Friday, November 14, 2008

Hold The Elevator....!

About once a year I like to do a blog post about my pet peeves. You know, we all have them - those things that annoy us to distraction. Last year two of my pet peeves I wrote about were colored paper clips and balloons. I hate them. They should be banned from the planet, the ghastly things. This year I have a few more. Well, I have a lot more, actually, but I won't bore you with all of them at once. Here, in no particular order, are three things that annoy me beyond all reason.

1. My first pet peeve is when people don't hold the elevator door open when you're just a few feet and a few seconds away from it. They can see you, they know you're there just outside that closing door, and worst of all they're someone you work with, and they know they are going to see you again in a few minutes ... upstairs. When you finally get an elevator and get up to the office, you walk past them and give them the look. You know the one, "Why didn't you hold the elevator door for me when you saw I was rushing towards it with my hands full?" They look away, but do they feel any shame? No. Would I do it to them if the tables were turned? In a heartbeat.

2. My second my pet peeves is the person who sits next to you in the cafeteria, and just as he is finishing his meal, he whips out a Kleenex and blows his nose - loud, long and productively. He then scrunches the offensive Kleenex up and leaves it on his table, just inches away from where you are still eating your meal. Or at least, you were still eating your meal. Any appetite you had is now long since gone.

3. My third, but by no means last pet peeve is synchronized swimming and ballroom dancing. They are the same thing, aren't they? One is done in the water and one is done on the dance floor. They both involve a lot of grotesque flailing of arms and legs, and they both look extremely painful and unattractive. And they're both really, really cheesy. Any relationship they bear to either swimming or dancing is purely coincidental.

Thank you for allowing me to vent. Stay tuned ... I have more.

18 comments:

roxanne s. sukhan said...

spitting ... in front of others ... and particularly onto the sidewalk.

people who don't walk to the back of the bus, but instead, stand there, in the middle of the aisle, oblivious to others around them.

drivers who treat 4-way stops as optional and posted speed limits as tho per person.

cyclists who ride their bikes on the sidewalk. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

yeah ... that felt good.

KathyB. said...

hmmmm,most of my pet peeves are with my pets ! The cat that meows to go outside...and then pauses for a very long time in front of the open door letting in the cold air, then turns around and heads for the sofa.....

The dog that watches me scoop up the poop and THEN poops all over again...

The dog that drinks water and leaves the whole kitchen floor soaked....

oh well, I think I need to spend more time around people, then my pet peeves will be people peeves ! ha ha

Douglas Whynott said...

ok the first two I am on board with you....I do like ballroom dancing and synchronized swimming I think it is a talent...but that is just opinion....

Now my pet peeve.....sneezing in close proximitry of others not covering your mouth or covering your mouth and then not washing your hand before trying to shake someone's hand...ouch...that is just yucky to me....

Smalltown RN said...

hello Josie...that was me leaving a comment under dw from qb...I was on my hubbies computer....

Russell said...

The first time I saw your blog I read about your disdain for colorful, plastic paper clips and balloons! Heh!

But the one I still remember is how frustrated you were with the newly announced Olympic mascots!! You said they looked like some variation of tele-tubbies (I think) and were dressed in discarded, cheap Halloween costumes from Wal-Mart! Heh!!

Every time I am in a Wal-Mart store I think of those mascots!!

As far as the dancing, all I can think of is many years ago I was on a dance floor (yes, that's another story...) and some guy was trying to be John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever... He came crashing across the floor and people were having to get out of his way.

As this insane nut, I mean guy, came barreling towards me, I stuck out my foot and allowed him to fall over it! (It was his choice not mine...!) As he was obviously drunk and very young (youth helps!) he did a complete cartwheel, spun around a few times and sort of slid across the floor on his knees...! He had no idea what had happened and I stood there in disbelief as people started applauding...!!

I walked away not knowing whether to be upset or happy, having allowed this nut, I mean guy, to turn a fall into some stunt that was quite amazing! Heh!!

The Grandpa said...

The problem with ballroom dancing--I admit watching it is one of my guilty pleasures--is that they really want to have ice skates on their feet.

JR's Thumbprints said...

We have an elevator in a two story building (with no basement). Most workers decide to take the stairs when they see me at the buttons. I'll ask the same lame question if they choose the elevator, and I'll ask it when there's dead silence: "Which floor, please?"

Anonymous said...

I think my pet peeves change by the day, maybe the hour. Either that or I haven't cultivated a peeve enough to call it a pet.

Leslie: said...

I'm chortling away here at all the responses.
You'll hate me, but I NEVER and I mean NEVER miss Dancing with the Stars. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT phone me when it's on! lol I think it's because deep down inside I've always wanted to be a Radio City Music Hall Rockette and this is as close to it as I can get. I wish I could shake my booty like they do. But you know what'd happen if I did, don't you? I'd be phoning you to come pick me up off the floor! lol
One of my daughters is so nuts about blowing her nose that she goes into the bathroom to do it - always - and if I blow my nose in front of her, she says I'm gross!

Tess Kincaid said...

So, does this mean you don't have an extensive collection of Esther Williams films?

Lilly said...

How funny are these....and so annoying at the same time. Yes, I think I nod my head in agreement at your list. Nothing worse than having the elevator doors shut in your face. Synchronised swimming and ballrom dancing - oh dear. That is hilarious. No, I am not a fan either but I think its the cheesiness of the orange tans, false eyelashes, barely there clothes etc that distracts from what may be very good dancing. It's too over the top for me to watch I have to say.

Thanks for the information about the bears - oh dear. That would make me a bit fearful I have to say.

becky aka theRAV said...

I think my pet peeve this week is people who abuse time at work. I wrote about it on blog if you want to read it. I also don't like people that repeat themselves. I just hope I don't do that & drive others crazy. I am sure I have more but those are my top two at the moment beside that crazy guy in the blue truck who squeezed beside me, making his own lane around me. So crazy drivers would be my 3rd pet peeve. I'd better stop now before I think of more and have a really really long list!

Anonymous said...

Out-of-shape middle aged guys watching ballroom dancing hoping for a wardrobe malfunction.
Geez, how easily I get my kicks. :)

Anonymous said...

The elevator thing and nose-blowing thing is just indicative of general public rudeness. But how can you not like ballroom dancing? Synchronized swimming..okay, that's kind of stupid. If you're going to dance do it on dry land... but there's some really nice ballroom dancing...anyway, my daily pet peeve is people who stand on escalators. THEY'RE STAIRS PEOPLE!!! Walk up and down them, for pete's sake - don't just stand there like it's a carnival ride. Same with those moving sidewalks at airports. People hop on and just stand there while the sidewalk slowly crawls toward their destination. Man, that drives me crazy

VioletSky said...

I must go back and find out what's wrong with coloured paper clips. I like then, they don't rust when you spill something on them.

Synchronized swimming fascinates me no end, and ballroom dancing is just so elegant it makes me swoon. And a bit dizzy.

VioletSky said...

Oh, right, I can't go back, your post are in hyperspace - grrrr.

Jo said...

Frizzy, oh, yes. I like the law in Singapore where spitting is illegal. It's just plain disgusting, and some people don't care who sees them. *yuck*

Kathy, yes, I know about that cat. I had one too. All I ever heard was, "Letmeowout..! Letmein...! Letmeowout...!" *heh*

Mary Anne, Oh, gawd, yes! I had a clerk in a supermarket who did that, and then started to handle my groceries through the checkout. I was so appalled, I had to leave. Snot and germs all over my food. *gag* :-)

Russell, you never cease to amaze me with your stories. I am still laughing! I can just visualize the whole scenario, in slow motion. You are a hoot!

Grandpa, oh, don't even get me started on figure skating. Did you ever see "Blades of Glory" with Will Ferrell? Too funny!

JR, *heh*. Now I ask you, what are you doing taking an elevator in a two-story building? :-)

Claudia, oh, I have a whole collection of them, and I just add to them on a daily basis. :-)

Leslie, I love dancing too, but the bizarre stuff they do on "Dancing With the Stars" is more like acrobatics than dancing. I like watching the old dancers like Cyd Charisse, Ginger Rogers, et all. They were graceful, not awkward.

Willow, uh, no ... no Esther Williams films. *heh*

Lilly, omigosh, yes! The orange tans and the false eyelashes. And the funny dresses with the fringy things on them. They should just have a pole in the middle of the stage. LOL

Becky, yes, people who abuse time at work. I work with someone who actually still writes memos instead of sending e-mails. She writes the memo, prints it off, walks over to the mail area and put it into the inter office mail - several times a day. To me, that is just stupid.

Ivan, LOL. Did you see Cloris Leachman? She stole the show. (Yes, I did see that part...)

XUP, oops, I never walk up escalators. I find the stair rise too steep for me, and I always feel as if I can going to fall. We have the longest escalators in the world in the Granville Skytrain Station in Vancouver, and I am frozen when I ride down it.

Violetsky, I don't know why, but colored plastic paper clips annoy me. They don't belong in an office, but rather in a grade eight school book - well, that's my opinion, anyway. I am always happy to dispatch them to the wastepaper basket whenever I find one. I know, I know ... OCD anyone? *heh*

Unknown said...

I think synchronized swimming in unbelievable. I thought it looked so easy until I realized they cannot use the bottom of the pool!!! For all of the acrobatic lifts? No bottom? Its got me. I have know idea but, I have a lot of respect for that sport now becasue if they cant use the bottom I can only imagine the strength it takes. And Esther Williams films? No that type of synchronized swimming is long gone. Its amazing how much it has evolved. I know I would never be able to do that. The things they do with their legs as well, how do they stay up? Its just amazing