View Full Version : Things that grate on you!
Zigzagman is the driving force behind this thread topic. (Thanks Zig)!
Are there things that grate on you? Causing you to climb the walls? Driving you berserk, batty, and wild?
In another posted entry, I touch on the repeated opening and closing of the backdoor of our house (daily) courtesy of my kids. Squeak, clunk..., squeak, thud..., squeek, clunk..., squeak, thud!!!!! Over, and over, and over, again! Even as a mom it has a way of driving me wild at times! (OK, make a list, gather up everything you guys want to play with outside, then take it all out with you and either stay outside, or come in and stay inside, but leave the damn door alone)! No, I don't actually say that to my kids, but I do think it sometimes). :laff:
Your turn.
It makes me crazy when I find the kitchen dishcloth in the corner of the sink, unrinsed and yukky. Same with wash cloths in the bathroom. Gross!
It also makes me crazy when I have cleaned off the bar and kitchen table and people think " wow a clean horizontal space!" and proceed to pile them up! That is just rude.
Power mowers, blowers, any lower-frequency loud (or even not-so-loud) droning noise. I'd be driven mad by the Taos Hum, no doubt about it.
1) People misusing, misunderstanding, mis-spelling foreign words. Particularly: walla for voila and to shay for touche (with an accent over the e). Misusing English words too, like I read about someone looking for a kids' backback (backpack).
2) The neighbor across the street who must be asking her 2 year old to stand at the end of the driveway and scream, because he does it for at least an hour at a time.
3) People who flake. Say they will be there and then don't show. Bug you to invite them to something and then won't answer their email.
I could go much higher than 3, but I'm going to give someone else a chance to respond.
ETA: sorry I have to go to 4:
the neighbor across the street who must either cut the lawn, use a blower or trimmer daily, usually while I'm having dinner and look forward to hearing some TV. He waters his grass so it will grow faster so he can cut it 2-3 times a week. With all the watering though, the grass is no longer really green and looks awful because all the nutrients have been washed away with all the watering. Its kind of a shame that he puts so much effort into something that is pointless, and his extra efforts are hurting his intent.
People who leave their dogs outside crying and barking and howling for hours on end, and don't seem to hear it at all (and evidently don't think others hear it either). Get rid of the damned thing if you're not going to take care of it.
Water spots on faucets
Saying 'supposeBly' rather than correctly saying supposeDly
Incorrect use of 'I' and 'me'
Toilet paper on the holder upside down (according to my definition of upside down)
People who leave their shopping cart in a parking space or next to the cart corral rather than in it.
People who can't be bothered to show up on time. Ever. The people who are late to church week after week really irk me. If they were as late to work on a regular basis as they are to church on a regular basis, they would be fired very quickly.
People who don't use their turn signals, people who stand yakking at the entrance to a store, blocking other getting by, people who don't go at least the speed limit (in other words, those who drive UNDER the speed limit), and people who think speed bumps are stop signs!
goldensmom
8-5-11, 10:27pm
People who can't be bothered to show up on time. Ever. The people who are late to church week after week really irk me. If they were as late to work on a regular basis as they are to church on a regular basis, they would be fired very quickly.
People who don't use their turn signals, people who stand yakking at the entrance to a store, blocking other getting by, people who don't go at least the speed limit (in other words, those who drive UNDER the speed limit), and people who think speed bumps are stop signs!
Uh-oh. Sorry, Tradd, that was me. Since I retired I just kind of mosey everywhere I go. I am, however, never late for something with an appointed start time.
Automated voice response systems on the phone that absolutely never, ever, ever work. I am much happier pushing buttons for a menu than trying to make a computer understand what I'm saying.
At home: Upstairs neighbors in our condo--vacuum almost every morning around 8:30; slam/drop/drag/thump anything and everything they possibly can; she walks in high heels on wood floors before leaving for work early in the morning; sounds like they're obsessed with rearranging furniture several times a week.
At work: my massage clients who come to me with feet filthy from walking barefoot all day; not bathing/showering for a few days before appt.; feet so smelly I need a Hazmat suit (if you know someone may be touching your feet, wouldn't you be sure they don't offend??); someone who tips $6 for a $125 massage. I mean, come ON!
Long cellphone conversations in public. Oh, this one is really nitpicky, but these younger women who speak like they don't have enough lung capacity to talk in a normal voice, so they're a bit croaky. SING OUT LOUISE!! And girls/women with annoyingly high-pitched baby voices.
Sissy--- +1! Preach it!!!
loosechickens
8-5-11, 11:33pm
"........... to shay for touche (with an accent over the e)." (herbgeek)
---------------------------------------------
but, Herbgeek, it IS to shay (well, actually too shey), AND with an accent over the e.........what is one to do?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/touche (sorry, I don't know how to put in the accent on this keyboard)
The one that gets ME is the folks saying kash-ay for cache, which should be "kash". http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cache
Cachet is a completely different word and IS pronounced Ka-shey, or kash-ey, and means something else entirely . http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cachet
The cache one, I often hear from people in the military who talk about discovering a weapons "kash-ay", when they mean cache (kash).........
Automated voice response systems on the phone that absolutely never, ever, ever work. I am much happier pushing buttons for a menu than trying to make a computer understand what I'm saying.
Oh boy, yes!! There is one company I have to deal with at work, where you have a choice of pushing buttons OR saying what option you want. I'll push buttons all day long!
"........... to shay for touche (with an accent over the e)." (herbgeek)
---------------------------------------------
but, Herbgeek, it IS to shay (well, actually too shey), AND with an accent over the e.........what is one to do?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/touche (sorry, I don't know how to put in the accent on this keyboard)
The one that gets ME is the folks saying kash-ay for cache, which should be "kash". http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cache
Cachet is a completely different word and IS pronounced Ka-shey, or kash-ey, and means something else entirely . http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cachet
The cache one, I often hear from people in the military who talk about discovering a weapons "kash-ay", when they mean cache (kash).........
Shall we even get started with "then" vs. "than?" ugh...I see that way too often.
People who leave their fast food trash at their table and just get up and leave!
People who are rude to waiters, sales clerks, and others who are "serving" them.
Co-workers who are always sick - who looked fine the day before and the day after - but were just too sick to come in!
People who have second thoughts about their grocery purchases and decided to leave perishables anywhere around the store.
People who email "funnies" and no one has bothered to clean off everyone's addresses - or better yet send it BCC.
People who lack the very basic manners - I could name names...!
People who are arrogant.
>:(
my kid being repetitive. as in he asks a question. i answer. he asked it exactly the same way again. i answer it. repeat. repeat. repeat. repeat. repeat. so finally, i figured out to say "i have answered that question." Then he moves on. Took two weeks to get this trick. LOL It's really kids training parents.
Too much noise can really drive me crazy. There's a point in the day, everyday, that I need some quiet time. No TV, no radio, no outside noise, no talking, no barking or meowing either. ;)
TV commercials louder than the program. I know the intention is to get your attention to listen to the commercial. The louder volume gets just the opposite result from me as I mute the commercial so I don’t even listen to it.
but, Herbgeek, it IS to shay (well, actually too shey), AND with an accent over the e.........what is one to do?
I meant, people /writing/ it as to shay- not saying it.
"Let me axe you this..."
"All right, then let me axe you this..."
grrr
People who use baby words when they are 50+ and aren't talking to a baby. It's pickup not pickyup for goodness sakes. Actually I don't like baby talk to babies.
Uh-oh. Sorry, Tradd, that was me. Since I retired I just kind of mosey everywhere I go. I am, however, never late for something with an appointed start time.
What irks me is people who get obviously annoyed when I won't go over the speed limit.
"People who have second thoughts about their grocery purchases and decided to leave perishables anywhere around the store."
Stock clerks who pick up perishables around the store and put them back with no regard for how many hours they may have been sitting there. I've seen it.
One more and I'm done - people who think that repeatedly yelling "hello" into a cell phone louder and louder will somehow suddenly make it work again.
People who throw trash into the street and onto my flower beds. Once a week I get 1+ bag of trash from these pigs. Jus' keeping the 'hood down.
Phone calls where no one is at the other end. I suppose that these are telemarketers, but I don't know the point of those calls.
Clamshell packaging.
"Supposably" is a real word (as in "something that may be supposed")--my partner uses it routinely, so I looked it up. I'm fine with it now, but I still hate "crispy," which is equally valid. Another word geek heard from.
Wow, this thread is fun to read! I didn't realize that I was irritating so many people. (With so many different things as irritants, it is inevitable that I am irritating....hopefully not to everyone I encounter but no doubt to many.)
I am working on serenity ("Aaaaaahhhhhoooooooommmmmm...") and a big part of that is to just let stuff happen without having a judgment of it but.....these reactions happen so quickly the rest of me doesn't even know how it came about.
1. Calling food "tasty." What does THAT mean? Grr....
2. "Her and I." Even people with vastly more education than I have use this construction.
3. Along the same vein, "me and him" as subjects of a sentence.
And I had to look up Jane's Taos Hum, since I had never heard of it before. I would probably also be affected; repetitive low level noises are very irritating to me, I think perhaps because I have a sub-clinical hearing loss and that ambient noise makes it harder for me to hear things that I actually want to hear.
Keep 'em coming....this is very entertaining!
I'm lovin' all these! But I must confess, I messed up in posting this thread in Family Matters. At the time I was preparing the topic I had my kids on my mind, and then, without thinking, I hit submit, then realized- OOPS! (Should have been posted in the Open Forum). Sorry everybody.
About touche, or should I say- touché, for anyone wanting to know how to get the accent over the "e", here's how. Simply type in the letters touch, then press "alt", and while holding down "alt", hit "130" on the numbers side of your keyboard. An "e" with an accent over it will magically appear!
Apart from the mentioned things like rude people, impatient people and the never-ending horror of wet dish-clothes in sinks, what bugs me are people who give unsolicited advice in areas that they aren't doing well in themselves.
If you have had 10 jobs in 4 years, don't give me career advice. If you can't manage your own money, don't tell me what to do with mine - especially since you have no idea how much I spend or save. Since DH is the youngest in his family he gets a lot of "helpful" advice, which trickles down to me. I don't get too much myself thankfully - I like to think I project an aura of "I know what I'm doing, so don't hassle me."
Recently DH's brother was trying to tell him how smart it would be to work in Fort McMurray for a few years (Canadians will understand). Yeah, you make tons of money but it's super expensive to live there and/or you're living in horrible conditions like work camps with dozens of men. "Then," he said, "you could get a house completely paid off." For one, we're not big on the idea of home ownership right now. But I also pointed out that we could have a paid off house living where we are with our current salaries, within 5 years, if that's what we wanted. And we'd still have a marriage. I don't do well with DH working away from home for extended periods and marriage is certainly more important than money. I never married him for his paycheque. But a single person who buys much more house than he needs like DBIL just doesn't get it.
I share several of the above mentioned irritations (and probably commit more than a few!), but the one that came immediately to mind: cupboard doors left open. How hard is it to close the doors? Especially when it's the other human in this house that gets so annoyed when the cats go in the cupboards...
loosechickens
8-6-11, 1:46pm
Hi folks,
I've moved this thread to Open from Family by request of the OP, Mrs-M, as she meant to put it in Open. Sorry for any inconvenience.
I'm lovin' all these! But I must confess, I messed up in posting this thread in Family Matters. At the time I was preparing the topic I had my kids on my mind, and then, without thinking, I hit submit, then realized- OOPS! (Should have been posted in the Open Forum). Sorry everybody.
About touche, or should I say- touché, for anyone wanting to know how to get the accent over the "e", here's how. Simply type in the letters touch, then press "alt", and while holding down "alt", hit "130" on the numbers side of your keyboard. An "e" with an accent over it will magically appear!
touché Hey! it works!
It drives me batty when I encounter people who are ignorant. I don't mean uneducated, or of true diminished intellect, but ignorant by choice. People who are too lazy to learn all the facts, or ignore the facts, or just don't think about it for even a moment, really. Once, in Germany, I went to one of those wives things (military folks know what I'm talking about) and these women were in a group talking and one woman was telling the others she heard that biker gangs were kidnapping babies and, I don't know, selling them or using them in sacrifice, or something, in the next town over. It was so ludicrous I just burst out laughing and the looks on those ladies faces were shock at this woman with absolutely no sympathy for those 'kidnapped babies'. I tried to gently remind them that if bikers were truly kidnapping babies a mere 30 miles away, it would be WORLD NEWS, but I don't think they were buying it. That's the kind of ignorance I hate.
Oh, one more. You know when you are driving down the highway and signs tell you that one of the lanes is closed ahead, so everyone starts merging over...except the one or two who think they will blast to the lead of the line and THEN get in. I HATE that! One or two times that has happened where a big truck/rig will get in the to-be-closed lane and drive at the pace of the traffic lane to block the line jumpers. I LOVE that!
"Supposably" is a real word (as in "something that may be supposed")--my partner uses it routinely, so I looked it up. I'm fine with it now, but I still hate "crispy," which is equally valid. Another word geek heard from.
Agreed, supposABly is a real word but it is not a synonym for supposEDly. While both are adverbs they are different words, with different meanings, have a different usage and often mistakenly interchanged. I know, splitting hairs but it still bugs me and that is the topic of the thread.
This week - the Angels of Death (aka Blue Angels) presently flying overhead in their obscene demonstration of war machinery and military might. I detest them. Hope they get grounded forever.
Missing the bus is annoying. particularly when I'm running on time, and the busses are running early. Oh, and when you are obviously at the bus stop, and the bus doesn't stop for you. What's that all about?
IshbelRobertson
8-6-11, 6:00pm
In the UK it is a given that unless you hold your hand out at a bus stop (usually a stop for multiple routes), then the driver will assume you don't want HIS bus, but another that services that stop!
I feel vindicated for all of my transgressions.:D
I just hate it when my friends call the night before and want to spend the weekend - Ok, is that for me or you?
I also don't like the loud commercials.
I don't like people tailgating me.
I don't like people taking the shortcuts in the parking lot as if there is no one else on the planet.
I hate it when my family makes racial comments that I cannot respond to simply because I am respectful.
I totally do not like a particular oldest friend calling me and playing like he is a high-roller and is one paycheck from living in his van. I have told him and told him............
Peace
There are times one needs food for their soul, for me, this is it! Big thanks to everyone! It's funny, but I relate to sooo many of your entries!
P.S. You are most welcome Zig!
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one bothered by "supposably". And "axe". Some people use their cameras to take "pitchers", borrow books from the "liberry" and store clothes in "draws".
Also don't like people saying "Where you at?"
Some of these are really amusing! I am sooooo guilty of some of them. Here in the south we really know how to butcher the Queen's english, lol. I was going thru my mind and came up with some really funny/weird expressions. I don't really notice most of the until it is brought to my attention.
I am working on not letting traffic situations bother me because there are a lot of idiots out there. I just try to not be one of them.
Oh! and I hate being awakened from a nap, especially if someone else thing I have slept long enough, grrr >:(
Sherry
Oh! and I hate being awakened from a nap, especially if someone else thing I have slept long enough, grrr >:( Sherry
Oh, me too! I have always told the kids - unless there is blood or smoke DO NOT WAKE me! And then the response has been, what is someone dies? And I answer, they won't be anymore dead when I wake up! And we all get a good laugh! :laff:
Ooo! Oooo! Me next, me next-
~Saying anxious when you mean eager, i.e. you are anxious that the IRS may discover your little secret, but eager that your secret love is coming for a visit.
~Biological offspring who do NOT wash their dishes when they are home wasting away their summer hours while their mother works overtime at a difficult job.
~Bonus negative points for the biological offsping when they tell above put upon mother that they are "bored and there is nothing to do."
~People who ask for relationship advice because someone is treating them badly, and when told that maybe they should leave the relationship reply, "I can't.....he/she is my soulmate." (Oh, wait, did they cover that on Dr Phil?)
~Dr Phil.
~family member that insist that you spend your holiday the way they want to spend theirs. (I'm sorry, I have to work Christmas again this year....)
!Splat!
I'm enjoying all these so much you guys! Being woken from a nap happened regularly and was a regular occurrence when my kids were babies. Someone would wake up crying, then mom would wake up crying! LMAO!
Fawn. I've had to lay down the law a few times in the "wash your own dishes" department! I don't mind a few cups/saucers, but when one of the older ones has made an actual meal, then leaves said pot (or pots) in kitchen sink filled with water to soak, uh-ugh. BIG no-no. DYOD! (Do your own dishes).
Running out of important things on the home-front. Things like dish soap, toilet paper, spices, olive oil, etc. I feel naked and lost without emergency supplies.
treehugger
8-8-11, 12:09pm
This week - the Angels of Death (aka Blue Angels) presently flying overhead in their obscene demonstration of war machinery and military might. I detest them. Hope they get grounded forever.
Can you please keep them up there so we don't have to hear them down here during Fleet Week (beginning of October)?
Kara
Phones and especially people who use them as a convenience - to themselves - and don't want to learn email. ("We're not computer people" is a phrase that makes my blood pressure shoot up ten points. Well, I'm not a phone person, so quit griping that I never answer mine or even have the answering machine plugged in.) I've decided to leave my landline ringer turned off along with the answering machine and give my cell number to only a few close friends who are highly considerate, and those who might truly need to reach me, such as my doctor.
"Well, I'm not a phone person, so quit griping that I never answer mine or even have the answering machine plugged in.) I've decided to leave my landline ringer turned off along with the answering machine and give my cell number to only a few close friends..."
Exactly my position. No answering machine, no ringer, and cell # given to those few who have a need to know. Works for me.
pens without caps, nuff said, they leak
Oh, one more. You know when you are driving down the highway and signs tell you that one of the lanes is closed ahead, so everyone starts merging over...except the one or two who think they will blast to the lead of the line and THEN get in. I HATE that! One or two times that has happened where a big truck/rig will get in the to-be-closed lane and drive at the pace of the traffic lane to block the line jumpers. I LOVE that!
Peggy, are you a Minnesotan? This bothers a lot of Minnesotans. MNDoT was trying to do a campaign a few years ago to try to get ALL drivers to drive up to the merge point and then for both lanes to take turns to get everyone into the single lane. I believe it's called a zipper merge?
"We're not computer people" is a phrase that makes my blood pressure shoot up ten points.
Ooh, ooh! I'm so with you. And in the workplace is where I most often see it! Like e-mail is a fancy, it'll-go-away-if-I-don't-check-it imposition rather than a basic, daily mode of communication among colleagues.
I think a lot of it is that people don't understand that 90% of e-mail can be deleted with a glance. People freak over having to "read" their e-mail. I'd probably freak, too, if I read it all. :devil:
Ooh, ooh! I'm so with you. And in the workplace is where I most often see it! Like e-mail is a fancy, it'll-go-away-if-I-don't-check-it imposition rather than a basic, daily mode of communication among colleagues.
I think a lot of it is that people don't understand that 90% of e-mail can be deleted with a glance. People freak over having to "read" their e-mail. I'd probably freak, too, if I read it all. :devil:
Oh this reminds me of a pet peeve: people at work who seem to brag about how much email they get. They'll come back from vacation and report on the number of email messages in their mail boxes. "I had 200 email messages waiting for me!" they'll declare in fake exhaustion.
While I may have 100+ email messages after a week of being gone, VERY FEW are specifically, solely, for me requiring a substantive answer. Of those 100 messages after a week (assuming that I routed one specific function to someone else) only 5 messages would actually require me to read, comprehend, and answer in a thoughtful way.
Let's not get overwhelmed with our own self importance.
people who insist on walking or running on YOUR side of a trail (i.e. against the flow of foot traffic) and won't move out of the way. I mean, jeeze, it's like they are british and insist on driving on the WRONG side of the road :D. I refuse to move out of the way unless they are elderly, have kids or dogs.
"Well, I'm not a phone person, so quit griping that I never answer mine or even have the answering machine plugged in.) I've decided to leave my landline ringer turned off along with the answering machine and give my cell number to only a few close friends..."
Exactly my position. No answering machine, no ringer, and cell # given to those few who have a need to know. Works for me.
I think what really grates the most is the common attitude that you *should* answer your phone, or at least have an answering machine available at all times.
My most recent experience was my Sunday school teacher appearing to be outraged and confused that he couldn't reach me to tell me of a room change. (He and his wife "are not computer people.") Did anyone die as a result of my refusal to have a phone ring or a message light flash in my home? No. Did I get lost on the first floor of my church trying to find the room? No. In fact, the church secretary had previously emailed me to let me know, as she is in the same class.
Same experience last winter with a doctor, not my regular one who was unavailable when I had to see someone promptly because I was coughing blood. There was an abnormality in my chest X-ray, done late Thursday morning, and since I was told not to expect results for several days, I left the phone turned off. Dr. Substitute was in near hysterics that he couldn't reach me on a Friday afternoon or over the weekend. May I ask what I could have done about the abnormality over the weekend, aside from worry? Could I get a CT chest scan on a Friday afternoon on short notice? H*ll, no. Did I die because I made an appointment for the CT on Monday instead of Friday? Obviously not. What did happen is that I had a nice peaceful weekend and was already healing thanks to the antibiotic I started Wednesday night and some power napping, uninterrupted by any ringing phones.
When you arrive at a pedestrian crossing, where a bunch of people are already waiting, and nobody has bothered to press the button! And they're wondering why the traffic isn't stopping? Is this diffusion of responsibility or what??
When people smoke and walk... with me behind them.
People talking on their mobile phones on the bus! "Hey, I'm on the bus..." UGH!
When people try to shove their way onto the bus while you're still trying to get off!
This pretty much characterises my daily journey to work, haha
Really enjoying reading everyone's entries! Thanks everybody.
iris lily
8-10-11, 12:03am
Did you all notice what most posts have in common here?
People. It is people who make us nuts! :laff::laff::laff:
"People make me crazy....I can hardly sing my song." --Leon Russell
Iris Lily. LMAO! Yes, I sort of did, but it wasn't until you mentioned it that it truly hit home!
KayLRZ. Visited your blog last night and couldn't help but notice your beautifully manicured hands/nails. I wear my nails long too. Like yourself, I don't paint mine, other than an application of clear every so often when I want to feel special.
phone- related annoyances:
* when i call someone (usually this is my brother) and he yells, "i'm busy, i'll call you back later!" like i've done something wrong in calling. why not just let it go to voicemail if you are busy? at least that way i can deliver my message and you won't spike your blood pressure getting all stressed about the phone. silliness.
* related to phone messages. TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT! don't just go, "hey, it's me, call me back when you get this." so inefficient.
* last phone-related gripe: when people just see that you called, then call you back to see what you had to say without listening to your voicemail. i especially hate this at work, where it is my job to call people back about their restaurant reservations. 9 times out of 10, i leave all the info they need in their voicemail -- using it as god intended it, for asynchronous knowledge transfer -- and there is no need to call me back. but still they do. grr...
When I'm grocery shopping, I try to be aware of people around me. But I guess some people aren't aware. I will be standing there, on the opposite side of the isle, looking at something, and someone will come up and stand right in front of me, looking at the same things. Am I not really there??? Am I invisible??? They act like they're the only people in the store. I feel like saying "helloooooo?????"
treehugger
8-10-11, 11:37am
Recurring neck/shoulder/back pain. That's what grates on me these days.
Kara
Iris Lily. LMAO! Yes, I sort of did, but it wasn't until you mentioned it that it truly hit home!
KayLRZ. Visited your blog last night and couldn't help but notice your beautifully manicured hands/nails. I wear my nails long too. Like yourself, I don't paint mine, other than an application of clear every so often when I want to feel special.
Well, thank you Ms. M, but those are the lovely hands of my stepdaughter. I never get my nails done, ever. I took another picture of her hands the day before that gutting a perch. I thought it was so ironic! But I didn't post that one up. Maybe I should!
Recurring neck/shoulder/back pain. That's what grates on me these days.
Kara
I"m so sorry...neck/shoulder/back pain is the worst!
Just lovin' all these!
KayLRZ. Ah well, maybe you could pass on my kind words to your daughter. :)
Gardenarian
8-10-11, 9:17pm
* last phone-related gripe: when people just see that you called, then call you back to see what you had to say without listening to your voicemail. i especially hate this at work, where it is my job to call people back about their restaurant reservations. 9 times out of 10, i leave all the info they need in their voicemail -- using it as god intended it, for asynchronous knowledge transfer -- and there is no need to call me back. but still they do. grr...
I have been informed by the younger people in my life that NO ONE listens to voicemail anymore. They just see the number and press send to call back (or whatever it is you do on cell phones.)
Yes, that's been my experience with my daughters. But I don't let it slide. If I'm really annoyed, I'll just say, "Well, I'M busy now, so you'll just have to listen to my VM." Or at the very least let them know how annoying it is to go to the time and trouble to leave a message, then get the immediate uninformed callback.
Quite a few of my petty grates relate to cell phones. People who drive while using them and don't pay attention. Company that comes over and then has long cell phone conversations. People using cells quite out on "nature" walks.
But I gotta say another one is when people are shopping in grocery stores and they start picking up food from the open displays, like grapes or something, and eat them right then and there. Aside from seeming very impolite, I don't want the hand to mouth connection in food I might be purchasing.
Repetitive singing or whistling of the same few songs. Unfortunately this is a habit of DH's and my oldest DD's.
Originally posted by Rogar.
Quite a few of my petty grates relate to cell phones. People who drive while using them and don't pay attention. Company that comes over and then has long cell phone conversations. People using cells quite out on "nature" walks.My husband is the one in the house that goes out the most for meals and things due to it being tied to his job, so he tells me lots of stories where entire families will sit down together for a meal and one or more will preoccupy themselves with texting and talking on their cell phones the whole time they're waiting for the food to arrive. The rest of the time the families don't say much to one another.
But the one that gets me is, when I'm standing in a lineup at the grocers or at the bank, and someone's cell goes off, and rather than them quietly answering the call and telling the person on the other end they'll get back to them, the person will begin a loud back and forth conversation with the person as if to encourage others to take notice of. That, or maybe people really have gotten that far out of touch with reality these days...
Paying $9 for a movie and having some kid 3 seats over texting. I told him to put it away and move very far away from us. I used my serious mom voice.......he moved.
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When you arrive at a pedestrian crossing, where a bunch of people are already waiting, and nobody has bothered to press the button! And
In my town those are 'dummy buttons' they are not hooked up to the lights at all. You can push them all you want the the pattern and length of traffic lights will not change at all.
People who repeat a request even though I've given my answer.
I hate to repeat myself.
No means No and Yes means Yes - heck, even my children learned this at a young age.
Which leads me to children who interrupt their mothers when mother is having a conversation. I taught my children at a young age to not interrupt but to come up and place their hand on my arm. I would then put my hand onto of their hand to acknowledge that I knew they needed something. When I came to a point in my 'adult conversation' where I could stop then I'd see what they wanted.
It is so annoying when the to be driving behind someone who is unaware that their signal light is on. A person doesn't know for sure what they are doing. Turn your signal light off or turn already!
iris lily
8-12-11, 10:16am
It is so annoying when the to be driving behind someone who is unaware that their signal light is on. A person doesn't know for sure what they are doing. Turn your signal light off or turn already!
I know, I followed a guy on a scooter last week in the right lane. His left turn light was on and I was in the left lane. He never moved into the left lane, but I wasn't going to chance that he would because I might have hit him and he'd be dead. Rather than racing through the intersection on a yellow light, I stopped still giving him time to move over. He never did and sped right through that intersection.
oh yeah that reminds me: bicyclists who don't follow the law. 95% of them never stop at a stop sign. Pick and choose their traffic law compliance, they do. I've asked several of my biking frieinds about this and they blow it off.
People who think the "maximum" posted speed limit is what everyone should drive.Those who believe that the law does not apply to them no matter what it is.Neighbors who think they are only ones in the hood.People who take their children or pets to the store with them and leave them in the hot vehicle or in the bed of the truck with no water or shade.They would not sit in the vehicle for 5 min in the heat they turn on the ac.Rich people pretending to be poor. Politicians who benefit from the destruction of the economy.
These days, most everything grates on me. I'm getting worried about it.
For starters: Crowds, flying, TVs in public places, lines, talking on the phone, echo-ey public spaces, and my too-big vehicle.
Shrink-wrap.
:laff::laff::laff:
Clam-shell packaging.
Younger women with really long hair that constantly hold their head to one side to keep the hair off their face.
Drivers who brake while going uphill.
BMW drivers. They're always weaving and cutting and speeding.
Extreme regional accents. Most people have a little bit of an accent, but it's the really extreme accents that make people sound stupid and grate on my nerves. The extreme northern accent around here is like "Yah, I seen one a dem down by da lake once hey" and it sounds moronic.
I hate when people back out of a parking space in super slow motion tapping the brake every half second when the coast is totally clear. Then when they're done backing, they stop and pause awhile, then start turning the wheels in slow motion, then pause awhile again before going forward, so the whole process takes 50x longer than necessary.
I hate over-packaging, especially medicine: plastic bottle of pills stuffed with cotton, foil seal under the lid, plastic wrap around the lid, then the bottle is inside a box that's shrink wrapped.
When I'm grocery shopping, I try to be aware of people around me. But I guess some people aren't aware. I will be standing there, on the opposite side of the isle, looking at something, and someone will come up and stand right in front of me, looking at the same things. Am I not really there??? Am I invisible??? They act like they're the only people in the store. I feel like saying "helloooooo?????"
CathyA, this happens to me a lot. I think it's because I'm 5'0".
I have been informed by the younger people in my life that NO ONE listens to voice mail anymore. They just see the number and press send to call back (or whatever it is you do on cell phones.)
It's actually considered rude among the young to leave a message and make someone go through all the trouble of checking their voice mail. You must let them see the missed call and call you back. It's also considered rude to call instead of text. The other person could be "doing" something! Social norms governing communication is changing.
People who blow their nose in a tissue and then examine the contents. What do they expect to find??
Cold calls from brokers
Bumper stickers of all affiliations
Romantic Comedies
The designated hitter rule
Folk Music
Berets on civilians
Vanity license plates
Street musicians
Wine snobs
Robocalls
Deer ticks
Election night news coverage
Pretentious restaurants
Jaywalkers
Poison oak
Product Demonstrators
ATM fees
Precocious children
The New York Times editorial page
Line-jumpers
Starbucks
I can't stand Left Lane D**ks, as Jim Gearhart on New Jersey radio station 101.5 calls them (not sure how he gets away with that). Those are people that just meander along on a Sunday drive in the passing lane of the highway. Didn't their driving instructor teach them anything??? Drives me crazy.
It's actually considered rude among the young to leave a message and make someone go through all the trouble of checking their voice mail. You must let them see the missed call and call you back.
My wife has never listened to voice mails, even going back to the days of answering machines with magnetic tapes. If her cell phone is off-network, she'll listen to the message just long to see who it is and call back.
I can't stand Left Lane D**ks, as Jim Gearhart on New Jersey radio station 101.5 calls them (not sure how he gets away with that). Those are people that just meander along on a Sunday drive in the passing lane of the highway.
I drive down the Jersey Turnpike often enough to think that such drivers would quickly end up as hood ornaments on jacked up 3/4 ton pickup trucks. There always seems to be someone glued to my back bumper whenever I'm in the left lane of the turnpike, even at very "non-simple" speeds of 85 or so.
As for New Jersey 101.5, since it is "...not New York, not Philadelphia..." maybe the FCC has forgotten it exists?
Extreme regional accents. Most people have a little bit of an accent, but it's the really extreme accents that make people sound stupid and grate on my nerves.
...my extreme regional accent only comes out after a couple of drinks.
fidgiegirl
8-19-11, 9:24pm
Repetitive singing or whistling of the same few songs. Unfortunately this is a habit of DH's and my oldest DD's.
BAH!!!!! My DH also does this! I usually put up with it, but if it's REALLY bothering me, I'll ask him to stop . . . once . . . twice . . . nicely . . . joking . . . straightforward . . . until finally I'm yelling at him!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
Which leads me to children who interrupt their mothers when mother is having a conversation. I taught my children at a young age to not interrupt but to come up and place their hand on my arm. I would then put my hand onto of their hand to acknowledge that I knew they needed something. When I came to a point in my 'adult conversation' where I could stop then I'd see what they wanted.
I LOVE this technique. If there is no approach like this, even if the mother has to stop and tell the child NOT to interrupt, well, they just successfully did. How simple and respectful.
fidgiegirl
8-19-11, 9:25pm
...my extreme regional accent only comes out after a couple of drinks.
Mine does when I'm talking with my Grandma. Even I have to laugh at it.
Mine does when I'm talking with my Grandma. Even I have to laugh at it.
Now that you mention it, talking with my siblings will also work.
Here's my list.
Everywhere I turn, wadded up paper towels left by my husband. Drives me batty, as I get to pick them up and throw them away, not knowing what is on them; not to mention it's a very environmentally unfriendly habit.
People who tailgate me in the left lane, when I'm passing someone and doing 75. Then after I move over, they slow way down. What is up with that?
I put K9 Advantix on my dogs, yet they continue to scratch
The bear who keeps getting into the garbage
The excess of bunnies this summer in my 'hood. Bunnies are getting into my raised beds and sampling at will. We used to have lots of mountain lion sightings, but not recently. They need to come back and get rid of the bunnies.
So nice to see all the new additions to this thread. I'll be revisiting this thread (myself) over the course of the next few days.
catherine
8-29-11, 11:15am
Thought of another one... this is a biggie:
I HATE it when you call a company for customer service and you get a recording that says "Thank you for calling. Your call is very important to us, so please stay on the line." And then the call is SO important to them that you wind up on hold for ages. What BS! If our calls were that important a live human would take the call
treehugger
8-29-11, 11:44am
This grates on me: going to bed with a slight headache and waking up with a much bigger one. Happy Monday!
Kara
-flies
-mosquitos
-cobwebs
All of the above are really bugging me this time of year.
I just started working with a new dentist... Beautifully decorated located in restored Craftman's style house... But it is also has Muzak piped in OMG I thought Ted Nugent made an offer to buy that company just so he could close it down I wished he would I hear the same songs over and over and over Then when I get home... I have earworms to deal with LOL
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