30.01.2002
feeling kinda
apparently, i have a lot of pet peeves.
i don't even know why i started writing this list. i mean, i was in a good mood that day. not much had gone wrong, i had felt pretty good all day, and i was hanging out in one of my fave haunts. but for some reason, this is the list i started.
the interesting thing is, i've told a few people about this, and invariably, we end up talking about what their pet peeves are. there's a very interesting overlap. we seem to be aggravated about similar things.
in any event, here's the list. and if you have any to add, please let me know. i'd be more than happy to post an addendum to my own personal peeves. :)
- Static Hat Head Hair in mid-winter. doesn't matter what i do to my hair, as i'm just going to shove a hat on it.
- people who walk like they have nowhere to go. Ever. and who take up the whole damn sidewalk while doing it.
- people who don't say thank you when you hold the door for them. i always say 'thank you!', loudly.
- cat hair that won't respond to sticky tape delinters.
- fluorescents. 'nuff said.
- dishes that won't do themselves.
- people (like me) who forget to write prompt thank you notes.
- waiters who introduce themselves, and people who sing 'happy freakin' birthday' in restaurants. just let me eat in peace. please.
- bad coffee, sold under the rubrick of 'El Giganto Perfeto'.
- walking in the rain and ending up with wet socks. or, worse, just that bottom edge of your jeans wet, so when you sit down and they ride up, your ankles get clammy.
- laundry ending up grey (or tint of your choice) because of that one random sock, or the person before you using RIT and not running an empty load.
- trying to have a conversation with someone who (for reasons unknown) assumes that you are stupid. witness MintBoy. more on that later.
- slobbery dogs who run up to you with entire ropes of saliva swinging from their lips, and assume that swaddling you with said ropes will be taken as a sign of affection.
- paying the penance for too much garlic by getting stanked out of the shower the next morning, or having to talk/sit/work with someone else paying the penance.
- getting bumped around by people with no concept of personal space.
- liars.
- ending up with a shitload of pennies, the most useless coin in the world, in my wallet. and i hate the change pocket in my wallet. there is no easy way to fish out one or two coins. i have to dump it all out to sort thru and find the right coins. the damn pennies just get in the way.
- finally growing my nails long enough that they look nice, and then not being able to type.
- the loss of the old Garden. (i suppose you have to be a Native to get this one.) if you're not from Here, this may seem picayune. it's not.
- dealing with people who start the convo by yelling. word of advice: pleasant words and manners will get you far in this world. really.
- not being able to remember a word or name, despite playing the Alphabet Game. you know the Alphabet Game? where you go thru the alphabet one letter at a time, hoping it will jog your ever-increasingly faulty memory?
- loud neighbors.
- bad drivers.
- losing mittens or umbrellas (which i seem to do on a regular basis).
- stepping into a hairball or pile of cat yak, with bare feet, first thing in the morning.
- people who can't follow directions.
- telemarketers. 'is Ms. C there?' 'nope. wanna leave a message?' 'is Mrs. C there?' i never went by Mrs. Anything, so that one is a flat no. the best one - 'who am i calling?' 'oh, no. i don't think so. you called me. who the hell are you?'
- people who don't understand how to use napkins. there's a reason they're called napkins, people.
- faux intellectuals. 'so Sarte said when he was in Germany - he's German, don't you know?'
- dentists who wear too much cologne.
- 'crawl' news - altho the top info bar on sports games rocks. bases on, shot clock - all good. but the crawl titles are just distracting.
- people who undertip.
- anyone who feels they must convert you to their way of thinking, about anything.
- caving in to my OCD tendencies and cleaning up after everyone else, especially in restaurants and public restrooms. part of this comes from having worked in catering and having run my own catering company. witness: mopping up the water on the counter in the ladies' room, so noone else ends up with the Suspect Spot on the front of their skirt or pants.
i apprently have a *lot* of peeves. i think they come from this idea that i have that the world should be clean and well ordered, and people should be courteous. even now, at 34, i still hang on to that idea, in the face of all evidence to the contrary. i mean, i used to work as a naturalist and teacher, and taught classes in hip deep mud. i've worked in tons of non-profit and service jobs. i know that the world is a messy, rude place. and yet. yet, optimism prevails. optimism still wants to triumph over experience. which is a very odd view for a confirmed cynic to have. but. there you go.
