Saturday, February 4, 2012

Why are People Such Jerks?

Well, the blizzard has passed, and as is typical for Colorado, the sun is out and it's a beautiful day.


And you know what that means... today was snow shoveling day!


Generally speaking, I don't mind shoveling. I actually sort of like having an excuse to be outside and get some exercise & fresh air.


But I've gotta say, I do have one pet peeve when it comes to snow removal.
OK... to be fair I have several of them, but one that's particularly bothering me at the moment.

You see, my next door neighbor is the sweetest little old lady on the face of the planet. But the guy she hires to do her snow removal is a total jerk.


My house sits fairly near the property line on that side, and my side door is just on the other side of a little chain link fence from her driveway. So EVERY time it snows, her snow blower guy just piles all of the snow from her driveway onto my side porch and sidewalk. So not only do I have to dig out from the heaviest snow (it's on the north side of the house) but I also have to dig through all of the heavy piles that he so inconsiderately puts on top of the snow that's already there!

I fear I didn't take a before picture, but here's what it looks like now that I've dug it out.


OK... it's not that bad... but seriously, how rude do you have to be to totally bury someone else's door in snow? It's not like this is a new problem either. I've asked her over and over and over to talk to him, and she swears he has... and every once in a blue moon he will actually show some consideration and put the snow on the other side. But it never lasts.

And it's not so much the extra shoveling that gets to me, it's just the incredible rudeness that I can't wrap my brain around. I mean, who does something like that? Seriously, all the guy would have to do is flip the little blower thing around so it blows the other direction, but apparently that's too difficult for him.

I dunno... maybe bad weather just brings out the dick in people...


I know I'm overreacting. I mean in the broad scheme of horrible things that people do to each other on a daily basis, this is really an infinitesimally small transgression, but it still pisses me off. And I can't stop thinking about the many times I have shoveled her front walk because the dude wouldn't come until the next day and I wanted to be neighborly. But at the moment, I have to say, my feelings of neighborly fondness are waning...


And if it wasn't for the fact that she's so nice, I'd be tempted to give him a taste of his own medicine...


OK, I'm done ranting now. But it still just makes me wonder what it is that makes people act that way. Is it our society, or do people just have some innate selfishness and lack of empathy for their fellow human beings? On some level it all just makes me really sad.


sigh.

14 comments :

  1. I was kind of hoping some of your snow might swing up our way in NYS, but it looks like it's not to be. I don't miss the shoveling, but if we go an entire winter without any snow, I think my yearly clock will be entirely screwed up! Enjoy your snow!

    If I were you, the next time he snowblows, you should go outside to shovel so he hopefully he blows the snow right on you and you can just yell "EXCUSE me!!!!"

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    1. Ha! I've actually tried the "being present" tactic, and it does work... unfortunately he tends to show up at 7am, and most days I'm just not willing to drag my sorry ass out of bed at that hour just to make a point.

      I went to school in upstate NY, and there was no dearth of snow while I was there! But I think we're spoiled in Denver, we get both snow and sunshine... which makes it all significantly more fun!

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  2. I think she just needs a new guy. No reason to get mad at her since she isn't the one doing it but really, so rude! Some people just don't care. They want to do things the easiest way for them, take the money and run. Living in Florida I can't even imagine dealing with that amount of snow!! Guess you did get your workout in today ;)

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    1. I did indeed get a workout... and I didn't even take any pictures of the 2 car driveway! Generally I just let the driveway take care of itself, but we got enough sunshine to make everything slushy today, but it's supposed to be cold for the next week or so, and I didn't want to have a giant iceberg to deal with.

      But the workout was nice and the dog across the alley kept me company... and to tell the truth, I'm feeling significantly less grumpy about the snow-blower-jerk. Endorphins and sunshine to the rescue!

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    2. The guy is still a jerk either way - but glad you are feeling better about things :)

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  3. I have a similar gripe with our city, actually. They're masterful and heaping it up at the end of our driveway... and that crap's not easy to scoop out. Other pet peeves: not even bothering to come through the neighborhood (when it's been snowing all night) with the plow until well after 7 in the AM when school's canceled. Got news for you pal. Work's not delayed or canceled for me!

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    1. Hey Janeen - I think you could find plenty of folks around here with similar gripes. I am SOOO thankful that I don't have to go out when it snows. This was actually one of the rare times when they actually did plow the side streets. Generally they don't even bother unless they're predicting over a foot and the weather is supposed to be cold for the next few days after the storm.

      A few years ago we got hit with 2 back to back storms around Christmas time. I think each one dropped about 10 inches which wasn't enough to trigger the plows, but was certainly enough to make a real mess. All of the side streets ended up with deep ruts that hung around for weeks and weeks. I remember walking to the grocery store about a week after the storm and coming across a tow truck trying in vain to free a stuck school bus.

      My personal opinion is we should just cancel everything when there's a big snow storm and let everybody chill!

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  4. I've only had to shovel snow once, and I can't say it's an experience I look forward to repeating. Your neighbor's snow removal person is a total ass, and I'm sorry she hasn't fired or threatened to fire him yet.

    On the up side...I'm glad it didn't let it ruin your day.

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    1. Well, I'm trying to look at it differently. In all probability he is a person who feels that the world has somehow treated him unfairly, and so he feels justified in doing the same. I have to think that there's some pent up anger in a person who acts that way, and since I've never met the fellow, I'm relatively sure it's misplaced anger.

      Anyhow, I'm striving to see him as a creature worthy of pity rather than contempt.

      Some part of me still thinks he's a total phuck-tard though!

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  5. At least you got snow! And you're on the front range, too. Snow has been falling every where else in the Rockies this winter except for Bozeman.

    But anyway, I agree that next time you should try to catch him in action and talk to him yourself. It may be difficult, but then at least you decide for yourself if he's just lazy and thoughtless or a downright a--hole. -Emily

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    1. Hmmmm... now there's a thought! It never occurred to me to actually speak to the man! To be honest, the idea fills me with fear. Confrontation is not my forte. Perhaps I can find a way to approach it that doesn't feel confrontational. Palms are sweating just thinking about it, but I know you're right...

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  6. Snow jerk move par excellence: Most of the homes on my street have no driveways, on street parking only. Blizzard, 3 feet. I spend hours digging my car out, and then extra time clearing around it a space to pull back into when I get home. A space in front of my house. Can you guess the jerk move?

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    1. Oh man... I bet you totally get buried when the snow plows come along. And if you don't, I'm sure some idiot is ready and waiting to steal your nicely cleared spot!

      I have a nice garage for my car... it opens onto the ally instead of the street. They don't generally plow the alleys here, but there are several guys on our block who operate small time plowing companies, so one of them usually plows it. It's great because we live on a steep hill, but it sucks because you then have a huge pile of plowed snow to dig out from.

      But since I'm such a lazy bastard, I seldom actually shovel the driveway. I figure that since there are very few things that will get me to drive in the snow anyhow, why bother digging out?

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    2. Oops... I meant "alley" not "ally"!

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