Stupid things that instantly piss you off

[roadie gal]

I HATE being called Mrs. I don't know why, but it instantly sends me around the bend. I've been known to lecture checkout people in the grocery store when they do their mindless "Thank you, Mrs. RG for shopping with us today". DON'T assume I'm Mrs. Call me Ms. or call me by my first name. I can go from zero to Wildly Furious in nothing flat when someone calls me Mrs.

I received a solicitation in the mail from a charity today addressed to Mrs. RG. Instead of merely tearing it up I had to send it back with a long letter about not assuming that women are Mrs.

I know it's a very minor thing in the grand scheme of life. But it pisses me off!

Any of you guys have a button pusher like this?

(BTW, I'm from New York. "You guys" is non gender specific.)

[Veronica]

I really dislike letters addressed to me as Mrs. Thom XXXX. My first name is not Thom. My MIL always addresses letters to me like that - even though I've told her it offends me. And that's what really bugs me... that she does it because she feels it's proper even though I have told her my feelings.

Veronica

[redrhodie]

I have many of those, but my main peeve is when people text message at the movie theater. I give "the hairy eyeball" :mad: to anyone who does it. I find it so distracting, especially since I start to imagine the texts... Have you seen this? Yeah, her hair looks good. OMG what just happened!? I missed it. That was a guy?

I loved it when that conductor stopped the performance a few years ago when a cell phone rang in the audience. He's my people.

[NbyNW]

This pushes my buttons, too. How hard is it to use "Ms." when in doubt? I thought it was a safe default. I honestly think some people just never learned this basic thing about manners and how to properly address people.

I've got a slightly different variation of this pet peeve, but I think it's pretty close to yours.

I had a manager who kept addressing me as "Miss HusbandsLastName." He was basically the same age (30-something) as me, maybe he thought he was being cute. It was pretty well known that I am a Mrs., and I let it be known that I felt it was inappropriate to refer to me as Miss -- in this case it felt as if the manager was trying to assert hierarchy in what should be a relatively collegial environment. I told him directly that "Miss" was inappropriate, and if he insisted on not using my first name, he should address me as "Ms." or Mrs." And I was definitely not to be addressed as "Miss Husband'sLastName"

To me, using "Miss" in a professional setting has some mid-century connotations: less or inferior education, supportive/administrative "office girl" status. Kind of like how the women in the office are treated in Mad Men.

I didn't mind being called Miss MaidenName when that's who I was.

I didn't mind in college when an elderly professor addressed everyone in his seminar as "Mr." or "Miss." He explained to us on day one that it was a custom of his generation that he had not been able to shake; it set a formal tone for his classroom; and it actually made us feel rather grown up, at 18-19 years old, to be addressed that way. And to be fair, as a sept- or octogenarian, he probably earned the right to call us all "Miss." I'm sure if there were any married female students in the class he probably would have taken pains to call them "Mrs."

The manager kept using "Miss." Didn't matter that I had the same degree from the same university. Or that in this day/age/year/progressive city/contemporary profession, the norm is to be collegial and simply use first names. At the end of the day it was just one of many things that made me decide the company was not a good fit for me.

Another anecdote comes to mind: I had a teacher in HS, a woman, who had her Ph.D. Her husband did not. But their mail was often addressed "Dr. and Mrs." when it should have been "Mr. and Dr."

People can be really dumb about this stuff.

[Crankin]

I get easily pissed off when people have loud personal conversations in public places. Loud cell phone calls, too.
I also had the same pet peeve as Veronica, and it was my older relatives who addressed me as Mrs. Steve Crankin. But, they are all gone now. I don't mind Mrs., probably from all those years as a teacher. I am one of the few in my program at Lesley University that uses that title on my official correspondence; in fact I am one of the few in my program that has the same name as my DH. I use both my last names.
Oh yeah, and insufferable parents who carry on conversations about their precious darlings who are just going through the same normal developmental stages as every other kid on earth.

[TsPoet]

I work in a building full of PhDs, including my boss. Her husband, also a PhD had the office at the end of the hall. My office was on the cross hall right between their offices and on a main thoroughfare.

A manager once introduced several people, all men except for my boss, to a visitor

"Mr Smith, this is Doctor Jones and Dr Chen, and Doctor Boss and Mrs Boss".

I stood up out of my chair, ran to the door of my office... and my boss gave me a "shut up or die" look, so I slunk back to my chair.

I'm still furious about it, though, and it's been years.

[Tri Girl]

I have the opposite issue. What bothers me is when my kids (older grades) call me Miss Brown. I'm a Mrs. dangit. I'm married. I wear an obvious wedding ring. My name tag says Mrs. Brown for crying out loud. The big name plaque on the outside of my door says Mrs. Brown. How hard is it to insert the *R* in my title?
It also really bugs me when parents send me e-mails and address it as "Dear Miss Brown." Makes me feel like they are instantly putting themselves *above* me by addressing me as a young person (and I'm as old if not older than many of them).

If you're really unsure if I'm married or not, address me as Ms. I'm damn near 40- I think I'm a little past the *Miss* phase in life. :p

[Veronica]

Oh yeah, and insufferable parents who carry on conversations about their precious darlings who are just going through the same normal developmental stages as every other kid on earth.


Or the parents of the kids who did not get the "smart" gene. Why is so hard for our society to say that there are kids who are just not very bright and they are going to struggle through school? I get tired of the parents who expect me to make their kid a genius. For some kids, there is just not enough extra help. Maybe with a little more cognitive development, it will all click, but I can't make that happen. Nobody wonders why not every kid makes the team. Intellectual muscle is really no different.

Veronica

[tulip]

Hmmm...those don't bother me. When I was called Mrs. HisLastName when I was married, it sounded funny because I kept my own last name, but I certainly didn't take any offense. I haven't really noticed if people call me Mrs. or Miss or Ms, although I work with alot of people who address me formally. Whatever, I usually just say, "Please, call me by my first name." But that throws them for a loop because I have a very unusual first name. Sometimes I shorten it for them.

When I worked for a company (as opposed to from home now), I could not stand the banter from new and expecting mothers (and a few dads) about constipation (if they were preggers), babies and poop and throwing up and all as if it was so cute...IN THE LUNCHROOM! My goodness, people! NOT WHEN AND WHERE WE EAT! In fact, not at work! WE DON'T CARE! And I always wondered if there were other people around who may have been trying to start families without success. The incessant babble was inconsiderate on number of levels.

[indysteel]

Right now, my pet peeve is aggressive drivers. I went from a five-minute commute recently to a fifty-minute one. If one more driver rides my tail in a vain attempt to go faster or intimidate me into going faster, I'm gonna go postal. By the end of my commute, I've just about had it. It's rush hour. Exactly how fast do you think you're going to manage to go even if I get out of your way?

Grrrrrrr!!!!!! And no, I cannot commute by bike.

[shootingstar]

I can see NBNwy how a guy near your age addressing you as "Miss" is ...well actually laughable, but quite patronizing when he knows you are married. You might remind him it is the 21st century.

As mentioned before, I did work for a German engineering firm. In configuring our database software, I had to explain to the rambunctious computer German support person that we needed a Ms. selection in the database field menu drop-down when drafting a letter.

He had never heard of 'Ms.' This is an university educated guy...in Germany. There is no German equivalent or at least not commonly known, if my dearie doesn't know by now.

I had to explain the basic (feminist) philosophy that the marital status of a woman in the workplace ..really is of no reflection on her competence/work performance.

Occasionally people refer me as "Miss"..it's not totally inaccurate. But if they know me, it's first name, for even the most heavily male-dominant organizations..and I've worked for 4 different ones out of several employers

What ticks me off which some other women might find complimentary, is when some men wink at me upon knowing me in the workplace. I've had 2 senior managers do this to me...what the hell for? The manner in which it was done was to 'soften' me or get me to do something. I was a manager myself, running a department and supervising other staff.

Just ask to me respectfully to do something . No need to butter me up.
When it happens I just continue talking as if I didn't notice. It never happens again.

[Mr. Bloom]

I'm a Mrs. dangit. I'm married. ... If you're really unsure if I'm married or not, address me as Ms. I'm damn near 40- I think I'm a little past the *Miss* phase in life. :p

Tri Girl makes it easy to know what she prefers.

In business, I've almost gone exclusively to addressing people - male and female - by their first name...and to the surprise of many! It's just too hard and complicated to know what someone's preference is and the risk of offending someone is just not worth it.



I'm gonna go postal.

Indy! You work in a federal office building! Don't say it!:eek:

[Miranda]

When I teach Spinning, the biggest hot button I have is people running their mouths and making my class a personal chit chat party.

Some teachers at my gym do run their classes that way. I love to chat to people before, and get to know them. HOWEVER... once I start class, unless it's about music or the ride itself... it's time to zip it.

I also hate this even as a student rider. Sometimes it has taken everything I have to not yell out...

"HEY!:mad: NEWSFLASH:eek:... THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU! SO, STFU!".

Gheez... just typing that sentance makes me almost foam at the mouth lol.:o:rolleyes:

[shootingstar]

I do wonder at times if being short and petite prompts certain responses from various people. It would not surprise me if some people are unprepared by my style - for a woman, I'm a straight shooter in terms of personal style in the workplace. Which can be both good and not so good for certain situations.

[OakLeaf]

I do wonder at times if being short and petite prompts certain responses from various people.

Huh. They don't even see you. Literally. Not just men, but women too, will run me down on the sidewalk if I don't get out of their way... and I'm 5'3". I can't imagine what it must be for someone much shorter.

DH got angry with me for "always yielding." Just to prove a point, I didn't, for a couple of blocks. After I'd bounced off of four people's chests, he relented. :rolleyes:

[nscrbug]

When I teach Spinning, the biggest hot button I have is people running their mouths and making my class a personal chit chat party.

Some teachers at my gym do run their classes that way. I love to chat to people before, and get to know them. HOWEVER... once I start class, unless it's about music or the ride itself... it's time to zip it.

I also hate this even as a student rider. Sometimes it has taken everything I have to not yell out...

"HEY!:mad: NEWSFLASH:eek:... THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU! SO, STFU!".

Gheez... just typing that sentance makes me almost foam at the mouth lol.:o:rolleyes:


As a spin class "regular"...I also do not like incessant chit-chatting during a class. It's distracting, disruptive, and disrespectful. So I'm with ya, on that one sister! ;)

[crazycanuck]

A few...

People who haven't figured out what thier indicators are for...

Small children that wander around & make noise at restaurants (or other public places). Keep your kids on a leash or something :mad: . The rest of us are not YOUR BABYSITTERS!!!! You'll get a nasty evil eye and very little understanding from me

[Aggie_Ama]

I have a fairly simple last name unlike my maiden name so I am really annoyed when people mispronounce it. Seriously they add letters or give it an almost ethnic sound. It is not much harder than Smith so it really annoys me!

I also get annoyed when people call my Mrs. but have no way of knowing I am married. And if you can tell I am married, I hate being called Miss.

And my biggest pet peeve? When someone calls me "Miss Amanda". Unless you are my 92 year old Mammaw don't even think about it!! My old boss did it and it felt so patronizing. I wanted to throw something at him or scream every time he did it.

[Zen]

[QUOTE=Aggie_Ama;501712
And my biggest pet peeve? When someone calls me "Miss Amanda".[/QUOTE]


You should never move to the South and that even includes Maryland:D

[oz rider]

Great thread.:)

I do wonder at times if being short and petite prompts certain responses from various people.
Hell yeah! They seem to assume stupidity. (Or is that just me, hehe?) Not long after I had my son I had reason to point out I'd had a kid, not a lobotomy. :rolleyes: Same for too many tradesmen and bike shop guys. But my plumber is a mtbr so he's fabulous!

And anyone assuming anything about my marital status, as if your value relates to availability like a lump of meat.

And lazy/selfish/incompetent/impatient/ignorant drivers.

And waiters who don't check ingredients properly.

[Crankin]

+1 to the petite issue. Though, now that I am of a certain age, it seems to matter less.
My issue with the "kid talk" is not so much from when I was teaching, as Veronica described, although I experienced that a little. It's more what Tulip described, but expanded to every little thing, i.e. getting a license, college application, etc.
One time many years ago, I was at the monthly children's service at my synagogue. My 2 kids were about 8 and 10. Before the service started I had to listen to this horrible rant from the woman next to us about how her little genius was not being challenged in writer's workshop. Blah, blah, blah. I was getting enraged by the second, so I said, kind of loudly, "I don't want to hear this **** when I am in temple," so I made my kids get up and move. My older son was really embarrassed and was like, Mom, calm down.
I had to stop going to the cheapo manicure shop near me because I kept seeing too many people I know who were saying things like, "Oh, did you know that ---- (their kid) was married? graduated law school?, etc. etc." It never stops. These "kids" are closer to 30 than 20!

[Selkie]

Over-privileged people who think the rest of us should step aside because they have money. These are the ones who cut you off in traffic in their big expensive SUVs or cut in front of you in line at a store. Their kids are even worse...

People who come to work sick and spread around their illnesses.

People who take credit for other's work/ideas.

Dishonesty.

A sense of entitlement (my big beef w/much of the "younger" generation -- those who were indulged and told they were special).

Selfish people---the ones who lack manners and think it's all about them.

[Tuckervill]

Most of the time when things piss us off, we're either taking things too personally, or projecting motives that we have no way of knowing. Both of which my mother is really good at and which I try to ferret out of my own personality because of it. So when I read some of these complaints, I just think, "Why do you care? Don't listen to everything you hear. It's not about you. That person is not directing their behavior at you, so why get worked up over it?"

Of course, some people are just being rude, and not considering how their actions affect others. I try to take a look in the mirror to see how I could have helped or fixed or mitigated the situation, before I stew or complain about it.

Karen

[daisylubob]

#1 - People who throw cigarettes out the car window :mad: :mad:

Close #2 - People who litter :mad:

[KnottedYet]

I lose my cool when my daffodils get taken out of my garden.

Folks don't take just one... they take ALL of them.

I've been growing them for 6 years, and it happens every year, so I should be used to it by now. I try to put a positive spin on it: someone has a very empty lonely life and they are so desperate for beauty that they are reduced to taking my flowers, they carefully put them into a vase and smile and feel better about themselves and the world, blah blah blah.

but it still makes me grumpy that they take my flowers. ALL my flowers. :mad:

[PamNY]

Most of the time when things piss us off, we're either taking things too personally, or projecting motives that we have no way of knowing. Both of which my mother is really good at and which I try to ferret out of my own personality because of it. So when I read some of these complaints, I just think, "Why do you care? Don't listen to everything you hear. It's not about you. That person is not directing their behavior at you, so why get worked up over it?"

I agree completely.

[Tri Girl]

Tri Girl makes it easy to know what she prefers.


hee hee... I guess with a login like Tri Girl...
I should have chosen: middle aged tri woman. :p
I actually don't mind being called by my first name by parents, colleagues, etc.
Of course, I'm reading more into this than there actually is. I teach in a very wealthy parochial school where you're "unofficially" expected to bow down to those with money, and I'm often talked "down" to by parents with a lot of money. I'm like the "hired help." They really should be kissing my arse because I'm teaching their children for less than 30K a year. I made a lot more $ in public education (but it had it's drawbacks, too).
I get that from the kids, too. They think they can talk down to me or treat me with less respect because mommy and daddy have money, but I am not influenced by money and I call them out when needed (parents AND students). I shouldn't take it personally. I never say anything to the kids when they call me Miss, but it just goes all over me sometimes- especially when it's accompanied by an attitude.

I do love my job, tho. "Miss" and all... :D

[lph]

It's stupid, I know, but that is the name of this thread after all. I get pissed off at pedestrians who insist on walking in the exact middle of the bike/ped-path on their way to work. Gaggles of kids are excepted, they don't know any better and are too busy goofing around to pay attention. But grown people walking alone on the same path every morning being passed by bikes should at some point grasp that they are in fact on a shared path, a large one, and that those passing cyclists are a lot less intimidating if they would just pick a side.

[Veronica]

That's funny. I run on a multi-use path that sees very little use. If I see ten people in a seven mile run, that's a crowd. But I am always so careful to stay to the right anyway.

Veronica

[Eden]

People who chew with their mouths open!!!! Nothing instantly po's me more than someone who sits down next to me in the cafeteria and proceeds to smack and champ and chaw like a #@$% cow - double that irritation if they are eating something loud and cruchy.

[PamNY]

That's funny. I run on a multi-use path that sees very little use. If I see ten people in a seven mile run, that's a crowd. But I am always so careful to stay to the right anyway.Veronica

I ride on a very, very crowded bike path in Manhattan, so I see everything.

Serious runners are a different breed -- they even signal turns. Casual runners are a disaster waiting to happen.

[MomOnBike]

I am aware that I am in a tiny minority here, but I hate, hate, hate it when I am addressed by my first name by cashiers, service people, etc. who don't know me, have never known me and will more than likely never see me again. My first name is for people I have personal relationships with. Period.

I am aware that their employers train them to use my name, so I don't blame them, but keep my name out of our one-time business relationship.

Thank you for listening. I feel better now.

[Biciclista]

I am aware that I am in a tiny minority here, but I hate, hate, hate it when I am addressed by my first name by cashiers, service people, etc. who don't know me, have never known me and will more than likely never see me again. My first name is for people I have personal relationships with. Period.

I am aware that their employers train them to use my name, so I don't blame them, but keep my name out of our one-time business relationship.

Thank you for listening. I feel better now.

especially when they need to be carded to buy beer? :eek::confused:

[PamNY]

I am aware that I am in a tiny minority here, but I hate, hate, hate it when I am addressed by my first name by cashiers, service people, etc. who don't know me, have never known me and will more than likely never see me again. My first name is for people I have personal relationships with. Period.

How do they know your name? Reading a credit card is the only way I can think of.

[spokewench]

I hate it when the toilet paper doesn't get replaced in the bathroom stall at work or the bathroom at home!

[ColoKate]

It's pretty rare that I get annoyed or worked up but I was on a plane a few weeks ago coming home from a business trip and a very loud, crude man sat next to me. He kept referring to the flight attendant as "dude" and was muttering demeaning things about him under his breath just because they needed to put his jacket in the storage bin. I hate adult men calling other people "dude" whether to be insulting or to sound cool. To make it worse, he reeked of smoke AND he chewed gum with his mouth open and smacked/blew/popped bubbles the entire time. Right when we landed, a baby started hysterically screaming and I was soooo thankful. I was in a murderous rage by that point.

[Aggie_Ama]

You should never move to the South and that even includes Maryland:D

I am in the south! I think it was the way he said it in a sing song manner. UGH!

[Catrin]

You should never move to the South and that even includes Maryland:D

I don't mind "Miss Catherine" by children - but then again, I hail from the South and in my family this is reserved for single women "above a certain age" - which I am :) I do prefer that to "Ms Last Name" outside of a professional setting as this makes me feel older for some reason....in my professional environment everyone pretty much uses first names unless we are talking to the media, etc.

What I really hate is to be called "babe", "honey", "sweetie", or whatever by store clerks of either gender, or just strangers in general. Endearments are for partners/significant others/spouses. I know that a lot of people do this and mean nothing by it, and that is fine, but I find it irritating.

[GLC1968]

Over-privileged people who think the rest of us should step aside because they have money. These are the ones who cut you off in traffic in their big expensive SUVs or cut in front of you in line at a store. Their kids are even worse...

People who come to work sick and spread around their illnesses.

People who take credit for other's work/ideas.

Dishonesty.

A sense of entitlement (my big beef w/much of the "younger" generation -- those who were indulged and told they were special).

Selfish people---the ones who lack manners and think it's all about them.

This. I'm 100% in agreement with mickchick's list, so I'm just gonna quote it!

[nscrbug]

How do they know your name? Reading a credit card is the only way I can think of.

Our names get printed on our receipts at certain grocery stores...especially the ones that you use a "preferred shopper's card". But yes, I don't like it either when I'm at the register paying and they say to me "Thank you for shopping at Dominick's, Linda"...it's just creepy to me.

[shootingstar]

What I really hate is to be called "babe", "honey", "sweetie", or whatever by store clerks of either gender, or just strangers in general. Endearments are for partners/significant others/spouses. I know that a lot of people do this and mean nothing by it, and that is fine, but I find it irritating.

+1, Catrin. Being called "Miss" for myself, I view as very tame. The other stuff, I just dislike from either male or female unless it is my partner.

But he doesn't even call me any of the above which when I hear other people call me any of those 3 terms, it's jarring for me to hear it.

[kermit]

I hate rude people! The ones that can't wait patiently in a line because "I'm in a hurry" and when they get to the register have to go get something they forgot. Go ahead rude person, just make everybody wait, it's your world I'm just livin in it! The good thing is that being nice to somebody in this town, goes a long way. Sad but true. Most places I frequently shop at know me and just a little "hi how are you?" goes really far. SAD...

[malkin]

" Mrs." doesn't bother me, because I either sound like

Mrs. His mom
or
Mrs. My mom

I get called " Miss 'My First Name' " at work sometimes; it used to bug me, and I used to take A STAND, but now I just imagine myself as Miss Scarlet, making clothing out of the window blinds or whatever I can find. If not MizzScahlet, then I am the RomperRoom lady, which is at least equally ridiculous.

[Crankin]

Well, maybe I am projecting my own stuff around the things that piss me off, but I am human. I grew up in a super competitive academic type community and while I swore I wouldn't do that to my kids, in the end I wanted them to have the same great public education I had :). Yes, I turned into my parents, I guess. But, the bragging insufferable parents really exist in all walks of life. Too many people live their lives through their children; while I love mine, I tried to see them as real people, with flaws as all people have. So when I hear people constantly droning on and on about their kids, I just think, gee, what is missing in their lives?

[malkin]

I used to go through the roof when I got carded buying beer, but now I just crack up and take off my hat.

[malkin]

For me, "Babe" has always conjured an image of Paul Bunyan's big blue ox.

Even in my 20s when I wanted to be called by terms of endearment, I didn't really find it appealing.

[Tuckervill]

The plane story reminded me of something I hate....people who sneeze or cough without absorbing it some way. Waiting for a plane, I heard a woman sneezing over and over and over again. It was probably allergies, you know? But still. What else was she spreading? I made a mental note not to sit by her, but OF COURSE, she got on after me, and her friend sat right next to me on the full plane. She sat across the aisle and one seat back, and sneezed through the WHOLE FLIGHT, while leaning forward and talking to her friend the WHOLE FLIGHT, even when the friend was trying to read her book.

Did I mention that, instead of burying her face in her elbow like I've trained myself to do for the unexpected sneeze...she instead placed her hand delicately over her mouth and held it there while the sneeze built up, and then JUST as the sneeze erupted she twisted her wrist to move her hand away from her face--AS IF TO PREVENT HER SECRETIONS FROM GETTING ON HER HAND!!!!

I only know this because I was giving her and her friend dirty looks, but they were talking so much they didn't notice me and I couldn't get a word in edgewise anyway. I tried to just hold my breath as much as possible. The friend seemed nonplussed by the sneezing. I shall never forget that hand curling away from the mouth as if it were afraid. blech.

Karen

[VeloVT]

I am aware that I am in a tiny minority here, but I hate, hate, hate it when I am addressed by my first name by cashiers, service people, etc. who don't know me, have never known me and will more than likely never see me again. My first name is for people I have personal relationships with. Period.

I am aware that their employers train them to use my name, so I don't blame them, but keep my name out of our one-time business relationship.

Thank you for listening. I feel better now.

Hee hee! One of my credit cards has my first and middle initials, and my last name. This happens to be H. E. <lastname>. Except the card just has capital letters, no periods, so you might interpret the name as "HE." Clerks at this kind of store get very flustered when I give them this card :D

I'm not a huge fan of being called "Miss Lastname." Although "Mrs. Lastname" would bug me even more. I definitely expect "Ms. Lastname." It so happens that I'm not married, but it's no one's business.

At 30 I've graduated from "miss" to "ma'am", which I feel conflicted about too.

Littering is perhaps my biggest pet peeve. I will carry a cup or bottle for hours (or even home) until I can find a proper receptacle for it (ideally a recycling bin if available). It makes me furious when I see trash that has been obviously left for others to pick up. This is one of my biggest beefs with smokers -- they seem to think it's somehow not littering to drop their butts all over the place.

I also hate that airlines mostly put their recyclables (cans, plastic cups, newspapers) in with trash, when they could easily be separated and recycled.

[VeloVT]

Also, on the "other people's kids" theme, on my last plane flight I had to endure a kid kicking my back and kneading my seat with his feet continuously for the entire two hour flight. At one point, I turned around and said in a nice, baby-talky voice, "you know, when you kick my seat, it hurts my back." The mom glared at me and said, "He's TWO. I'm TRYING." He continued to kick my back for the rest of the flight, with no intervention from mom.

I would never have been allowed to get by with that behavior as a two year old. Unfortunately, I also had the misfortune of being treated as two year old until I was about 20, but at least I was a well-behaved toddler.

[Selkie]

I AND he chewed gum with his mouth open and smacked/blew/popped bubbles the entire time. .

This is one I forgot! Open mouth/smacking gum--falls under the category of rude, I guess.

I've taken to wearing a walkman/listening to music at work because the woman who sits behind me brings dishes---stonewear---to eat her meals off of at her desk (which in itself is weird). She scrapes/bangs her cutlery against the stonewear, trying to get every last morsel. I feel like screaming, JUST LICK THE F'ing PLATE!! And to make it worse: she cooks up the smelliest food (reminds me of a stale bathroom, if you get my drift). Thank goodness I'll have my own office in about a month.

[Galatea]

The guy that throws the "free papers" that nobody wants, that end up littering the streets and disintegrating into mush when it rains. He drives a LOUD manual transmission vehicle...and when I sleep with my window open, the sound of it~ slow then "throw" then fast, then slow then "throw" then fast, from one house to the next, wakes me up at 4am (which is why I am on here so darn early this morning!) and I can't fall back to sleep! Seriously, I can hear this guy's car for about 40 minutes straight, driving all about our neighborhood.

One day I am going to run out there in my pj's and throw the paper back at his car. That would be quite a scene!!

[Tuckervill]

Oh, Galatea! The free newspapers drive me insane! How can the newspaper get away with littering like that? Can't they see that the people at the house down the street are NEVER going to pick them up? So they just pile and pile up in their yellow bags and it drives me crazy. And I don't want one in my yard, either. It ticks me off so much that instead of taking it to the recycling, like I do with the paper I pay for, I put it straight in the trash, yellow bag and all. Irrational I know, but at that moment, I couldn't care less.

Karen

[Deborajen]

Interesting reading all the opinions on being called Mrs., Ms. or Miss. I guess it's just a sign of my age and upbringing but I've always thought that the titles Mrs. and Miss were just signs of respect - no underlying implications or insults intended. We used those titles when I was growing up and if we didn't know whether or not a woman was married, we quietly asked someone else so we could address the woman properly.

On the other hand, nowadays I have no problem being called Ms., either. I guess that's because women today have so many different preferences in how they want to be addressed. Some women prefer to keep their maiden name if they get married, some take her husband's surname, others prefer not to get married but are in a long-term/permanent relationship, etc. -- Ms. just sounds respectful to me.

I'm easy on this one. Mrs. or Ms. is fine. I don't get called Miss very often anymore.--

But being called "hon" -- THAT, to me, is like fingernails on a chalkboard. Don't like it at all!

[Galatea]

Deborajen~Oh yeah, I hate the "hon"...hate it hate it hate it!!!!!!!!!!!

Karen~ I really REALLY want to find out who the head of distribution is and gather up all the wet mushy papers and dump them all at the end of his driveway!

(Someone should do a study of the environmental impact of disintegrating newspaper...if we can get the environmentalists to lobby against it, we are SET!)

[Pedal Wench]

I HATE it when people let their dogs run loose in the back of a pickup truck. If that truck stops quickly or is in an accident, that dog is going to go flying. HATE THAT. Fine, if you have people in the back, they can make their own decision on the safety of it. A dog can't think for itself.

And for some reason, lately, gum-chewing in public, especially when someone's being interviewed on TV, it just bugs me. I don't know why this is suddenly driving me crazy.

[kermit]

Pedal Wench-I totally agree about the dogs in trucks. I can tell you that everyone I come across when I'm working, at least gets pulled over, maybe a ticket. I usually tell them put the dog in the cab with you or I'm calling animal control. In the city it is completely unacceptable! I actually had a friend who was walking his dog on the sidewalk and an akita jumped from a truck bed and attacked his dog. Just a bad day! He got his vet bills paid but the dog was torn up!

[Mr. Bloom]

Amen! Kids in the back of a pickup too!

[badger]

I haven't read all the posts here, but I thought I'd put in what set me off this morning.

My supervisor was talking to my co-worker. Sup went to a chinese restaurant and had something vegetarian, a prawn dish. Said she's being vegetarian this month.

Eh? since when did prawns become vegetables? I actually ripped right into her saying prawns are animals ("no they're not", she claimed :mad:), and how shrimp harvesting is so devastating as they troll everything in the nets' path.

What's worse is that another goof standing by listening in said that fish are considered part of a vegetarian diet. That set me off even more.

Grr :mad:

Oh my god, just as I put this up, my coworker says "ever been to the Crab Pot? sounds good, they take a crab and smash it with a hammer for you".

Yeah, that sounds great.

[malkin]

Searching for BIKE BELL getting a bunch of Bell Helmets etc.

I'm not sure why that bugs me so much in light of the fact I am endlessly delighted by a search for a BROOKS SADDLE turning up a bunch of "Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles" hits.

[Aggie_Ama]

+1 million on the dogs in the bed of the truck. At A&M I had a friend that worked as a vet tech, she showed me some horrific pictures of dogs they tried to help after being thrown or jumping from a truck. Only one or two made it which is why the vet she worked with took the photos. He would show them to clients that brought their dogs in the bed of the truck, he didn't care that he sometimes lost the client.

Another huge pet peeve is people who throw their gel wrappers. At my recent half marathon they were all of the roads, no wonder the locals seemed so hateful to us. I try to pick up as many as I can on the mountain bike trail. People are so stupid to not realize they need to pack out what they pack in. :mad:

[badger]

My boyfriend and I fly fish. Everywhere we go, I end up spending about half an hour at the end of the day picking up various garbage left behind by other fishers. Same when I go for the local mountain hike trail. I pick up water bottles and wrappers all the time.

Another thing that really bugs me is when people toss garbage out the car window. Like whole bags of McDonald's take out after they're done. I so wish I can pick it up and throw it back into their windows.

[Maxxxie]

Searching for BIKE BELL getting a bunch of Bell Helmets etc.

I'm not sure why that bugs me so much in light of the fact I am endlessly delighted by a search for a BROOKS SADDLE turning up a bunch of "Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles" hits.

Hee hee :D If you're googling, you can exclude terms from the search results by using the "-" modifier. Eg search for bike bell -helmet or brooks saddle -mel -blazing

+lots to the unrestrained dogs in utes/trucks. Ditto the random litterers.

I don't have any of my own random pet peeves to add. But I'm getting a giggle out of some of the ones that have been posted so far!

Max

[Crankin]

People who say, "Oh, but I wasn't trying to go fast. I was just riding," when you are struggling in a 20 mph headwind and feel like you are going to keel over.
Can you tell that I am in a bad mood?

[tzvia]

Phone cold-call sales are bad enough, but when I pick up the phone and the person asks for 'Mr. XXX', mispronouncing my last name, assuming the man of the house makes the decisions (and I'm not married so there is no Mr. XXX), oh boy my blood boils instantly.

It does not matter that my phone is on the 'Do Not Call Register', I am already mad by that point. So I get the name of the company, and remind the person that they are using my time and my telephony equipment for their advertising so if they call again they will be charged a fee. I then proceed to attempt to get the legal address of the firm for this purpose and the name of the caller to add to my list, and by that time they are hanging up on me. Good.

On the bike I can only say that idiots make me mad. Unsafe ones with children. I was riding out of a favorite MTB trail that unfortunately attracts weekend family outings in the first mile or so, when I came upon a family of idiots. Don't know what else to call them. Woman and man and 3 kids, around 6 through 10 years old. Two bikes, both small kids 'dirt jump' type bikes, with pegs. The two idiot adults on the bikes, the two younger kids sitting on the handlebars, weaving all over the trail because the bikes are way too small for the adults to ride safely. The kids jumping on and off as they negotiate the short steep hills. NO helmets on anyone. One kid hanging off the rear pegs. I yell 'on the left' but they have no control over the bikes, and are weaving all over, spilling kids off the bars as they go, who run back and jump back on. I slow down as I see this and yell 'on the left' again. The woman cuts to the left and forces me off the bike and the kid of the bars. Am I mad? You have one guess. I can tolerate a lot on the bike; I see a lot of dufus stuff but being stupid and unsafe with kids just gets me right off. I have to dismount- they are all over the trail which is wide enough for a truck to go through. Finally I get back on the bike and force myself around the woman who actually looks surprised as she has to stop and the kid on the bars has to jump off yet again. Good grief.

[Maxxxie]

Phone cold-call sales are bad enough..<snip>..It does not matter that my phone is on the 'Do Not Call Register', I am already mad by that point..<snip>..and by that time they are hanging up on me. Good.

Whenever I get calls from telemarketers, I make it my mission to make their experience as unpleasant as possible. I believe I'm helping to make the world a better place by making telemarketers so miserable that they leave the telemarketing industry and move onto something a) more productive and b) less irritating to the rest of the world.

How do I do this? Well, it depends on my mood. Sometimes (my preferred technique), I will pretend I am a deaf, old biddy who says things like "Ehh?? What's that, sonny? Wait, I need my hearing aid.", and I'll leave them hanging for a while whilst I bumble around trying to find my hearing aid. When I don't succeed, I'll go back and tell them they'll need to shout. I, of course, being an old biddy who can't hear, will shout back. You know, so that I can hear myself. This can provide many minutes of entertainment (for me) and frustration (for them). Most of them work for places that have a policy that they're not allowed to hang up on customers. Yay!!

One other favourite (this, I learned from a friend of a friend) is to say that I can't possibly give money to someone I don't know on a personal level. And so, the conversation will become more and more personal. Nothing's off-limits. Shoe size, colour of underwear.. it's kind of innocent at first. Then it descends to gutter level. "So... what are you wearing?". Some (particularly those calling from overseas) don't understand the nuance. But eventually the penny will drop and they'll get all flustered. I've never managed to get the conversation X-rated. For some reason, they find an excuse to end the call.

My all-time favourite, though, was when I answered the phone and the caller thought that I was a young child. First, I asked them if they were Santa Claus, and told them I'd been a good girl, and could I have a pony. They asked for mummy or daddy. I told them mummy was dead, and that daddy was in jail for killing her. They couldn't get off the phone fast enough!

:D
Max

[OakLeaf]

I don't act rude to telemarketers. It's about the world's worst job, usually paid little more than minimum wage, staffed for the most part by people in depressed rural areas, and they have a quota to make if they want to keep their jobs.

All you have to do is say "Thanks, not interested" and hang up. You don't have to engage them. Then you can put their phone number into your spam filter (it's surprising how often calls come in from the same call center).

It is kind of strange, though, how the "do not call" list worked really well for the first few years, and now we get spam calls all the time again, hardly any less than before.

[salsabike]

I don't act rude to telemarketers. It's about the world's worst job, usually paid little more than minimum wage, staffed for the most part by people in depressed rural areas, and they have a quota to make if they want to keep their jobs.

All you have to do is say "Thanks, not interested" and hang up. You don't have to engage them. Then you can put their phone number into your spam filter (it's surprising how often calls come in from the same call center).

It is kind of strange, though, how the "do not call" list worked really well for the first few years, and now we get spam calls all the time again, hardly any less than before.

Well said, Oak. I absolutely agree. Few of those folks are doing it because it's a dream job for them--far from it.

The Do Not Call list has to be renewed by you every five years, I think. So it wouldn't hurt to look it up online, and re-input all your phone numbers.

[OakLeaf]

.... drifting away

The Do Not Call list had a sunset when it was originally enacted, but they removed it before it expired, so if you signed up once, that's all you need to do. Anyway, after our phone just buzzed this afternoon (didn't ring, because it came from a call center that's already in our spam filter), I verified that the number is on the list, and it still is.

[WindingRoad]

As a student the most annoying thing I notice is the person sitting next to me crunching corn chips or cheetos in class. It seems they inevitably cannot stop rattling the bag around either while I'm trying to hear what is being said. I totally understand getting hungry in class but I can't help it! The sound of someone crunching just sets my nerves on end. Redrum!!!:mad:

[PamNY]

I don't act rude to telemarketers. It's about the world's worst job, usually paid little more than minimum wage, staffed for the most part by people in depressed rural areas, and they have a quota to make if they want to keep their jobs.

All you have to do is say "Thanks, not interested" and hang up. You don't have to engage them.

I agree. Nothing is gained by being rude to the people who do this type of work. Besides, they've probably heard it all before.

[badger]

I was talking to my friend one day about telemarketers and she admitted she was one while going to school. She said it was AWFUL, that people were really rude, so she would tell them that she was a student trying to make a living and to put herself to school. It's a job for her and there's no reason for them to be rude to her.

What I get these days are the recorded telemarketing calls. Those I have no qualms hanging up on, but worse in that you can't tell them to take your number off their list.

[Mr. Bloom]

All you have to do is say "Thanks, not interested" and hang up.

au contraire, mon ami: The proper thing to say is "Thanks, not interested...PLEASE REMOVE ME FROM YOUR LIST"... I believe that the law still requires that they do this on request in this manner...plus it trumps any unintentional sign-up one may have made to a list through the 'net or product registration that bypasses the Do Not Call list...

[spindizzy]

As a student the most annoying thing I notice is the person sitting next to me crunching corn chips or cheetos in class. It seems they inevitably cannot stop rattling the bag around... The sound of someone crunching just sets my nerves on end. Redrum!!!:mad:

1) Like you windingroad, loud eating (crunchy items, slurpy items) and cellophane rattling makes me want to kill (It's a family trait - mom's side). My husband will now place cellophane/foil wrapped things in a bowl- but I have to leave the room when he starts crunching...DD recently confessed it also drives her mad:D. Cousin too- recently confessed to having the "nerve."

2) if someone slaps my butt. Though it may be made in a friendly way, it makes me insane and I've been known to immediately explode..I don't know why- but it does.

3) loud talkers -

[IFjane]

This may have already been mentioned & I did not read this entire thread, but I am sitting here in my living room listening to a dog up the road barking...and barking....and barking....he stays in a pen & if he hears the slightest thing he starts barking and will not stop. No one at his house pays any attention to him and no one ever tells him to stop. I feel bad for the poor thing & his owners piss me off because they 1. neglect the poor thing and 2. do not have enough respect for their neighbors to make the dog stop (or send him to a home where someone loved him).

[shootingstar]

2) if someone slaps my butt. Though it may be made in a friendly way, it makes me insane and I've been known to immediately explode..I don't know why- but it does.

You mean someone else other than your hubby? :confused:

I would explode too if it wasn't my dearie ...but then he doesn't at all...let's not get into further details. :p

[spindizzy]

You mean someone else other than your hubby? :confused:

He's my "butt-protector" - he will warn people off - he's seen the rage :o

..perhaps it has to do with spankings I received as a child ...alas I was not perfect, :eek: my father was in the army...corporal punishment was de rigueur.

[pardes]

Pulled up to Dunkin' Donuts in the dark on my bike with 6 lights flashing. Server was outside on his cell phone and said to me as I grabbed the handle of the door, "You gonna buy something?"

....."I beg your pardon?"

"You gonna buy something?"

....."Yes," (through gritted teeth)

"Okay. I thought you just wanted to use the bathroom."

....."Is my senior diaper showing or what?"

"'scuse please?"

.....Pullling up to my full 5'0.5" height, "And I suppose you would refuse to let me use the bathroom?"

"'scuse please?"

[Selkie]

1) Like you windingroad, loud eating (crunchy items, slurpy items) and cellophane rattling makes me want to kill (It's a family trait - mom's side). My husband will now place cellophane/foil wrapped things in a bowl- but I have to leave the room when he starts crunching...DD recently confessed it also drives her mad:D. Cousin too- recently confessed to having the "nerve."
-

:) This is something I can't stand, either. Loud eating, poor table manners, etc. There might be a genetic component because my maternal grandpap was the same way (if you wanted to eat celery, you had to leave the room!!). I had a boss who snorted and chewed audibly during meals. To make it worse, he was a food stuffer, someone who shovels it in before swallowing the last bite. No one wanted to go out to lunch with him.....

[OakLeaf]

Eh, I had to get used to the loud eating. DH has bad teeth and a phobia of dentists, and it's a racket even though he's polite enough to keep his lips closed. :( It's only going to get worse as we get older...

Pardes, yikes, that was incredibly rude. You're kind of d*mned if you do and d*mned if you don't in that situation - if you decide not to buy anything because of the way you were treated, then they'll assume that you were just going to use the bathroom. :confused:

But on the other side of that, I get ticked off when I'm on a group ride and someone goes into a store to use the bathroom and doesn't buy anything. And since I always have to use the bathroom :rolleyes: I get ticked off when there's nothing but junk food for me to buy in return.

[Maxxxie]

I was talking to my friend one day about telemarketers and she admitted she was one while going to school. She said it was AWFUL, that people were really rude, so she would tell them that she was a student trying to make a living and to put herself to school. It's a job for her and there's no reason for them to be rude to her.

Who knew that my remarks about telemarketers would generate so many responses?

Without defending bad behaviour (and I admit that some might say that my toying with telemarketers is bad behaviour), I would like to say this about telemarketing: People wouldn't be rude to telemarketers if the practice of telemarketing wasn't so damn annoying, time-wasting and intrusive. People generally aren't rude by default. They get that way by virtue of being needled into it. Here is a post (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=974729#post974729) by someone who's received one too many telemarketer calls (warning: contains not-so-nice language).

Anyway. Another pet peeve: Co-workers who stand outside my office door and have a shouted conversation with someone down the hall. For god's sake, just walk five metres to that person and have a spoken conversation with them!!!! I don't need to hear you blathering on! Nobody else needs to hear it either! Just give me some peace and quiet!!!!!

Max

[shootingstar]

Anyway. Another pet peeve: Co-workers who stand outside my office door and have a shouted conversation with someone down the hall. For god's sake, just walk five metres to that person and have a spoken conversation with them!!!! I don't need to hear you blathering on! Nobody else needs to hear it either! Just give me some peace and quiet!!!!!

Max

Sometimes that depends on the corporate culture and nature of dept. that one works in. If one has control/is responsible for a dept. and its space, then one can cultivate more discreet conversations. :rolleyes:

[Veronica]

Students who lose every piece of paper I give them. Even when I have purchased with my own money folders for them and remind them to put papers in the right folder.

Veronica

[Biciclista]

Veronica, they haven't lost them. The papers are in the bottom of their lockers /and/or backpacks.

[Veronica]

I know! And they can't seem to look through their back packs and desks to find them! I'm watching one of my little darlings right now look for a missing paper. It's painful. He's slowly picking up papers, staring at them... no he's not ADD.

Veronica

[Biciclista]

I raised two of those little darlings. At the end of the year I found A LOT of papers on the bottom of their backpacks (that i had carefully signed and dated for the teacher and vice versa.) =8-0

[badger]

It irks me when people are so intolerant to try new foods.

we were trying to organize a lunch to try these hotdogs called Japadogs http://www.japadog.com/menu/index.html when a couple of people in the office piped up "oh my god, that is SOOOO GROSS!!", "I NEVER eat hot dogs, they're nothing but lips and guts".

I hate it when people say bad things about food I'm about to eat. You don't want to eat it yourself, but *I*'m eating it, so please don't ruin it.

[Skierchickie]

Burning cigarettes thrown out of the windows of moving cars. So, what's the deal? Those people don't want their cars to stink like cigarettes? Guess what - THEY ALREADY DO! AND, it's as if cigarette butts don't count as litter. :mad:

Okay, I hate all cigarette butts I see on the ground, but the ones that are still glowing are a fire hazard. We had at least one wheat-stubble field that burned when I was a kid - started by the road, 95 degree day, windy,.... It could have taken the house, the adjoining fields, and the family's only source of income for that year. The people who start fires that way just continue on their way, never knowing what they've done.

Grrrrr. I guess it's on my mind right now, because the snow melted a month early, and we are DRY. It will be a while before things green up, and we're surrounded by woods & dry, dead plant material.

[mhami]

Okay, don't judge me for this because I know there is a good reason these rules are in place. Having your identity stolen is no joke and I do take it seriously and I understand that it would be a terrible thing to happen to you.


HOWEVER.... I become completely irate when I can't speak to a business representative (customer call center) because only my husband's name is on the account. I'm the bookkeeper of the house, pay all the bills (on time) and deal with any billing discrepancies. When something has to be done, I do it, not my dear husband. I hate going through the whole phone process of listening to what number to press, entering the 16 digit account number, being on hold for 15 minutes, only to find out they won't answer my questions because I am not on the account. I have since had my name put on every account we have, but even when my name has been on an account they did not always fulfill my request. Even when my question has been so generic and had nothing to do with his account per se, but rather their policies they said they would not speak to me. Arrgg, I feel my rage boiling just as I type this.

I feel like since I have my husband's personal information they should be able to talk to me too. I know, I know, anyone can say they are the spouse and if they have stolen the information can act like they are me. But, if it is a male and he has stolen information, he too can act like my husband and they wouldn't know any better. Someone in a previous post said that people become irate for stupid things because they take things personally. I guess this is why I feel irate, because I do take it personally, when I should not. When this happens I feel like a second class citizen, a pee on, and an employee, when I should feel like a partner and owner. I am just trying to take care of business and they are wasting my time. I like to be independent and when I need to rely on him for something it makes me feel inferior. So I do take it personally.

Like I said, please don't judge me for this. I understand why these rules are in place and I do somewhat agree with them. It just pisses me off and that is what this thread is about.

I have other pet peeves, but none that make me as irate as the one above. :)

[Biciclista]

hi, Mhami!
I can really relate. A few months ago, my mother called me from the hospital where her husband was dying. She wanted me to find out something about their insurance coverage. He could barely talk, he was weak and since he had recently been intubated, he had almost no voice.
So i had to call her insurance, pretend I was her, then they needed HIS permission to give me(her) info about his account, so I then had a coworker pretend HE was my stepfather!!!!!!
My mother had given me all the pertinent info, birthdates, account numbers, but it just shows you how dumb the precautions are; until they can do voiceprints, ANY male voice can be used to pretend to be your husband...

[OakLeaf]

another reason to have your durable power of attorney for health care purposes in place, whatever your age....

People assume that since unmarried couples have to do so much paperwork to get basic aspects of their relationship recognized legally, married couples don't have to do any. There's a lot less, to be sure, but it's not "none."

[bmccasland]

The siren noise that the deaf chick's phone makes every time she gets a text message. (It's her personal phone). She can't hear it, so why is there a sound??? :mad:

[Eden]

The siren noise that the deaf chick's phone makes every time she gets a text message. (It's her personal phone). She can't hear it, so why is there a sound??? :mad:

She probably has no idea that it is on.... (some kind of default or someone's stupid idea of a joke). I had a teacher in high school who had no high frequency hearing left. As well as causing lots of other misunderstandings "b" c? "b!", d? "B!!", e? NO "B!!!- AS IN BOY"...... his digital watch alarm would go off every day at about 10 min until the end of class. At just about the end of the year someone finally mentioned it. He had no clue that it was ever going off.... (and wanted to know why no one had told him sooner)

[OakLeaf]

Traffic. As in, driving five hours on the freeway and being able to use the cruise control and/or listen to music for maybe two of those hours. And the antecedent to this kind of traffic, the absence of a viable rail system in the USA. :mad::mad:

Having to ask a restaurant server for water more than twice.

[shootingstar]

Traffic. As in, driving five hours on the freeway and being able to use the cruise control and/or listen to music for maybe two of those hours. And the antecedent to this kind of traffic, the absence of a viable rail system in the USA. :mad::mad:.

Well, Amtrak network travels a little abit more throughout the vastness in the US ..compared to Canada.

If one checks VIA Rail in Canada, which is our only cross-Canada rail system, it's very thin and limited in terms of its geographic coverage. Really spartan coverage in the hugeness of Canada.

Of course both Canada and U.S. have problems in certain trains arriving on time. It continues to amaze me how pinpoint accurate the European trains are...but then I don't know about their lines in snowier areas.

[Jolt]

Here are a few of my pet peeves...

-loud cell phone conversations in public (especially on the train)
-people walking in groups and taking up the whole width of the sidewalk or hallway so I get stuck behind them until there's an opportunity to go around
-people behind me in line at the store who stand too close while I am still checking out (instead of standing back and giving me some space)--it's like they're afraid somebody is going to take cuts if they're not right on top of me
-littering in general but especially on trails
-parents letting their kids misbehave and not even trying to correct them
-drunk yahoos on the T/commuter rail (usually this occurs after a Bruins game...)
-solicitation of any kind on the street etc.--these people can be SO intrusive and I don't appreciate being approached by random people when I am just minding my own business and trying to get somewhere

[marni]

people I have just been introduced to who get all touchy feely,patting my shoulder, giving me shoulder or closer hugs and then insisting that they must say grace over dinner. I'm ok with people taking a moment of silence but since I am a non believer in god as most of them perceive, I find it presumptious of them to assume that after less than 30 minutes, they know me well enough to have prolonged physical contact or dictate my needs and wishes to who or whatever they believe in.

Company party over the weekend. Met a bunch of men my husband, the engineer, works with, many a good bit younger, who instantly assumed that I would just love dancing up close and tight, being addressed as young lady and "cuddled" despite all I did to discourage them. I finally sat down, begging off with a headache and we left early. Then I had to spend a while calming my husband down and convincing them not to complain and try and get them fired forthwith. Even in their 40's and 50's some people just need to grow up.
\
marni

[Tuckervill]

You must be pretty cute to get all that kind of attention! :)

Karen

[Laterider21958]

I have to grit my teeth ;) when my dentist begins a sentence 'You know Laterider, people of our age .....' and then goes on to describe the problems that are to come. It's 'people of our age' part of the conversation that gets me & hey, why should I just lie down a wait for and expect all the cr@p to unfold. I'm 51, not decrepit.

[Laterider21958]

Here are some that I forgot:

- the kiss on the cheek/s greeting from those that you don't really know and aren't family. Please just say a friendly 'Hello' with or without handshake.
- pedestrians who don't keep to their own side of the crossing resulting in people dodging each other when they meet in the middle. Stick to the appropriate side as if in a vehicle.
- over-packaging of products and then not being able to open it without hacking it up
- electrical items designed to be thrown away rather than repaired
- same items ending up in landfill

[marni]

You must be pretty cute to get all that kind of attention! :)

Karen

Gee Karen, thanks for the vote of confidence but I am just an average looking 61 year old with a bikers buzz cut, a farmers tan, white forehead and rings around my eyes from dark glasses, with lots of wrinkles and sags- it's the instant intimacy and familiarity that make me bonkers, and the stupid stud act.

marni

[Bike Chick]

Here's one I thought of today:

Hearing a man refer to his wife as "the ole lady." It sends me into a tailspin:mad::mad:

[tctrek]

The waiter or waitress who keeps walking past you and won't make eye contact. You're waving your arms around and they are oblivious.

Seeing people texting, putting on makeup, completely not paying attention in traffic.

[Veronica]

Students who tell me they did their homework while they are staring at a blank paper.

I absolutely cannot stand lying.

Veronica

[staceysue]

Patients who, on their first night after being admitted, ask "what time is shift change?" and then every single night they ring their call light exactly 2 minutes before shift change and make us late for report. Especially when they're retired nurses and they know better.

[mhami]

Students who tell me they did their homework while they are staring at a blank paper.

I absolutely cannot stand lying.

Veronica

You must have my son in your class. He just did that to me the other day. He told me that he had done his homework and my motherly instinct knew it was not true. So I asked to see what he had done and he had nothing to show me. BUSTED! Lying makes me mad too.

Another pet peeve of mine is not being able to find something, when I think I know where it would be.

[bcipam]

First and foremost, smokers! I aoologize to any of you here that smoke, but my opinion, smokers are rude and obnoxious and the smoke, well stinks. Usually if there is litter somewhere, there are butts...

People who use their cell phones in public. Yes I know, everyone does it but I'm sorry I really don't care about what you and your boyfriend are doing tonight or the argument you are having with a child. Find a nice quiet, private place and chat... and don't get me on those loud, "clever" ringtones... a whole other problem! :mad:

That leads to cell phone use in cars. OK at least that's private. In CA it is against the law to use a phone unless connected to blue tooth but everyone still does and they all drive unattentively. When there is an accident, everyone automatically assumes a cell phone was involved - for good reason.

People who can't hear their loud obnoxious children running around. Can't tell you how many times I am having a nice quiet dinner with friends and have to get up and leave due to the racket. Yes I know children can be loud but that doesn't mean you don't teach them how to behave in public. I have bought children back to their parents and asked that they please take control. (yes really I have done this)

People who treat waiters/service people poorly. They are just trying to do their job. Treat them with respect. Doesn't hurt to say "please" and "Thank you". Was in my favorite Japanese restaurant last night and can't tell you how rude the people next to me were. It ruined my dinner. I finally told them it probably would be best if they never came back so the rest of us didn't have to put up with them (yes I did say this...)

Whew! I actually feel better now! :):p:D

[TriMom217]

I hate when the waitstaff (usually young kids) address us as "you guys." Makes me nuts!

I'm really tired of people saying "XYZ is so retarded." Just like the campaign to stop saying "that's so gay," we need to get rid of "that's retarded." No, I have no mentally challenged people in my life, just a huge pet peeve.

My neighbor's dog has got to go. I moved here to get away from barking dogs. We moved into a duplex condo and the owners approved our dog after we assured them she's not a barker. Their (36 yr old) son lives in the other unit. Since they said we could have a dog, they relented and let him get one too. His is a barker. The dog is left home alone on Sundays and barks the ENTIRE time. It makes me CRAZY!!

[Tuckervill]

That's probably a violation of his lease. As if he has a lease.

But, if they fail to do anything about it, you could get out of your lease because of that. Then again, you can't choose your neighbors!

Karen

[TriMom217]

That's probably a violation of his lease. As if he has a lease.

But, if they fail to do anything about it, you could get out of your lease because of that. Then again, you can't choose your neighbors!

Karen

luckily we are tenant-at-will now, so we can move any time we want. I just don't want to move yet! And even luckier, he and his new wife just bought a house and are moving next month :)

That leaves an empty unit next door and no telling who will move in.

[bcipam]

I had smokers next door - it was awful. I was so excited when they moved. The apartment was vacant 8 mos. Finally a little old lady moved in next door. I thought "wonderful" she was will nice and quiet. WRONG!!! Long story but she had dementia and actually set the complex on fire. She also had a thing with the water hose and literally destroyed the entire interior of her apartment washing it out (everyday!) with a hose. The place had to smell. There was no way to dry it out. I went in after she moved, black mold was everywhere!

So now the apartment is vacant again and I found out the neighbors on the other side are also moving. I live in fear dreading who is going to move in next. Another little old lady that will burn the place down or a multigenerational family with 16 kids and barking dogs that smoke... time will tell.

[bluejellybean]

I hear that nearly every week at work...and it's ADULTS (my bosses!!) making derogatory comments...I'm sure they don't even realize it's so demeaning. Next time I've decided I'm going to stand up and say something...it shouldn't have taken me this long. Drives me nuts. :eek:


I hate when the waitstaff (usually young kids) address us as "you guys." Makes me nuts!

I'm really tired of people saying "XYZ is so retarded." Just like the campaign to stop saying "that's so gay," we need to get rid of "that's retarded." No, I have no mentally challenged people in my life, just a huge pet peeve.

My neighbor's dog has got to go. I moved here to get away from barking dogs. We moved into a duplex condo and the owners approved our dog after we assured them she's not a barker. Their (36 yr old) son lives in the other unit. Since they said we could have a dog, they relented and let him get one too. His is a barker. The dog is left home alone on Sundays and barks the ENTIRE time. It makes me CRAZY!!

[Zen]

Quick question

[crazycanuck]

A lady (non european immigrant) put her fingers in the flour holder thing to check the consistency of it @ a gourmet food shop yesterday...I wanted to tell the staff but i didn't have time to wait in line..

Ugh..some people need to understand what's ok & not ok to do when they move to a new country

[Possegal]

I work in a building full of PhDs, including my boss. Her husband, also a PhD had the office at the end of the hall. My office was on the cross hall right between their offices and on a main thoroughfare.

A manager once introduced several people, all men except for my boss, to a visitor

"Mr Smith, this is Doctor Jones and Dr Chen, and Doctor Boss and Mrs Boss".

I stood up out of my chair, ran to the door of my office... and my boss gave me a "shut up or die" look, so I slunk back to my chair.

I'm still furious about it, though, and it's been years.

I once refused to sign some paperwork that everyone in my institute had to sign - long story - because all the paperwork had on it "Dr. Bob X", "Dr Jim Y", "Dr. Bill Z". Mine said "Ms Posse Gal". In front of the rest of my division I informed the HR rep who came looking for my signed form that I would sign mine when it was written correctly and that there was no Ms Posse Gal, that I was Dr., just like all the boys! I do admit, they all applauded me afterwards. I wouldn't have cared if theirs had said Mr. But if theirs said Dr, mine should too!

[OakLeaf]

A lady (non european immigrant) put her fingers in the flour holder thing to check the consistency of it @ a gourmet food shop yesterday...I wanted to tell the staff but i didn't have time to wait in line..

Ugh..some people need to understand what's ok & not ok to do when they move to a new country

Having been on the other end of that... yeah.

I had no idea that you don't touch the produce at a market in Italy. Thankfully one of my traveling companions let me know before I did it again (and I made sure to buy the apple I'd touched). I'm sure I grossed out a lot of people, just doing something that would be normal in the USA. :o

[mhami]

Quick question

lol... Quick questions are NEVER quick. My husband does home repairs and people always say "I have a small job." Yeah, right.

[skhill]

to reactivate the thread....

Last night I biked over to the ice cream shop and was sitting outside, enjoying my delicious cone, when an acquaintence dropped by and we started chatting. Her comment that really pissed me off: "it must be so nice to be naturally thin." OK, we've only known each other since I've been in the best shape of my life, not back when I was over 200 lbs, but still.... Sure, if you eat the way I do and are as active as I now am, you'll "naturally" be thin, just like if you eat the way I did and are as sedentary as I was 10 years ago, you'll "naturally" be obese.

What got me most of all was not the blindness to all the changes in my life I made that have allowed me to drop all that weight, but the way this casual friend was using this as an excuse to refuse to take responsibility for her own health and weight. It's like she's saying that the extra weight she's carrying around is her fate, dealt out by mother nature, and there's nothing she can ever do to change it. Now that pisses me off...

[redrhodie]

I didn't see you.

[Crankin]

"I could never do what you do."

[Veronica]

"I could never do what you do."

I always want to say... "You're right! With that attitude you can't!"

Veronica

[tulip]

to reactivate the thread....

Last night I biked over to the ice cream shop and was sitting outside, enjoying my delicious cone, when an acquaintence dropped by and we started chatting. Her comment that really pissed me off: "it must be so nice to be naturally thin." OK, we've only known each other since I've been in the best shape of my life, not back when I was over 200 lbs, but still.... Sure, if you eat the way I do and are as active as I now am, you'll "naturally" be thin, just like if you eat the way I did and are as sedentary as I was 10 years ago, you'll "naturally" be obese.

What got me most of all was not the blindness to all the changes in my life I made that have allowed me to drop all that weight, but the way this casual friend was using this as an excuse to refuse to take responsibility for her own health and weight. It's like she's saying that the extra weight she's carrying around is her fate, dealt out by mother nature, and there's nothing she can ever do to change it. Now that pisses me off...

Did you tell her any of that? She probably doesn't know that you were once 200 lbs., or if she does, maybe she doesn't believe you (?!)

I've had that said to me, too. I've never been 200 lbs., but I have said, "Well I eat right and I exercise alot, so that pretty much takes care of it." That has usually gotten them to think about it.

[tulip]

People who don't say "You're Welcome" when I say "Thank You." Instead they say, "No problem," or "Thank you."

"Thank you" to "Thank you??"

It doesn't piss me off, but it does make me grimace.

[divingbiker]

People who never say thank you, now matter how much it is called for.

[OakLeaf]

Ha Tulip, to me it really depends on the setting. There are a lot of times when the formality of "You're welcome" makes me wonder whether I offended the person somehow, asked too much of them, didn't thank them sincerely enough, :confused: And in a retail/commercial setting, to me it's always mutual "Thank you" 's. They thank me (for my business), I thank them (for waiting on me).

[MM_QFC!]

People who don't say "You're Welcome" when I say "Thank You." Instead they say, "No problem," or "Thank you."

"Thank you" to "Thank you??"

It doesn't piss me off, but it does make me grimace.

+1
I think that "no problem" is almost a negative choice in response, especially by itself (instead of, "oh it was no problem at all; I was glad to help by..."); maybe it's a not so good habit that people get into, by using it as a quick response?

The other very appropriate time to say thank you - IMHO - is in the retail setting, at the counter when a customer has purchased something and it's the clerk who should be thanking the customer for their business but, instead I've been handed my change oftentimes without any acknowledgement nor appreciation for my business - hmmmph!
When standing in line, I've actually heard other customers thank the clerk when they are given their change, which is still their money, after all :(

[bunny_ninja]

* people riding on the sidewalk
* people riding on the wrong side of the road
* seeing people with their seats too low (doesn't piss me off - just is like nails going down a chaulkboard.
* [at work] people that cut me off mid-sentence - especially if they start saying exactly what I was saying -- as if it were their own genius revelation.

[DebSP]

People who stop in doorways to have conversations, almost the same as people who stop their shopping carts side by side blocking aisles to chat! Yeah sure, I'll just wait, or squeeze by or whatever it is you expect me to do!:(

[BikeDutchess]

When standing in line, I've actually heard other customers thank the clerk when they are given their change, which is still their money, after all :(

Once when I used my debit card in the grocery store and pushed the "cash back" button, I had to remind the clerk that she owed me $20 cash back. Her response "oh yes, you don't want to forget that!" I almost snapped "I didn't forget, YOU did!" but didn't (and then fumed on the way back to my car)...

[OakLeaf]

People who feel the need to tell the grocery cashier every detail of their lives instead of just paying for their groceries and letting the next person check out. Those people are why I always thank the cashiers! :cool:

[rubywagon]

People who confuse the words "regime" and "regimen".

[Selkie]

Posers, in any shape or form (these people are prone to saying mean things about others to show their perceived superiority, i.e, making fun of someone's lack of intellectual prowess, "lesser" possessions, looks/clothes, different opinions/political views, etc.). The real justice, however, is that posers are insecure and will never be happy/satisfied.

People who are "retired in place" and refuse to do work commensurate with their pay. Then they nose into and criticize others' work.

[lph]

Cyclists that blithely veer onto and across a cycle path from the left without looking to their right even once. I forgive pedestrians, though it's annoying, but as a cyclist you really should know that there could be other cyclists on the path,even though you haven't heard anything.

[tulip]

Cyclists that blithely veer onto and across a cycle path from the left without looking to their right even once. I forgive pedestrians, though it's annoying, but as a cyclist you really should know that there could be other cyclists on the path,even though you haven't heard anything.

Cyclists who refuse to let anyone know they are passing! Too cool for a bell? How about yelling out? Now THAT pisses me off (I'm heading off to a large cycling event and this is a real problem on these rides!)

[WolfGirl]

+1
I think that "no problem" is almost a negative choice in response, especially by itself (instead of, "oh it was no problem at all; I was glad to help by..."); maybe it's a not so good habit that people get into, by using it as a quick response?


I agree. A while back we were at a fancy restaurant where the female server was training a young male server. In response to our "Thank you" for water, bread, etc. he invariably responded with a quick and casual "No problem", which he was clearly trying to stop doing but just couldn't. The female server looked mortified every time he did it; we were cracking up thinking of her smacking him over the head with a tray back in the kitchen. :D I never realized until them how a simple "You're welcome" would have been MUCH more professional. ;)

[WolfGirl]

Cyclists that blithely veer onto and across a cycle path from the left without looking to their right even once. I forgive pedestrians, though it's annoying, but as a cyclist you really should know that there could be other cyclists on the path,even though you haven't heard anything.

I'm still teaching my 6-year-old the rules of the path, and the whole "look both ways!" thing is something I'm drilling into him. People are used to crowded paths here, but still, it makes me fear for his (and other bikers') life when he starts weaving or merging without looking. Probably other parents think I'm a ***** for snapping at him about it, but he's got to learn! And it doesn't help when people do stupid stuff right in front of him!

[Zen]

my second husband.

[Deborajen]

I don't understand why "no problem" is such a bad response to "thank you." When the doctors I work for give me a task and say "thanks, Deb," I tell them "no problem" meaning that I'm glad to help - no bothers, no worries - feel free to ask again. But I usually say, "no problem - glad to do it" or something along those lines, and I say it with a smile and with some enthusiasm to make it clear that I mean it. They've always looked pleased with that response, or at least I've read it that way (and I still have a job after almost 15 years!).

Other languages have responses that, if taken literally, could sound different. In Spanish, "gracias" is replied with "de nada" which means "it was nothing." In German, "danke" is replied with "bitte" which is used for both "please" and "you're welcome."

Tone makes a lot more difference to me than what is actually said. Lots of people say "thaaaanks" or "pffffth - well, thanks" and it's obviously not sincere. I'll take a "no problem" over an obviously condescending "why, you're most certainly WELCOME" any day.

[Eden]

I don't understand why "no problem" is such a bad response to "thank you."

+1 - I don't get why it should be annoying either..... (and I'm pretty sure I say it often... I think I may also respond with "any time" or something similar too) as long as the response is sincere.

I guess I'm just more informal than most.... I don't actually care to be thanked by store clerks.... as long as they are pleasant and helpful I don't need them to thank me - they helped me after all....... I think its kind of ah, presumptuous of me to expect to be thanked just for shopping somewhere... like I'm somehow giving them the gift of a job by shopping there or something. Kind of makes me feel icky.

[lph]

Probably other parents think I'm a ***** for snapping at him about it, but he's got to learn! And it doesn't help when people do stupid stuff right in front of him!

I agree, I'm a right b*tch about telling my 12 yr old son to HOLD RIGHT LIKE I TOLD YOU TO! Actually he's worst when it comes to ski trails, he'll happily tootle along on the left hand side so he can chat, and not notice anything until he's sent a fast approaching skier flying into the underbrush... :rolleyes:

On the bike path I'm merciless about holding right. He just has to learn it, and the sooner the better.

[WolfGirl]

I agree, I'm a right b*tch about telling my 12 yr old son to HOLD RIGHT LIKE I TOLD YOU TO!...
On the bike path I'm merciless about holding right. He just has to learn it, and the sooner the better.

Me too! That, and PULL OVER TO STOP! WHY ARE YOU STOPPING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PATH! YOU NEED TO PULL OVER! *bangs head* I know he's only 6, but I don't care; he needs to know sooner than later! I was holding my breath when we did Ride the Drive and he had bikes all around him for six miles. :rolleyes: We all managed to survive, thankfully.

[Veronica]

I'm glad you're both merciless about teaching your kids the proper way to ride.

My husband's bike had to be replaced when he had a head on collision with a little kid on a BMX type bike. The kid was on the wrong side of a path on a blind corner. They didn't hit hard but it was enough to do some major damage to the steel frame of Thom's bike. He was in Australia so Thom was very focused on staying on the correct side of the path himself. :p It was his first weekend of a month long business trip there too.

Ahhh... well accidents do happen.

Veronica

[marni]

I thank you both for training your children- I no longer ride on bike hike trails (not that there are that many around here) because of the riders who will not warn me when passong, will swerve into my side as I pass them after I warn them that I am passing, or the oblivious ones who suddenly stop in the middle of the path to answer their cell phones and the small children who, bless their hearts, swerve alll over the place by accident or because no one has taught them better. I much prefer riding on the road in spite of the Texas drivers.

[Irulan]

I haven't read all the posts here, but I thought I'd put in what set me off this morning.

My supervisor was talking to my co-worker. Sup went to a chinese restaurant and had something vegetarian, a prawn dish. Said she's being vegetarian this month.

Eh? since when did prawns become vegetables? I actually ripped right into her saying prawns are animals ("no they're not", she claimed :mad:), and how shrimp harvesting is so devastating as they troll everything in the nets' path.

What's worse is that another goof standing by listening in said that fish are considered part of a vegetarian diet. That set me off even more.

Grr :mad:

Oh my god, just as I put this up, my coworker says "ever been to the Crab Pot? sounds good, they take a crab and smash it with a hammer for you".

Yeah, that sounds great.


uh, yah. It's called Pescatarian if you eat fish.



This may have already been mentioned & I did not read this entire thread, but I am sitting here in my living room listening to a dog up the road barking...and barking....and barking....he stays in a pen & if he hears the slightest thing he starts barking and will not stop. No one at his house pays any attention to him and no one ever tells him to stop. I feel bad for the poor thing & his owners piss me off because they 1. neglect the poor thing and 2. do not have enough respect for their neighbors to make the dog stop (or send him to a home where someone loved him).

uh yah on this one also. for me it would be a) not have to listen to your semi abandoned dog bark all the time and b) to not have your free roaming cat pooing and hunting all over my yard.

[bunny_ninja]

As a vegetarian of many, many years - I have heard 'do you eat fish?' sooo many times after explaining that I don't eat meat.

[rubywagon]

As a vegetarian of many, many years - I have heard 'do you eat fish?' sooo many times after explaining that I don't eat meat.

+1! Someone asked me once, "What about chicken?" :o I got a good chuckle.

[WolfGirl]

Getting cut off (and almost crashed into) at an intersection by another cyclist who ran a red light! I guess the fact that he was riding on the sidewalk made it okay. :rolleyes:

[OakLeaf]

I've met people who call themselves vegetarians who eat more meat and fish than I do. Not that I eat that much, but I wouldn't dream of calling myself a vegetarian.

You know what else pisses me off? "Pescatarian." "Flexitarian." The idea that someone who is capable of eating a meal without red meat in it has to have a label. And that many of those people embrace those labels.

[bunny_ninja]

Getting cut off (and almost crashed into) at an intersection by another cyclist who ran a red light! I guess the fact that he was riding on the sidewalk made it okay. :rolleyes:

HAHAHAH! yup...:rolleyes:

[PamNY]

I can shut down the whole "what do you eat and what should you be called" conversation by explaining that I don't eat anything I wouldn't be willing to kill myself. Which is true.

Nobody has suggested a label for me yet.

[OakLeaf]

That was where I was for a good decade after I was no longer a vegetarian. People now would call me "pescatarian," I suppose :rolleyes:, but I would explain that I had no problem cleaning fish, but when it was my turn to wring the chicken's neck, I just couldn't do it - and the two cattle brandings I went to, I passed out both times from the smell and the screaming. You're right, that shut them down. :cool:

Nowadays, I take a more global view of agriculture and my role in it. Call me a Michael Pollatarian. ;)

[rubywagon]

call me a michael pollatarian. ;)

+1! :)

[PamNY]

Call me a Michael Pollatarian. ;)

That's a good thing to be.

[Jolt]

Not so much something that pisses me off, but something that bugs me whenever I see it b/c it doesn't make any sense at all. Why do flight attendants wear heels and panty hose, and often tight straight skirts, when the most important part of their job is to ensure safety including in the (thankfully unlikely) event of an emergency? It seems like a potential safety issue:

1. Heels are harder to move quickly in, and can cause damage to the escape slides during an evacuation (and while one could remove them, who would want to be barefoot in a situation where there could be metal debris and burning jet fuel? Sorry to get graphic...). Plus, they're not good for the feet, knees or back anyway--especially with all the standing and walking around FA's do in their job.
2. Pantyhose would melt and stick to the skin in the event of a fire. Really not good.
3. Tight skirts, like heels, restrict movement which could create problems in an emergency situation where every second counts.

Seems like a clear case of fashion being placed before function.

[OakLeaf]

There's a foundry not far from me that makes rail-car wheels.

Often we'll see a flatbed semi going down the road loaded with train wheels.

Where are they going that a train can't take them? :mad::mad: