Pet Peeves

[ilyusha]

Tailgators

Since I drive stick, I just throw the car into third gear when someone is tailgating me at high speed. They come within inches of hitting me and then slam on their breaks. The tailgating stops after that.

A bit dangerous with kids in the back seat (which incidentally is the only mode in which someone can tailgate me, on account of me driving slower than when I am alone).

[ilyusha]

Actually, slow drivers in the fast lane annoy me a lot more than occasional tailgaters. Not that the latter don't bother me, when they come up behind me...

[cicely]

I've got a little list.....

On the road, people: who don't at least signal before abruptly jumping over into your lane; who don't (especially at a 4-way stop) signal whether they're going to turn, or go straight; who have no idea what the words right of way mean; who, while driving, are trying to apply their mascara, put on their bra (no, really! I've seen it!), reprogram their radio, read the paper (or a book), or turn to talk to people in the back seat.

People who think it's a laugh riot: to deliberately soil public restrooms so as to make them unusable by other people; to drop things off of overpasses onto traffic passing beneath; to steal street signs.

People who think it's acceptable behavior to change their baby, and then dump the nasty, stinky diaper in the parking lot, or to tuck it behind the merchandise on the shelf in a grocery store, or (even better yet!) who first rip into a bag of diapers on the shelf, steal a diaper, change their baby, then tuck the soiled diaper into the opened bag, and put the bag right back on the shelf where they got it.
(Can anyone guess that I used to work in a grocery store?)

People who think that public places are the place to have an extended scream at their kids.

Liars.

Plus a whole array of the more commonly-found spelling errors; our/are, they're/their/there, yada yada.

People who think there is such a thing as A phenomena. It's plural. Plural, plural, plural!

Telemarketers who don't know how to take "no, thank you!" for an answer.

People who won't quit trying to convert me to their religion. No, really; if I find that, for whatever reason, I need to be preached to, I know where to find it. For that matter, people who are convinced that their particular denomination is the One True Religion, and their god is the One True God; all others are lies and deceptions.

(Okay, stopping now. Slow breaths.....)

[Cindi in CO]

One of my pet peeves is also a question.

Why, if you've been in line at the grocery store for 15 minutes, do you wait until the checker scans your stuff and gives you a total before you break out your checkbook and start writing?! You've had 15 minutes to find the damn thing and get the check started, but instead you choose to make the rest of us wait while you finalize your very important purchase. It's just so frustrating.

Also, if you come into where I work to do business with us or to ask us a question, please do us the courtesy of getting off your cell phone first. Vague gestures and eyebrow wiggling will not convey what you need with any accuracy. Plus it's just rude.

[Nikitta]

People who take forever getting to the point, especially if they speak slowly.
People who keep labouring the point.

It sometimes takes really big amounts of self control to not grab people by the collar and shout "Get to the goddamn point already!" or "I get the point already! Stop it!" at them.

Also, people who explain things to me as if I was stupid just because they know something that I don't.

Why is it so hard for some people to understand that knowledge and intelligence are not the same? Someone might've just moved in and therefore not know how certain things are done in that area, or the might be new to something somehow - that doesn't make them stupid, you know?

It's kind of embarrassing because it's often people who just mean to help and be friendly, so I try my best to hide it, but for Bob's sake!