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Trivial things that make you surly


elfenix

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We took a business associate to visit sites in China about 25yr ago. Transiting Hong Kong the lounge was able to find him a plastic fork. He carried that fork with him for the remainder of the 1week trip, it was definitely his most prized possession. Restaurants in China didn't commonly have anything but chopsticks at that time, he would have starved to death without that fork.

 

I'm team chopsticks myself. My username better damn well check out.

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On 9/23/2019 at 10:51 PM, WhatTheBuck said:

You don't know how to use chopsticks. I suggest you either learn how to use chopsticks or get over your embarrassment about asking for a fork. 

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I know how to use chopsticks, but I prefer traditional silverware.  But at some point in my lifetime, and maybe it's always been like that and I hadn't noticed until I got way older, it became some sort of peer pressure thing to use them.  That's the trivial thing that made me post.  But I guess I shouldn't care at my age, so that's on me.

 

23 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

 

Theyre the best option for eating a big bowl of noodles in broth. How do you eat pho? With a fork?

 

How would you eat a stew or spaghetti or chicken noodle soup?  With chopsticks?  

Edited by Tom
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32 minutes ago, Tom said:

How would you eat a stew or spaghetti or chicken noodle soup?  With chopsticks?  

No, because none of those have long noodles suspended in a broth. If you're eating a bowl of ramen, do you use a fork and spoon and twist the noodles onto your fork the way you would with Italian pasta in sauce? Do you do that in public?

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People who relate a sad event to themselves when offering condolences. Example: "I'm so sorry you lost your grandfather, I remember when my grandfather died and it was devastating". Great, am I supposed to give my condolences to you now? 

And related, people who make any tragic event about themselves. 9/11 Facebook posts are the most obvious, but even if there is a thread about someone committing suicide or whatever, half the responses are like "Damn, T&P, my cousin's friend committed suicide back in 1997".

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2 minutes ago, Walden Ponderer said:

giphy.gif

Years ago my wife and I were at a restaurant called the Fiddle Fern in Juneau, AK.  The large table next to us was a group of younger American business people, including 2 women, hosting a group of Japanese customers.  The chairs were those wooden captains chairs, you know the ones with ass-check indentations.  Periodically one of the Japanese guys would raise a cheek and just let one rip.  In between laughing fits I explained to my wife that in Japanese culture it's considered polite.  The look on the American women's faces as they tried to maintain composure was priceless.

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2 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Years ago my wife and I were at a restaurant called the Fiddle Fern in Juneau, AK.  The large table next to us was a group of younger American business people, including 2 women, hosting a group of Japanese customers.  The chairs were those wooden captains chairs, you know the ones with ass-check indentations.  Periodically one of the Japanese guys would raise a cheek and just let one rip.  In between laughing fits I explained to my wife that in Japanese culture it's considered polite.  The look on the American women's faces as they tried to maintain composure was priceless.

 

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7 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

No, because none of those have long noodles suspended in a broth. 

 

I just don't believe broth has anything to so with it.  Chicken noodle soup has long noodles in a broth which I'm assuming you don't eat with chopsticks.  It's because one dish is served by a Vietnamese woman in a strip mall and the other is served by your mom when you're sick.  That's it.  There is no intrinsic value or benefit to eating Asian food with chopsticks other than it's become a cultural expectation among many.  

Edited by Tom
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How do you feel about complimentary farting and belching at the table?

 

Hits close to home as I spent 6 weeks in NE China in '93 doing some oil and gas measurement work. The group I was working for was responsible for measurement and custody transfer of all oil produced in that area. I was considered a special guest and lunchs were in the executive lunchroom with a big table with a big lazy Susan in the middle. Lunch was lots of pork, chicken, whose bones were spit onto the floor and included at least one and usually 2 liters of beer and a couple of bottles of maotai. After the maotai, a round of vigorous toothpicking, belching and farting ensued.

 

I might have committed a faux pas at the end of the trip near Shanghai as I discovered this was not the custom in that area.

 

/csb

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On 9/20/2019 at 7:36 PM, NeverMarryAStripper said:

So here I am sitting at home a broken man on the verge of a stroke who is not even going to watch the game tomorrow because the Horns will probably get their ass kicked

Well! This part of your post aged quite poorly, so you've got that going for ya

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17 hours ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

People who relate a sad event to themselves when offering condolences. Example: "I'm so sorry you lost your grandfather, I remember when my grandfather died and it was devastating". Great, am I supposed to give my condolences to you now? 

And related, people who make any tragic event about themselves. 9/11 Facebook posts are the most obvious, but even if there is a thread about someone committing suicide or whatever, half the responses are like "Damn, T&P, my cousin's friend committed suicide back in 1997".

I agree with people making a tragic event about themselves (9/11 posts are a good example), but I think in your first paragraph most of the people who say things like that are trying to relay the message "I can empathize, so feel free to lean on me if you need".  I think it's more of an attempt to make the sad person feel part of a group than to piggyback and make it about themselves.

I can also be naively optimistic about people's intentions.

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On 9/25/2019 at 8:50 AM, Sandman said:

I woke up before my alarm this morning. It was really dark, no light coming through the window. I didn't look at the clock but I figured it was about 2:30 or so. I thought "Well, I probably have a few more hours befo--"

*ALARM*

That's everyday for me.  I wake up at 5:12 am, 3 minutes before my 5:15 alarm.  Somewhere in the deep recesses of the ether, I hear "So put your little hand in mine" repeating in my foggy brain.  

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27 minutes ago, Trey3216 said:

That's everyday for me.  I wake up at 5:12 am, 3 minutes before my 5:15 alarm.  Somewhere in the deep recesses of the ether, I hear "So put your little hand in mine" repeating in my foggy brain.  

That's the morning wood talking.

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On September 25, 2019 at 4:44 PM, Tom said:

I just don't believe broth has anything to so with it.  Chicken noodle soup has long noodles in a broth

No it doesn't. 

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It has short noodles you can pick up with a spoon. 

I'd like to take you to my favorite Vietnamese place and buy you a bowl of pho, then film you using a fork and a spoon, and maybe a knife, in order to eat your soup. 

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11 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

No it doesn't. 

GUEST_450313e3-9315-4134-843f-1a199f6724

It has short noodles you can pick up with a spoon. 

I'd like to take you to my favorite Vietnamese place and buy you a bowl of pho, then film you using a fork and a spoon, and maybe a knife, in order to eat your soup. 

 

Well, you got me.  I was hoping and praying you wouldn't discover Campbell's had short noodles and post that pic but here we are.

I could find pictures of chicken noodle soup with long noodles and post them here, but I think we've reached a point where no one is changing the other's mind and we're just going to keep repeating ourselves.  And others are probably also getting bored with the exchange.

You win.  The Vietnamese have invented a food that defies our primitive western flatware capabilities.  I'll think of you the next time I'm eating it easily without chopsticks.

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22 minutes ago, Tom said:

 

Well, you got me.  I was hoping and praying you wouldn't discover Campbell's had short noodles and post that pic but here we are.

I could find pictures of chicken noodle soup with long noodles and post them here, but I think we've reached a point where no one is changing the other's mind and we're just going to keep repeating ourselves.  And others are probably also getting bored with the exchange.

You win.  The Vietnamese have invented a food that defies our primitive western flatware capabilities.  I'll think of you the next time I'm eating it easily without chopsticks.

Fucking viet cong 

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On 9/25/2019 at 1:51 PM, Reynolds Woodcock said:

People who relate a sad event to themselves when offering condolences. Example: "I'm so sorry you lost your grandfather, I remember when my grandfather died and it was devastating". Great, am I supposed to give my condolences to you now? 

And related, people who make any tragic event about themselves. 9/11 Facebook posts are the most obvious, but even if there is a thread about someone committing suicide or whatever, half the responses are like "Damn, T&P, my cousin's friend committed suicide back in 1997".

My cousin is also gay and posts shitty takes so this hits close to home.  

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Work deal- people that call, don't leave a message, then call right back...all the while I'm on another line and watch their number pop up.  Again.

Or same situation....calling not leaving a message then emailing me telling me they "tried to call you."
 

Oh really, I didn't get a message...

FU

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1 hour ago, Tylerocks said:

Work deal- people that call, don't leave a message, then call right back...all the while I'm on another line and watch their number pop up.  Again.

Or same situation....calling not leaving a message then emailing me telling me they "tried to call you."
 

Oh really, I didn't get a message...

FU

I see your point, especially the first one, but I hate voice mail.  I'd prefer that they email me rather than leaving a voice mail after I miss their call.

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27 minutes ago, You don't know me said:

I see your point, especially the first one, but I hate voice mail.  I'd prefer that they email me rather than leaving a voice mail after I miss their call.

I leave a voicemail explaining why I called but prefaced by saying "I will email you shortly so you can disregard this message, but I called because...."

Some people like voicemails, some email. Whichever, bases covered. 

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Chopsticks or a fork, I don't care. But if you make loud slurping noises and say its "tradition" I should be legally allowed to kick you in the dick.
I fucking guarantee WhatTheBuck slurps the shit out of his pho, all the while telling people it's how they do it in Asian cultures.
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I'd like to take you to my favorite Vietnamese place and buy you a bowl of pho, then film you using a fork and a spoon, and maybe a knife, in order to eat your soup. 


I did that on Tuesday (no knife) and I finished quicker and was able to get more out of the bowl than the chopstick users.
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