Today is a day for peeves, such as being peeved to have lost an hour yesterday, and why do we keep systems around lonnnnnng after they’ve stopped making sense? Every four years I hope it will become an election issue.
I’m going to start with the peeve that is least sympathetic. That is, I am about to complain about a practice that is meant to be NICE, and comes from a GOOD PLACE, and that I nevertheless find very, very irritating: it is the thing where no one can post a picture, even a selfie taken so high up and at such a strange angle that the lower half of the face is missing in an effort to hide the double chin and accentuate the cleavage, without EVERYONE IN THE WORLD commenting “GORGEOUS!!” “BEAUTIFUL!!” “HOTTTTIE!!”—and, worst of all: “Beautiful inside and out!” How oh how could I be complaining about such nice words. How. How?? Well, here we are. It is driving me crazy and it’s hard to put a finger on why, but it’s at least in part because when something is SO PREVALENT and SO PREDICTABLE and SO INEVITABLE, it LOSES something. And I think that’s especially true when someone is trying to avoid that problem by saying something that is supposed to be better, such as “Beautiful inside and out” or “We don’t care as long as it’s healthy,” and then everyone else leaps on that solution and says it like repeatedly pressing a button on an annoying electronic toy. And partly I think it’s that it feeds into this loop where people keep wanting more and more of it. Anyway. PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO BE NICE. They ARE being nice. They are trying to be nice and say the right thing and those are GOOD THINGS TO TRY TO DO. UG.
Meanwhile, my Facebook feed is now 10% my friends, and 90% ads and things-my-friends-liked-or-commented-on. So I am seeing the profile selfies of COMPLETE STRANGERS, with the predictable comments of COMPLETE STRANGERS, and I think that makes it even worse.
Next peeve. In our town, we have a place where there are railroad tracks right before a stop sign. There is room for one car at the stop sign, and all other cars are supposed to stop at a line BEFORE the railroad tracks, so that no one gets caught on the tracks with a train coming. There is a big sign instructing cars NOT to stop on the tracks. Nevertheless, it’s a little counter-intuitive: it feels weird to stop way back there, leaving a big gap between the car at the stop sign and the rest of the line, when we can see there is no train coming; and it feels especially weird if the cars pausing at the stop sign (related peeve: STOP AT STOP SIGNS) are going through at a good clip. ANYWAY, all that is to say I get it that not everyone is going to understand the set-up the very first time they encounter it, and that others might choose to risk their lives so as not to look like a dork. But it still bugs me very much to see EVERY SINGLE CAR EXCEPT MINE breaking the rule, and to nearly get rear-ended every time I stop at the line LIKE A GOOD MEMBER OF THE SAFETY SOCIETY. The very few times I have seen someone else follow the rule, I have felt the way I do when I see someone pulled over to text: like leaping out of my car and FESTOONING THEIR CAR WITH FLOWER PETALS AND KISSES. LET’S BE FRIENDS AND HAVE A GREAT CLUB WHERE WE FOLLOW RULES TOGETHER!!
Oh, related peeve: there is an intersection with a “no right turn on red” sign. I don’t know if people don’t see the sign or think I shouldn’t obey it, but I HATE getting honked at there. I’m not spacing out, I am FOLLOWING THE ACTUAL POSTED LAW.
Next peeve: the phrase “new without tags”/NWOT on eBay. This is a phrase that was INTENDED to mean something. It was MEANT for those weird, unusual situations where you remove the tags from an item and THEN decide not to keep it or return it, or where you bought it intending all along to resell it but your toddler pulled the tag off, or whatever. When I saw such a designation, there would be an explanation in the listing explaining why there was no tag; sometimes that explanation begged belief, but it was understood that there needed to be some sort of REASON why something would be BRAND NEW and yet not retain any proof of that status. Now what “new without tags” generally means is “used.”
Now I will say three pleasant, non-complaining things. First, and I think I’ve mentioned this before, but eBay’s moderation system is so good. It is SO GOOD. Gone are the days of being stuck working things out yourself with a seller who sold you a “new without tags” item that arrived pilled and stained. It is glorious. It feels like heavenly justice.
Two. I have been seeing MORE people pulling over to text. It is happening INCREASINGLY. That makes me VERY VERY HAPPY.
Three. I am watching the first season of Jane the Virgin and I really like it.
Yay! Jane the Virgin. So cute I recommended it to my mom, and she is 88. There is nothing in it she could object to.
I am also a pull-over-texter. I don’t want to kill somebody and yes, the rules do apply to me.
I see your peeves and agree with all of them.
I think the first is the equivalent of those people, especially in high school but by no means limited to high school, who would say, “I feel/look SO FAT” with the intention of everyone vehemently disagreeing with them, thereby validating their opinion of themselves. And, i get it for things like my cousin putting up a bald pic and then a bunch of wig pics when she was going through chemo. That warrants a “beautiful inside and out.” But the rest?
Or, those people who tell you that you look nice and you know it’s just so you’ll say something nice about them in return!
A green arrow pointing left on a traffic light means you can safely make a left hand turn because the opposing line of traffic has a red light. Let’s not sit through another light cycle, there’s a long line of cars waiting to make the left. GO!!
Major agreement on the selfie annoyance! I’m with Alyson on there being certain exceptions (celebrating milestones, etc.), but generally everything about selfie culture makes me super grumpy.
Here’s what REALLY bugs me about those public selfies and the comments sections: Comments like the one Swistle describes (empty, pointless, run-together compliments) apparently make the poster feel good, but then I see quite a bit of brushing off of any negative comments–sometimes the original poster deletes negative comments altogether! To me, this seems like the equivalent of publishing a book, being thrilled about the positive reviews, and then scouring the earth to delete or destroy any negative reviews that make it into print. If all you want are compliments (again, extremely empty ones), why not skip the selfie and just post the words “I AM LOOKING REALLY BEAUTIFUL TODAY!”???
I am with Swistle on “Beautiful inside and out”–to me, that reads as an unintentional(?) implication that the subject is actually NOT conventionally beautiful on the outside. Rarely do I see this phrase used in a non-preemptive/non-defensive way.
Facebook friends make negative comments on selfies?! I’ve never seen this! What the heck kind of friends are those? (Or maybe the negative ones have all been deleted by the time I get there?)
This isn’t so much Facebook friends, but definitely peripheral acquaintances who comment on Instagram posts, etc. But yes, I constantly see references to deleted comments on all sorts of social media posts!
I love Jane the Virgin! Every time I hear somebody mention it, I hope they enjoy it as much as I have. I totally pull over to text, and I would love to see it catch on. I find myself taking fewer calls while driving. I almost never place calls when driving. Even that feels like too much. I feel like I need extra caution because of how many other drivers are distracted now.
One of the hallmarks I’ve noticed about seniors is how they avoid certain roads or intersections in their town. They might find a really convoluted path to get to their destination, but by God they’re not going to try to go left at this intersection or have to wait at that railroad crossing. I always thought it was kind of silly, but I kind of get it now. Life’s just too short to have these constant irritations. I hope I never turn into one who will cut through parking lots and neighborhoods and make my own route around them, though. Those people make me very peevish. The Target lot isn’t supposed to need a stoplight!
I’m itchy right now because I have a work event coming up and I need details about what is going to be required of me, and supposedly none are available. I just want to feel better about things, but nooooo. Not happening. Grrrrrrrrr.
I have a friend from the North of Ireland who in turn has a friend (it happens! let’s call him Michael – since I haven’t a clue of his name and my friend is John) whose parents (so, Michael’s parents) are evidently (or were, this was a while ago and I get the impression that they weren’t young at the time) terrified of driving through roundabouts. John tells a FANTASTIC story involving Michael’s parents and their request to Michael to get them directions from Belfast to Dublin WITHOUT ENCOUNTERING ANY ROUNDABOUTS. If you’ve ever been in Ireland, you know they love their roundabouts, to the point that that may have been a completely impossible request – and was definitely up there in the realm of ridiculous things to ask of anyone. But the story was so entertaining. I cried tears of laughter.
I feel these people on a deep and personal level. I live in California. We RARELY do roundabouts. When I had to go through (a huge) one in Long Beach I almost passed out. They are HORRIBLE. I would totally go out of my way to avoid them.
But ireland IS a roundabout. The whole thing. They are terrifying if you never encounter them but there you encounter them approximately every 30 feet. There were some that were just a stone centered in an intersection and you were to go around, not over. The irish are excellent roundabout drivers, too. Amazing. They follow the rules instead of just flying in and out. Passing on motorways is impressive too.
We have one roundabout in my area, that they just put in about a year ago. I actually try to take that route to go through it. It’s so much fun! But when it was first installed no one seemed to understand how it worked. There would be a huge line of cars waiting to enter it because everyone would stop instead of yielding.
UUggghhh the selfies. I get so irritated. So many of them seem to me to SOLELY be for the purpose of fishing for compliments. If you post something like “DAMN I’m having a good hair day!” then I’m totally cool with it – you’re saying “I think I look good! check it out!” in which case people agreeing seems normal. But posting a normal picture – or worse, a clearly highly flattering photo, with a vague indication that you think you don’t look good – SO THAT people will fall all over themselves to tell you how beautiful you are? NO. STOP.
I get furious at people who honk at me for following traffic laws. I had someone angrily honk at me because I attempted to merge into the (normal) right hand lane upon entering the highway. There was plenty of room, I had my blinker on, and it was a must-merge situation. What exactly did you WANT me to do? How do you think merging works??
Yes, yes, yes on the selfies. There as an excellent podcast on This American Life about this issue and the accompanying social pressure, but darned if I can remember when it was. Also, I’m beginning to think I would pay to use Facebook if I could filter out any posts that begin “Like if” (you love your sons) or “Type Amen if” (this is a great day) or anything of the sort. Also the recipes. Filter out the recipes. Why don’t I just give up Facebook? Cute picture of my great-niece. Which, come to think of it, I’d also pay to see.
I extremely dislike people who honk at me for not entering an intersection if I cannot safely exit the intersection (for example, when there’s heavy traffic so you can’t continue past the intersection). Shockingly, people who get stuck in the intersection when the light turns red? They also really bother me.
Yes.
I’ve also noticed that NWOT tags often means ‘factory reject that is super wonky and never had tags’
i also hate the inevitable love fest that comes with a shitty selfie taken in the car or wherever shitty place. and partly i say that because i am ENVIOUS. Other people get this huge love fest from a shitty picture and yet when i post a piece of art that i worked really hard on i get nothing. I would like a little bit of love fest occasionally please! and actually the occasional time i post a shitty selfie i might like a bit of a love fest then too. but no. people see in to my black heart and shudder. there is no love fest for me.
I’m okay with post-salon selfies. I might as well get a new avatar out of the expense of getting my hair done.
In my state there are crosswalks randomly (well I’m sure not randomly, but it often feels that way) in the middle of the street without a stoplight or stop sign. If I see the person waiting to cross, I stop. But sometimes people behind may not see the person and honk. And also swerve to go around which is terrifying for the person crossing!!
My kindergarten teacher was killed when the car she was in got stuck on railroad tracks. I was in second grade so I don’t know all of the details other than she got out to get her 2-year-old out and the train (even though it was slowing) hit the car and then she was struck by the car. All that to say that every car for miles behind me at a railroad stop could be honking to move. No way.
That story about your kindergarten teacher is terrifying. And legit made me tear up right here in my office!
I have a 2-year-old and this sort of scenario (WHAT WOULD I DO IF MY CAR BROKE DOWN SQUARE ON THE TRACKS) haunts my dreams. How horrible.
So my pet peeve of people trying to be nice involves traffic. We often come home in a way where we have to make a left turn into our neighborhood and cross two very heavily traveled lanes of traffic. It is an extremely busy road and from 5-6pm you could be stuck waiting a while for both lanes to be cleared. Often, while I am sitting in the turn lane waiting for an opening, someone will stop in the lane closest to me to allow me at least a brief opening—HOWEVER, the other lane is still heavily traveled with speedy drivers comimg down a hill (and likely texting–UGH). I feel like every day people get irrirtated at me because they think I am not taking them up on their kindness (they are stopped just to allow me to move!) yet they aren’t realizing I am not taking them up on it for good reason (speedy drivers in other lane that I don’t trust to stop and don’t want them slamming into my car where my 18 month old sits). It drives me BONKERS! Glad I am moving SOON!
YES!! I have had this too!! And the person who was trying to be nice (but was oblivious that it was not safe/legal for me to take them up on their offer) will often make an exasperated gesture and rev off, leaving me thinking there needs to be a way to communicate “Thank you SO MUCH for your good intentions, and I REALLY DO appreciate your attempt to increase the levels of kindness and deference in the world, but there are very good reasons I cannot do what you are offering!” (illegal, unsafe, etc.).
When I was 21, I got in a car accident involving this very scenario! It was getting dark and I did not realize there were two lanes, so when the driver in the lane who was backed up with traffic waved me on, I just went right across and smacked a truck flying by. To this day I will NEVER accept the wave-across. I almost aggressively decline it…I’ve even considered flipping people off so they will just MOVE ON. :)
Do you live where I live???? (I know you don’t. Wrong country.) But we have an intersection near me that has BOTH the railroad tracks in front of the light (not a stop sign) AND a no right turn on red (also due to the tracks, I’m sure).
Personally I hate when I am walking and waiting to cross our busy street where there is no crosswalk, and someone stops for me. I am perfectly happy to wait for a break in traffic! There is no crosswalk! Then they force everyone behind them to stop, and if there’s anyone coming the opposite direction it gets awkward. Ugh.
I don’t remember how to do it, exactly, but there is a way, if you are on Facebook at a computer, to at least reduce the number of things you are seeing that are just your friends liking or commenting on stuff. As I remember, you hover the mouse clicker over their name on one of their posts and it will give you a list where you can choose what types of posts you see from that person. Mine are set so I don’t see their likes and comments on others’ posts, but I do see their posts, photos and videos. I did this several years ago, so it may have changed. If it did, someone please comment as I have some new friends I need to do this to whenever I am next at a PC.
Facebook sadly took the ‘don’t see others comments and likes’ option away. Now the best you can do is click “Hide Post – see fewer posts like this” or “Hide All from ‘random person you’re not friends with'” and then if your friends comment or like on their public posts again, you wont’ see it. I think that the “Hide All from ‘random person'” option works best.
Yes — I’ve taken to doing that diligently, as well as hiding anything from basic any source that isn’t a FB friend (e.g. if you share a link from, well, even NPR, I will not see it, even if you are my FB friend — sorry, but I do not go to FB to find out what from NPR you want me to know about). Because, really.
I too am cranky today. I don’t want to post to my regular modes of social media and don’t want to seem all poor me. BUT, I AM CRANKY. I’m taking a graduate class and it is not at all what I expected, not at all useful, and I am not good at it. I really, really dislike it. The good news – this is the last week of class. The bad news – I have a 10 page paper due in 2 days and some other writings due a couple of days later. I have been working on these things for weeks and … I usually can write 10 pages without too much angst but I just… all the citations needed are sapping my will to live. It’s like I’ve forgotten how to write.
Thanks for listening.
My crankiness over the “beauty” comments really boils down to an ENTIRE SOCIETY publicly exclaiming that physical appearance is the most notable characteristic about any given person. I LOATHE the fact that the vast majority of comments directed to the female sex is about our appearance. A babe-in-arms photo gets gushed at for being soooooo beautiful, as if that is her highest accomplishment at mere weeks or months old. A young girl learning how to ride her bike is told how pretty she is, not how awesome it is that she is learning how to do something scary. Most teenage girls can hardly accept a compliment that doesn’t revolve around their looks, because they are socialized to believe that is the only thing that matters. THAT is what I despise about the selfie-culture. Stop telling women they are pretty, not because they are not, but because it is so far down on the list of things that are important to being a good human and is one thing that most of us have next to zero control over. “You’re so beautiful!” Well, my parents gave me a solid set of genes and I tend to keep up my personal hygiene…so…thank you? Ugh.
xox
YES. yesyesyesyesyesyesyes.
(A friend whom I love dearly has been on a bit of a selfie binge lately, and it’s been getting to me. Your rant has helped me purge some of my bile. Thank you!)
The fixation on looks may have reached it’s zenith in this article, which wants to be very clear that all the members of the family are easy on the eyes. Oh, and their baby died. He was pretty, too:
http://wapo.st/21zdcsu
Oh – the selfie adoration squad…my peeve is this one – “love this family”. Generally I know them and two or three of them are fine – but there is generally a real stinker in the pic. No love for him/her.
My # 1 traffic peeve – four way stops with a longer line in one direction than in the other. It doesn’t matter who gets in line first – it is who gets to the intersection first. So – just because you had to wait behind three cars and I just rolled up to the intersection with no wait from a perpendicular direction – I get to go before you. Also – right turn on red is only from the rightmost lane – even if the second lane is also right turn only. Jerks.
This really concerned me because I routinely make right turns from the left right-turn lane and even taught my newly-driving son that it’s okay. I had to research it (well, Googled it) and I’m glad to see that I’m not breaking the law. Here’s a link to one…and there are more sites out there on it. I never thought there was much question about whether it was legal; I just always thought it was but it sounds like many people are confused by its legality. Hope this helps.
http://articles.latimes.com/1997-01-13/local/me-18298_1_red-light
Not sure where you live, but where I live it is legal to turn right on red from any lane that is allowed to turn right, provided of course that one stays in one’s original lane (relative to other lanes) — https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/safety/Documents/Chapter%2004%20-%20Turn%20Prohibitions.pdf
100% illegal here
Hunh. Where’s “here,” just in case I end up there — if you don’t mind sharing your state (or nation)? Because I would not know this. Though it sounds like a lot of your co-residents don’t, either.
Texas
That is wild — I lived in TX (DFW area) for 12 years and I never knew that was illegal! I don’t remember going through such intersections (2 right-turn-only lanes) but my memory isn’t the best anymore….but I know that I would have made a right from the left right-turn-only red light without hesitation…because I did not know it was illegal.
Sorry to responding on this thread; there’s no “Reply” button/option to Melanie’s last response.
Sorry…just one more; last one, I promise. I asked my friends who live in TX (all in DFW) about this. One linked to this website.. It’s long..but you can use the “Find” feature and use “Right on Red On Dual Turn Lanes”. But I guess it depends on how reliable this website is. http://www.texashighwayman.com/laws.shtml
Ooh – I forgot to add a noncomplaint or two. My oldest got her email saying she matched for residency. Not unexpected – but still a relief. Also – Easter candy is fabulous!
Thank you for all of these (minus the eBay, as I’m not an ebayer, but I can see how that is annoying.).
First, daylight savings time. Yes. Why can’t we end the whole antiquated, nonsensical practice? I hated it bad enough when it was just me to worry about (ugh! It’s pitch black at 5 pm now! Or ugh! It’s pitch black when I wake up now!), but throwing kids in the mix is a whole ‘nother level of irritating. How can it mess up their sleep SO MUCH?? My normally mature four year old was openly weeping all morning. (“I want to stir the noodles, but I DON’T want to stir the noodles! Waaaahhhhh!!!!”) and my 1 year old has been a disaster,
Then, selfies.vi have never in my LIFE posted a selfie, and they are soooo loathsome I can hardly stand it. I can’t tell you how many selfies of my cousin I’ve seen with him staring soulfully and come-hither from the interior of his car, or of my husband’s cousin in a bathroom mirror. (Always in a bathroom mirror. Why? You look in the mirror and think, “Damn, I look good…let me whip out my phone and post this on Facebook.”)
But the worst are the teenagers. I am concerned..,truly truly concerned..,about raising children in this day and age, when all their self-validation comes from Facebook and Instagram comments. Which are so incredibly meaningless and empty. “You’re so beautiful, Hun.” “No, that would be YOU.” “Whatever, hottie.”
But they truly matter to these girls. My friend was all irritated one day because her fifteen year old cousin had messaged her and ASKED HER to “like” her Instagram photos, because “I need more likes.” What?!! How does that at ALL mean ANYTHING to you, when you have to TELL someone to like it?! Then my friend showed me her selfies, and truly, she is an exceptionally beautiful girl, but the photos were clearly soooo posed to look casual, but you tell me…when was the last time you were outside in the snow in a halter top? And how often do you stand with your body JUST SO to emphasize alllll your assets, then make a silly/cute face, and post something like, “ew! No make-up!” Ughhhhhhhh…..
And finally, the driving. I had a play date a couple days ago, and my friend showed up all rattled because someone had been honking at her while she was driving 20 mph in a school zone (as posted), and then the car actually pulled up next to her and the driver (with a van full of kids) started screaming at her for driving too slow, peppering her rant with lots of expletives.vthis also scares me. First of all, it’s the LAW, and second of all, it’s terrifying that something minor like that can set a person off so much!!
Whew! Thanks for the vent session!
The selfie culture! Listen to this episode of TAL.
http://m.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/573/status-update
I’ve just recently gotten into the show. I feel so smart when I listen to it.
Oh my. I started to listen to this and I’m not even 2 minutes in and I want to BANG MY HEAD ON MY DESK. “Six likes in a minute! That’s pretty good!” My daughter is only 3. I am NOT looking forward to this crap. Imagine what it’ll be like in 10 years…
Back to TAL!
I was about to post this same thing. It’s a great listen/read about what complete narcissists the next generation(s) are and the strange interactions people have come to expect. Sigh. I hesitate to update my profile pic because I hate all the comments.
(transcript link for readers)
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/573/transcript
Excellent! Thank you for posting this. Selfie culture…our future terrifies me.
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME IS OF THE DEVIL. THAT IS ALL.
So interesting about your RR frustration.
Three times per week I drive my daughter to a lesson wherein I need to stop at a line before the tracks, then proceed to the stop sign beyond the tracks – with space for only one car in front of sign. It is during rush hour and very busy. Nearly everyone follows the rule correctly and the stop/go is so smooth…. I thought the other day while proceeding through, how wonderful that our community knows how to do this correctly!!
I pretty much completely agree with you. The stupid selfies get on my last nerve. And for some reason Facebook is populating my feed with a bunch of Fitness related posts. So it’s a lot of “I make a gazillion dollars and I want you to join my accountability group.” I feed the beast though since I almost always read them.
And on the RR thing….I was once driving a rental car through a town with the same set up. Except I didn’t realize that there was only room for one car, so I was stopped on the track on a red light. And what suddenly started coming my way? A train. It was just starting up, so it was going slow. But the barricades were starting to come down. I panicked and couldn’t figure out whether to back up or go forward and for some reason couldn’t figure out how to get the car into gear. What did I learn? Don’t stop on a RR track. And that I do not handle an unusual situation well. I mean, I could have just gone into the other lane across from the RR tracks….but no I tried to back up and briefly considered abdoning my car.
My peeves today: Daylight Savings Time, of course, is my eternal mortal enemy. 2. Kids don’t take initiative to do chores until I get home and call their attention to undone chores. EVERY. STUPID. DAY. UGH. 3. Fighting with husband about money. 4. Working during spring break.
I feel better.
“LET’S BE FRIENDS AND HAVE A GREAT CLUB WHERE WE FOLLOW RULES TOGETHER!”
Swistle, you’ve hit upon one of the key reasons why I love reading your blog. You’ve created that club, albeit in a virtual way, and it soothes my soul when I can come here and read about other people who get fired up about many of the same things that I do.
This temperament has been in place for quite a while, as evidenced by one of my mother’s favorite stories about me. I was a bit of a shy kid, and she was worried because I’d gotten a first-grade teacher who was known for being a bit harsh. When she asked me how the first day of school went, I apparently got a rapturous look on my face and said “Mrs. Schwartz makes the BOYS follow the RULES!” I wish she were around today – I think she and I would get along famously as adults. :)
Rule abiders unite! Its strange (or normal), but I HATE anyone telling me what to do, but I am a die hard rule follower. Reading these comments and this post has soothed me.
The selfie thing has gotten out of hand. I’ve unfollowed people on Instagram because of it. An occasional selfie- fine! Nothing but selfies? Nope.
My huge driving pet peeve is when people yield right-of-way. Like others have mentioned, I appreciate the thought but it causes confusion and can be dangerous! Don’t wave people on at a 4-way stop sign! Don’t yield in the middle of the road for pedestrians who aren’t at a crosswalk! That was the first thing they taught us when I was training to drive buses in college. GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT-OF-WAY CAUSES ACCIDENTS. JUST FOLLOW THE LAWS.
I didn’t realize this was a thing, but a primary-school teacher friend of mine told me that it is entirely predictable that the kindergarteners have a bunch of accidents around fall-back time. I guess when your body is used to being sent to the toilet every day at 11:30 and then you’re not sent until your body thinks it’s 12:30, well, there’s a lot of extra laundry at your house that week. Happened to my third this year.
Yes to being cranky and peeved, especially about rules. I have been increasingly peeved by a parking situation I run into at work. There is a circle drive with limited parking spaces, and it never fails that somebody takes up two spaces, making the available parking even more limited. And I think, Why?? Can’t you see the lines? Do you not know how to drive all the way up to the car in front of you in order to be completely inside one parking space, in order to leave room for others? Are you that unaware or self-centered? FOLLOW THE PARKING RULES!!
Urk. Yes, to so much of this. My mother lives in a neighborhood where, to get to her neighborhood from the one across the street you have to wait to cross a busier street, at a red light, because the busier street almost always has the green (rightly so) unless someone is waiting to go straight across it at the light — and even then the light makes them wait a bit.
Well most people turn right at that light (out of the larger neighborhood across from my mom’s onto the busier road) and can do so by turning right on red. At least once (and maybe more) she has had people lay on their horn(s) to alert her to the fact that she is — stopped at a red light? Appropriately waiting for the light to turn green so she can legally traverse the road in front of her, onto which she does not want to turn right (it being a smaller, neighborhood road she is on, it has just one right/straight lane)? I think she actually put her hazard lights on, turned off her car, got out and walked back to ask the other driver why s/he was honking, because that (turning off the car, etc.) is just the sort of thing my mother would do (and then tell me about having done), bless her.
I like your mother!
:) !
You need Facebook Purity. It’s a browser add-on that allows you to do exactly this kind of thing – hide all your friends’ “likes” or all posts with a certain word, etc. It’s great! Not affiliated!
OMG, this is wonderful. THANK YOU. I have installed it and am using it. Wow!
Right?!
OH JANE THE VIRGIN IS SO GREAT.
For what it’s worth, I rarely comment on friends’ selfies unless I truly think it’s a great photo of them. In fact, I had to hide one friend from my feed because I was being inundated with selfies of her taken at such a bizarre, high angle that her forehead was huge and her eyes bugged out, but her chin was a small sharp point below. It was like looking at a very wide, blonde, living ice cream cone.
Also hate: people who stop to turn right onto a busy road when there is a free-flow right-turn lane. (including an ENORMOUS YELLOW FREE-FLOWING TRAFFIC KEEP MOVING sign.) Every day on my way home from work, I honk at those people who just sit and wait for a green light or a break in traffic when they don’t have to! The sign says: KEEP MOVING!
I have pretty much swapped out Facebook for Instagram. Even though there are still selfies, there are a lot less comments and more importantly to me, no political posts. Plus, you can follow people who you don’t know, that are doing things you are into. For instance, I follow several cat and kitten rescues and you get to see the kittens grow from birth. I got so angry at stuff on Facebook so many times that I think it was a little bad for my health. Also unlike Facebook, on Instagram it also doesn’t seem like an insult to not follow people who follow you.
Jane the Virgin is the best! I taught a high school art class last year and it’s all the students (boys and girls) would talk about on Tuesday. Rogelio has a pretty great Twitter account.
I gave up Facebook for lent and it is so incredibly freeing. I don’t feel like I hate everyone and everything anymore! I don’t know what’s going on with people, BUT I DON’T CARE!
And what’s sad is that I’m sure I’ll be back on after Easter. Sigh.
I also gave up FB for Lent, and I like how I feel without it. Perhaps I’ll extend the fast a bit.
I wish I would have thought about giving up Facebook for lent. I will try to remember this next year. Great idea!
So I am commenting, without reading the comments-because yesterday was a big travel day and I am exhausted.
The honking thing-the last time you posted about this, I was amazed at how many commenters thought it was fine to honk at people. We aren’t fast enough, we don’t turn when we should, I can’t even remember all the thoughts. All I can say is DO NOT HONK YOUR HORN AT ANYONE! Even if someone is veering into your lane, all it does is cause a startle reaction. Be aware, drive defensively, respond accordingly.
I will amend this by saying, honk at animals that might be in the road, but that is it.
FB-I feel I am one of the few holdouts. I know I miss out on things, but I am a person who hates any kind of drama, and FB seems like drama wanting to happen.
Now I must nap….
Sorry, but if someone is veering into my lane and clearly doesn’t see me, I honk. And every single time this has happened (the most recent was last week), the person has moved back out of my lane instead of hitting me. If I’m doing a lane change and someone is in my blind spot and for some reason I don’t see them, I hope to heck they’d honk so I don’t get in an accident.
Cars have horns for a reason. The fact that there are some jerks on the road who abuse them does not mean they don’t have a legitimate use.