These past two years have been interesting. The older I get the more I find it is the little things that annoy me. I’ve become crotchety which is odd because I am pretty laid back. I’d like to think that I let a lot of things go. But something about these situations irk me to no end. I could complain about the price of things going up but that is the story of everyone’s lives. With working from home, I have realized there are many things that are not on my list of fun. As a kid, I loved going grocery shopping with my mother but in my adult life the shine has worn off. So without further ado… here is what really grinds my gears.

Grocery Store

1. Grocery shopping has gotten on my nerve so badly that I really avoid places like Walmart on a whole. I do not care how much money I could be saving. There is something about not being able to get out of there. I used to think that it was an issue with the locations nearest me, but then I traveled and I realized that they shifted to Supercenters… and cared not about getting people on the registers. Here I am 15 years later still complaining about their lack of registers. They want you in there and never to leave. I have been at places where they will see people waiting and then open a register. Walmart never does that.
2. In the pandemic, the grocery store was the place that I still had to interact with people regularly. And I am not talking the staff. The workers are usually great. (They really should be paid more money.) When I say people… I mean customers. I am not sure what it is about me that makes me want to bump into me with their cart…? People just walk like they are the only person in the store. I used to jump out of the way but now I keep walking and watch the look of panic on the other person’s face when they see me from a mile away… get in my path and then realize I am not moving to accommodate them.
3. So… what is with the need to walk down the center of the aisle? No one can get past you on either side… as you meander down the aisle looking at things you know you’re not going to buy. The person always looks up like “Am I in your way?” Of course you are. You are in everyone’s way because you are in the middle of the aisle. The aisles are narrow enough but here you come. Reading the ingredients on something you aren’t going to buy.
4. I would have assumed that chain stores had the same foot print. But it is incredibly annoying to walk into a store and it have a completely different layout than the one near your home or the one by your job. Makes the trip longer trying to figure out where they have stashed the product. Shopping for my mother, I spent 20 minutes at a store looking for where they kept the q-tips. Pharmacy or Baby aisle. It was neither by the way.
5. Goodness gracious… don’t let there be a storm coming then people lose their minds. Now keep in mind I live in an area where blizzards, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms aren’t frequent. (Rain yes. SEVERE thunderstorms… no.) So when there is an announcement that there may be some weather that is not sunny… people head out in droves to buy up all the eggs and bread they can find. That usually makes it hard for me on my weekly trips. They announced that there would be a bit of snow a few weeks ago. (Let me point out that when we get snow… it is usually gone by mid day.) I went in to get a few things and every other person had like 6 loaves of bread in their carts. Weird. I had to get loaf because mom eats toast with breakfast and it was almost gone.
6. So now I am heading into checkout and there is nothing better than standing in line and the person behind you … has their cart touching your back. And they can’t imagine why they keep getting the evil eye from you. Why are you so close? Why do I have to ask why you are so close? No one is going to hop in front of you blatantly. You don’t have to be so close.
7. The only complaint that I have with the workers… and I find that I am in the minority now… but when the baggers just jams a bunch of things into the bags. That annoys me. (I am aware though that people ask for that… so you know. A sign of the times.) My fruit ends up bruise and packages end up opened. It doesn’t save me any time or energy if I have to chase by water down that has rolled away. Just saying.

Movies…

Let’s move into the movie realm… I used to work for a 3rd party company that took calls (complaints) for a large moviehouse. I have never seen so many people complain about something that was not a big deal… Since working this job… the idea of going to the movies has worn thin for me. Now new movies are coming out on streaming services there is no need to rub elbows with strangers anymore. People are weird.

1. Nothing like sitting next to a person who keeps looking at their bright phone. (It is always weird to me how bright other people keep their phones… I wear glasses too…) Calling themselves being discreet but you can tell that they have no idea what they are doing. They usually have the brightest lights and think no one will notice after the lights go out. And then get offended when people say something about it.
2. Feet on the back of the chair… That has always annoyed me. It makes me agree with my dad. “This is not your living room.” I hate it even more now that I had to take a complaint call for a woman who was annoyed that she was asked to leave the movie with no compensation because people kept complaining. She actually called in like she was right. She was actually trying to explain to me that she had a right to put her feet up on someone else’s chair because she paid to see the movie. Customer service was never my strong suit because was a bit of a smart ass back then… I asked her… “Were you the only person that paid? Everyone else got in free then?” She got silent. It actually took her a minute t realize that I didn’t agree with her at all. She was actually trying to tell me that the customer that complained was overreacting because she had her feet on his armrest. She said he saw her feet there and should have sat someone where else. Ugh where do people get off? She escalated on me and my boss said the same thing. Get your damn feet off of me. Paying for a movie… or a concert… only entitles you to the movie or the concert.
3. People who go the shows with me usually are annoyed that I am not interested in sitting in the middle of the aisle. Usually because I have to go to the bathroom a lot. When the feeling hits me… I am not in the mood for having to climb over people who see you coming and make no move to try and accomodate you. (On the other side of things… They don’t want to be climbed over.) It is sad because every time a person gets up… you know they have to come back. Every time you have to get up and head down the row, you disrupt the movie for every single person in that row, behind that row, and directly in front of that row. Just sit. It’s only a couple hours.
4. Babies…. (And I mean legit babies.) I have no issue with kids in the movie theater or their chatter especially if it is a kid’s movie. Especially since I have been in adult theaters listening to grown people talk and even be on the phone. But there is something about a crying baby in the movie that just seems out of place. And usually instead of taking the child out they try to calm the baby while everyone else is trying to watch the movie. Like they legit try to hold off… I wonder why the infant… and I stress the word infant is at the 10 pm showing of Bad Boys for Life.
5. Latecomers. It never ceased to amaze me the number of people that would call in and ask for free tickets because they showed up to the theater late. I remember vividly this gentleman calling me because he was given a free ticket for one or other of the Marvel movies… It was 2013-2014.. so take your pick but he was annoyed that his family of 5 or 6 could not sit together after they showed up 45 minutes late. (When people say things like this to me… I wonder if they have ever visited a movie theater in their lives.) He apparently wanted free tickets for his family to come another day. Where was his family you ask… still in the theater watching the movie. (That made my eyes glazed over.) Most films have about 20 minutes of trailers, so if there is traffic or you can’t park, then you have a small window of opportunity where it is still acceptable to walk in. (So just imagine how late he was.) I would never enter a movie theater well after the movie has started and climb over people who have been sitting there 45 minutes. Much less think that there should be 5-6 seats together. History fact: Alfred Hitchcock wanted no late comers to see Psycho (1960) because they would have no idea what the plot twist at the end was about.
6. There is always a group of friends that think EVERY THING in the movie is hilarious. Are we watching the same movie? Nothing was that funny. I always wonder if they have had a few at dinner. But then theaters started serving alcohol… so… This issue is they laugh so loud and for so long that you’ve missed the next two minutes of the film.
7. We all know the happy couples that come into the theater and spend much of the movie sucking face. Why pay that kind of money to not watch the movie at all. Seems like a waste to me. And I do not want to listen to you guys suck face either.

In General…

1. Why are you misspelling my name and it is in the email or instant message I sent to you? Some people will say… it is no big deal but come on… Just put in a bit of effort.
2. If someone is giving you a ride, offer gas money. No matter where you live. I had a person ask me to drive them home from work on day… Two days before payday. And she wasn’t remotely in the same direction as I was going… I went out of my way about 30 minutes. Not once did she offer to spot me any money. Gas tank was on E. We almost didn’t make it. People doing you a favor arent to be taken advantage of.
3. It has been a while since I was in a place with an elevator … but there was something that was hard for society to grasp about letting a person off before you get on. The number of times that people almost bump into each other all day every day was interesting. Speaking of elevators… not sure why a person would get on a packed elevator and then when a door opens they don’t even move out of the way to see if someone is getting off.
4. UGH… not wearing headphone in public. No one wants to hear your music. No one is going to be impressed by your taste. They are going to be annoyed that you are raging against the machine at the grocery store while they trying to get a pack of chicken. I remember when this woman bought her teenager (13-14) in with his bluetooth speaker into the grocery store with his speaker wailing. I am just wondering why the adult that was with him figured it was okay.
5. Walking through people’s photos is weird. You see people at a theme park or something trying to get a picture… all of a sudden everyone needs to cross through at that moment. Doesn’t take much to go around.
6. Standing too close to other people in line… even before covid… I never understood why (like in the grocery store) you would need to be so close that you are breathing on me. Usually to make everyone uncomfortable… I turn around and face them pretending that I am looking for something… Then all of sudden everyone understands space.
7. Eating someone else’s food. I dont understand why this is hard. You shouldn’t be reaching into my plate for any reason. If I offer you something that is one thing. And if something is in the fridge and you didn’t purchase it… then it shouldn’t pass through your lips without talking to the person that did buy it. And no a person that didn’t buy it can’t give permisson.
8. Walking down the street side by side… There is always this look on the face of people who don’t feel like they should make room on the sidewalk. If I am walking by myself they really expect me to make room for them… now I just keep walking and watch the panic on their faces. It is like Russian Roulette.
9. Spam callers… they have the nerve to be annoyed when you bombard them with questions when they are the ones that call you repeatedly. GO AWAY.
10. People that take up two parking spaces…. there car is so precious to them but not enough for them to make a trek into the store. They still manage find two spaces close to the entrance.
11. Delivering packages to the wrong address. Something about the post office near me that doesn’t believe I should get my stuff unless I jump through hoops. There is nothing better than trying to schedule picking up your package and everyone and their momma making it difficult to receive the stuff you paid for.
12. Facebook requests…. for games or otherwise. No I am not interested in helping you with your farm… or whatever game your are playing. (But this was from like 10 years ago. Either people aren’t playing much on facebook or they aren’t bothering me.) The real issue I have is the business pages that “friends” want you to like and support… even though you haven’t spoken to these people in years. You only know me if you need support?
13. Speaking of… Don’t message me with a get rich quick scheme. No, I don’t want to make more money. If you had the money, you claim you did you wouldn’t be reaching out to me. There is always someone that has a pyramid scheme they want you to get in on. And it usually someone that you haven’t heard from in years. They now remember they know you.
14. I hate small talk. I don’t care about the weather nor do you care how I am doing… I find small talk hard to navigate. When it is over? What usually signifies the end? I could do without it. No real information is gleamed from it.
15. Public Transportation is a bit much. It really needs its own list. But it is the same thing with the elevators… people trying to get on before people get off. It can be overcrowded but yeah you can make this run smoothly if you let people get off first.
16. Speaking of public transportation… What is it with people that have to sit next to you.. The bus or the train is damn near empty but here comes someone hellbent on sitting next to you. Insert eyeroll.
17. Teachers who love to point out only a handful of people passed their exams. It is a weird flex… like if you have a lecture hall for 300-350 people and only like 10 people passed the exam… doesn’t that mean it is you? That maybe the way you are teaching this isn’t as effective as you think. It is not a sign that you somehow triumphed and are smarter than everyone else in the class. (That is usually a given specifically about the the topic you are teaching).
18. Cable companies… I went with just internet a few years ago and never looked back. Even with the streaming services that I use… it is nothing compared to that triple play that they kept pushing on people. They then upped the prices for internet… started charging people by usage (because no one wanted cable anymore.) I won’t even get into how sports channels and things keep getting cut but they keep raising the prices. You can’t even watch something for a major network without signing into a cable account. I know another streaming service that keeps upping the price but we aren’t getting more/better content. I got an email from my provider… that I was over my usage because I got new firesticks…
19. If you borrow something, return it in the same condition as I gave it to you. Respect people’s things. Don’t loan out things that were given on loan to you. I had several family members send me things (books, cds, etc.) and it took months to get those things back. Granted, I was younger and thought it would make me friends. But there was some things that were never returned to me… (I shouldn’t have loaned it out at all.) But it really soured me on giving things out to people. I had been friends with some people for years and they were just like… “Well I don’t know where… such and such is… ” Kanye shrug and they would get annoyed when you brought it up.
20. The Married Wives Club (This is self explanatory.)

That is all that comes to mind right now. Feel free to add to the list in the comments section. I may drop back in and add things as they come to mind.