The Vent and Rant Thread

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I hate it when an online store send you an email telling you your order has shipped and when you click on the tracking link you discover that only the shipping label has been made and it can take several days before the order is actually send.

Originally Posted by CRussel

Yes, one of my pet peeves. A shipping label is NOT the same thing as actually shipping!

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Agreed!

[Rumpelteazer]

It's so annoying.

I can understand that this time of year it's busy and it takes longer to collect an order and get it send. I can even understand it (but I don't like it) if orders from the US are more important and get shipped sooner than orders from abroad this time of year. I can also understand if the order from abroad only get picked up/send out once a week. But be honest about it.

Yesterday a shipping label has been made and, so far, today the pre-shipment info has been send to USPS.

If my order would have shipped yesterday there would have been a chance, a very slim one, that I would have gotten it before Christmas. But now I'm hoping before the end of the year.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

It's so annoying.

I can understand that this time of year it's busy and it takes longer to collect an order and get it send. I can even understand it (but I don't like it) if orders from the US are more important and get shipped sooner than orders from abroad this time of year. I can also understand if the order from abroad only get picked up/send out once a week. But be honest about it.

Yesterday a shipping label has been made and, so far, today the pre-shipment info has been send to USPS.

If my order would have shipped yesterday there would have been a chance, a very slim one, that I would have gotten it before Christmas. But now I'm hoping before the end of the year.

I forgot what I ordered but it keep saying shipping label printed. I contacted the seller and had my package in a couple of days.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I forgot what I ordered but it keep saying shipping label printed. I contacted the seller and had my package in a couple of days.

I got in a serious snit two months ago about shipping with a seller. First, they said that they were shipping it that day. I wait five days (it was only coming from the next state over and by priority mail), then see what was up (the website hadn't shown it shipped, either). Well, they say they will send it the next day and I should have it in two days. I check in again, the day they said I should have it (still nothing on website, though) and ask if they could provide me a tracking number.

They give me the tracking number. It says only that the info. has been sent. The thing didn't even ship until the day after she said I would have it. Things then got really interesting courtesy of the USPS but that is another story.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

I got in a serious snit two months ago about shipping with a seller. First, they said that they were shipping it that day. I wait five days (it was only coming from the next state over and by priority mail), then see what was up (the website hadn't shown it shipped, either). Well, they say they will send it the next day and I should have it in two days. I check in again, the day they said I should have it (still nothing on website, though) and ask if they could provide me a tracking number.

They give me the tracking number. It says only that the info. has been sent. The thing didn't even ship until the day after she said I would have it. Things then got really interesting courtesy of the USPS but that is another story.

We are still waiting on some loupes that were supposed to be here middle of October. Luckily, Amazon gave us a gift card for the amount.
That seller is no longer on Amazon.

[poohbear_nc]

Oh the irony .....

The good news? My "Xmas Gift to Me" arrived this morning! Even though I was late in ordering it ....

The bad news? Well, this is what I chose: http://www.amazon.com/Dickies-Hooded...D1MZZA8TCJJQZE

For yard work and walks in the fall and winter months ....

It's 74 F outside now, and temps are predicted to remain above average indefinitely ....

I might get to wear it in a month or two ...

[PeterT]

Well, when you go and spend time with the other birds in the freezer, it will just take you longer to freeze.....

[WT Sharpe]

All the jackets on that page give me the impression of being one size too small for the fellow modeling them.

[Hitch]

For a variety of reasons, we are doing ABSOLUTELY nothing this Xmas. We have tres dreary here; didn't do a tree, lights, nada, zip. {sigh}.

Hitch

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

For a variety of reasons, we are doing ABSOLUTELY nothing this Xmas. We have tres dreary here; didn't do a tree, lights, nada, zip. {sigh}.

Same here. Holiday dinner in preparation, but we are largely ignoring Christmas beyond that. The unseasonably warm weather (mid-70s in NYC) makes that easier than it might have been.

But then, Christmas has been an "Oh. Right. It's Christmas." affair for years here. Lacking immediate family and small children to make a fuss over it, my SO and I have no special need to celebrate, and don't feel a lack in not doing so. (We are not religious, so the spiritual aspects are largely irrelevant to us.)

Next up will be New Years, and that will be a matter of "Not dead. Not in hospital. Not in jail. Got away with it for another year. We'll settle."
______
Dennis

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Same here. Holiday dinner in preparation, but we are largely ignoring Christmas beyond that. The unseasonably warm weather (mid-70s in NYC) makes that easier than it might have been.

But then, Christmas has been an "Oh. Right. It's Christmas." affair for years here. Lacking immediate family and small children to make a fuss over it, my SO and I have no special need to celebrate, and don't feel a lack in not doing so. (We are not religious, so the spiritual aspects are largely irrelevant to us.)

Next up will be New Years, and that will be a matter of "Not dead. Not in hospital. Not in jail. Got away with it for another year. We'll settle."
______
Dennis

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up here, as well (although, Dinner is leftovers. Woot).

We don't do NYE any longer. I quit drinking a long, long time ago ('89), and doing NYE out, sober, is just boring as hell, (like weddings. Ever do a wedding and wedding reception as a non-drinker? Jesus wept), so...nyet.

I'm working. I mean, why the hell not?

Hitch

[CRussel]

I am resisting the temptation to work, but otherwise we're not doing much. Yeah, we listened to the Queen's Message, and I am cooking a duck for dinner. But that's it.

OTOH, I do wish all my friends here a safe and healthy holiday season.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up here, as well (although, Dinner is leftovers. Woot).

Dinner here was ham, with sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts from the farmer's market. (One in convenient distance means a lot of "What's for supper?" questions resolve to "What's in season?" I'm all in favor.)

We don't do NYE any longer. I quit drinking a long, long time ago ('89), and doing NYE out, sober, is just boring as hell, (like weddings. Ever do a wedding and wedding reception as a non-drinker? Jesus wept), so...nyet.

I do still drink - primarily single malt whisky - but that's a social event, done with friends. I don't drink alone, and the friends I imbibe with aren't local, so drinking happens a few times a year.

I haven't done a wedding/reception is quite some time, and the few I have done required alcohol as a counter-irritant. (In a couple of cases, not laying bets on how long the marriage would last, given the bride and groom involved, required serious exercise of will... )

We do watch the ball drop from the tower in Times Square on TV, and despite having lived in NYC for decades, I've never joined the in person mobs who pack the area. I can't imagine doing so. A few years back, a local corporation distributed 6' long white balloons to revelers, and an aerial shot of the crowd made it look like waving cilia, as though a giant rotifer was eating Manhattan. I was just as happy to watch it on TV from some distance away.

I'm working. I mean, why the hell not?

It's money. You aren't otherwise occupied. No reason not to.
______
Dennis

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I am resisting the temptation to work, but otherwise we're not doing much. Yeah, we listened to the Queen's Message, and I am cooking a duck for dinner. But that's it.

Ohhhh, duck. Duck is easy to do badly, but I'm a sucker for Duck done perfectly. Or evenly reasonably well.

OTOH, I do wish all my friends here a safe and healthy holiday season.

ABSO-POSITVE-LY. I wish ALL my MR friends--and even some of you who don't much like my humor {ahem, you know who you are!!!}--a fabulous, safe and terrific Holiday season.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Dinner here was ham, with sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts from the farmer's market. (One in convenient distance means a lot of "What's for supper?" questions resolve to "What's in season?" I'm all in favor.)

Also a favorite--the ham--and I really like fresh Brussels. We shred them and saute them. Yum. Not a sweet potato fan; I'm a savory girl, not a sweets gal. I admit a silly partiality to Honeybaked hams. I know, I know, ridiculously expensive, but we can't get good east-coast hams here.

I do still drink - primarily single malt whisky - but that's a social event, done with friends. I don't drink alone, and the friends I imbibe with aren't local, so drinking happens a few times a year.

Ah, t'was me own drink, back in the day. A nice single-malt. None of that blended crap. Why drink crap?

I haven't done a wedding/reception is quite some time, and the few I have done required alcohol as a counter-irritant. (In a couple of cases, not laying bets on how long the marriage would last, given the bride and groom involved, required serious exercise of will... )

I know that engaged women and men, and bridezillas don't want to hear this, but the pathetic truth is, the vast majority of weddings--whether cheap, expensive, big, small--are almost unendurable without the liberal application of hooch. I literally can't remember the last "good" wedding I went to--possibly, only possibly, my sister's, about 20+ years ago, even though I'd already given up the demon rum at the time--because I got to see family I'd not seen in dogs' years. The rest are simply horrid.

We do watch the ball drop from the tower in Times Square on TV, and despite having lived in NYC for decades, I've never joined the in person mobs who pack the area. I can't imagine doing so. A few years back, a local corporation distributed 6' long white balloons to revelers, and an aerial shot of the crowd made it look like waving cilia, as though a giant rotifer was eating Manhattan. I was just as happy to watch it on TV from some distance away.

Yup, you got me. As an old (in all senses of that word) New Yorker, I watch the ball drop too. I miss the Christmas season in NY, even thought I haven't been there in {mumble} years. Y'know, Macy's, Rockefeller Center, the whole schmear. So to speak.

It's money. You aren't otherwise occupied. No reason not to.
______
Dennis

Yeah. It feels a bit Philistine, however. OTOH, there's peace and quiet that I rarely get, so...in that sense, it's luxurious. Ah, well.

Merry Christmas, Gang!

Hitch

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Ohhhh, duck. Duck is easy to do badly, but I'm a sucker for Duck done perfectly. Or evenly reasonably well.

One of the things on the menu here is duck hearts. The SO shops in Chinatown once a week, and a supplier there often has duck hearts (or sometimes a mix of duck hearts and chicken hearts.) Saute with garlic, and I melt into a little puddle of happiness after eating.

Also a favorite--the ham--and I really like fresh Brussels. We shred them and saute them. Yum. Not a sweet potato fan; I'm a savory girl, not a sweets gal. I admit a silly partiality to Honeybaked hams. I know, I know, ridiculously expensive, but we can't get good east-coast hams here.

Sweet potatoes aren't my thing, either, but they went well with the meal. And Brussels sprouts are on my "One of $DEITY'S gifts to people" list. And being on the East Coast, we can get good ham.

Next in the queue, since we have the ingredients, is leek and potato soup. I am extravagantly fond of it, and the farmer's market has fine leeks and potatoes.

Ah, t'was me own drink, back in the day. A nice single-malt. None of that blended crap. Why drink crap?

Bear in mind that blended whiskey is made from single malts. Some of the better single malts are things you may not hear of because they are produced by the distillers as bespoke production for blenders, and don't get bottled under their own name much. One I have here is Ardmore, and the one I have is what I think is only the second bottling the distiller released under it's own name, because most of what they distill is an ingredient in blends. A friend in MA found a stash where he is of bottles being sold at clearance at $20/liter. The word went out through our mutual single malt fan friends, and the stash was quickly bought out. (Retail price was $60, and worth it. $20 was a no-brainer - "Yes. Grab two for me!" decision.) It's a meaty old-style wormtub distillation, and a nice change of pace.

My current wish list item is an 18 year old Tomatin. Tomatin is another mostly sold to blenders as an ingredient. I encountered it at a gathering a few years back, and was impressed. More recently, I got to try a flight of 12 year old, 15 year old, and 18 year old. My go to dram had been the Macallan, because I like sherried expressions, and what I normally had in my flask was a Macallan 15. Macallan no longer makes a 15 year old sherried expression - only a Fine Oak - and the 18 year old they still make goes for $150 or more in NYC. The Tomatin 18 is quite comparable to the Macallan, and may be had around me for $60 - $65 a liter.

But there are some very good blends indeed. For example, I'll happily consume anything artisan blender Compass Box makes. One thing I've been tempted to try for a bit now is a blind tasting with about three single malts and a couple of top blends, just to see whether some of the single malt snobs I know can tell them apart. I'm betting most can't.

I know that engaged women and men, and bridezillas don't want to hear this, but the pathetic truth is, the vast majority of weddings--whether cheap, expensive, big, small--are almost unendurable without the liberal application of hooch. I literally can't remember the last "good" wedding I went to--possibly, only possibly, my sister's, about 20+ years ago, even though I'd already given up the demon rum at the time--because I got to see family I'd not seen in dogs' years. The rest are simply horrid.

The point to recall is that weddings aren't about the bride and groom - they're about the respective families. And receptions are status symbols for some bride's families, as in "Look how much we can afford to drop catering our daughter's wedding! Aren't you all just dripping green with envy?" (Those are the sort that make me want to get blotto as soon as possible.)

An Indian co-worker at an ex-employer talked about a wedding he and his wife had gone back to India to attend, and I said it was like a corporate merger. The wedding was an economic and political alliance between two families, and the wedding celebration was an opportunity for the two parties in the merger to actually meet each other. He agreed that yes, that was exactly what it was like, for the reasons I gave.

Yup, you got me. As an old (in all senses of that word) New Yorker, I watch the ball drop too. I miss the Christmas season in NY, even thought I haven't been there in {mumble} years. Y'know, Macy's, Rockefeller Center, the whole schmear. So to speak.

I suppose I'd miss it if I moved elsewhere. Since I've lived here, I've larger ignored it as much as possible.

Yeah. It feels a bit Philistine, however. OTOH, there's peace and quiet that I rarely get, so...in that sense, it's luxurious. Ah, well.

There are lots of folks for who Christmas is not part of the culture or a special holiday. The Dunkin Donuts franchise where I got ice cream a bit earlier is a good example, as the staff are Indian. Nothing Philistine about working on Christmas for them. It's a job. They're getting paid.

I wouldn't feel all that Philistine about it at this point either.
______
Dennis