Pet Peeves

Finally, a post that has nothing to do with kids!

Well, almost nothing to do with them... I think the hormones of pregnancy do
contribute to my occasional oversensitivity, or as a former classmate puts it,
"Grumpy Pregnant Lady" syndrome.

So, to get the creative juices flowing, or just me back writing (we all fall off the bandwagon from time to time), I have chosen to share a few of my latest (and ongoing) pet peeves!

1) Toilet Paper Tantrums

In this case, I'd understand if it was a toddler thing. A fairly common hazard of potty training (or just having someone in the house who's newly tall and mobile enough to reach both the TP and the toilet bowl) is an overenthusiastic TP user who unravels half the roll into the water thinking, "What fun!" But to the best of my knowledge, my place of work does not have a hidden contingent of child labor. Nor does the pub we patronized in Portland. Nor do many other establishments where I have entered a perfectly good bathroom stall to find the bowl choked with white, soggy, 2-ply mush! There may or may not be a floater under there, but can't you FLUSH?! If this was consistently a plugged toilet reaction, "Ack! I just laid a huge dump and the toilet won't flush! Quick, cover the evidence in copious amounts of TP and no one will know!" it may be forgiven. But after I recover from the (now familiar) revulsion of having to stare at your soggy left-overs, a quick foot to the flush demonstrates that 9.8 times out of 10, these TP Overusers are just lazy, inconsiderate (to our future generations who will have to visit trees in museums because of your toilet habits) and rude! People.

2) (Excessive) Idling

OK, stoplights are permitted. Stop signs. At the airport where the pacing TSA /police zealots get their daily giggles for yelling at you to move. But hanging out in an underground parking lot with your exhaust spewing out around the pregnant lady huffing past to the stairs to escape? Not cool. Idling for 10 min while your hubby runs in to get milk so that your sleeping baby doesn't overhead in his carseat in 90+ degree temps? Granted. Unleashing half an hour of SUV exhaust so your middle-aged wife and you can listen to the radio or bask in A/C while you gaze at the ocean that is overheating due to your excessive carbon emissions? Nope. People!

3) Inability to use a Turning Indicator

Are you invincible? Cuz I'm not. And neither is this baby I'm carrying, or the rest of my irreplaceable family. So Mr. I'm too lazy/distracted/unskilled to move my hand 6" to flick a handle, signal before you change lanes/turn a corner/cut me off so I at least know you're about to do it! People.

4) Parking Hogs

If you want to waste the equivalent of a downpayment on a house on a bucket of bolts, fine. But unless you want to leave a $20 bill on the extra parking space you chose to occupy with the rear half of your diagonally-parked car to compensate me for the time and effort it's going to take for me to go find another space 5 blocks away, you may have to invest a lot more in re-painting the side I'm considering keying.*

5) Not being able to think of a 5th Pet Peeve

Just when you get a good list going, your brain craps out with writers block. I'm talking about pet peeves people! The things that really irk me that I should be itching to rant about. Not serious stuff like political or social beliefs, or the nit-picky little things like college-educated professionals who seem to have skipped every grammar class in their 16+ year education and still passed... but where's my long list? Four? Seriously? I mean, there are a few others: litterers; leaf blowers; people who drive through crosswalks while I'm crossing; text-and-drivers; talk-and-drivers; Harley owners (and others who don't seem to believe in mufflers) driving through residential neighborhoods with sleeping infants, especially when it’s mine; passive aggressiveness (because in addition to my conviction that it's an underhanded way to try to make your point, it's also contagious and what I dislike most is when I return the favor); good plots that are ruined by bad acting; other people's hair in my shower; always ending up in the slowest checkout line; blog sites that completely ignore all your attempts at formatting, to name a few. But how does a post dedicated to ranting look when I can't even manage a measly half dozen?

If there are some particular ways that you feel people step on humanity's (or just your) toes that I seem to have overlooked, feel free to add your own.

*In truth, I'd never really key a car, but sometimes I do enjoy contemplating it :)