Pet peeves. We all have them. They tend to be something fairly insignificant (or sometimes really significant) that drives us crazy. I, for one, have numerous, and I really started thinking about it the other day as I was out for my lunchtime run. What sparked the inspiration?
You guessed it. A pet peeve.
What was this particular pet peeve? Well, let’s just say if you’re out for a leisurely walk with your friend and her dog, let’s try not to take up the ENTIRE paved walking trail.
Eryn’s Top 3 Pet Peeves (in no particular order):
1. Not using your blinker: Okay. I’m from Massachusetts. I’ve been a Masshole since birth and I know that as a Masshole, we have our own set of rules. Well, at least we think we do. I used to commute about an hour to work every day, and during that time, I discovered just how many things annoy me about other drivers. (That could be a post in itself)
But the number one thing that drives me insane; not using your blinker. Seriously. It’s not hard to just flip the little do-hickey on your steering wheel to tell people if you’re going left or right. There is nothing that gets me more annoyed than someone just cutting in front of me with no notice or slamming on their brakes to turn.
And putting your blinker on AS you move into my lane or about to turn on to a street does not count as ‘Using you blinker’. You’re still being a jerk. Seriously. Just use it.
2. Being late: I am perpetually early to everything in my life. If I need to be somewhere, you can bet I’ll be there at least 15 minutes early with bells on. 100% of the time I can’t even handle when everyone else around me is running late. Don’t even get me started on doctors. I try to arrive on time there, knowing I’ll probably be taken 30 minutes later. Doctors definitely fry my fragile nerves…. and not because I don’t like them; they are just always late.
It’s also pretty hard to handle when you run your own business (photography) and you rely on your clients to be on time, at least, even if you asked them to arrive at least 5 minutes early. I’ve learned to deal with this, mainly because I’m running the show, therefore if you’re late, you lose out on time. (I know that sounds awful…. I’m really not a jerk I promise). When it’s not my own business, but I’m in the control of someone else, dear mother of god, watch out. Here is the essential breakdown of my pet peeve in action – in the sense of waiting to be seen at the dentists office. (This is NOT a true story. Just a little play by play to give you a sense of what happens in my mind…)
Scene: Dentist Appointment at 4:30 PM.
4:00 PM – Leave work to drive the 5 minutes to the dentists office. Need to allow myself an extra 20 minutes to find parking (My dentist is in a small city… and it’s not hard to find parking)
4:15 PM – Walk into dentists office and check in.
4:20 PM – Obsessively start checking time on cell phone. This goes on for the next 5 minutes.
4:25 PM – Start wondering if they are going to call my name soon. The person in front of me was just called and they came in after me.
4:27 PM – Start panicking that they haven’t called me yet. Text the other half to begin ranting about they have 3 minutes until my appointment is supposed to start.
4:27:30 PM – Heart starts pounding. Starting to get really annoyed. Why is everyone else getting called but me?! I was here first… (okay, fine. They had appointments before me)
4:29 PM – Contemplating asking the receptionist when I’ll be called. Decide against. Obsessively check phone. Tweet out my annoyance for being late.
4:29:45 PM – 15 seconds to go and I’m ready to jump through the roof. DON’T THEY KNOW MY TIME IS VALUABLE.
4:30 PM – Okay. My appointment has officially started. They are officially running late. I’m going to freak out. (Sits sulking in a chair, mentally screaming at the dentist.)
4:32 PM – ‘Okay Eryn, we’re ready for you now.’
Gets up and heads into the dentists chair. Breathes sigh of relief. Only 2 minutes late. Not horrible, but they better work fast. I’m on a schedule.
(Welcome to my world).
3. Taking up the entire sidewalk when leisurely strolling (see above): This pretty much set off this post. I was finishing up my lunchtime run/walk earlier this week when not once, but twice, I had to literally dodge people who thought it was totally okay to take up the ENTIRE 5 foot wide paved trail. Okay, the first time wasn’t as bad because it was just different people coming from two different directions. What annoyed me there; was that no one was willing to scootch one way or the other (they also had huge carriages and dogs). It’s like just they felt because I wasn’t pushing a carriage or walking a dog, they didn’t need to move for me. The second time however, really set me off.
Two women walking their two tiny dogs TOOK UP THE ENTIRE PATH. I figured they would hear me coming and would at least move over a little. I didn’t expect them to go one in front of the other. When they heard me coming, they turned and looked at me and proceeded to continue walking just as they were! In fact, it’s almost like they spread out more. As I passed them, I literally had to pass them in a grassy patch that was an inch wide, and had a giant embankment next to it. And once I had passed them, I looked back, and they had moved over enough that NOW there was enough room for someone to get by. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I was just ready to scream.
So please take a moment when strolling on paths like that to notice your runners/power walkers/bikers and please give them a little bit of room so they don’t have to pass you and potentially risk there lives on a steep embankment. K. Thanks.
So as a recap – use your blinker, don’t be late and be courteous to the people around you. I think that’s a good lesson for all of us on this Memorial Day weekend
Have a wonderful long weekend y’all!
