Things That Annoy Me

All my life I've grown up with people telling me how annoying they think I am. At first I was insulted and shot back a sarcastic response. Now, as a more mature adult, I realize that I was simply projecting. What I was projecting were the countless things that annoy me on a regular basis. Not just things that make me roll my eyes but which make me shake my head repeatedly and want to tell everyone within earshot and beyond exactly how pissed off I am. I'm no David Letterman and so there will be no top 10 list. It's just a collection. Without further adieu...

What's with the kids sleeping on a baseball field in sleeping bags with their parents? I love sports more than anyone I know and there is NOTHING about this that would have appealed to me as a kid. First of all, it's weird to be out on a baseball field with thousands of others. The field is pretty dark, aside from a few lights coming from offices and in the concourse which would make for a rather eerie sight. Who could sleep with all those other people around? Would it stay quiet? And how far would you have to walk if you had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? If you're in the very middle of the field, that's bad times. And the kids that wet the bed? If you're next to one of those, that's worse times. I would not like to have any part of that.

A handshake is very personal; at least it should be. It is your introduction to someone. It says something about who you are. I believe a handshake should be deliberate, thoughtful, firm. What annoys me is the people who are in a hurry to shake your hand. They want to get it over with as soon as possible. Fair enough, but in their haste to get it over with, they clamp down too soon. They end up grabbing your fingers and shaking them. One, it makes it so they are applying all the pressure to your fingers and you can't apply any back so it makes you seem weak. Two, if the person shaking your hands, rather your fingers, has a good grip, your fingers hurt like hell afterward. If you find you are one who does this, do us all a favor. I need you to wait until the area between your thumb and index finger touches the same area on the other person's hand, THEN clamp down into the handshake. Thank you.

Do I live in a black hole? A black hole has such a gravitational pull that nothing escapes, not even light. Since my house shows up on Google Earth I'm guessing no, I don't live in a black hole. Try to get your air conditioner fixed though and you'll think otherwise. There are four cities that border Rialto: Fontana, San Bernardino, Colton and Bloomington. I saw not one, not two, but three different air conditioning repair businesses who serviced all four of these cities but not Rialto. Also, regional borders for some companies also seemed to stop right before getting to Brea, Riverside from the south and Fontana to the west. Perhaps the crime rate is so high that it is prohibitively expensive to carry insurance if they operate in Rialto. We had to roll the dice on a local outfit and luckily they came through. Would have been much easier had Rialto existed on the maps of the more reputable companies.

When thinking of some of the biggest fashion don'ts of the last 30 years, some make me laugh and some make my eyes bug out. Only one makes me want to slap the person committing the fashion faux pas. That serial offender is the mandal. You know the ones I'm talking about; the sandals with the straps that originally were used by hippies for being outdoors but now is the summer wear of choice for every uncool, middle aged suburban dork. Seriously, flip flops are classic and eternally cool. Either wear flip flops or wear shoes. Mandals look ridiculous. End of story. And don't even get me started on sandals with socks.

I have a suggestion to people. Please listen! My wife would find it ironic that I would mention this since she claims that I hear nothing and ignore everything. It's true that sometimes I don't hear the first few words of a conversation. But usually when this happens I try to find out what I missed or I just don't answer. Lately at work it seems everyone has been answering questions that I didn't ask. I will ask someone what type of something they need and they answer yes or no. Seriously, if you walk into a place of business and are looking to get help from someone that works there, then it pays to listen to what they are asking. The only thing you accomplish by not answering my question is getting me annoyed by having to ask it again. Odds are you're not going to get as good of a product when I am annoyed. By all means, if this is what you want then please come in my store and antagonize me. Otherwise please pay just the slightest bit of attention and listen the first time. Thank you.

This is only the beginning to what annoys me and there will be plenty more posts like this in the future. I will have another one soon. In the meantime, please be conscious of what you are doing so you don't end up on my list.

Hai Majide