By Dame Jackie
Before getting into my most serious post ever, a few words from our sponsors:
The winner of the Jordan Summers giveaway, for a signed copy of RED, is comment #24 (courtesy of random.org ):
LISA (who is also angel28140 on Livejournal). Her comment ended: “I’m excited for this contest. The trilogy sounds remarkable…hope I win!”
Congratulations, Lisa! Please email the Dames at the regular address in the sidebar and Kaz will pass your details onto Jordan. Jordan would particularly like to thank everyone who took part. The amazing response took her by surprise – in a good way! – and she loved answering comments and questions. 
Okay then.
I’m in NYC at the moment, getting ready to go to a funeral. (Whoever decided “fun” should be in the word “funeral” had a very warped sense of humor.) So this is going to be an insanely quick post.
A little known fact about me: I check expiration dates on things. You know: milk containers, boxes of Jell-O pudding mix, jars of ravioli….you know. Things. I did it last night here at Jax Mom’s, and only part of the reason was because growing up, if you didn’t check the dates there was a good chance you’d have to slice yourself a chunk of milk for your morning cereal. I’m just that paranoid about dates.
This is probably why deadlines can cause such anxiety.
Mom and Loving Husband both teased me because I refused to buy a carton of milk for today that had a sell-by date of today. That was cutting it too close for me. So what that it’s completely illogical? I absolutely couldn’t do it.
So here’s a question for you, as I get ready to throw on makeup and put on basic black: what deadlines BESIDES writing deadlines get your panties in a twist? As I said, for me specifically, it’s milk expiration dates. What about you?
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So, Dame, a deadline that freaks me out is be late, I hate when I’m running late, and why a try my best to be on time a expect the same of people, who often disappoint me, and so they loose brownie points and I get really crancky (:
I also check expiry dates on most things milk-related (butter, cheese, milk, creams). I was recently in Australia visiting my mom and discovered a bottle of pop in her fridge which had expired in 2003. Shows how often she and her hubby drink pop! Didn’t really think that pop could have an expiry date; once it’s flat it is no good… that’s when it has expired, IMHO.
Fruit. Most times I buy the pre-made fruit (Watermelon, Pineapple, grapes…) most times the due date is the next day or yesterday.
As of now, I just buy it whole and cut it up myself. >_<
I hate being late – early yes, late, a definite no-no. Which is why, when we have certain friends around, we give them an earlier time to get to us … then they arrive on time with everyone else…make sense?
I also obsessively check expiration dates on things – nothing worse than sour milk over your breakfast serial.
Also – am obsessed with traintimes. I have to make sure, when travelling anywhere, by train, that I at least have three consequtive times lined up, in case one or two fail. Weird, me?
Also, Dame Jackie – am loving B&W. I think writing is your XMen power.
I check the expiration dates on everything. I live in a small town and some of the groceries don’t get purchased before the expiration date…I don’t want to slice my milk either.
Wal-Mart is notorious for selling items past the expiration date..I bought some organic pudding there, it was pre-package and the date was on the inside, not the outside of the package. I opened the pudding to find soup, expired by seven whole day…gross…put me off pudding.
You got me, I’m guilty of checking and double checking the date on the milk. To the point of reaching way back in the cooler to grab the farthest date out there.
The hubby thinks the date is just a suggestion! There’s nothing like having someone shove a carton of milk under your nose first thing in the morning saying, smell this. Does it smell funny to you?
One day over and I’ve got the heebie geebies.
Condolences, Dame Jackie, for your loss.
I tend to check expiration dates on fresh items to get the one farthest away, but for meat. I’ve been known to buy meat reduced in price because of the “Use by/Freeze by” date is imminent. I buy cheap, take it home and freeze it, or have it for dinner that night.
If I’m supposed to be somewhere and can’t make it on time, I hate going. If We had any form of meat for dinner and the leftovers set out for more than two hours, it goes in the trash. Expiration dates on food, especially candy bars and milk products, canned foods not so much. If the bus isn’t on time according to the online trip planner, I start walking.
I check expiration dates on food all the time.
I’m very aware of being on time. If I’m held up by a stalled train or something, I always make sure I let those at my destination know.
What drives me NUTS is when other people are regularly late. To me, that is a sign of disrespect,and why would I choose to spend time with someone who treats me that way? I discuss it, but if it continues, that person is excommunicated from my universe.
Other nonwriting deadlines that annoy me is when someone expects me to fill in a form, but doesn’t give me enough lead time. First of all, my life does not fit in other people’s boxes. Second, why the hell should I have to rearrange my life like that on someone else’s deadlines? Especially if I’m not getting paid for it!
My condolences for your loss.
Expired milk=GROSS.
I’m driven nuts by constantly changing deadlines. For example the deadling for my kid’s soccer sign up has changed three times and they won’t take sign ups at all until a certain deadline which has been changing with the last day deadline. I just want to pay my cash so the kid can play ball.
Work often does the same things. Deadlines kinda dance around and drive me bonkers.
Jana
I have to set myself a deadline of checking my bank statement, even when I’ve been paid and know I should have money. I do direct deposit and though it has never happened, I’m always afraid the money won’t be there.
This is left over from a time when the bank very seriously screwed up and all of a sudden a 2K check for my old truck bounced. Except it didn’t bounce because the person I bought the truck from got their money. It was really complicated and we never did quite figure out what happened. Essentially it occurred during the time when they were going from checks taking a week to clear to checks waiting only 24 hours to clear.
My loan bank of parent had deposited the check in my ohio account. I wrote myself a check to my colorado account, waited a week for it to clear, just to be safe and then bought my truck. All was well, until two weeks later when the ohio bank had a heart attack and it was a huge mess. It all got sorted and ohio bank (which we are no longer with) had to pay fees, but it still makes me really nervous for some reason.
Maybe I’m just not very trusting. So anyway, I have to set myself that deadline, then I fidget about the deadline until I get it over with. It’s never been an issue since then.
picking up kids from preschool. i’m always anxious something (malfunctioning watch? traffic accident? UFO landing to take over the earth?) will happen during errands that will delay collection and my child will be the last one in a deserted lot, traumatized and and thinking “I knew it! I knew this would happen some day!”
Apparently I’ve watched too many movies where this happens.
Time.
Let me be a tad more specific. I cannot STAND IT if I am late to anything. Even more so, I hate it when other people keep me waiting! My friend was complaining about this very issue in a vlog once and she put it a very nice way: Is their time really more important than mine?
But I get very anxious about being late to anything, especially if it is class or, even worse, an exam.
I am also one of those people who must be places on time–even if the deadline isn’t really important. If I’m stuck in traffic on the way to a dance lesson, I stew about it–even though I’m *paying* for the lesson, and *I’m* the only one who’ll be hurt by the lateness because I’ll miss part of my hour, I still end up feeling anxious and guilty. I try to logic myself out of it, but it never works.
I check the date on salad dressing. It’s something I tend to buy on sale with really good intentions, use it once, and then by the time I’m ready to use it, unt-uh. Salad’s on the short list of things I never want to throw up. Along with things like oreo’s ala vodka.(Don’t ask.)
If my milk is a day past expiration, it must pass the sniff test–it cannot have a smell. And since I only use skim, it really shouldn’t have any sort of smell. Even if it’s within its sell-by date, I sniff milk any time I open it to use it.
Why? One day in tenth grade, I bought a carton of milk at lunch. Was thirsty. Started gulping. Was about three gulps into it when I felt the chunks. Yes, chunks. In school cafeteria milk.
I bought orange juice the rest of the year.
Due dates are my ultimate deadline right now. Could be because I’m 7 months pregnant and HUGE! I swear the baby will be born tell enough to play basketball for the NBA next year.
Other than that, I’m pretty relaxed on deadlines as long as work and writing aren’t involved. I was a newspaper editor (college) for a number of years and getting writers to turn things in on time so I could put the paper to bed sometimes involved marching over to someone’s house, waking them up, and glaring while they finished writing the article.
After that, most deadlines seem tame.
I do double-check milk though.
Like some other people, I stress out about getting to places on time. I’ve told myself that I’m not allowed to check the time while on public transit because knowing the time isn’t going to help me get to where I’m going any faster.
[...] Third, I blogged at Deadline Dames yesterday. No giveaway, but still, I pose a question to the readers. Come read! [...]
OMG! I’m so happy that I’m not the only one who is a little obsessive about checking food dates. I really don’t like deadlines or expirations of any kind. I get stressed out about getting it done in time. I also fight the constant battle of trying not to rush to get it done in exchange for half-assing it.
I check food dates *obsessively* because in our small town grocery store things often stay on the shelves longer than they should. And I never keep lunchmeat longer than 3 days. If it isn’t eaten by then, it gets fed to the dog. I once ate a sandwich from my college cafeteria that must have gone “off” because one hour later I was violently sick. Ugh.
I also HATE to be late. I am a chronic early arrival because I stress so much about being late!