September 22, 2010

I’ve Had it Up to HERE With People

Sometimes I get really crappy comments on my blog. As a blogger, it's pretty much a fact of life. The longer you blog and the more your blog grows, the more idiots show up to try to bring you down with nastiness. Some people just weren't raised right, and on the internet they are given a free pass to say whatever they please. A couple weeks ago, I received a really crappy comment. Last night, I got a really craptastic comment on my review blog of all places. My review blog. . . where I give stuff away. . . to readers.

The comment on my review blog was juvenile and ridiculous. It basically said this: "Wow, this giveaway must be worth a whole $5 or $6." It then went on to call me a turd in multiple ways. Nice.

I'll admit it. It doesn't compare to the last giveaway on my blog where one lucky winner got $150. But let's be honest; companies aren't exactly lining up to hand out $150 a pop to random blog readers. Personally, I'm fresh out of free money to give away to people; all my money is already going to swimming lessons and physical therapy. However, I don't know a mom or dad of a school-aged kid out there who wouldn't appreciate a backpack loaded with school supplies. For one, it saves money and more importantly, that backpack arrived just in time to save me from having to run another errand. I'll take anything that eliminates an errand for me these days. I barely have time to breathe.

So, I did what any review blogger with a crappy comment on her blog would do. I logged into my secret spy software, logged the IP address of that nasty commenter, and labeled them within the program as a jerk. Actually, I labeled that commenter as something else. Use your imagination.

Then, I took the next logical step. I logged into my blogging software and blocked that commenter's IP address for all eternity. Guess who won't be entering the next giveaway I host for $150?

What irritates me more than the administrative steps I had to take to make myself feel better is this: why log in and leave a stupid comment for something you clearly don't want to win. Isn't that even more a waste of your time? Shouldn't you really be off looking for blogs that are giving away new personalities perhaps? Because geez, I mean, you could surely use one if you're so easily offended by free hi-lighters, glue sticks and floppy calculators.

I also spent a couple minutes looking up the value of that backpack. It's actually closer in value to about $35-$40. So, whatever, let someone else win it.

The mean people aren't limited to living inside my computer this week though. They are everywhere; the world is crawling with them. The other day I was driving home from the store on a back road where the speed limit is 25 mph. I was driving exactly 25 mph. As I came up the hill, I noticed a school bus approaching me from the opposite direction. The yellow flashing lights came on.

In my head, I thought, "What do those yellow flashing lights mean? Am I supposed to stop or is that only for the red ones?" I wasn't sure what to do, but then I saw a couple parents standing off to the right up ahead and I figured the bus was slowing down and turning left into the development. It made sense for me to just keep going since the stop arm wasn't out and the red lights weren't yet flashing; but I had a moment of panic and thought, "Maybe I am supposed to stop!"

So I did. I'll admit that I stopped a bit abruptly because I was having an internal monologue at the time; but how abruptly can one really stop when only going 25 mph? I mean, really.

As I stopped, I noticed one of the parents off to the right waving his arms around wildly and gesturing at me with gusto. He was also yelling in my direction. I couldn't hear what he was saying because I was listening to Nelly; I didn't want to hear what he was saying because I could instantly tell he was suffering from short bald-man's syndrome, a rather severe case of it.

Thirty seconds after I had stopped, the man was still wildly conducting the ticked off orchestra and finally the red flashing lights came on the bus and the stop arm extended. I was at a complete stop well before this happened. I was also a good 25-30 ft. away from the bus.

The children exited the bus and ran across the street to their waiting parents. The short cranky man embraced his son as if he had just been released from the evil clutches of the Taliban or something and continued to yell and gesture in my direction, while trying to engage this bus driver in his quite obvious irritation with me. I wanted to yell back at him, but I controlled myself and turned out one of my famous evil glares, threw up my hands in mockery and mouthed quite clearly, "What is YOUR PROBLEM?"

The bus driver pulled the stop arm in, the man continued to gesture wildly, and I slowly continued on my way. I normally don't let crazy people get under my skin like that, but I was a bit upset. Had I done something wrong?

I came home and consulted the school bus laws in my state. They state the following:

When you meet or overtake a school bus with red signal lights flashing and an extended stop arm, you must stop. (The lights were still yellow when I stopped and no arm was out.)
You must stop at least 10 ft. away from the school bus. (I was a good 25-30 ft. away when I stopped.)
You must wait until red lights have stopped flashing and stop arm has been withdrawn before moving. (I continued to wait and get berated by the crazy man until the bus was also moving on.)
Do not move until all children have reached a place of safety. (The child was clearly in the arms of his psycho father before I ever touched my gas.)

Clearly, if there is anything I'm guilty of doing incorrectly, it's stopping when I didn't have to yet stop since the lights were still very much yellow. What I'd really like to do is print out those school bus laws, form them into a paper airplane with an uber-pointy nose, and go throw them at that dude's head while he waits at the bus stop.

I have just about had it with mean and ignorant people this week. They're rampant in the 4th grade as my daughter has certainly encountered her fair share of them in recent weeks; they're standing at bus stops; and they are all over the internet. And they can go pick on someone else; I've reached the mean person quota for September, thank you, and I can't be held responsible for what I may or may not do with some pointy school bus laws.

Disclaimer: Not all short bald men have short bald-man's syndrome. I am aware of this. Thank you for not pointing it out, because like I've said, I've reached my quoto of crazy this month.