Share your petty things you've done

[litskispeciality]

This may be a really low petty. I had an awful, almost creepy landlord who gave me a hard time when I moved out. I had just started a job at a for-profit semi diploma mill where we had to make 100 calls a day, and often called prospective students two to three times a day. I really debated putting his info in as a lead (which I needed for month to month) so he'd get harassed, but decided that was too cruel.

[sparkythelawyer]

Oh.

So, when I was getting my masters, the department chair loathed me. Was so annoyed I was in her precious program, etc. I was working full time and doing as much of it remotely as I could. She didn't like that either.

My last semester was the semester that my mom went from diagnosis to death from pancreatic cancer in six weeks, my late husband had a terrifying car accident and was in a coma for five days, and my uncle died unexpectedly three days before my thesis was due. I was trying like crazy to get this damned thesis done because I just desperately needed to close this chapter of my life.  Like, I had to log into my one class via video FROM THE FUNERAL HOME because my department head was requiring the professor to send him MY attendance information.

Low and behold, the week my thesis is due, MY faculty advisor (who would be responsible for grading my thesis and determining if I graduate), was somehow "sick" and couldn't grade it, so she was going to. I knew where this was going.

She basically insulted everything from how I wrote my name onward. Then told me "it wasn't worth reading past page 12," low-key accused me of plagarism, decided even my intro letter was somehow insufficient, etc. So, she failed me. As I knew she would, because she loathed me. She was the person who lived alone with multiple cats.

So, the next semester I cannot get anyone to actually provide me meaningful feedback on my thesis, tell me how to correct these grevious errors, etc. Not knowing what else to do, I give it one more solid edit, turn it back in.  This time, my advisor was there, graded it and I passed.

I could have walked at graduation, but I had been there and done that.  However, the department was paying for us all to go to a swanky lunch, which I decided to attend because I was going to make this woman come out of pocket for me after all that.  And then, when she asked about my progression through the program, I had NO problem telling her, publicly, all about "I was working so hard to finish in the fall because (see above) ALL THESE THINGS happened, but then my advisor was out and the person who graded my paper was rather cruel and insulting and seemed bound and determined to make me feel bad for my thesis and forced me to re-submit it in the spring.

She looked all *shocked* and "OMG I cannot believe that happened to you!"  I never mentioned her name.  She knew it was her.  I made a point over and over of saying, words to the effect of "Yeah, All I really wanted to do was close the door on 2011 in December, unfortunately the department felt the need to do otherwise.  I'm just glad this is done now."  

By the end of the lunch, she clearly felt bad.  I, however, did not.

[shauni27]

Feb 3, 2023 11:52:02 GMT -5 mokes said:

Whenever DH does something annoying around the house -- like not replacing the TP or taking his socks off and just leaving them on the floor — I leave a little rubber middle finger on/near it. (Got a package from Amazon -- well worth it!) I don't have to nag him and it totally gets the message across while cracking me up. He'll often take said mini hand and hold on to it for one of my transgressions, lol.

The best part is we never acknowledge or talk about it ... it's just a thing we both do now that's never been discussed.

this is the best!!

[chickadee77]

Feb 3, 2023 8:41:54 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Feb 3, 2023 8:36:09 GMT -5 starburst604 said:

My H used to come use the beer opener in our kitchen drawer and just leave the beer caps right there in the drawer. Wtf. So I started waiting until there was a handful and I’d put them inside his shoes.

Eventually I bought him a wall mounted beer opener with a cup that collects the caps and that finally eliminated the problem.

this reminds me of when we were first living together, H would just NOT put his laundry in the laundry basket. He would put them on the floor on his side of the bed. (He is still somewhat guilty of this, but not to the extreme he used to be). I would get so sick of it that I would push it into a giant pile on his side of the bed that was so large he could not get into bed until he put it in the hamper. I would do this a few times a year.


 

Similar story. I would try to put things away, and he would say, "I can never find anything! Just put it in a pile and I'll take care of it later."

Okey-dokey.

"Hey, where's my xyz?"

"Probably in the pile." The pile got to nearly taking over the master when he finally asks, "What's this huge mound of stuff about?"

Shrug. "That's the pile you wanted to take of later." I got a sincere apology, and we still laugh about it, 20+ years later.

[starburst604]

Just thought of something an old coworker did after her live in bf cheated on her with his coworker and they broke up. He married the OW maybe 18 months later and she looked up their gift registry online. She decided to purchase allllll of their place settings off their registry - dinner/salad plates, bowls, mugs the whole nine yards. She paid in cash and kept it all for herself. Leaving them to wonder who bought all of that and never gifted it to them. 

[jinkies]

starburst604 that's an expensive form of revenge, but I also love the idea of them dragging their feet on completing their registry, waiting to get all the dishes, and then... they just never come.

[starburst604]

Feb 3, 2023 13:53:41 GMT -5 jinkies said:

starburst604 that's an expensive form of revenge, but I also love the idea of them dragging their feet on completing their registry, waiting to get all the dishes, and then... they just never come.

That's what I said! She said she needed new stuff anyway and she enjoyed eating off of her "revenge plates" lol. 

[goldengirlz]

Feb 2, 2023 20:01:08 GMT -5 jobae1234 said:

Feb 2, 2023 19:58:11 GMT -5 mofongo said:

I don’t believe the man needs to let the woman drive the newer car, or anything, although my dad always did, even with me. I drive a much older car than H. BUT I think he’s being a big ass!

I have truly made him regret getting it, lol. I just asked him tonight about it. He now knows the whole thing has been one massive tactical error. But I don’t want that car now. I want my own new car. Of equivalent value.

I mean, why wouldn’t you get a car of equivalent value? Get the same car if you still want it then!

But what’s weird to me is did he just, like, buy a car without consulting you? My H and I have separate finances and I still can’t imagine one of us making a purchase that big without discussing it first. I feel like this is a conversation you could have had in real time instead of letting all this resentment fester.

(I’ll be a dissenter though and say I don’t know if you can really call “dibs” on a car. H and I were both obsessed with the-electric-car-that-won’t-be-named when it first came out, but because I needed a new car first, I got to buy it. He didn’t begrudge me the purchase. He can also have one in a few years, or probably an even better one whose brand hasn’t been tarnished by having an asshole for a CEO. I do let him drive it though, plus he takes it whenever I’m out of town.)

[waverly]

In the car arena, I did have some resentment. DH had been indecisive first getting one car then another, then he wanted a Tesla which I told him to lease because I wasn't sure and now he has a Mach-E. So I was kind of pissed that we could have a car paid off, but now we have an expensive car payment. We did save on gas but not as much as a whole car.

So last year around this time he kept pressuring me to get an electric car maybe a ID4.

When I bought my car, he actually picked out 5 cars that he thought were acceptable, then we test drove them, and I did get to choose. I appreciated that he narrowed down the options for me. But I felt like hey I got the car that you put on the list as acceptable, so why do I have to get a new car? I like my existing car.

Anyway, kept pressuring me pressuring me until finally we had not quite a fight but stern words where I was like no and don't ask me again and stop bringing it up.

FF to now, and he wants to pay off my car which has very little money left on it to increase our cash flow. So what you are saying DH, is that I was right all along?!

[jlt19]

Feb 2, 2023 20:11:39 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Oh no, I’m Matt!

But I don’t throw fits. I just like to see as many dishes as I can when I’m at a restaurant!

Lol. If we’re at a place that we wouldn’t go to often, I agree. Especially if the dishes are easily shareable. But as this was 15ish years ago, we were not going to those types of places. I have a memory of him getting mad about someone else ordering shrimp at Red Lobster’s Shrimp Fest. That could be a real memory or one we made up to laugh at him.

[Nonny]

This is an act of pettiness I got to witness, and benefit from.

Many years ago my dentist told me he thought I needed a gum graft and referred me over to a periodontist to get an evaluation. It was December, and I called the periodontist's office the same day, maybe an hour later, because I was hoping I could get in before my insurance flipped over for the year.

When I called, the receptionist mentioned they were really busy because *everyone* was trying to get in before their insurance flipped for the year. Then she was like, let's find your referral and she said, "oh, you just got referred to us today." And I asked if that was a problem (I thought maybe they still needed records or something).

But no, she was absolutely delighted. She got so happy and went into fully petty mode. She said it wasn't a problem at all, and that since I had called immediately and hadn't just waited around for months, she was going to make absolutely sure that I was seen before Dec. 31st. She got me in right away for the evaluation, and essentially penciled me in for a tentative surgery date ahead of other people before I was even seen by the doctor.

She kept saying that all day she'd been fielding calls from people who claimed they just had to be seen, who'd been referred over in June, and those people could wait, because they had six months to figure it out. And it wasn't my fault that I'd just been diagnosed, and she wasn't going to make me wait when I was on top of things. I kind of got the impression that a lot of those people had been being dicks to her all day, and if she even got to mildly screw over even one them she was going to take that opportunity.

[fivechickens]

Not me but my BFF.

He was pissed at his boyfriend so removed an important piece from his gameboy that made it not work.

Another time he was mad at the same boyfriend he put dead batteries in the TV remote before he left for work and took the good batteries with him.

[arehopsveggies]

We had a roommate in college that drove me crazy. I did all the grocery shopping and then we split it evenly. He always insisted that he didn’t eat that much (he did. I promise. He probably ate the most of anyone in the house)

His last week he said he wouldn’t contribute to groceries since he was moving out. DH and I said ok, but he couldn’t have anything I bought.

He ran out of toilet paper at midnight and I wouldn’t share. Made him go to Walmart in the middle of the night

[nothingcontroversial]

Someone that I knew from high school and from church (we are Catholic, and we got our First Communion and Confirmation sacraments together) was a super bitch to me when we were teenagers.

Fast forward to years later. Her teenage son wrecked his car and was hospitalized for a while. She and her husband had to miss a lot of work to be with him. There was a Go Fund Me set up to make up for their lost wages. 

I contributed to the Go Fund Me. I had the option of making the donation anonymous, but I purposely didn't make it anonymous. 

[nothingcontroversial]

I save my empty Bath and Body Works foaming hand soap dispensers. I refill them with Dial foaming hand soap, which is less expensive. I give them to certain people. 

[Pilsy]

Feb 3, 2023 20:54:49 GMT -5 nothingcontroversial said:

Someone that I knew from high school and from church (we are Catholic, and we got our First Communion and Confirmation sacraments together) was a super bitch to me when we were teenagers.

Fast forward to years later. Her teenage son wrecked his car and was hospitalized for a while. She and her husband had to miss a lot of work to be with him. There was a Go Fund Me set up to make up for their lost wages. 

I contributed to the Go Fund Me. I had the option of making the donation anonymous, but I purposely didn't make it anonymous. 

Nope, no pettiness detected. True to your user name! 

[ksun]

Feb 2, 2023 22:38:13 GMT -5 spinnaker5 said:

Feb 2, 2023 16:41:05 GMT -5 ksun said:

she had salad dressing that we finally tossed after 21 years

😳😬 Gonna need some more details here. What color and consistency was it, as compared to what it would have been at time of purchase? I would not have been brave enough to open the bottle, but if you did, did it, like, off-gas or anything? Did you need to fumigate the kitchen afterward? 

And if it looked/smelled pretty much the same, please share the brand so we know what to avoid.

It wast "best by" 12/08/97. My SIL finally threw it out in 2019. I really wanted it to stay there forever. It was Wishbone Fat Free Caesar. I never actually looked at it closely and I definitely never opened it. 

[jobae1234]

Feb 3, 2023 16:10:48 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Feb 2, 2023 20:01:08 GMT -5 jobae1234 said:

I have truly made him regret getting it, lol. I just asked him tonight about it. He now knows the whole thing has been one massive tactical error. But I don’t want that car now. I want my own new car. Of equivalent value.

I mean, why wouldn’t you get a car of equivalent value? Get the same car if you still want it then!

But what’s weird to me is did he just, like, buy a car without consulting you? My H and I have separate finances and I still can’t imagine one of us making a purchase that big without discussing it first. I feel like this is a conversation you could have had in real time instead of letting all this resentment fester.

(I’ll be a dissenter though and say I don’t know if you can really call “dibs” on a car. H and I were both obsessed with the-electric-car-that-won’t-be-named when it first came out, but because I needed a new car first, I got to buy it. He didn’t begrudge me the purchase. He can also have one in a few years, or probably an even better one whose brand hasn’t been tarnished by having an asshole for a CEO. I do let him drive it though, plus he takes it whenever I’m out of town.)

No, I was there every step of the way. I voiced my feelings on it. I didn’t put my foot down and refuse to let him buy it, just because I love it. That would have seemed unreasonable. He framed it like we would share it even though he would be the primary driver. “If you value having an electric car, why would you want me to buy gas and not electric? Won’t it be better to have it in the driveway where you can take it any time you want? Should I NOT buy a car just because you love it?” Etc etc etc. He has hated my car since the day I bought it, so he didn’t want to switch, and selling both cars also seemed unreasonable.

I mean really what happened is we fell in love with the same car, but only he was “eligible” to buy a new one, and then we didn’t really end up sharing it like we planned. The pettiness is that I can’t let it go.

And- It’s hard to justify buying my own $45k car when I walk to work, but I’m gonna try!

[liveintheville]

Feb 4, 2023 8:49:23 GMT -5 jobae1234 said:

Feb 3, 2023 16:10:48 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

I mean, why wouldn’t you get a car of equivalent value? Get the same car if you still want it then!

But what’s weird to me is did he just, like, buy a car without consulting you? My H and I have separate finances and I still can’t imagine one of us making a purchase that big without discussing it first. I feel like this is a conversation you could have had in real time instead of letting all this resentment fester.

(I’ll be a dissenter though and say I don’t know if you can really call “dibs” on a car. H and I were both obsessed with the-electric-car-that-won’t-be-named when it first came out, but because I needed a new car first, I got to buy it. He didn’t begrudge me the purchase. He can also have one in a few years, or probably an even better one whose brand hasn’t been tarnished by having an asshole for a CEO. I do let him drive it though, plus he takes it whenever I’m out of town.)

No, I was there every step of the way. I voiced my feelings on it. I didn’t put my foot down and refuse to let him buy it, just because I love it. That would have seemed unreasonable. He framed it like we would share it even though he would be the primary driver. “If you value having an electric car, why would you want me to buy gas and not electric? Won’t it be better to have it in the driveway where you can take it any time you want? Should I NOT buy a car just because you love it?” Etc etc etc. He has hated my car since the day I bought it, so he didn’t want to switch, and selling both cars also seemed unreasonable.

I mean really what happened is we fell in love with the same car, but only he was “eligible” to buy a new one, and then we didn’t really end up sharing it like we planned. The pettiness is that I can’t let it go.

And- It’s hard to justify buying my own $45k car when I walk to work, but I’m gonna try!

This all happened way before my time but H told me this story. FIL and MIL were car shopping for a car for her. She wanted the Mazda 929. FIL bought her a Nissan maxima. She refused to drive it and never drove it once the years they had it.

[jobae1234]

Feb 4, 2023 15:57:10 GMT -5 liveintheville said:

Feb 4, 2023 8:49:23 GMT -5 jobae1234 said:

No, I was there every step of the way. I voiced my feelings on it. I didn’t put my foot down and refuse to let him buy it, just because I love it. That would have seemed unreasonable. He framed it like we would share it even though he would be the primary driver. “If you value having an electric car, why would you want me to buy gas and not electric? Won’t it be better to have it in the driveway where you can take it any time you want? Should I NOT buy a car just because you love it?” Etc etc etc. He has hated my car since the day I bought it, so he didn’t want to switch, and selling both cars also seemed unreasonable.

I mean really what happened is we fell in love with the same car, but only he was “eligible” to buy a new one, and then we didn’t really end up sharing it like we planned. The pettiness is that I can’t let it go.

And- It’s hard to justify buying my own $45k car when I walk to work, but I’m gonna try!

This all happened way before my time but H told me this story. FIL and MIL were car shopping for a car for her. She wanted the Mazda 929. FIL bought her a Nissan maxima. She refused to drive it and never drove it once the years they had it.

My kind of woman.

[ewall]

Unbearable mom was dragging a crapton of stuff into the school one day before the holidays. I could have offered to help carry, but I just walked right in. I can't condone her insistence on going over the top for everything related to kids, classrooms, holidays, teachers, etc.

[jlt19]

DD just got mad at DS for something (breathing?) and poured her water over his dry cereal.

If it hadn’t been an actual waste of my money when things are tight right now, I’d almost applaud her creative petty ability.

[dragon's breath]

Last shop I worked in we had several tables set up to make one big "lunch table" (also where we met for beginning and end of shift muster). One of the guys would bring in a paper every day, and when he found out I liked reading just one section of it, he'd put it at my place at the table when he was done, late enough that I'd finish reading it the next day.

One of my coworkers started bitching about my "big pile of papers" if I ended up with two or three days' worth instead of one. This, when much of the table had crumbs, spilled and stuck food, salt and pepper shakers, work stuff, etc (I wiped down my area if I ever spilled anything immediately). After that, I made sure to always have at least one newspaper sitting at my spot all the time, even if I was done with that section, after "shop cleanup day", etc.

[jorja]

I’m a nurse. For some reason, we often have name brand ginger ale as well as off brand stuff in the fridge. When patients are rude, they get the off brand stuff.

[fangoriagurkel]

This is currently ongoing. My boyfriend’s mother is a lovely woman. Extremely kind, loves chatting with me, etc… His father on the other hand does not approve of race mixing. Which is extremely yikes.

For Christmas, I gifted them (her) kitchen stuff that I knew she would like. Things that matched the kitchen theme, decor, etc… I would usually gift a consumable too, like some local sweets or a nearby restaurant GC, etc…

But I did not him to enjoy a single bite of food I purchased, I wanted only her to enjoy my Christmas gifts. She loved everything and I am glad that my gift to him was not a damn thing he could use.

[basilosaurus]

Feb 7, 2023 3:21:29 GMT -5 fangoriagurkel said:

This is currently ongoing. My boyfriend’s mother is a lovely woman. Extremely kind, loves chatting with me, etc… His father on the other hand does not approve of race mixing. Which is extremely yikes.

For Christmas, I gifted them (her) kitchen stuff that I knew she would like. Things that matched the kitchen theme, decor, etc… I would usually gift a consumable too, like some local sweets or a nearby restaurant GC, etc…

But I did not him to enjoy a single bite of food I purchased, I wanted only her to enjoy my Christmas gifts. She loved everything and I am glad that my gift to him was not a damn thing he could use.

I have one of those, too. How can such awful men be married to such wonderful women? Your gifts are inspiring.

[mysteriouswife]

I had a difficult coworker yesterday. We are in different offices and divisions, but collaborate on one account often. After the third asshole chat I responded with “thank you for being patient and kind while I am working on resolving this.” He stopped being a jerk

[sometimesrunner]

sparkythelawyer, I'm sorry you went through that, but it was soooo satisfying to read!

[katfco]

My ultimate petty act was centered around my wedding. My father had walked out on my family when I was 19, moving 3 states away to live with another woman.

I got married 4 years later and not only did I refuse to allow him to walk me down the aisle, but he had to walk in behind my mother. My brother did the special dance and my father was in all other ways just a guest. When he got mad, I told him he had made a mockery of his marriage, so wouldn’t have any representation in mine.

[lucybrown]

katfco, I vote not petty. Actions have consequences.