Friday, May 9, 2008

10 things that bug me

  1. When you go to get new vacuum cleaner bags or mop heads and your appliance has been discontinued.
  2. When phones or alarms ring on the TV and you think it’s real.
  3. Stores that play loud, loud music so you get a headache as soon as you walk in and can’t talk to the person your with or the sales clerk.
  4. The TV ad where a bunch of women are “celebrating” one woman’s 50th birthday and they’re all being hags by telling her all the horrible things that are going to happen to her now that she’s 50.
  5. People who end their emails with “if you have any problems or questions, please don’t hesitate to call me”. Do people with problems hesitate to call someone who could solve them? And, if they do, would this sentence make a difference?
  6. People who send an e-mail and then call you or come over to your desk to see if you got it.
  7. When you have a lab test/x-ray/ultra-sound or something and everyone has to keep it a secret from you because a whole team of strangers has to know these things about your body before you are allowed to.
  8. People who correct grammar or typos in library books.
  9. Drivers who stop at intersections in the middle of crosswalks.
  10. Being lectured about global, social or other issues and then hit up for money by zillionare celebrities who barely know what they’re talking about.

11 comments:

alison said...

Well, I'm guilty of ending my emails at work with that phrase. I alwyas thought of it as boilerplate, kind of like the salutation at the beginning of the email. OK from now on, I'm ending my emails with "If you have any problems or questions, too bad."

:-)

Things that bug me: people who don't give a little wave or acknowledge in some way that I've slowed down or even stopped my car in order to let them into my lane from another lane or driveway.

Those commercials for Phoenix homes here in Ottawa that brag about having Brazilian hardwood floors in their new houses. Hello? Most of the Amazon rain forest is in Brazil. Have they heard about the problems with deforestation of the Amazon? Lungs of the world? Largest C02 absorber on the planet? Are they really that stupid that they think this is a selling point, to have wood from this source and then bragging about it?

XUP said...

Alison - what's wrong with just saying "please call if you have any questions" - why "don't hesitate"? Are the people you're writing to really so afraid to contact you that they sit at their desks dithering while their problems fester?

And, right on about the flooring - not to mention the slave/child labour used to harvest the wood.

aandjblog said...

"if you have any problems or questions, please don’t hesitate to call me"

I guilty of this as well. I would like to write something more creative like

"Don't worry, I'm here for ya!"

But that doesn't sound too professional..

I like your suggestion below. I'll keep it in mind.

JB said...

"people who don't give a little wave or acknowledge in some way that I've slowed down or even stopped my car in order to let them into my lane from another lane or driveway."
AMEN ALISON!

Also, on the subject of cars stopping in the middle of crosswalks...No excuse for it! However, what drives me nuts as a driver who always tries to give the right-of-way to other drivers looking to enter the lane I'm in, or give all possible distance to someone wanting to cross a street (sometimes in the middle of the street, nowhere near a crosswalk, just to give the walker a break) - insolent walkers who take FOREVER to cross, as if - now that I've stopped - they'll take full advantage of going as slow as frickin' possible! And I'm not talking about seniors, or people who have trouble walking. I'm talking about able-bodied, usually younger people, who decide to 'saunter' across - as if we've all just moved to Mayberry, and life as we know it must come to a screeching halt for them. Ignorant.

XUP said...

A&J - ha ha, I think I like Don't worry, I'm here for ya", better!

JB - I agree - pedestrians who are rude or take advantage of the times motorists are kind, ruin it for the rest of us.

Bob said...

I've never experienced #8, although I've come to close to being that person.

And rude pedestrians: don't get me started. One a**hole today in the parking lot down the street from work, taking his own sweet time, not leaving any room on either side for me to drive by. Surely to goodness, he must have heard my car behind him.

XUP said...

Bob - You've never had an edited library book? Wow. I get them all the time. Funny thing is that often they're wrong. And, I think it's okay to mow down pedestrians when they really start to bug you like that!

Cycling Goddess said...

XUP ~ I hate that commercial too! This Hour Had 22 Minutes did a skit on that. Way too funny...

I agree with everything else you said but if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know ;)

Anonymous said...

Amen to #3. The Applebees restaurant chain is bad about that. They play modern rock music slightly louder than the crowd noise, so in turn to order, you have to yell. As a result, the entire crowd gets louder. It reminds me of a high school cafeteria with theme music.

XUP said...

HD - I'd love to see that 22 minutes spoof.

BB -It's like everyone is just catering to the under 30 crowd who need to constantly be surrounded by loud, loud music

Jazz said...

I found myself nodding in agreement through this whole list.