Pet Peeves

I could have sworn I had already written a blog post about pet peeves several years ago, but I cannot, for the life of me, find it! So I thought I would at least revisit the concept and maybe update my list. It's probably not much different from what I wrote a few years ago :-)

1. Super bright headlights. Seriously. Who the hell thought equipping newer cars with lights bright enough to illuminate a football stadium, was a smart idea? Sure, when you're driving said car at night, you get to enjoy seeing every minute detail of everything you headlights hit. But you're also blinding the people around you! Saturday night, coming back from Borderline, I had just such a car behind me. I flipped up my rearview mirror, but there was nothing I could do about the searing lights reflecting off my side mirrors. Even Mitch, in the passenger seat, remarked, "does that guy have his high beams on?" I checked the reflection-- nope. It was at the proper headlight angle. How can that stuff be legal? And WHY does anyone in their right mind think these are a smart idea!?

2. Turn signals. This is a two-fold peeve. I hate it when people turn or change lanes without using their turn signal. It's inconvenient at best and dangerous at worst (like when they suddenly brake in front of in order to make a turn you had no idea was coming!). On the flip side, I hate it when people DO turn on their blinkers to change lanes... and then forget to turn them off, driving miles and miles with a blinking light.

3. Cruising in the passing lane. In other countries, it's very much discouraged, even illegal. And it should be! I loathe passing anyone on the right because it's more dangerous (the right lane is designated the slow lane for a reason, people!) but sometimes I have no choice, because some idiot decided to cruise in the left lane, which should be for PASSING ONLY!!

4. Roundabouts. Actually, I don't have a problem with roundabouts. I have a problem with people who don't know how to USE them. They are commonplace in Europe, and over there, I never encountered any issues with drivers using them. Here, on the other hand? They are so rare that people hesitate to enter/exit them properly. Drives me nuts when I'm waiting behind someone trying to enter a roundabout, hesitating and letting missed opportunity after missed opportunity go by...

Hmm... okay, enough car/traffic related ones ;-) What else?

5. Cash change. It irks me when cashiers give me my change by first placing the bills in my hand, and then putting the coins on top of it. The precarious balance of items all but incapacitates that hand. Much easier if the change is on the bottom, and bills on top. That way, I can put the money in my wallet in a much more efficient manner: slide the bills in the billfold portion, pour the coins in the coin purse portion. All without having to balance the stuff in my hand to avoid dropping everything!

6. Misspelling the word "ensure". I've lost count of how many times I've seen it spelled "insure". No! Blue Cross insures you to ensure you stay healthy! You know where else it's spelled that way? In the Preamble to our country's Constitution! I wonder if our Founding Fathers knew how much the insurance premiums on domestic tranquility was eventually going to cost...

7. Inadequately flushed toilets. Public restrooms. How hard can this be? When you've finished your business and you flush, PAY some freakin' ATTENTION. Make sure everything's gone down, and if it hasn't, flush again! Don't leave an unpleasant surprise for the next person to walk in on. Do you do this at home? Jiggle the flush handle and then leave without a second glance? Am I the only one who makes sure the toilet is cleared before leaving it!?