Some things in this world really (and I mean, REALLY) rub me the wrong way, and, thus, this is my second round of pet peeves (check out the first post here). Accordingly, sometimes I think to myself, “What is wrong with people?” And other times, well, there are no other times.
Okay, so here are some pet peeves in no particular order.
Automatic Flushing Pet Peeves
I understand the big push for increased hand hygiene in bathrooms all across America. After all, I’m a complete germaphobe, and my coworkers repeatedly tease me about my refusing to touch the floor with my socks (we work in the operating room, people, and the carpet in our office is covered from grime from surgery). Even more, I wash my hands all the time. ALL THE TIME.
So, it means something that I have such a huge aversion to automatic bathroom fixtures. When I try to use the restrooms at airports and other locations with automated bathrooms, I feel like I’m losing at a TV game show. It never fails that the toilet begins to flush on me before I’m finished, leaving me with two options: getting splashed with horrible toilet water (oh my goodness) or a performing a rushed stop-and-pivot, which may or may not be successful.
Moreover, what about sinks at airports? It’s a constant battle of madly waving my hands underneath the soap dispenser, then frantically jostling them underneath the faucet, and, finally, shaking my upper extremities underneath the paper towel machine (thank goodness for the Dyson blades). I’m nearly late for my plane from all that waving! Ridiculous.
Dear airport engineers and architects, I can get my own soap. Please let me get my own soap. I can flush the toilet with my foot. Please stop the insanity.
Political Post Pet Peeves
Now I have two types of pet peeves here.
First, there is the person who thinks they can actually change the mind of someone via their social media post (super deep eye roll). Many Supreme Court Justice decisions don’t have the clout to change people’s beliefs, and the SCJ has some of those most brilliant minds around. Continuing with this logic, it’s ludicrous that some people believe their ill-typed, ill-spelled Facebook political post is going to change lives. It’s not. It won’t. Save your time and take up a new hobby.
Second, I’m over the hateful posts. People can be political bullies. Maybe they’ve realized their run-of-the-mill political posts aren’t making a difference (because they were NEVER going to), so they resort to evil name-calling and people bashing. It’s not necessary! It’s okay if someone believes differently than you. It doesn’t negate your position or theirs.
The Great Debate
The United States of America is in part a great country because of its openness for debate, and the two-party system keeps things in check. It’s a beautifully crafted system with the two sides wrapped in contention since its conception. The Constitution (the greatest innovation in government) was barely ratified because of its opposition. In summary, this tug-of-war was beneficial because it forced the creators to formulate fair wording and to demonstrate an extraordinary level of conscientiousness.
I like debate. I like checks and balances. It’s good that we don’t all agree on everything. REALLY, it is. However, there is a stark difference between disagreement and hatefulness. I decided I have no time for hateful social media posts. Zero tolerance. Forever.
Let me be clear. It’s fully possible to say something without resorting to hatefulness.
The Stop While Merging Guy
In certain instances, I’ve come to a complete stop (a complete stop, people) while merging onto an expressway. Not because of me (I like to merge at 80mph in fourth gear) but because of some unknown driver for some unknown reason. Who is this guy? And why, oh why, do people do this?
The reason that this driver had to stop is that they weren’t going fast enough on the on-ramp to be able to merge effectively! The idea of the merge lane is to pick up enough speed to fit in with other moving vehicles. I do not understand the difficulty people have with this concept, which makes it one of my big pet peeves.
Listen to me, slow mergers, highway drivers are typically going 65-80mph. It is highly unlikely that there will be a big enough gap in traffic for you to appropriately accelerate from a slowed speed, so stopping is detrimental to your forward progress (and all of those poor, persecuted souls behind you).
Furthermore, I have a special place in my heart for those who miss their exit and try to REVERSE in the striped section between the highway and the exit ramp. How is this a good idea? Follow the highway and turn around at the next exit like a reasonable person instead of putting the rest of our lives in danger to save ten-cents in fuel.
Okay, rant over. Some things I will never understand.
Love, K.
