The grumpy thread

[outlaw118 6209]

Mrs Outlaw's nan dies this morning. That's 3 family members in the last month, 2 on my side, one on hers.

Nan was 101 and a half, and still as sharp as a button, mental-wise, it's just everything else that was knackered. She outlived her two kids and two grandchildren, and at 98, said to me that she wanted to go.

I told her she wasn't allowed to die until she was 100 as i'd never met anyone with a telegram from the queen before, so she agreed to plod on!

RIP Vi, t'was a pleasure.

[Conrad D. Conelrad 23806]

Get to the GP

 

Booked the earliest available appointment... 22nd June. Great, that's useful.

 

I suppose that's the downside of free NHS GP care.

 

Here in Ireland you pay €50 or thereabouts for a visit to the GP, but at least you're (usually) seen straight away - I dunno which system I'd prefer.

 

Obviously everyone would love to be seen straight away for free but that would involve paying more tax, and nobody likes that.

 

It's something of a lottery. When I fell ill down on the south coast I had no problem getting same or next day appointments at the local GP. When I got home to the north west it was three to five days before I could get an appointment.

[Caffiend 450]

I should get internet banking, but I almost certainly won't.

Probably a good thing. I've had no fewer than two cards hacked in two weeks - to be fair to the 2 different banks concerned, they spotted the unusual transactions and contacted me to ask if they were mine and there's been no argument about stopping the transactions/refunds if they allowed 'em through.

 

My own actual grump of the day:

 

My lodger has given me very reasonable notice of moving out, so I've advertised the room. When people get fed up with being idiotic wankers about cars for sale on ebay I guess they trawl through 'rooms for rent' websites. My ad has a reasonable amount of information, in English, as opposed to Bulgarian or Swahili, about:

a) me/the house - including making it clear that I am a *live in* landlord

facilities and what to expect (I'll clean weekly as I'd have to do it anyway, bills all included, quiet location, blah blah blah)

the kind of lodger I require

 

But apparently it's still not clear that this is NOT a fucking hotel, it's my home.

 

Potential lodger: Is the room still available?

Me: Yes

PL: When can I move in?

Me: When hell freezes over

 

PL: I work in (miles away) would you consider reduction?

Me: No, because your commute is not my problem (£300 all in is bargainous)

 

PL: Would you consider housing benefits?

Me: Read the advert (No)

 

PL: I'm 25

Me: Read the advert (30+ i.e. No)

 

PL: Are you OK with single parents?

Me: Depends on age of children as one of the cats bites, and how often you would want them to stay over

PL: Oh, they live with me

Me: Read the advert (guests OK but room is intended for single occupancy on full-time basis, i.e. No)

 

etc ...

[willswitchengage 8310]

etc ...

 

Are you using spareroom.co.uk? We did last year when someone in our house dropped out of Uni. Despite stipulating generally that all we wanted was a hard working student (like the rest of us) we somehow ended up with a single parent mong who within a month held me at knifepoint for asking him not to turn the heating to up 25 degrees "because his room is upstairs and it takes a while to heat up", never did any housework then said "yeah that needed cleaning really" when I/one of the girls tidied up, spent all day watching Dave then banged on about how much hard work his bizarre college BTEC or whatever was, rarely washed, was OCD about the dishwasher so never did his own washing up either, stayed up all night slamming doors and had some general health and safety complex where the extent of smalltalking would him be him saying "YOU KNOW LEAVING THE LIVING ROOM DOOR OPEN INVALIDATES THE HOME INSURANCE". Ironically we found a lovely spare room lodgery person on SR the year before and had a great time, so no real lesson learnt I guess.

[morris_ital_lover 121]

Spare rooms are a bit of a nightmare, ATM I'm in a student house with two normal people and someone found off the internet. She's batshit* mental and consequently I'm moving out, my next house was going swimmingly until we had to put down the full deposit at which point the fourth guy bailed at 1:30 that morning and the other two wanted to fill the room with whoever so once friends of friends failed we turned to the internet and we've had about 30 people say they are interested but still nothing tangible.... Not exactly helped by the fact that because it's Northern Ireland lots of other students at QUB are moving home next year as the fees go up and consequently there's nobody who isn't a time waster looking.

 

*Does the heating thing except she's put it up to 35c a couple of times, accused me of theft, stolen from me, went totally crazy at my housemates a couple of times etc.

[Mr H Sceptre 6]

Can someone delete the spam? Also, please stop replying to it!

 

 

Sortido.......

[Cavcraft 103883]

After crowing about my recent bike riding, and doing another 14 miles today, I was paid back by having the back ache from absolute hell this afternoon. Came on out of the blue as I was walking along slowly and is excrutiatingly painful. Had a red hot bath when I got home followed immediately by a liberal coating of Deep Heat. I actually screamed in agony when that got to work after about .0003 seconds.

[cobblers 11871]

Sold the old engine out of my van for LOADS OF MONEY but ended up copping for £240 of Scottish 20s. Who the fuck designs these things? I reckon there is some bloke up in scotland laughing his bollocks off, putting pictures of his mates on them and stuff just so they can change the note every few months so nobody down here can get used to them. There's four completely different designs in this lot I've got! Why change it so often? It's money, not a bloody bus stop advert!

 

A few years back my dodgy granddad gave all the family £50 each in a card for christmas. All of them had the same serial number, and weren't even cut square. I reckon I'm gonna have more trouble shifting these genuine notes than I did with the triangular £50s

[messerschmitt owner 1769]

Sold the old engine out of my van for LOADS OF MONEY but ended up copping for £240 of Scottish 20s. Who the fuck designs these things? I reckon there is some bloke up in scotland laughing his bollocks off, putting pictures of his mates on them and stuff just so they can change the note every few months so nobody down here can get used to them. There's four completely different designs in this lot I've got! Why change it so often? It's money, not a bloody bus stop advert!

 

A few years back my dodgy granddad gave all the family £50 each in a card for christmas. All of them had the same serial number, and weren't even cut square. I reckon I'm gonna have more trouble shifting these genuine notes than I did with the triangular £50s

I'll give you £200 for the Scottish notes.

 

There are three Scottish banks issuing notes. We own two of them. What's the problem? The other also owns Yorkshire bank.

[Ross_K 41]

You think getting rid of Scottish notes in England is bad? You should try spending Northern Irish money...

[Mr_Bo11ox 40846]

Had to take 'mechanic_Kitteh' to the vets today to have some gnashers out, obv been eating too many cat mars bars or summit. ANyway as soon as I get through the door of the vet theyre saying 'Before we go ahead would you like us to do this test on her kidneys and check her livers for XYZ, it'll cost about £30' I have no idea whether thats needed or not, but agree to it so as not to look like a massive skinflint. Then they ring up a couple of hours later and say 'right we've tested her guts and her liver performance index (or whatever it was) is about 3 which is a bit high so would you like an additional thingy that will reduce the risk associated with the anaesthetic' again I have no idea, they might as well be asking me if I want to adjust commodity trading tariffs between chile and argentina, i've got NFI mate. Anyway this time I turn it down, 'Just take the teeth out and we'll take it from there OK' 'Alright then sir you cruel tightwad bastard' I pick the cat up at 5pm (with only 4 teeth left in its mouth!) and cop a £250 hit off the vet. That would have bought all the panels for a certain Austin 1300! DAMN CAT

[Timewaster 10976]

'mechanic_Kitteh' DAMN CAT

[willswitchengage 8310]

You think getting rid of Scottish notes in England is bad? You should try spending Northern Irish money...

 

Or if you want to be REALLY adventurous, some of your up-the-creek Euros

[Guest]

Had to take 'mechanic_Kitteh' to the vets today to have some gnashers out, obv been eating too many cat mars bars or summit. ANyway as soon as I get through the door of the vet theyre saying 'Before we go ahead would you like us to do this test on her kidneys and check her livers for XYZ, it'll cost about £30' I have no idea whether thats needed or not, but agree to it so as not to look like a massive skinflint. Then they ring up a couple of hours later and say 'right we've tested her guts and her liver performance index (or whatever it was) is about 3 which is a bit high so would you like an additional thingy that will reduce the risk associated with the anaesthetic' again I have no idea, they might as well be asking me if I want to adjust commodity trading tariffs between chile and argentina, i've got NFI mate. Anyway this time I turn it down, 'Just take the teeth out and we'll take it from there OK' 'Alright then sir you cruel tightwad bastard' I pick the cat up at 5pm (with only 4 teeth left in its mouth!) and cop a £250 hit off the vet. That would have bought all the panels for a certain Austin 1300! DAMN CAT

 

You need to stop taking it to the franchised Jaguar garage, take it to a pussy specialist and not only will the bill be lower, you'll leave with a smile on your face. Perfect!

[Ross_K 41]

Or if you want to be REALLY adventurous, some of your up-the-creek Euros

 

Yep, that euro stuff isn't worth a shit. Us, the Greeks and Spanish are gonna be bartering turnips or sexual favours to pay the rent any day now.

[fiatdaft 617]

Euro's from northern ireland would be a bit hard to shift me thinks.

[Ross_K 41]

I'm not in Northern Ireland.

 

And I've never had someone north of the border turn down payment in Euros either.

[Caffiend 450]

Are you using spareroom.co.uk?

 

Yeah. Started taking lodgers just over 3 years ago. All from spareroom so far and all - to be fair - have been brilliant, but then I am seriously bloody fussy - not only do I have to live with 'em, it's my mortgage. Usual sob story: everything fine, then got made redundant, had to take a job at a lower salary blah blah. Lucky to be in work TBH, but do need a lodger to make ends meet now.

 

Dunno if it's new LHA/HB regs, or the increase in HMOs in buy-to-let properties but the 'quality' of the potential lodgers has SERIOUSLY gone downhill every time I've advertised and the expectations go up. Yeah, sure, you can have a gigantic double room with king size water bed, private en suite bathroom, valet parking, full room service and your shoes cleaned. The Premier Inn is 2 miles up the road that way, piss off and stop wasting my time. It's £300 by reason of being a home where lodger isn't restricted to their room and has kitchen/bathroom/other storage space and is really truly welcome to kick back and relax but is also expected to clean up after themselves on a day-to-day basis (i.e. keep their room clean enough that the environmental health officer wouldn't condemn as uninhabitable, make it at least look like they've made an effort to rinse their pubes out of the bath after showering, and do their own sodding washing up). Not the fucking Ritz.

 

Advantage of this being my home and being a live in LL is that I don't need Section 21 (or indeed any other legal crap) to get someone out - 1 month's notice only, or in worst case scenario, I could quite legally give 0 notice, change the locks and hand their stuff to them on the doorstep and there would be fuck all they could do about it. Even so, I'd rather not have any hassle in the first place.

[Father Ted 40]

Bastard buggering NMC want to start charging me £120 a year (from the £76 I currently pay) to work as a nurse and index link it to inflation so they can dry bum rape me even more each year.

 

Move the fuck out of ~Portland Place and ooop north, if its costing too much to hold court there you bastards

[vulgalour 44702]

pussy specialist... smile on your face. Perfect!

[Father Ted 40]

After crowing about my recent bike riding, and doing another 14 miles today, I was paid back by having the back ache from absolute hell this afternoon. Came on out of the blue as I was walking along slowly and is excrutiatingly painful. Had a red hot bath when I got home followed immediately by a liberal coating of Deep Heat. I actually screamed in agony when that got to work after about .0003 seconds.

 

Billy - rub the Deep Heat on your ring piece - I guarantee you will completely forget all about your back ache and be able to run faster too.

[Lord Sterling 9734]

Got home at around 8pm from work after my first day on day-shift. Got a pounding headache and I really just want to go to sleep. At least with night-shift I had the day to myself and relax before work. A couple of things are changing at home meaning that getting back on night shift, even if its offered would be nigh-on impossible. Brill.

[scaryoldcortina 8443]

We had a guy round from british gas today to change our meters to the new "smart" type. A bit of a surprise, we hadn't had a letter or anything. This in itself was fine, but while he was here he condemned the cooker, the water heater and ALL the pipework. Result - capped off meter and no gas, rapidly followed by no plaster on the wall, no gas appliances in the kitchen and tomorrow no money in the bank. Bang goes my car buying plans for now

 

I've already replastered the wall. That bit I can do legally

[fotorabia 2519]

Hello.Mercedes Alice Springs..i need the breather pipe connector for my W123.

Yes Sir..that will be a 3 week delivery time.

Rab waits Patiently.It arrives.Its the wrong one.

 

Later..Rab sees oil everywhere..panics..must be head gasket! Orders one..$200...upon further investigation..false..its the rocker cover gasket.Head gaskets look good hanging on wall!

 

Yesterday..Hallo..Mercedes Melbourne? I need a breather pipe connector for my W123.

Sorry Sir..we cant find that part!..OH Ok..just get me the fucken right gasket!

 

Ungrump...the Merc gets exhaust done today!

[Craig the Princess 7041]

Went to drop the AX off at the garage tonight. In a bit of a rush before picking Mrs the Princess up at the station. Got to the garage and managed to

a) Jack-knife the trailer.

Jam the van and trailer combo resulting in

3) had to push trailer and AX over tick gravel to free the van then

d) set the car up to get off the trailer and realised that the ramps were at home (I hadn't put them back on the trailer and they fell off the back of the trailer in the first 10 yards.

 

The result was I took the van and trailer to pick up Mrs the Princess 15 minutes late then needed to come home and get the ramps before taking it back.

 

Also, if you ever get the chance to manage staff turn it down.

[eddyramrod 18325]

Also, if you ever get the chance to manage staff turn it down.

 

+1, a big one! I'll never do that again. Don't want any more breakdowns thank you, that wasn't a nice place to be. VA, I'm feeling for you. Know that you have a lot of support here. Support is what you need.

[Craig the Princess 7041]

VA, I'm feeling for you. Know that you have a lot of support here. Support is what you need.

 

/\ This. There are a lot of great people on here how would help VA if you need it.

[vulgalour 44702]

It's very comfortable here on Autoshite, it all seems very honest and I feel comfortable and safe enough to actually post about mental issues which does help, a lot! More than, perhaps, people realise. Just knowing that other people can empathise and at the very least sympathise is massively useful and I do revisit previous comments when I'm feeling shitty, and womble through the forum to find stuff that gives me a lift. It might not fix me straight away, but it's the gaffa tape holding my broken brain together, and at the moment I'm happy enough with that level of bodgery.

[Inspector Morose 9029]

Alcohol is the brains gaffer tape.

[eddyramrod 18325]

Alcohol is the brains gaffer tape.

 

ABSOLUTELY NOT! Alcohol is more like a cover sill.... makes things look better for a little while, but actually contributes nothing but fund-depletion. Which always makes things worse.

 

My own grump: the ongoing frustration of having no cash. I do actually have some money coming, but how much, or when exactly, I don't know. Can't do stuff like booking a container, or flights, because they require at least a deposit, which I haven't got. Can't get the dog prepped with her jabs, for the same reason. Our last month or so is going to be a frenzy......

Meanwhile the insurance expired on my pickup so we've had no wheels over the weekend. Been scratching around for some money to pay for 3 months' cover, because that's all we need, and managed it today. No interest in any of my cars, despite constant reductions. My asking prices on all 3 are now under half what each car owes me. Five grand (sterling) would buy and ship* the Granada, then at least I could get on with making bookings. It's on Autotrader.cy, Ebay.uk, Car&Classic.... not a sniff.

 

*to UK, ro-ro only

 

It isn't all bad, see Grin.