PassiveAggressiveNotes.com » San Diego

“Write what you know,” as the saying goes

Kerry — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:29:02 +0000

When Shelby‘s third-grade son was having trouble with his homework assignment (two paragraphs of creative writing a day), her suggestion was to just write about what came to mind first. As she realized later when she found the page in a stack of old school work: “He did not hold back.”

related: “Drunk Mommy”

extra credit: “Don’t Write What You Know” [theAtlantic.com]

Could you spare a tissue for the lady?

Kerry — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:19:04 +0000

When Sal spotted this notice at an athletic clothing store in San Diego, he says that while he couldn’t quite picture how a tissue would get the job done in this situation — not to mention how this policy came to be — “I figured it was best not to ask questions.”

Meanwhile, when I first read this sign — from a club in Vancouver — my first thought was, “Well, that seems like a reasonable enough request.” Our submitter, Cherisse, begs to differ. “Sadly, there is no bathroom backstage,” she explains, ” wnd when a girl’s gotta go, sometimes the other end of the club is a long ways a way.” She adds: “If it wasn’t for the used paper towels being left outside, no one ever would have known.”

So… like Sal, I’m gonna say it’s probably best not to ask too many questions about this one.

Cock fight!

Kerry — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 03:23:57 +0000

A friend of Kent in San Diego lives in an unincorporated part of the country where raising backyard chickens is legal, despite how his neighbors might feel about it. And if this anonymous note is any indication, those neighbors’ feelings aren’t exactly baby-chick warm ‘n’ fuzzy. (But of course, there’s no way it’s passive-aggressive. Just neighborly concern. After all, it’s all about the children!!!)

related: My neighbor starves his cows!

extra credit: Urban chicken farming — a burgeoning fake trend [Slate.com]

Killing it with kindness

Kerry — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:31:30 +0000

So, Brandon in San Diego had a party, and apparently people stayed out pretty late playing beer pong in the yard — a yard which happens to be just outside the bedroom window of the neighbors, an older couple in their 70s. The morning after, our submitter Mallory says, Brandon woke up to find this taped to his front door.

Final score: Brandon, o. Sweet little old lady, EPIC WIN!

The snotty video store clerk lives!

Kerry — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:24:54 +0000

Sure, Redbox and Netflix may have been the death of their former stomping grounds. Yet as Erin in San Diego noticed while shopping for DVDs at her local Best Buy, at least one of those condescending cinephiles has condescended to grace us with her presence (and her oh-so-artistic ampersands?) in big-box land.

Meanwhile, as Ali noticed, a Blockbuster in Calgary seems to be having similar HR problems.

RSV-f’ing-P. Comprenez-vous?

Kerry — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:00:53 +0000

“Our office manager was upset that people weren’t responding promptly enough to the Christmas party invitation,” says our submitter in San Diego.

In keeping with the holiday spirit of things, the office manager apparently channeled that anger into the posting of this (uncredited) About.com excerpt in the office kitchen, for the edification of all. How that’s for savoir faire?

Gee, that’ll show ’em

Kerry — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:25:58 +0000

Exhibit a) The “urban” example, from the Silver Lake neighborhood of L.A…

Exhibit b) The equally ineffectual suburban cousin of exhibit a, from “a quiet, small community in San Diego where the residents are basically all over 50.”

related: bleak house

Consider this!!!

Kerry — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:00:45 +0000

Evan in San Diego spotted this bilingual warning in a local thrift store. “I particularly enjoy the vaguely racist implication of the Spanish translation,” Evan adds. “It’s the only sign in the store (among dozens) that’s en espanol.”

related: When nature calls

The return of Thx Sandra

Kerry — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:07:12 +0000

Casey in Human Resources may have moved on, but not to worry — Thx Sandra is here to solve our global climate crysis!

related: It takes a “genius”

It takes a “genius” to come up with a potluck theme like this one

Kerry — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:57:59 +0000

Dealing with the rantings of your crazy boss or overzealous receptionist is one thing, but what do you do when your office’s resident passive-aggressive note-leaver doesn’t even work there? Casey in San Diego (a.k.a. RunBarbara) says that’s the situation she’s found herself in at her job.

The offender, Sandra, “has met me a total of twice, both times for less than a minute,” Casey says. Yet for some reason, when Sandra (the aunt of the owner) stops by the office once a week to water the plants and drop off supplies, “she leaves these strange notes EVERYWHERE — and she almost always directs questions about said notes to me,” Casey says. “I often have no idea she posts these notes until someone asks me about the odd directions in them.”

Below, a small sampling of Sandra’s delightfully bizarrre directives. (Just click on the photos to enlarge.)

I’d like to think this note was posted immediately following the “potluck”…

related: The return of Thx Sandra!

Maybe you should switch to body wash?

Kerry — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:23:09 +0000

At least that would make the roommate situation a little less hairy…

related: Losing Lisa

It’s not a race (it’s a social construct)

Kerry — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:36:34 +0000

Here’s a trio of notes from California that each make me very uncomfortable…and not just because of the painful lack of irony.

First up: an excerpt from seating guidelines posted at the quaint little Mexican restaurant in Huntington Beach where Brynn used to waitress. So quaint, Brynn says, “They also posted a dress code rule that ladies must wear makeup and skirts could not be below the knee.”

Meanwhile, a little farther south, a construction worker left this note for James in San Diego…while he was parked in front of his own house.

And the last word goes to this bit of social commentary, which Jen spotted on the window of a soon-to-be-opened restaurant in San Francisco.

related: Je comprends…moi non plus

extra credit: ¡Ask a Mexican!® [ocweekly.com]

Gossip boy

kerry — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:16:05 +0000

Our anonymous submitter in San Diego got this text message from a friend, explaining: “It’s in reference to him hooking up with one of my friends on my couch. He’s hooked up with three of my friends to date. It’s bound to get around, ya know?”

Adds our submitter: “There’s no safe way to respond to a passive-aggressive text, so I haven’t.”

related: Recipe for roommate discord

If the TSA was in charge of the office fridge?

Kerry — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:58:52 +0000

Our anonymous submitter spotted this note posted by a coworker on the office fridge.

When asked about the note, this coworker described himself as someone “with a penchant for an orderly universe and a strong desire to see food mingle.”

related: Cubicle etiquette