Po's Pet Peeves

So,this is a very busy time of work for me, and LOTS of my pet peeves seemed to be happening at work yesterday, so I thought I'd do a little "online therapy" and blog my top pet peeves.

6. People who fill out forms for the state conference, and in the fields that ask for address and email put either nothing, or "Indianapolis". That's it. Then, they get extremely ticked when they don't receive a confirmation. Hello - I'm not psyhic. I can't just intuit your address and zip code. And no, I'm not going to just "google it" and fill it in myself. I'm not your secretary. I'm not lazy. I'm simply not going to google 400 people's addresses who can't take the 5 seconds necessary to fill in their form.

5. Nothing burns my toast more than getting to the check-out line at the grocery, unloading all my items, and having the clerk look at me in a completely bored voice and hold up an item and ask, "Do you know how much this costs?" Um, no, I don't. Last time I checked, you were wearing the nametag here, not me; didn't realize it was my job to track down the prices of the items that I'm buying AT YOUR STORE. Of course, I never say these things. So the exchange always goes like this. Me, smiling nicely but secretly fuming, "No, I don't." Clerk - stares at me. I stare back at clerk with complete phony smile on my face. This goes on for at least 10 seconds. Clerk finally picks up her little phone and very disgruntedly (is that a word?) asks a fellow grouchy clerk how much it costs. I smile nicely all the while. It's the small victories that count.

4. People who call, leave a long voice mail demanding you call them back TODAY, and then don't leave their phone number. Okay, genius, I'll get right on that. I especially love how, when they inevitably call back indigant that you haven't returned the call, I always very innocently point out that without a phone number I had a tough time calling them back. It's things like these that entertain me during long days at the office.

3. Going to the grocery, only to see the new US Weekly or People magazine staring at me from the check out lines, beckoning me to read them. Why is this a problem, you ask? It becomes a real problem when I haven't received the magazine at home...AND I'M A SUBSCRIBER. I pay to get the scoop before everyone else, damn it. I always have an internal struggle...should I buy it? Of course not, it'll be coming in my mailbox! But I REALLY want to know what Jen really thinks of Angelina's comments in Vogue. But it will be here within a few days. But what if it doesn't? What if it's like the one time I didn't get my Entertainment Weekly with Jim Krasinksi from The Office on the cover? I held out, missed the magazine all together, and had to conact the publishing company to get it shipped to me, reading the artcile 3 weeks late. Oh, it is a pickle!

2. Text. Messaging. At. The. Movies. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! For some reason, this annoys me almost more than when people talk on their cell phones at the movie. It's so sneaky, like they think they're really pulling one over on us. I hate the damned glow of the screen, and the "peck, peck, peck" noise. For some reason, I become completely fixated on the rogue texter and can't pay attention to the movie. Honestly, what could be so important that you need to text during the movie? Unless you're in labor, there's no excuse.

1. PEOPLE WHO DON'T MERGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even think I can truly put into writing how much this infuriates me. Driving along, you start seeing the arrows pointing "merge right." Overhead message boards say, "merge right." Ligtning bolts and thunder claps from God tell you to merge right. So, I merge right. And I sit in the line, creeping along, with all the other law abiding citizens, when out of the corner of my eye, I see the arrogant buttinski zoom by in the right lane, flooring it up to the front of the line, passing the 100 or so of us who merged right. This jerk wad then simply butts the nose of his car into the lane so that the poor person has no choice but to either let the cutter in or hit him. All I have to say to all you non-mergers is watch out. I'm saving up for a Hummer, and I'll hit you. I won't hurt you, but I'll hit you. Then whose laughing, huh?

Whew. I feel better. I swear I'm not really a negative person. It's just those few things that really burn me up! What are your pet peevess? Let loose...you'll feel better!

Ring a ding ding...it's 2009!

Okay, I'm back! My public has been asking for it, so here's another blog for your entertainment! (And by my public, I mean that Emily asked me I was ever going to update this. Thanks for the reminder, Em!)

So, as most of you probably know, it's 2009. We are not, as I'd anticipated 20 years ago, flying in spaceships. However, I do think that the people movers at airports come very close to a Jetson-esque lifestyle.

I've decided to recap my 2008. Things I did in '08 that I hadn't done before...

1. Served in 4 weddings in one wedding season! Even for me, this is a personal best.
2. Zip lined...sort of. For about 2 minutes until the crying and the shaking set in. But, I was harnessed up, so I think that counts.
3. Discovered a little know institution called the public library...who knew??? Seriously, I urge everyone of you to go get a library card tomorrow. I am literally giddy with the amount of money I'm saving. Take that Barnes and Noble! Why on earth didn't I do this before? I actually clapped and did a little hop when the librarian gave me my card. I think she was a bit taken aback with my enthusiasm.
4. Went camping. Twice. Once in the POURING rain. Because it was in the early stages of a relationship, I even had to pretend like I really liked it.
5. Visited our friends to south with a trip to Mexico. (See #2.) Managed to not once eat Mexican food once while there. Trying new things be damned, I still don't like Mexican food.
6. Started a book club. And yes, we actually read books and talk about them. This is not code for starting a drinking club.

Okay, now that we've reviewed 2008, I'm going to share my resolutions for 2009. Don't hold your breath; they are nothing earth shattering, but I think they're good!

1. Bring my lunch to work 4 days a week. Saves money and calories. Plus, I have a really cute new lunch bag that I wouldn't mind showing off.
2. Run at the gym 3 times a week. This is non-negotiable, as I signed up for the mini. (WHY??) Plus, new cute running shoes. Must be put to good use.
3. Dry my hair every day for work. (My mom is shuddering as she reads this. Sorry mom.) I resolved this last year, and lasted a week. We'll see how I fare. (or is it fair? Help, English majors!!)
4. Learn to cook something, anything, besides spaghetti and tacos. Stouffers frozen lasagna doesn't count.
5. Don't cave and buy In Touch, Life & Style and OK! at the checkout counter. Subscribing to US Weekly and People is enough brain rot for a week. (Plus, mom will have bought them. Can catch up in Tipton!)

And, that's it! Like I said, nothing too lofty. What are your resolutions? And does anyone ever stick to them??