feels the need to go, "aw shucks, I never dreamed this would reach 80,000 views. Thanks for your support, guys!" Poor kid just figured out how to point a camera at a TV screen and upload the resulting clip to youtube, and suddenly they have aspirations of going viral, not realizing that thousands of youtube videos have 80,000 views and dozens of other people have uploaded that exact same Family Guy clip. I hate to find out that there's a real, earnest human presence behind what I thought was just a cynical grab for pageviews.

I mean like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZJC6x7iebU

Uploaded on Dec 24, 2009

Hi everyone :D I made this video 3 years ago not really expecting what to happen i would of never thought of having 340,000 views i have met alot of amazing people here on youtube and i would really like to thank everyone who has liked the video and supported me thanks i hope i made you laugh !

er, and for similar reasons I get kinda embarrassed for tteggaR deN when I see him responding to every single mention of his name on a certain message board :-/

https://twitter.com/TTEGGAR

I feel the opposite
I love that shit, it feels like a Farmer's Market.

"ooooh you grew that kale yourself? and you're making $2 a bunch? so like you have to sell how much to make a profit on your drive down here? oooooh and you made your own yogurt? and jarred it yourself? do you have any idea how easily available domestically produced yogurt is?" etc.

Ah customer service...I'm always flustered but a bit flattered when they ask me if the food I'm buying is "good". But it catches me off guard.

tense/embarassing tv is big for me. the office, curb your enthusiasm, and most reality shows are completely unwatchable. i've had to bury my head in chair cushions when people have started watching "my super sweet 16".

at work we had a going-away party for some executive who was returning to france with his wife and kids. the ceo got up and starting telling french jokes and giving them ~american~ gifts like cowboy hats and plastic toy rifles for the kids. the executive and the ceo probably worked together every day and i've never talked to either of them, but that didn't stop me from curling up in the fetal position for 5 minutes while this was happening.

Oh lord, my work had a presentation for the longest-serving secretary when she retired, the centrepiece of which was the CEO pulling her most carefully-kept files out of the drops behind her desk and ripping them up - "You won't be needing these!" - to her visible discomfort. I imagine he was the only person present who didn't want to die at that moment.

i'm currently watching "The 25 Most Heartwarming Holiday TV Moments" on the TV Guide network which apparently still exists, and the whole thing is one big cringefest. the talking head to actual footage ratio is about 95:5 and apparently everyone was just told to describe every single thing that happens in each show. and every time someone pauses, they do this fake fast zoom-in for the beat, except they're all being interviewed in front of a green screen so it's just their entire bodies getting thrown at you and tilting to one side for some reason. and they're currently jubilating bob geldof. the whole thing is like some fluffy so-inoffensive-it's-offensive SEO-driven listicle except you have to sit through real people alternating each sentence.

I'm the same way about sitcoms. Classic post around here somewhere about squirming while watching Frasier deal with two dates at a dinner party.

I can't watch those confrontational IRL videos, even a really good reporter confronting a horrible white-collar criminal on camera. Basically any time there's a security guy covering a lens and a cameraman yelling, hands off the equipment!, I turn away.

Really hate it when people "on my side" do stupid shit i.e. Michael Moore or somebody pretending to lie down dead in front of a Walmart to protest poor health benefits.

I LOVE CONFRONTATIONAL VIDEOS, especially the ones where the pedos go to the house and ooops...it's a seventeen year old male or something. Comedy gold!!!

I miss Candid Camera.

The pedo ones are much more laid-back though. "Have a seat here. Let's talk. Want some cookies?"

lol i did "die-ins" in college, they're embarrassing and awkward for everyone

I get embarrassed when I hear someone sing the phrases "ring-ting-tingling" or "pah-rum-pum-pum-pum"

ting ting tingling tooooooooooo
outside i look normal but inside i'm dying for yooooooooou

(who will feel irrationally embarrassed on my behalf for that terrible joke?! anyone? because i feel nothing.)

Not me. I liked it.

I could make a long list of things I remember saying in the past that are innocuous by virtue of me saying them so long ago and everything turning out all right but so so embarrassing that I can't even think of them much less publicly expose them.

"This episode of TNG where Q gives Riker Q powers and Riker grants everyone their dreams is killing meeeeeeeee"
it is totally totally rational to be embarrassed by season 1 of TNG. I think the collective shame was responsible for the uptick in quality in later seasons.

We got the season one Blu-Rays for Christmas from my parents so we are re watching them all. The only way I could get through Code of Honor was to point out how racist it was, which means I never stopped talking through the whole episode.

A few months ago my cashier at CVS told me it was her "privilege" to ring me up.

the middle aged woman at the lights today who was listening to gangnam style so loud that her car was shaking

when large crowds of ppl start clapping along in time with music

yes, oh my god, I wish they wouldn't, seriously

large crowds of ppl doing anything in unison

except for when crowds are just being crowds like at a concert or football match or whatever

towards the nocuous end of the rational embarrassment spectrum

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/9748511/SantaCon-2012-thousands-invade-London-hot-spots-to-mark-Christmas.html

Requiring a poo just after bathing
Grr

Wrong thread

Requiring a bath just after pooing

requiring a poo bath

when people in the movie theater applaud at the end of the movie.

also, this train conductor on BART who, at every station, says, "this is a richmond train, richmond, richmond train, richmond train, richmond, richmond train, this is a richmond train, richmond, richmond train." or, more accurately, "this is a richmond train? richmond? richmond train. richmond train. richmond? richmond train. this is a richmond train? richmond? richmond train."

lol

Those kids are 23, 17 and 15 now and it makes me cringe to hear people that age referring to my mother as "mimi."

Haha when I was a kid we had the same thing with the next door neighbours. For reasons I dont recall anymore, when we were too little to wrap our head round peoples full names (I guess), I'd referred to Mrs X as Morning because she's always chip "morning!' over the fence to my mum. I'd apparently also named Mr X as Trousers, and I dont know why.

Both names stuck fast and right up til our teens me and my brothers referred to Morning and Trousers next door and thought nothing of it. Until I'd have to explain it to a random visitng friend who'd hear us refer to them that way and smirk bemusedly and say "WHAT did you just call them?"

I feel weird now relaying this story because it occurs to me it was completely utterly normal to me at the time, and only now I realise how not normal it was.

This thread is making me realize how often I must do innocuous things that (for some reason unknown to me) make other people feel irrationally embarrassed. Every time I walk out the door I'm probably making someone quietly weep with shame on my behalf.

posting that ^^^ was probably humiliating, for instance

didn't even have to leave home!

their prob imo

i hope they enjoy those salty droplets of barely concealed disgust

anyone calling their SO "babe" or "baby" ever

dudes standing behind their girlfriends and rubbing them during rock concerts.

Patting their heads and rubbing their stomachs?

I would have put that on the angry thread tbh /bitteroldman

i'll rub my babe anywhere i like, deal

"ironic" "racism" : yes I understand you are probably mocking attitudes you do not hold yourself whilst also enjoying the trangressive naughtiness but STOP NOW.

hold on, yeah I know that's neither innocuous or irrational.

otm about comedy improv, i tried to watch video of asssscat, the upright citizen's brigade thing and made it like 8 minutes, I was shrouding my face with my fingers like it was castration footage eventually.

looking at posed photos of people smiling in social situations

being in a store less than 30 minutes before it closes, especially any kind of food service

cashiers remembering me for any reason

seeing people explicitly trying to "network" in social situations

being reminded that i actually exist to other people as a living being and that my words and actions are being interpreted

robert de niro doing comedy acting

applying for food stamps

being reminded that i actually exist to other people as a living being and that my words and actions are being interpreted

anyone calling their SO "babe" or "baby" ever

― THE NATIONS YOUTH DANCED TO THE MACARANA (innocent) (zachlyon), Tuesday, December 18, 2012 12:34 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is hilarious when it's Jeff and Hayley on "American Dad," though.

eating in a restaurant that has great food, but is nearly empty and the owners/wait staff are way too friendly. seems to coincide with restaurants that are already a little awkward -- 20 page menu, weird specials, hovering waiter who brings out a free appetizer you didn't ask for.

eating alone

i'll be honest, i've even been embarrassed by the act of chewing.

there have been some good ones lately

i like the ones where people are embarrassed to even exist -- like "why am i here and why won't you stop looking at me"
those are the ones i identify with

embarrassment that I have done things on this thread that embarrass others to witness

chewing is tough it's true. and i chew v slowly so i often have an awkward dinner thing of having to make the choice between speaking with my mouth full or making people wait for what feels like three forevers for me to reply to them.

Trying on clothes in public. I went to purchase a couple of new suits recently, and just trying them on, having the tailor measure and mark up everything, the whole process is weirdly embarrassing.

xp see, the ones where someone else is embarrassing to you are quite different imo
several times this week i have been the older woman blasting various types of music, possibly including gangnam style, out of her car and singing
with verve!

basically, having a body is embarrassing

I was thinking more about rock concert grinding and calling women "baby"

oh god what have I admitted

some guy i didn't know tried to do that to me (from behind!) at a dinosaur jr show in the 90s
at least you're not that guy

Dinosaur Jr! Was it during "Freak Scene"?

brb gotta burn my time machine and destroy evidence

It started about 1/3 of the way into the show -- can't remember what song was playing when I noticed it -- and for a while I was like wtf is going on back there and then I remember just turning around and being like "what are you doing?" and he stopped. I thought it might have been an accident, but he looked pretty embarrassed. It's extremely unfortunate that what I remember about that show is not the music, but this guy's boner. Oh well.

:(

embarrassed for humanity now

Hey at least I remember something. It was post Green Mind, so the place was pretty packed and I was toward the front -- there were lots and lots of people behind me, including people who only clearly only knew (and clapped for) the radio singles. I think this guy was one of those. That is the end of my story.

I think I acted in an inappropriate way in my younger years in such situations but that's a rational embarrassment

LL I had that happened to me once as well! ugh. gross. Except I just elbowed him in the stomach because it was in the middle of a song I liked and I really, really didn't want to see his face.

A friend of mine ended up making out with a girl at a Fugazi show in the 90s once - I don't believe either of them was being gross or creepy, it just ended up happening. He was mostly embarrassed because Fugazi is not the kind of band you generally end up making out with a stranger to.

i get embarrassed whenever straight guys discuss girls in front of me as if i am privy to the conversation

Same here, and I'm straight.

i am almost always embarrassed when we have functions at work with guest speakers. i think I'm just embarrassed for people who have to talk to a room full of strangers, even if they are good at it I feel embarrassed by the ~situation~

i get embarrassed when i hear my own teacher voice or if i have to raise my voice, but other than that, speaking in front of a group is no big thang
don't cry for me argentina

I hate hearing my own voice recorded and played back!

not me! i like it. i used to hate it, but then i decided that i sound alright. it's part of my "get over yourself" mission.

you and your darned rational thought and self-actualization

xxpost LL I wouldn't be embarrassed for you anyway bcz teaching somehow doesn't fall under my embarrassment umbrella

except me being embarrassed about trying to teach many years ago, lol

I get embarrassed when someone mishears a question from someone else, even when it's innocuous. The classic example being where/when:
Person 1: "Where's your birthday party?"
Person 2: "Oh, Friday night at 8."
<brief pause where Person 1 knows they were misheard, doesn't want to make Person 2 awkward>
Person 1: "Um, cool. And (over-enunciating) where are you having the party?"

Blech. Don't think that classes as empathy, as Person 2 never seems to notice, or care even if they do.

Walking into a single-occupancy public restroom that someone just stank up and knowing that the person after you will assume you were the culprit.

Being stricken with a sudden bout of food poisoning or somesuch the first time you're over at a new friend's place, where the bathroom is right next to the room where everyone else is and knowing that they all know What You're Doing In There.

Also: pretty much everything single-occupancy-bathroom- and/or poo-related. Wholly irrational but deeply embarrassing.

ppl clapping between movements at classical music concerts

i like that

u can just ~feel~ the consternation from the sort of uptight 60 yr olds who comprise 80% of classical concert audiences

Irrational fear of buying toilet paper, especially in high quantities. It's never Happened, but I keep fearing the store clerk that will wrinkle his brow, look at me with a broad grin, and ask "So, Poopin tonight, eh?".

ppl clapping between movements at classical music concerts

― clouds, Wednesday, December 19, 2012 11:09 AM (7 minutes ago)

OTM. Also, applause for soloists in the middle of jazz shows, before the song is over.

concert etiquette in general is embarrassing to me

why are u standing and clapping

yeah

it was kind of embarasing comparing the dutiful applause for berg's violin concerto to the riotous hollering for ravel's relatively minor 'la valse'

it's funny if you listen to a long enough applause you start to think how weird the sound is. the sound of slapping flesh.

haha I've done that! Jesse and I went to see an admittedly amazing performance of Elektra at the Lyric Opera and Jesus H. people clapped for one million years and it only look like two minutes for me to start thinking "Why do we clap? It's such a weird thing. We're just slapping our hands together, making this noise, what a weird thing to do. We're all just monkeys, really, slapping our hands together because we like something. This is actually kind of stupid."*

*No, I was not high.

i do it all the time!

I guess I feel embarrassed for people who clap at the wrong time during symphonies or operas, but that's just because I know there are judgmental people thinking bad things about them just because they haven't penetrated the esoteric world of performing arts etiquette. I'm pretty populist when it comes to that stuff, probably because I flipping love opera and I think more people would like it if it didn't have such a rep for being a snooty thing for old snoots.

At rock concerts (among other types of live musical performances) it is also typical for audiences to scream or sometimes whistle in appreciation of a performance. People also sometimes begin to move their bodies rhythmically with the music, which is sometimes known as dancing. Customs are weird! I think you notice it more at a classical performance because that's all the audience is allowed to do!

I like at the opera when people yell "BRAVA!" after the aria because it feels kind of old school, plus a good aria is transcendent and sometimes you just gotta yell about it.

Totally.

i was at a grand opening of a restored civil war-era fort recently. some re-enactors were there to lend some historic levity to the sitch. there was one guy there who, as far as i could tell, was not among the re-enactors. he just seemed to enjoy going to such events in period clothes. looked like an extra from deadwood. with one of those dumb tall hats. i'm walking around taking pictures of the event and at the conclusion this guy ends up beside me. when the person on the mic said "that's it, thanks for coming," this guy yells "THREE CHEERS FOR THESE UNITED STATES. HUZZAH! HUZZAH! HUZZAH!" waving his dumb tall hat around. it was embarrassing.

'dumb tall hat' is making me lol

as old school yells go, it's not a fave

irl lol?

OTM. Also, applause for soloists in the middle of jazz shows, before the song is over.

― WilliamC, Wednesday, December 19, 2012 12:18 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ARRRG this drives me fucking nuts. I always wonder if the next soloist is thinking, "Yeah, I'll just phone it in until the applause for the previous solo dies down and you can actually hear me, thanks."

http://www.allyourjazz.com/2009/12/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/

(1) Clapping after EACH solo is fine; however keep the clapping to a minimum. Now, that isn’t to say that musicians want to hear golf claps; rather keep the length of the clap brief. This is mostly because the music is still going, and the end of a solo could be an important transition to the next part of the song. This is in contrast with the classical or operatic clap which involves profuse bowing on the part of the performer and many curtain calls.

(2) In general, when there are multiple soloists playing right after the other, there is a progression where the lead or featured musician will be going last. This means there is generally a progression in the volume of the clapping, starting with moderate and ending in a loud. Keep in mind, though, that you should still refrain from any sustained clapping beyond 4 to 5 seconds.

(3) Yelling is generally not the best way to respond after a solo, although the occasional “yeah” or “woo-hoo” can be heard. Let us just point out that this is generally done by those you know the artists personally or who are at least a regular to jazz concerts. When going to your first couple of gigs, you might not want to be the first person to do this. In short, refrain from verbal outbursts or anything that might involve a spotlight being place on you.

(4) The avid jazz listener and frequent guest at jazz gigs will often let you a short comment or even a small clap IN THE MIDDLE of the solo. The reason for this is that they usually hear something in the solo that is very notable and common in jazz – “the quote.” Musicians like to quote themselves and each other, and what this means is that they might throw in a short reference to “pop goes the weasel” or other famous lick mid-solo. Not only is it creative and entertains the crowd with their musicality and musical ability, but it can even quote a musician who has used that line before (maybe even in the same song). For beginners, don’t worry about this. Let the regulars handle this, and don’t feel offended if it happens.

One last bit about applause. The noobie might perceive the “post-solo” clapping to be short and disrespectful, but it is well received. It is enough to hear response and know that the audience is with them, and at the same time, they know the rest of the song can keep going without thunderous applause or other interruption.

otoh I agree with you guys

well i'm never going to a jazz show now

jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/jazz-etiquette-what-to-do-how-to-react-at-a-jazz-concert/

I didn't think there was a way to suck the fun and excitement out of jazz, but there it is: For beginners, don’t worry about this. Let the regulars handle this, and don’t feel offended if it happens.

That site should probably just be called suckingthefunandexcitementoutofjazz.com

do not make eye contact with other jazz goers or musicians, or draw any kind of attention to your presence at all, or the concert will come to a screeching halt and you will be fired up on by snipers.

Is this the Irrationally Angry or Irrationally Embarrassed thread? I'm now confused.

please refrain from enthusiasm of any kind. you are a beginner, you couldn't possibly appreciate jazz until you have been to at least nine hundred concerts. beat it, loser.

xp We were embarrased then we got angry the more we thought about it.

Etiquette shmetiquette. Seriously, long lists of rules about how one should and should not approach/appreciate art really get my dander up. Sorry to use such rough language.

no schmoffense taken

Old Lunch OTM. I want to punch whoever wrote that "jazz" "etiquette" piece. Any guidance beyond "listen" is suspect.

i'm embarrassed on the behalf of the person who wrote it
how boring and uncomfortable it must be to be that person

was taught in middle school that one applauds a jazz solo and one does not applaud between movements of an orchestral work

jazz is kind of embarrassing overall

Irrational fear of buying toilet paper, especially in high quantities. It's never Happened, but I keep fearing the store clerk that will wrinkle his brow, look at me with a broad grin, and ask "So, Poopin tonight, eh?".

― NINO CARTER, Wednesday, December 19, 2012 5:18 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

Avoid this situation by requesting toilet paper anytime a flatmate/friend asks if you want anything from the shop. It really pisses people off

I used to be the designated toilet paper buyer for the shared house I lived in, and I had absolutely no fear about rocking up to the supermarket checkout with two jumbo 9 roll packs.

Then I'd have to hide like four rolls in my room, so that we didn't suddenly run out.

I'm super-awkward about making appointments and scheduling maintenance in my home. Toilet paper buying, not really.

i was once designated to purchase tampons -- as i was scanning the shelves looking for the correct item, a woman hi-fived me

(this was not embarrassing, just unusual)

aw

hearing people, usually drunk, talk in fake english accents.

Yeah, unless you're, like, fourteen and buying them for your mom, I never understood the embarrassment of buying tampons as a dude. I mean, clearly they aren't for you. Unless it's some gynophobic thing I don't get because I'm not Macho.

Someone I like posted an email to the entire department asking them to vote for her in some online competition.

If it had been someone I don't like I'd be straight to the stupid annoying coworkers thread but as it is I'll just have to feel embarrassed.

I think it's supposed to threaten your masculinity in some way or your self image by associating yourself with products that are not for men or indicate you may be pooping, a time when you would be vulnerable to attack. x-p

It's just misogyny, y'all.

I always thought I was violating the sanctity of some secret female aisle.

But hey, it wasn't me that stocked the diapers there.

how can I know when jazz is occurring?

http://thestockmasters.com/files/images/story-images/hannibal-a-team.jpg

when hannibal is around

Cosby had good taste in Jazz iirc

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lp1wdhYlyq1r00k3po1_r2_500.gif

http://d2tq98mqfjyz2l.cloudfront.net/image_cache/1313252609743540.gif

Sorry. "cosby show dance gif" may be the best Google search results ever.

omg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_logxw2QbRO1r03vjuo1_250.gif

wau

Thanking u

okay one more

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx958nQ3jv1qaboh9o1_500.gif

it'll be embarrassing when my mom gives me that sweater for xmas

It'll be less embarrassing if you dance in it.

I would wear that sweater.

It's pretty cool that one man can become an icon for a very specific type of ugly sweater.

I'm a little irrationally embarrassed by my sudden overwhelming feelings of affection toward Bill Cosby.

Whooee feelings are even more embarrassing than bodies, imo.

even pleated pants work on bill cosby

In Britain, there are two '80s US sweater icons: Cos and Casey Kasem.

are they called jumper icons?

xp don't forget Noel Edmonds.
Actually, wait...
Forget Noel Edmonds

xp to LL - Oh, speaking of bodies, I was going to offer a long post in solidarity with your "chewing" embarrassment, but never got around to it, but chewing gets to me, too. So does any situation where I'm expected to stand and eat and socialize. I usually just don't eat, which is how I end up wasted at work parties.

EATING AND SOCIALIZING IS NOT INNOCUOUS

(But yes, embarrassing)

The standing is a crucial component. I can eat with other people in a social setting, but being expected to stand and talk and hold a drink and a napkin full of mini-quiche ugh. I'm always so focused on getting my hands free that I stuff whatever it is in my mouth and then I'm chewing like a cow and that's always when somebody says, "So, carl agatha, how's that big case coming?"

Then I have to do the universal symbol for "I acknowledge you but do not want to talk with my mouth full" and suddenly everybody is watching me chew and I've got the added pressure of wondering whether what I have to say in response is going to make everybody annoyed that they stood there waiting and watching me chew. It's just the worst.

you ppl with your fancy work parties

Work parties at my new job are super fancy! And plentiful. I could have attended four holiday parties had I been so inclined (I was not).

you ppl with your fancy work

Standing and eating doesn't leave my hands free to applaud after a solo.

Just get a straw and blow bubbles

I'm a little irrationally embarrassed by my sudden overwhelming feelings of affection toward Bill Cosby.

YES. I hadn't thought of him really in a while and seeing him make crazy faces gave me huge nostalgic flashbacks. My cousin and I watched "Bill Cosby Himself" like a hundred times on HBO at my grandmother's house when I was a kid.

As for the sweaters this is one of my favorite things in the world: http://www.geekosystem.com/cosby-regression-sweater/

Amazing.

I remember watching Himself at a slumber party and LOLing my head off. My dad had a Bill Cosby comedy record (with the bit about him saving a snowball in the freezer) and I would put on my dad's big old 70s can headphones and listen to that record and laugh and laugh.

hearing people, usually drunk, talk in fake english accents.

― akm, Wednesday, December 19, 2012 2:03 PM (1 hour ago)

i watched a friend's play (another embarrassing situ) that was done entirely like this

It is embarrassing watching someone pretend to be drunk and doing a terrible job of it (whether IRL or in theater).

The standing is a crucial component.

It's not THAT difficult.

accidentally replying to all rather than just the sender, a feeling of shameful horror even when your message is perfectly innocuous.

instant suicidal urges if it's not innocuous.

ONE TIME I got an email from a nonprofit I had worked with for many years announcing an important event taking place the following day, which was a good example of how frustratingly disorganized they were. One day's notice for a major fundraising effort? Are you shitting me?

Anyway, forwarded that email to Jeff with some brief but irritated commentary on the matter, including at least one f-bomb, but really I replied to all. The whole mailing list. It was three to five years ago and I still feel sick thinking about it.

If you reply all on my work email it pops up a box asking if you really mean to, for which I am grateful.

where can you buy cosby sweaters

talking on the phone - ie me

I'm okay if it's casual friend phonecalls, but if through my work, or my freelance writing, I have to call complete strangers and explain myself I just, I can't stand it. Having someone kinda half interested going 'okayyyy' *silence* or 'uh huh' and I start imagining that I'm just pissing them off and wasting their time and oh god I just want to dig a big hole and bury myself in it. I hate hearing myself stumble over my words and nervously laugh and ugh i just DIE

I hate it

Smiling or waving back at someone who I think is smiling or waving at me but not. Want to disappear.

I get extremely embarrassed when the waiter/waitress asks me "how's everything tasting?" I'm not sure why, but I feel really awkward and embarrassed when that question is posed to me.

"Wonderful! Then tell me, what do you think of the smell of this place?"

everything is tasting like ash in my mouth.

somehow i'd be much more comfortable with "how are we doing over here" or some such. The tasting question makes me feel too much like a king or something.

(hands burger to waitress)
"My husband says this tastes like shit. What do you think?"

"Tasting" feels weirdly personal to me.

Also it forces you to answer a question before you can ask for whatever you actually need. "Fine except I need a side of ranch" "Dry, because I need another beer" "I don't know because you never brought silverware"

lol

accidentally replying to all rather than just the sender, a feeling of shameful horror even when your message is perfectly innocuous.

― Merdeyeux, Thursday, January 3, 2013 4:53 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This happened at work recently, in almost Abbott and Costello fashion, turned from embarrassment into outright anger. One person accidentally sent an email to the entire firm instead of just the necessary groups, and then hundreds of people responded to say "please take me off the email", whilst another 100-200 replied to say "Everybody STOP REPLYING ALL", while...replying all themselves.

Server actually became overwhelmed and crashed temporarily as a result. Was restored pretty quick but it did scare me that some of these were high level execs sending the stupid replies.

^^^this is the WORST.

There's a well-worn bit of net folklore about such an occurrence that derailed everything at a multinational for several days.

I suggested layoffs for all guilty parties but our leaders were not amused

this is the kind of simple thing, that like the basic steps you can take as a driver to prevent/help clear up traffic jams, should be basic instruction for every person living in decent society.

Seeing my dad theatrically sighing and passing his hand across his face and/or chest in an attempt to get people to ask whether he's ok so that he can say 'I'm so tired'. I don't want to ignore him, but I do, because it's babyish and embarrassing, but it also feels babyish and embarrassing of me to pretend it didn't happen. Which I almost always do.

When I was little, I had an acute fear that one day (possibly as an adult) I'd be in a restaurant and the waiter would put a large napkin around my neck like you sometimes see in cartoons or caricatures.

My sister refers to her dogs as her children. Often. It's embarrassing.

Ugh I have multiple friends who bandy about phrases like "furbabies" and one of them is a rampant anti-kids woman (which is fine) but she goes on about her (now deceased) dog like it was her child. And calls other peoples dogs "godchildren" and shit.

JUST HAVE A FUCKING KID

Nobody loves dogs more than me, but 'furbaby'? ARGH VOM.

Are they literally yr children, tho? Yjat's how my sister(s) see them

(Thats)

Seeing my dad theatrically sighing and passing his hand across his face and/or chest in an attempt to get people to ask whether he's ok so that he can say 'I'm so tired'. I don't want to ignore him, but I do, because it's babyish and embarrassing, but it also feels babyish and embarrassing of me to pretend it didn't happen. Which I almost always do.

I have a strict "use your words" policy when interacting with speech-capable humans. I hate that shit.

(I doubt she thinks she gave birth to them, but I honestly wonder where the line lies sometimes)

"granddogger"

JUST HAVE A FUCKING KID

Not always possible for a lot of people, you know.

Still, and I say this as person who owns a tiny dog that often sleeps between my legs in bed, people who refer to pets as children are all sorts of horrible.

Person in question could have kids, and also loves to date guys w/kids already provided. Point taken tho.

my old boss was a gay man, and i know he saw his dogs as his kids. when one of them got cancer and died at age 14, he was out of office for two weeks, and when I saw him when he returned, I know he was broken inside.

i realize a lot of people think of humans as "different" and "not animals" but i don't think there is anything wrong with thinking of animals as your children, even if biologically they are clearly not.

I would protect my children with my life and would give one of you up before my kids.

Binx the Cat, on the other hand...

political debates

Usher's "Climax" and any other song that talks explicitly about, um, climaxing. I prefer sex lyrics shrouded in metaphor and shame, thank you.

i think i have a much, much lower tolerance for public asskissing than others do. i find it extremely gross and uncomfortable and embarrassing to watch while others seem to not be bothered at all.

how literally are you talking here

people literally pulling down other people's pants and kissing their anuses

I talk to myself a....ok you know what, screw it, I'm not going to be able to top the post above

- eye tests

^ I find it weird how embarrassed I get to miss one letter, so sometimes I memorize the board in advance.

the awkward pauses on the phone when my dad and i are trying to work out whether it's time to end the phone call. i only get this with him. he likes to go down conversational tangents and mention w/e has caught his imagination lately but there's a resultant trepidation in the lulls where we can hear each other wondering if we should finish it up or carry on and it leads to these weird abrupt farewells.

i find that a good "hey dad, i have to go" is a pretty good fiction that everyone is happy to use and have used on them. no one ever asks where you need to go or what you're doing.

BUT WHEN?!

during the first awkward pause that feels like a good stopping point.

Ha, my parents do the "Well, I'm going to let you go..." like they would love to stay on the phone but they can tell that I have a busy and important life and don't want to keep me from it, even when I've made it clear that I've blocked out as much time as they want for chatting. See also "I don't want to run up your phone bill..." or "I don't want to use up all of your minutes" dispute having a cellphone plan with free long distance and unlimited minutes. I'll even say that and five minutes later, "Well, I don't want to run up your bill..."

It's not that they don't like me. It's that they don't want to be on the phone anymore and are constitutionally incapable of saying that they have something better to do.

despite not dispute. The disputes are all related to politics.

exactly! the excuse is a convenient fiction everyone can use to avoid the social awkwardness of saying "I don't want to talk to you anymore." Everyone knows it's not about the phone bill, and everyone's ok with that.

i dunno, i find 'i'll let you go' pretty socially awkward

"Well. I don't want to keep you any longer."
"Your mom says you had a good Christmas?"

i dunno, i find 'i'll let you go' pretty socially awkward

that's why you say "i have to go" instead. it's better for everyone involved. it's like saying, "I'd love to chat all day, but unfortunately some outside condition that's out of my control is preventing me. If I could change it, I would, but I can't. So I'll talk to you later." It puts the blame on some external factor, not the feelings of the people on the phone.

I agree! But attributing a feeling to someone else rather than own up to having that feeling yourself out of an assumption that the other person will be sad if you own up to that feeling is kind of my family's super power. Sometimes I think I'm the only person who wants to talk to her grandmother on the phone more than she wants to talk to me. I can usually get about five minutes before she's not wanting to run up my bill.

this is when we're both happy to let the conversation meander w/ no other pressure or boredom & yet during every lull there is an awareness that it will have to end at some point & this is nice but i suppose it could be now? maybe that's what he's thinking? and often the conversation restarts but sooner or later there will be the abrupt goodbye.

phones, man

skype4eva

I have a strict "use your words" policy when interacting with speech-capable humans. I hate that shit.

this is way more IA than IE but YES. i hear your obviously-voluntary laughter that wouldn't exist if someone else wasn't in the room. no, i'm not going to ask "what's so funny." i am willing to let this nip this interaction in the bud right now, no matter how awkward it is.

*willing to nip this

ok actual IE: screwing up or seeing someone else screw up a text entry in a way that lets everyone else see how they were originally going to phrase it before editing

The fact that the consent form for my forthcoming vasectomy was printed in jolly Comic Sans

Well, the "Sans" part makes sense.

sans deferens

Work caption competitions and the winning results. One tiny dark photo of a meeting where someone is accidentally pulling a slightly wacky face + one assortment of Movember photos = painful absence of lols, to be repeated at least once yearly in the Christmas newsletter

airline pilot intercom "humorous banter"

Employees singing Happy Birthday to a cake inscribed with half a dozen names.

Bonus points if my own is on there as well.

i used to get embarrassed when my dad would ramble on and never listen to the person trying to talk to him but now i don't care. i'm just glad he's still alive so i just watch him and smile. its like watching a big demented baby talk to people. who is hard of hearing. and who listens to jazz all day long and reads the wall street journal. okay, that's a really weird baby...

― scott seward, Monday, 26 November 2012 16:59 (1 month ago) Permalink

scott this is one of the best/sweetest things ever posted on here, thank u much bro

what i could never deal with was movies where the protagonist is blamed for/suspected of doing something wrong/evil/criminal/morally indefensible, but you, the viewer, are the only one who knows they are innocent/being framed/mistaken for someone else.

― the oral history of (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Monday, December 10, 2012 2:51 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what i hate though is when someone is being blamed for something they didn't do, and yet for some reason they don't do anything to explain their innocence.

― besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Monday, December 10, 2012 2:54 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ALL-TIME CARTOON PET PEEVES

(CYE was mentioned upthread, but I feel like Arrested Development was another show that deliberately played with the uncomfortableness of this dramatic device)

40 Days and 40 Nights did this in the worst way possible, the main character literally gets raped and then broken up with because she thinks that he cheated on her and he never says "hey I was actually raped"

Wasn't "Curb yr Enthus" all about that as well?

Customer service talk on the HMV thread reminds me:

I went to my building society the other day and the cashier was super cheery and helpful and THEN he said "and there's a chance you may be phoned later on today by our customer service quality control reps, so if you feel you could vote ten out of ten for your service today..."

I felt so bad for that guy having to ask. Also cz I would've voted 10/10 without being asked but being asked to immediately made me think of reasons not to.

Nobody phoned anyway.

any type of performance that requires being HAPPY! in a really showy way (which means i can't watch any singing/dancing-based reality show)

― congratulations (n/a), Monday, November 26, 2012 10:33 AM (2 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

given this i probably should not have watched the movie 'pitch perfect' at all but there's a part in the movie where the acapella groups are having a "riff off" where one group starts a song and then another group interrupts with a different song and it's full of attitude and then anna kendrick runs in and starts doing the rap from "no diggity" (because she's an edgy dj) but she's doing it in her anna kendrick voice and i got so embarrassed that i literally had to hide under a blanket

Haha oh no! Anna Kendrick rapping "No Diggity" sounds truly terrible.

oh shit it's on youtube. it's hard for me think of anything more excruciating than this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q573_hDhTbE

what i could never deal with was movies where the protagonist is blamed for/suspected of doing something wrong/evil/criminal/morally indefensible, but you, the viewer, are the only one who knows they are innocent/being framed/mistaken for someone else.
― the oral history of (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Monday, December 10, 2012 2:51 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what i hate though is when someone is being blamed for something they didn't do, and yet for some reason they don't do anything to explain their innocence.

― besides Sunny Real Estate (dog latin), Monday, December 10, 2012 2:54 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha I feel like the entire character of bates in downton abbey is premised on this

Arrrrrrggghhhhhh that video made me want to die before the first ten seconds were over. Why are they having a sing-off in an abandoned pool, anyway?

uh it's a RIFF OFF

You know, I have seen and LOVED every Step It Up movie where they do fucking ridiculous things like have dance offs in parking garages but for some reason, the same concept applied to a capella singing groups embarrasses me.

honestly after sitting through Pitch Perfect that was kind of the high point --- everytime they started singing I died of embarrassment tbh

i call that "'good' singing"

the shame of chobani (brand) passion fruit (flavor) yogurt is doubled because i get one light wave of embarrassment when i buy it, and another bonus one when i eat it.

still, it's so tasty that i keep enduring this cycle of shame once every two weeks or so.

I had a pretty serious addiction to raspberry chobani for a while

If there were another way to get passion fruit pulp into my yogurt, I would do it. But aside from making little squeeze tubes from frozen Goya pre-sweetened passion fruit pulp (maracuya) and plastic sandwich bags, I can't see that happening. I don't see fresh passion fruits being sold anywhere.

Also the frozen Goya stuff doesn't have the seeds, and I like the seeds.

Doomed to eating this yogurt and feeling ashamed about it ;_;

my parents used to grow them, ubiquitous in every austrlalian garden. I wonder if they grow here? They must, surely. I never see them grown though, or even really sold anywhere.

v easy to grow iirc

Really!? I guess I've only seen them in the southern hemisphere now that I think about it. I would like to grow some passion fruits.

They are in my local grocery store! (run by Peruvians).

I only see pomegranates, no passion fruits. Maybe I should look around a little more! But therein lies the shame of Chobani -- why look around for anything when the chobani passion fruit is right in front of me.

I bet you could grow it indoors -- they don't mind the cold but I don't think they stand up to frosts/snow very well.

wait is this brand of yogurt supposed to be embarrassing why?

because it's dumb-sounding

i would think squeeze tube "gogurt" to be the 9/11 of shame.

It's probably way too cold (or warm for too short a time) to grow passion fruit in Chicago. It's basically frost or snow between late November and, oh, April. (Which is why "localvore" never made any sense to me in Chicago, but that's for another thread.)

I got a couple of fresh passionfruit on my last trip to Atlanta -- the most amazing flavor ever. I need to find that yogurt or the frozen Goya pulp and get some of that embarrassment.

Chobani yogurt is an Anglicized spelling of the Persian chob-ban, meaning "shepherd" (literally he who carries a stick –-- something that shepherds traditionally do).

one of the grossest sentences i've heard was from an acquaintance who said "papa needs his chobani"

Humiliating

LOL

it sounds like a derivate of choad. 'that dude was a total chobani'

Don't really get the chobani embarrassment but I don't eat yogurt

papa needs his little stick-carrier.

It's embarrassing to say (choBAni yoMAma emBARRassed)
overly focus-grouped (speakers of many languages will be able to pronounce it!)
sounds like choad
is a name for yogurt and yogurt is
a) hard to eat in a dignified way
b) gross to watch someone else eat
c) a bunch of gross white shit with fruit in it
d) called "yogurt"

I could go on, but why. Clearly I have made my case. The fact that I have all of these feelings about yogurt yet continue to eat it is a sign of my willingness - even eagerness! - to humiliate myself.

Don't really get the chobani embarrassment but I don't eat yogurt

― congratulations (n/a), Monday, February 18, 2013 9:09 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Why, are you ashamed?

your secret yogurt shame

also i thought this was a thread for irrational embarrassment
you don't have to get it

I think yogurt has been cast as ladyfood or diet food or food for people with IBS, so there's definitely a gendered/medicalized/both aura about it, too. Also those horrendous commercials with bridesmaids eating yogurt and talking about how good it is compared to various tedious events in their lives.

i sometimes eat dannon fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt and am unembarrassed

i believe this is the only milieu in which i have encountered the boysenberry

it's like the cheesy poofs of yogurt

I've disliked watching ppl eat yogurt since childhood. It peaked in the college cafeteria when I saw a friend eating a giant jiggly bowl of blueberry yog.

I avoided sitting with him. Yogurt requires no chewing,Iike baby food.

is the eating of ice cream easier to witness?

One of my most-remembered bits from One Day at a Time is Ms. Romano complaining about yogurt and how even saying it is unappealing. "Yo-GURT... yo-GURT!"

Moderately, it's less jiggly.

Maybe that's why I'm ashamed of yogurt!! All I remember abt that show is the abundance of plants.

I remember the many plants too.

Also I just realized, 'Ms. Romano' = a dairy product complaining about another dairy product...

I mostly remember the high-waisted trousers and enviably winged hair.

And the damn theme song, the words to which are taking up valuable space in my brain where Jeff's social security number and work phone should go.

My supermarket sells passion fruit, but they're like $3 EACH and not ripe at all. There's a farmers market close to work that has been known to sell nice ripe ones for much cheaper. I looked into growing them myself, but it sounded kind of tricky and the plants take a couple of years to bear fruit.

Next time I see them I'll send some to you, LL - pf is probably my favorite fruit.

Also I just realized, 'Ms. Romano' = a dairy product complaining about another dairy product...

is this why la lechera is complaining too?

anyway: people who can't control the volume of their voice. I'm sure I do this sometimes & I get embarrassed if I noticed but when other people do it & don't notice I'm kinda mortified although there's no reason i should even care

people yelling in public/talking loud enough that other can hear from a distance freak me out, i have a pavolovian reaction to it that sends a chill up my spine. i was so glad to move out of my old neighborhood cuz yelling down streets is basically how everyone there communicates.

as someone who often finds himself continuing phone conversations in my building's elevator and politely lowering my volume so as to not bother anyone else, I'm annoyed and embarrassed for people who don't do the same (it'd be a cliche to think they're doing it because they're trying to impress others around them, but it sometimes seems that way...but then again that might just be bc I live in L.A.)

is this why la lechera is complaining too?
yes, i am a dairy product! a sweet delicious dairy product. i just thank the heavens every single day that i am not yogurt.

Using a cellphone in public.

I know, I know, I should've gotten over this sometime around 1998.

ex-coworkers who come back to the office to visit

even if they're friends, or people I like, it's just so awkward and strange and I honestly don't know how they could even walk in the front door without dying of embarrassment. I can't even fathom doing such a thing. It's so... sad.

yup... it's weird for everyone involved. half the people don't know the person, the other half kind of do this weird fawning thing, and the person in question's all "so you're still all working and stuff huh?"

we have a quasi old coworker back ... he left when the company moved about 6 months ago. he never found a new job since he still lives with his parents, so he's working here for a month on some random project. i wouldn't care so much if he wasn't kinda weird with me, trying to posture and shit when i'm around, and then getting nervous when i'm just looking at him while he's talking. what is up with that? another innocuous thing that makes you irrationally angry.

oh, this is the embarrassed thread. posting in one thread thinking it's another, that at least fits here.

one guy I used to work with has come by 3 times since he was let go, ostensibly to give someone in the office something or other, but each time he ends up standing at my cubicle and we make smalltalk and I'm like...dude...why are you here

haha...i've done this, but then again i was really going in to visit my old boss so it wasn't the same as a total random walk-in. but everyone did seem flummoxed.

i think they were wondering why i did it

http://kytx.images.worldnow.com/images/15256193_BG1.jpg

It actually used to piss me off a little bit at my old job, especially there toward the end when I was really, really looking for a way out.

"Hey, it's Baker! Still in this same old studio? Wow, I think that cart deck was still there even when I was here. Daniel B. still come around?"

I'm all shut the fuck up -your history is my present - I'm not your nostalgia - yeah daniel b still comes around.

No joke TWO ex-coworkers visited our office within half an hour of each other this afternoon.

And they took complete tours of the sales floor, hanging out at people's desks and going into manager's offices and OH MY GOD YOU'VE MOVED EVERYONE AROUND and OH WOW and uhhhhhh just let me die of embarrassment for you both, this is a terrible idea and you should leave

My last job (the terrible one!) is the only one I've ever contemplating visiting and it's just bc I really liked my coworkers. Also there was definitely a culture of people returning after they left. I think working in that environment forged steel bonds of coworkership in the blue-hot fires of WTFery. But so far I've just met up w/ friends from that job outside of work (also the first job I've left where I've stayed habitually in touch w/ former coworkers, unless you count the restaurant where Jesse and I met).

My office is a pretty nice place to work, granted, so I'm not completely mystified as to why they'd come back. But still. I guess I just still have that ingrained thing of WORK vs LIFE. They're pretty firmly compartmentalized for me, I can't see myself ever missing too many people there, no matter how friendly they are. I would definitely, absolutely rather catch up with ex-coworkers outside of work at a social gathering than ever go back to my old office to say hi.

If I'm being totally honest, the desire to go back and visit is to see if all the complete weirdos are still so fucking weird.

<3

I've gone by my old job twice now, I think? I only left in August and still am on the same campus and my old office is right across from where I can get free DVDs at the library so it sort of feels strange to not stop in when people see me through the giant windows. I like everyone there for the most part so it isn't super awkward or anything.

There's a different vibe to it when you work in an office park where visiting would require a special trip. That may be part of why I would feel okay visiting my last job, too. It's in a big, central public building with lots of public services and a train station so it wouldn't be weird for me to pop in.

Clicking on the profile of someone who leaves a comment on your meetup group. Seeing they are a member of many naturist groups. Reading the posts on their profile page. Seeing the thumbnails of the people who wrote the posts.

not irrational!

ha no, was just taking this as a catch-all thread like the anger one.

When (on TV or in a big crowd) people start clapping along with the music on each beat. It's so flipping dorky.

People who misspell fairly comman words in Craigslist postings. Especially those using "rod iron" for "wrought iron." Chihuahua also gets a lot of misspellings, but they're usually funny ("Chiwawa").

Chester drawers.

Bedroom suit.

definatly

I grew up amidst an entire county of people who said bedroom suit, such that I just now had to go to the internet to determine why that was wrong and what it should actually be. (I have avoided embarrassment by saying "bedroom furniture.")

maybe 'bedroom suit' is like 'birthday suit', describing nudity w/a different purpose (sex)

Bedroom eyes, peering out of your bedroom suit.

bedroom suit + tails = furries

People who misspell fairly comman words

ALWAYS HAPPENS.

Is there a name for the rule that says "whenever you write a post criticising someone's spelling or grammar, you will make a mistake yourself"?

Haha, and I made sure I spelled "misspell" correctly (one "s" or two?).

And yes, chester drawers is another favorite.

And I swear I've seen colder sack for cul de sac.

these are eggcorns iirc?

poke-a-dotted is the one i've seen most recently

Is there a name for the rule that says "whenever you write a post criticising someone's spelling or grammar, you will make a mistake yourself"?

― emil.y, Friday, March 15, 2013 6:13 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Muphry's Law

chiwaughwaugh

Wow, I had never heard/seen "bedroom suit" before!

People pronouncing "cache" as "cachet" though...

I hate when I over Frenchify words. IE-maker for sure.

Though not so much when it's ridiculously Anglicized place names we have around here (Des Plaines/Dezz Plains, DuPage/DooPage).

One that I hated was Calliope Street in New Orleans. "Cally-ope." And Chartres/Charters.

I'm IE about the opposite:

West of town, we've got Shinall Mountain, where all the radio towers are.

When the developers came into that area during the early 80s, they renamed the streets and neighborhood Chenal Valley.

when it gets to be ~9pm pacific and ilxor-east coast is all abed and I'm still posting and I end up with more than one of the top few "last post by"s on ILE I feel like I'm talking too much

You and me both, sister.

i hear u cluckin' big chicken

I feel that way about late friday afternoon posts, as it becomes clear that everyone has left work and now has either gone out or at least has something better to do on friday evening

I keep thinking about some really ill advised submission letter stunts back when I was a youngin' with dreams of poetry and fiction publication, which for some reason is make me want to puke with embarrassment 16 years later wtf.

Just about everything Rock Hardy ever posted embarrasses the hell out of me when I come across it.