I've been thinking about pet peeves today.
I've been wondering if I really have any. I'm sure I do, but they don't seem to loom large enough that I can think of any at the moment. *thinks* Nope. I have this thing about hating having bare feet, but really, that's more of a hangup than a pet peeve. I mean, I don't care if anyone else goes barefoot, just don't let my tootsies out of hiding. My family makes a big deal (pretend heart attacks, etc)., if they see my feet.... yeah.
But that's not a pet peeve.
My sister Babby has two pps I can think of off the top of my head (which is probably pretty good since she lives three hours from me and I only see her a dozen or so times a year).
1. The toilet paper has to be on the hanger in a certain way. I think this is a common peeve. My question is: Who decides the right way for the TP roll? For me, the right way is the way it happens to go on the holder when I'm changing the roll.
2. The way things are stapled. I don't have the minute details on this one, but I know her papers have to be stapled a certain way. For me, as long as it hits that upper left corner, holds the papers together, and closes at the back enough that I won't get scratched, I'm happy.
Maybe it's because Babby is a perfectionist that she has these peeves. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not putting down her perfectionism. I'd love to have the drive to keep my house and car as clean as she does, or to know the night before what the heck I'm wearing for work, but I just don't. My house, car, and desk are always a bit messy. In the morning, I usually look at my feet, see what color socks I'm wearing, and dress accordinglyh (not kidding).
My husband, Jon, has this one pet peeve that I think (from my very informal technique of watching people walking down the sidewalk) many men share. For Jon, if you're walking down the sidewalk, or entering/exiting a building with two side-by-side doors, you should always keep to your right - as if you're staying in your lane while driving a car. He really does feel it's wrong to go into the left hand door of a store. I enter through the nearest door (or the left hand door if he's with me and I want to drive him just a little crazy). I even (gasp) exit from the post office down the same flight of steps I ascended when I entered (it's closer to the cross walk). Hmmmm... this is all making me sound a bit lazy. LOL. Perhaps I am....
I was thinking about this today because as I was taking a quick stroll during break, I found myself walking down one side of the sidewalk while a teenage boy was walking toward me. I was on the left. Of course I was (I think I like to be closer to the buildings than the street). He was coming straight at me. I did my normal game of watching to see if he'd veer off. He didn't. I moved to the right. *sigh*
I actually played this game of chicken with an older gentleman once. In fact I got within two steps of him before I gave up and veered before I ran him over. But of course, because of Jon's peeve, I have this little voice in my head telling me I'm on the WRONG SIDE.
Ah well.
So, what's your pet peeve?
I'll let you know when I think of mine. :)
Oh and as I passed a store today (walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk) I saw a cute little desk sign that read, "I'm so far behind I think I'm first." I need that sign.
I was just noting that I am forever moving out of everyone else's way to avoid being run over on the sidewalk, and get clipped and shoulder bumped anyway. Grrrr. I'm going to start just walking (on the right side of the pavement - I"m in NYC after all, and you can't mess around with so many ppl) and see how many actually hit me.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest PP lately for many pedestrians are the ppl who walk and text and think they have it together enough to avoid crashing into others. Guess what, texters? YOU DON'T.
My other major peeve is bad grammar. I just had an argument about it today with the bf. He doesn't like it when I finally have had enough and correct him. I can understand that. Why he won't simply learn from the correction, I'll never know. *rolls eyes* I said that you can't have bad grammar and have language disintegrating quickly (as opposed to mutating slowly like it has always done) to the point where people can't understand each other. I've noticed a trend in ignorant Minnesotans to confuse borrow and loan. Such basic verbs are becoming their own opposites, and no one who isn't illiterate can understand what they mean. "I borrowed him a hundred dollars." Nope, you really didn't.
BBCs "Sherlock", episode three, that begins with Sherlock unnerving a prisoner by continuously correcting his grammar is like a wet dream for me. *LOVES*
RE: Toilet paper. Unless you have cats or toddlers, I find it easiest to use with the paper coming forward over the top. Also, if your hand is rather dirty, it's better to be able to grab that lead piece coming over the top rather than have to dig underneath and contaminate the rest of the roll.
ReplyDeleteStill, this is not something that generates aneurysms with me.
Jeanette,
ReplyDeleteOkay, I don't even want to ponder the hand is too dirty part. LOL.
J,
ReplyDeleteHow is the 'just walking' going? Is anyone getting out of your way?
Grammar - yep. I can see that. Though I'm not sure I'm the most grammatically correct person around. :)
And the texting thing - yep! AND people texting when they're supposed to be in a conversation with you. It's like there isn't even a "sorry, I have to send this." No. It's like they think it's okay to be having two conversations at once, and the 'in-person' person doesn't deserve full attention. Grrrrrr
Just walking - I can't do it! I'm so trained to dodge that I can't make myself keep a collision course. I still get clipped, but, actually, most New Yorkers are polite and smile and apologize if it was a hard enough hit. Otherwise, we just brush it off and keep going.
DeleteGrammar - I was watching The People's Court one day. I realized I watch it to observe people's reactions under stress. It's like a training film for aliens coming to Earth, lol. I'm amazed to see how people look when they are bold-faced lying, how they react to questioning, etc. Unfortunately, most of these people have really bad grammar. So this one day, there's a man whose education was so lacking that he couldn't express the idea he had in his head. He need to describe an ongoing event in the past, and he didn't have the words. I understood what he was trying to say from the context of the questioning, but this guy didn't have the capacity to make his own point. It was horrible. And he's not the only one.
The bf hates it when I correct grammar, even if it's on TV. He does a lot of renovation and construction, so I made an analogy. I said, okay, from now on, we won't worry about building regulations, we'll just slap the joists in however we want, attach things any way we want, and when the floor falls in, so what? He actually took my point.
Texting - have you heard about a new trend: the phone stack? It's mostly among friends, sometimes at business lunches, but at a group meal, everyone piles their phone in a stack in the center of the table. The first one to check theirs, or succumb to ringing gets the check. It's a nice way to tell your friends and loved ones that you care enough to pay attention to them alone for a while. Exceptions can be made for parents with sitters at home, etc. Isn't that a nice adaptation of manners to technology?
Unfortunately, the people I go out with are as electronically backward as I am, so I've never had a chance to try it, lol. Maybe at the next family dinner, but my sibs don't have their phones out, ever, which is nice.
LOL- the collision course thing is hard!
DeleteGrammar - I like your analogy to construction. Very fitting.
I hadn't heard of a phone stack - great idea. People need to be present with the in-person people they're with.