Pet Peeves

Everybody has them. Some are rational, some are not. These are some of my biggest pet peeves. 

Crumbs left in the butter. Why? It's so ... gross. I don't know why, but someone leaving crumbs in the butter (or jam - just as bad) is annoying. How hard is it to use that little extra pat of butter? Plus, who wants to butter their fresh bread for a grilled cheese sandwich with who-knows-how-many-days-old crumbs in the butter? And butter left in the jam jar. Holy disgusting. It hardens again and looks like a weird yellow-y mold. Scoop it out! Don't leave it there for me to find, please. 

Tailgaters. They drive me crazy! Usually, I'm being tailgated when I'm behind a dozen other vehicles. Clearly the driver behind me knows that I can't go any faster than the vehicle(s) in front of me. Having been in an accident where I was rear-ended at a high rate of speed, could you back off a bit please? Follow me at the 1 car length per every 10 miles per hour of speed we're going. I give you the same courtesy when I'm behind you. 

Pee on/around the toilet seat. I know it's impossible to aim. Pee does what it wants and goes where it wants. There's little control. You CAN, however, control whether or not you wipe it up after the fact. Why leave it for others to wipe up later after it's dried and stinky? It's especially disgusting when I have to wipe it off walls. It makes me want to re-paint every day just so I don't have to touch it. 

Leaving the microwave at 1 second. Seriously? Hit the clear button so it goes back to the clock. That's how you found it; leave it the same way. If a microwave has a clock it's most likely people use it as a way to tell time. Leaving it at 1 second doesn't tell the time, does it? No, so hit the clear button and return it to "normal" status. 

Using other people's things. I simply don't understand this. It's not uncommon for people (mostly family) to walk in my bathroom, look through my cabinets, and use my stuff. You're staying the weekend and will need a blow dryer? Bring your own. Don't use mine because it's a matter of convenience. If you really forgot to bring/pack yours, that's a different story. But still ask. It's the polite thing to do. Q-tips? Same thing. Just because they're there doesn't mean it's an open-ended invitation to use them as freely as you like. Someone pays for those. That someone is me. That someone also tries to "budget" her own use of items, and you walking in and using them puts her waaaaaay over budget. If you need one, ask. I'm likely to give the okay, but at least then I know what's been used. The same thing goes for shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. I don't walk into your home and start going through your cupboards and cabinets to take a mental inventory of what's available for my personal use. It's rude and extremely selfish. Plan ahead, and then make an effort to ask if/when you need to use something. 

Sneezing/coughing/breathing on other people when you're sick. Common sense, people. If you don't feel well, cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. Avoid being in tight spaces with people where your germs could be spread through breathing. Sometimes you can't help it (work meeting, Church setting, etc.), but if you even remotely think you're contagious, stay home. Nobody else wants or needs your icky sickies. 

Along with using other people's things, digging through people's fridges. For some reason, in our family, some people think the fridge is a free-for-all. They assume whatever is in there they can have. Well, guess what? At our house, there isn't only one person buying groceries. Sometimes certain groceries are purchased for a certain meal. Maybe we're planning to deliver a meal to sick neighbors. Maybe we have company coming in a few days. Even if none of those things are applicable, it's nice to be asked before having your fridge rummaged through. It's also rude to make the assumption that your eating whatever you want doesn't impact those who purchased and/or cooked the meal. 

Cramming the garbage with more garbage when the garbage is already nearing the top. I definitely don't want to touch other people's garbage (especially food garbage or dirty paper plate garbage), so I assume others don't want to deal with it either. If the bag is nearing full, pull it out and put another in the pail. Along with that, fill up the nearly full bag the rest of the way before beginning to fill up the empty garbage bag. 

Snot. Oh my gosh. Wipe your nose and/or your kid's nose stat. Recently, a member of our Bishopric was telling me about a kid at the swimming pool who had snot trailing him as he swam. GAG. I threw up a little in my mouth as he told me. They had to clear the pool and scoop the snot out. Now, I get that swimming pools tend to drain the sinuses because of all the chemicals there to keep it clean. Still ... get rid of it! Nobody needs to see that. 

People who don't answer their phones or respond to texts. This is simply rude, especially when it's those same people who call/text and expect the person they're trying to reach to answer that call or text. If you're going to call/text me and expect an immediate response, be as kind on the other end and answer when I call/text. Even if it's to acknowledge that I sent the text (e.g. "OK", etc.), it goes a long way in making a person feel like they were heard. 

Single HOV riders without an HOV pass. For the life of me, I don't understand this one, especially because it's blatantly disobeying the law. The reason there are a limited number of passes for the HOV lane is NOT because they have all been purchased. The state won't issue any more because the average rate of speed for a large percentage of the time must be 55 mph or higher in the HOV lane. It can't work when every Tom, Dick, and Jane are riding in that lane as a single person. It totally defeats the purpose of the HOV lane. And for those, like me, that are driving more expensive vehicles to maintain and have paid for a pass, it's really rude for other drivers to hinder us when we're already paying more money to have that "luxury" in our commute. 

That's it - for now. Surely, these pet peeves are nothing out of the ordinary. Most of the time, I try to let things go, but occasionally they irritate me to the point of saying something. I guess now I can look at this post instead of verbalizing it out loud, huh? Or not. Because sometimes saying it makes you feel better. Plus, it helps others realize they aren't the only existing human beings on the planet, which is quite a feat in and of itself.