Stu·dent (n)
1. a person formally engaged in learning, esp. one enrolled in a school or college; pupil: a student at Yale.
Synonyms:
Stupid, imbecile, ignoramus
Today we phoned our letting agency to let them know that we have a wasp problem. Every morning this week I've been woken up by one being in my room, whether or not I'd had my window open. They're all through the house, mostly upstairs. And yesterday, we had a Hornet Incident TM.
Now, being a country bumpkin, I'm pretty au fait with insects. My dad keeps honey bees, and having had them crawling all over my hands (the rest of my body was covered with a bee suit), I know what they look like. We get wasp nests at home pretty much every summer. I know what wasps look like. And hornets aren't just queen wasps. They are horrific creatures. I know, too, what hornets look like.
Why, then, did the letting agents phone back to say "we phoned the exterminator guy, he said it can't be wasps because it's not the right season for them yet"?! The conversation then went as follows:
Me: No, they're wasps.
Them: Are you sure they're not bees?
Me: No, they're wasps.
Them: Bees do look a lot like wasps
Me: My dad keeps bees, I know what bees look like. These are wasps.
Them: I don't want bees being killed.
Me: Me neither. But these are wasps.
Them: Some bees look like wasps...with brown and yellow stripes
Me: Yes, true. We have wasps, though, not bees. And hornets, too.
Them: Hornets are unusual...they're not just big wasps.
Me: I know. They're a hell of a lot bigger than queen wasps.
Them: Are you sure it's not a type of bee?
Me: They're wasps! And hornets! It's warmer than normal, tell the exterminator bloke that they are wasps and I want them killed!
Them: *sigh* okay, if you're sure they aren't bees.
Me: They're wasps.
Them: Okay. I'll call you back in a bit.
That's the condensed version.
I may be a student, but I'm not completely stupid.
6 comments:
haha i have had so many conversations like that. stressful and annoying isnt it?! well at least the accepted it eventually!
Oh dear. Student letting agencies do tend to lump all students together as hopeless beings. From my experience they'll do a half hearted job because they think we won't be bothered - truth is some of us like being clean/tidy/has a running cooker/have no killer wasps etc etc
Let's hope they sort it out, else I'm thinking you should start a rising up against student letting agencies, we're not all tax dodging, spongers!
A friend suggested I gather some of the aforementioned wasps in a box, seal it up and send it to my letting agents. Just so they can see that they are indeed wasps, and... Not. Bloody. Bees.
haha i think i would like this friend :)
It is when I hear stories like this that I am so glad we rent from private, caring landlords. Reason 475 why we are staying put next year.
But I know exactly what you mean by getting annoyed at people who assume that all students are stupid/ lazy/ selfish/ tax-sponging drunkards. And even more annoyed at the students themselves who live up (down) to that reputation.
I especially like the 'Some wasps look like bees...with brown and yellow stripes' bit.
I mean, really...!!
Today, though, I discovered that MOST of my biology class had no idea at all what a foxglove looks like. The nearest guess I got was 'like bluebells'. NO!!!
(foxgloves are poisonous, and we were studying how and why this is the case).
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