Annoyances

I'm feeling surly and annoyed by a lot of things today. Chalk it up to hormones or the heat or the general absurdity that the YMCA closes their indoor pools during a rainstorm (after I rushed there through said rainstorm to get to Ayla's class).

I'm going to roll with this feeling of general ickiness and list some of my biggest pet peeves.

#1. SELF PITY - it's a pathetic thing to witness, especially when it isn't truly warranted. I have a certain person in my life who pities themselves constantly. It goes hand in hand with having an unrealistic sense of entitlement and also being a victim. If you live in America, don't have to work, have every freedom and liberty you need, are freakin' alive... you should probably give up on the "poor me" mentality.

#2. STUPID BUMPER STICKERS - Very rarely are bumper stickers interesting. They either spew some hateful rhetoric against a woman's right to choose (and always with a white male driver!) , tell us where you've been on vacation (OBX) or list all of your children's names with a cute stick figure. Why would you do that? Any freak child molester could follow you for 2 minutes and then take advantage of that information. Some idiot who attends the church on our street has a bumper sticker that says, "I've still got my Bible and gun." Good for you dude, I don't really think that's advocated in Jesus' teachings. And the worst? Keeping your political stickers on ten years after the election. Seriously. If your candidate didn't win... keeping the sticker on your car won't help.

#3. PEOPLE WHO ABUSE THEIR KIDS WITH FOOD - I'll clarify that I don't like any child abuse. It's all terrible. What gets me about this one is that it isn't called abuse. I'm talking about the two year olds that are morbidly obese and only their parents are to blame for indulging them with every packaged, processed food. I let my kids eat candy, cookies and ice cream too. But they are NOT in charge when we go grocery shopping. It's so terribly unfair to these kids and almost impossible for them to ever have a normal, healthy relationship with their bodies and eating.

#4. STEREOTYPES - Both people that enforce their stereotypes on others and the ones that perpetuate them within themselves. We are not cardboard cutouts. You cannot say, "All women should do this, and all men should do that." People are mysteries, constantly changing and adapting. Yet, it is the root of a LOT of problems in our world.

#5. KNOW IT ALLS - We've all worked with one. They have an answer for everything and will "one-up" you in every regard. They've been everywhere and seen everything. And plus, it's just weird. Somehow a lot of know-it-alls end up being pathological liars. I really like people who ask questions and are willing to look silly. At what age do we decide it's not okay to learn from others anymore and start pretending we've invented the world?

I've missed a ton of obvious pet peeves, but it certainly made me feel better to vent about a few of my top choices! (I also can't stand it when people bump into me and don't apologize.) And unless your major annoyance is blogging - let me know what really irks you!