Idle stuff

[ladyofastolat]

One of the stories I regularly read at the moment involves a rather rude monster. At one point in the story, he goes for a drive in his big red car, and sings a merry song along the way. "What song do you want him to sing?" I ask the children. We then sing the chosen song to teach it to the monster, and then the monster sings it in his own inimitable fashion. ("RAAAAH! RAAAGH! REEEEGH! RAAAAH!")

After about a hundred different renditions, the results are as follows:
- c. 50 percent: Twinkle twinkle little star
- c. 35 percent: Baa baa black sheep
- c. 10 percent: Row row row your boat
- c. 5 percent: One-offs - Wheels on the bus, Wind the bobbin up etc.

Today the monster was asked to sing the Mamma Mia soundtrack.

He didn't.


__

Now, imagine that you're in a shop to buy two item, one costing 2.10 and one costing 1.05. You have the exact money already counted out in change in your hand. However, when you get to the front of the queue, the phone rings, and the check-out person (correctly choosing to continue serving you rather than put the phone first) spends the entire transaction shouting over to another assistant, trying to get her to come over and answer the phone. This so distracts her that she doesn't notice that the cheaper item hasn't scanned properly, and she asks you for only 2.10. What do you do?

[Poll #1269676]

(EDIT: Poll written because the shop assistant looked really taken aback when I owned up, and so did the other people in the queue, so I started wondering if I'd done something particularly unusual.)



Oh, and back to the subject of music: I think it should be illegal for any piece of music to include a siren sound effect. It is very distracting when driving. However, if I was a radio DJ, I would be rather tempted to recruit all my fellow radio DJs, so we all played the song at the same time, placed cameras at busy road junctions, and sat back and watched all the drivers look around anxiously en masse.

And, also: Songs that start "see the little..." and involve nosey-woseys and little feet are evil. They put claws into your brain and won't let go. *glares at the culprit*

Comments

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Seee his little feet, see his little nosywose... dum di dum di dum...

I don't like any of those poll answers. If I were in a small owner-managed newsagent or something like that, I'd point out that they hadn't scanned it, whether I already had the money out or not, unless it was a shop that I found very bad and annoying, in which case I would probably walk out without buying anything at all. I tend to treat selling me stuff as a sort of competition that only nice people should win...

If I were in a supermarket though, I'd be more likely to take it as a random discount. But if it were a supermarket, I'd almost certainly not have bought only 2 items and have cash in hand.

Actually, I can't remember the last time I counted the total before paying, I suspect it was when I was about 9 and had to carefully calculate to make sure I bought exactly the right number of Black Jacks and Sherbet fountains to exactly meet the amount in my pocket...

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Pellinor treats coins as things that should be emptied out of the wallet and left in piles around the house. Therefore, I treat coins as things that should be harvested from said piles, crammed into my purse, and doggedly used up. At the moment, he's left me huge vats of change left over from the Summerfest bar, so I'm paying for everything in exact cash wherever possible. It's become my quest. Actually, it's a quest I'm playing on "expert" level, since my purse is actually designed as a credit card holder, and doesn't hold very much at all.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I'm very glad that you are a librarian, and not, say, in charge of nuclear strategy, or a major hospital or the like... :-p

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Hey! Just last week, a heroic librarian single-handedly, and with no help from others, saved a put-upon gentleman from false imprisonment and saved a sleepy rural hamlet from horrors most dire. So there. :-P

[chainmailmaiden]

Songs that start "see the little..." and involve nosey-woseys and little feet are evil.

But you have to admit, it is the perfect song for Yama :-)

They put claws into your brain and won't let go.

Much like the Bungles would if they had any hint that brains were edible :-D Making it again, the perfect song for them :-)

[nilsigma.livejournal.com]

Songs that start "see the little..." and involve nosey-woseys and little feet are evil.

That is only true if the song then neglects to mention 'rotating scythes', 'chain saws' and 'blood-spattered curtains'. Otherwise it is a classic.

[segh.livejournal.com]

I mentioned to my children that when I was at school we used to sing "Moon River" on coaches - also "We all lived in a yellow bobble hat" (school uniform) and "You'll never get to Heaven" among others. They were incredulous. Apparently nobody ever sings anything now except "The wheels on the bus" (primary) and "Hail to the bus driver" (secondary).

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I really can't remember if we sang on buses, or not. Definitely not on the daily school bus, but on coaches on school trips...? I can't remember. My parents and I used to sing all those "you'll never get to heaven type" songs on car journeys, and I suspect my memories of singing them come from that, instead. I do remember a lot of playground songs, skipping songs etc., though.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

I can remember singing 'Star Trekkin' on a school trip to a nuclear power station.

Anyway, here's your new favourite song, with icon...

See the little Yama
See his little feet
See his leaking nosey-wose
Isn't the Yama sweet?

[segh.livejournal.com]

My family used to sing Irish folk songs in the car. My father used to say I had the authentic Irish banshee wail. I think he meant it kindly.

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

See the little Goblin
See the little Pixie
See his little nosey-wose
Isn't the Goblin sweet?
Yes!

[pellegrina.livejournal.com]

Goodness, I seem to be the only dishonest customer around here! I based my response on my failure to pay for my daily cappuccino one morning because (a) I had the right money out in my hand ready to pay but he ignored my vague attempts to hand it to him, and (b) the same guy had botched my coffee the day before by putting sugar in it, and besides, (c) for over two years I have ordered a single-shot cappuccino when normally they put in two shots, so actually they have made a considerable net saving of coffee on me.

That said, I misread the question and thought the checkout person was speaking on the phone him/herself, rather than trying to get someone else too...

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I was once undercharged for petrol, at first left the kiosk, checked at the pump, and returned, for the man behind the till to explain that he had accidentally charged another driver my sum, who had now gone, and he needed to charge me the lower amount to balance the till...

[torkell]

The one I always remember is the trip to Battle, when the entire coachload of Year 8's loudly sang The Sheep Song. To the tune of When the Saints go Marching In, something like: "Oh fluffy sheep!... Oh fluffy sheep!... When the sheep go marching in, they're white and they're fluffy, when the sheep go marching in."

The bus driver banned that one on the way back.

Re the supermarket: I always point it out. I've also pointed out the other mistake once or twice, which is them giving me too much change by mistake.

Crumbs

[themis1.livejournal.com]

We are all scarily honest. This probably means none of us are (a) politicians or (b) work in finance. Wot, me, cynical?

[firin.livejournal.com]

I've had the checkout assistant say something like 'Goodness, you are honest!' several times over a variety of little incidents. E.g. them undercharging me, something not scanning, some small item (e.g a packet of AA batteries) being left in the shopping trolley by accident and only noticed afterwards.

It did seem, I agree, that the prevailing attitude among staff and other shoppers is that being honest is unexpected and surprising.

[evilmissbecky.livejournal.com]

I would own up.

A few months ago, when my department all went out to lunch to celebrate a co-worker's birthday, I paid for my lunch with cash. When the waitress brought back my change, she gave me five dollars too much. I gave her the bill back, and she looked flummoxed. I explained for her that she had given me too much money, and she finally stammered a thank-you, saying most people wouldn't give the money back.

[thecatsamuel.livejournal.com]

This has restored my faith in librarians after a round of very hairy tweedy and unhelpful ones. What the heck do students do if they AREN' secretly librarians themselves in another life.
Perhaps I will make up a monster song to sing to Tacitus.
Actually, may try and think of a suitable Abba theme for him.
Look! This is proper student bechaviour typing to you when should be working!