This happens around ten years ago, a few days before Christmas. It is one of the years when the UK receives a fairly hefty snowfall — by British standards, at least.

Since we so rarely get snow, we are always poorly equipped to handle the conditions. Almost nobody has even heard of winter tyres or snow chains, and people either drive far too slowly or far too quickly, making the roads chaotic. Salting and plowing happen on main roads, but back roads and side streets are rarely attended to.

This particular evening, my family and I are in a taxi to see some family friends for a Christmas party. The route from my parents’ house to the friends’ is pretty much ten minutes’ drive along a dual carriageway, and one we know well.

We’re all a little surprised when the taxi driver takes an unexpected turn down a narrow, winding country lane.

My dad is sitting up front.

Dad: “Why aren’t you taking [Obvious Main Road]?”

Driver: “The traffic along that road is really bad due to the snow, so I’m taking a less-travelled route.”

And, to be fair, the road is very quiet. However, because it’s quiet, no other traffic has created any tracks in the snow, making the road even more slippery than it would have been otherwise.

Despite the conditions, our driver is going quite fast. In all honesty, his speed would have been a bit too fast for normal conditions.

Dad: “Can you slow down a bit? We’re not in a massive hurry, and we’d like to get there in one piece.”

And for a mile or so, he does ease off. But as the road becomes a bit less winding, he picks up the pace again. Just as my dad starts to ask him to slow down again, the driver turns into a corner.

The car, instead of simply rounding the slight bend, spins a FULL 360 DEGREES, coming to a halt in the middle of the road. It is extremely fortunate that the road is a little wider and so quiet; otherwise, we’d have almost certainly hit either the trees at the side or another car.

My dad, surprisingly calmly, reiterates his request that the driver slow down lest he kill us all, and thankfully the message is received, and the rest of the journey is completed safely and sedately.

We are going through a heatwave. In response to this, the pool I work at, which is part of a larger non-profit organization, decides to allow free entry to the pool for the hottest hours of the day at the weekend.

The free admission is a set time from noon to four pm. Anyone who comes in before or after those times must pay the entrance fee in order to swim.

I end up getting stuck at the check-in desk right after four o’clock and am greeted by many unhappy families who expected to get into the pool for free. I explain to them each time that we only had a set time where admissions are free, and since the time has passed, they will have to pay for using the pool. Most people argue, or shout, or threaten to have me fired if I don’t let them in.

However, one woman, after I tell her she has to pay, bends down and tells her children to run into the pool — fully clothed — which she then tries to use as an excuse to chase after them and evade having to pay.

It doesn’t work.

I work in a very small office; just the doctor and me. Most of the time, I get to work about twenty minutes before we open, and my most frequent issue is people showing up way too early and then trying to follow me inside.

This morning, a patient is banging on the door incessantly for several minutes; I start timing her about a minute in.

I’m doing my best to ignore this woman. We are not the type of office to come to for a medical emergency. It’s still about ten minutes until open and I’m finishing up my pre-work tasks.

The patient continues to bang loudly on the door. I finally lose my patience and go up to the door, unlock it, and crack it open so I can speak with the woman, who has her grown son with her. They immediately try to push me aside to come in.

Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we don’t open up for another ten minutes, and there are some things I still need to finish before I can let you in. Besides, the doctor is not here yet.”

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say, because she is instantly furious.

Patient: “How dare you keep us waiting out here?! My son has a cast and we came early so he could walk over the icy sidewalk and take his time!”

This is the icy sidewalk that I have just finished shoveling and salting.

Patient: “You should have let us in immediately because he has an appointment right now!”

Me: “Ma’am, the appointment is in about ten minutes, and as I said, the doctor is not here. Also, the closed sign is up and my lights are off, indicating that we are closed. I will let you in this time because it is cold out, but please remember in the future that the doors will not be unlocked until a few minutes prior to our listed opening times.”

Patient: “I cannot believe this! You are horrible at this job!”

The patient’s son steps in and starts to tell me how rude I am being to his mother. I’ve had enough at this point, so I put my sign-in sheet on the counter and ask the son to sign in. He’s still berating me. I finally get them back to a room, while they’re still b****ing at me, and then I send the doctor a heads-up text, explaining what happened.

When the doctor gets to the office, he heads straight into the exam room, where the patient and her son start telling him that I screamed at them and physically threw a clipboard at the mom’s head. I’m listening to this crap and just fuming at my desk.

The doctor, of course, took my side, although he still worked with the patient that day. We thankfully have not seen this power couple since, although another (perfectly nice) family member continued to come in until they moved away.

We are going through a heatwave. In response to this, the pool I work at, which is part of a larger non-profit organization, decides to allow free entry to the pool for the hottest hours of the day at the weekend. I’m not sure if the heat is messing with people, but there are quite a few dumb moments where I actually question what is happening.

I am working in the snack shack when a man walks up with his young son and daughter. He orders three ice creams and three drinks. I get his food for him and place it on the counter as I’m putting it into the cash register. The man grabs the food.

Customer: “Thanks!”

He begins to walk away.

Me: *Yelling after him* “Sir, you still need to pay for your food.”

Customer: *Surprised* “I thought everything was free!”

Me: “Admission is free for the day; the food ordered at the snack shack is not.”

Customer: “How am I supposed to stay cool if you won’t give me any ice cream? That’s the point of the free admission!”

Me: “The pool itself is meant as a way to help people stay cool; you don’t need ice cream to do so.”

The man complained some more, grumbling about false advertising and how we probably wanted him to die of heatstroke. Eventually, he gave in and paid for the food he’d ordered.

Related:
Free Ice Cream Does Not Mean Free To Abuse

My roommate and I have driven out to get lunch. On the drive to the restaurant, it starts pouring. We are woefully unprepared, so I do what any sane person would do.

I stick my head out the window and shout:

Me: “ZEUS, IF YOU MAKE IT STOP RAINING, I’LL BEAR YOUR CHILD!”

Ridiculously enough, it immediately stops raining and I turn to my wide-eyed roommate.

Me: “What have I done?”