Hot Mama Topic Tuesday

So this was my week to pick the Tuesday topic. I picked : List your top 10 pet peeves

I'm not sure these are my top 10 - but they are just 10 that came to mind at this exact moment. They are in no particular order.


1 - people who back into spaces in the parking deck while a long line of people wait for their turn to park so they can get to their desk on time. Are you planning a fast getaway? and if you INSIST on backing in, can you do it in one try and not make a 15 point turn to back in? And if you pulled to far forward, don't expect ME to back up so you can back into the space. Sorry, you missed your chance.


2 - People who park in handicapped spaces who are not handicapped (this includes people who abuse the use of a family member's handicap 'tag' to use the space when that family member is not with them). Seriously - are you THAT lazy that you would deny someone who NEEDS that space because you don't want to walk an extra 10 feet? I feel this way about the person who is 8 weeks pregnant parking in the 'expectant mom' space. Come on, save the space for the big, waddling, swollen ankle, baby on the bladder, mama-to-be! If you aren't far enough along that you can still wear your 4-inch heels, then I don't think your are pregnant enough to earn that spot.


3 - people who chew with their mouth open. I cannot STAND to be able to hear someone eat. It absolutely grosses me out to no end! Is it so hard to shut your mouth between bites? This is why I don't go to movies anymore. 30 people crunching popcorn with their mouth open. I might as well go listen to a herd of cattle grazing.


4 - Men who wear their pants below their waist and show the world their underwear. Its called UNDERwear for a reason. It goes UNDER your clothes! I don't want to see it!


5 - People who stand in the middle of the aisle at the grocery store and talk on their cell phone. I'm not talking about those who make a quick call to say "honey, there is a sale on milk, do we need more?" I'm talking about people who have a long casual phone conversation while blocking passage down the aisle and access to food on the shelves. They don't get out of the way, they just stand there talking away and look at you like YOU are rude when you have to reach around them to grab a can of tomato sauce.


6 - People who don't turn their headlights on in inclement weather. If its foggy, and you have a gray/silver/white car - unless you want me to pull out in front of you, turn on your headlights! I honestly think that people do not realize that your headlights not only help you see, they help other people see you. This also goes for pedestrians who wear all black and walk in the road at night. At this point, I will not feel sorry for you if I run you down, and I will be mad that you ruined my day with a needless pedestrian squishing.

7 - People who keep me in their email address book solely for the purpose of having the required 20 people to forward their chain letter onto in attempts to avoid bad luck. If you don't have the time to say "hi" every now and then, delete me from your address book. Don't use me for spam purposes. I find it rude. If you don't want the bad luck "curse" - then why would you forward the same "curse" onto your friends. Not very friendly if you ask me. I'll take a dose of bad luck any day before sending that crap onto MY friends.


8. People who abuse the condiments at our cafeteria at work. I admit I may take an extra spoon or pack of sugar from time to time. However I will give some examples of things that completely irritate me. People who buy a bagel, toast it, open up the packets of cream cheese and spread 2-3 packets on their bagel, throw away the trash, and then go to the cashier and say they have a bagel with 1 cream cheese to avoid paying the extra 70 cents. OR one day I saw a woman fill a large cup with half a container of sugar, about 15 lemon wedges (no joke!) and then put a little water and a lid on top and told the cashier she just had water and paid 10 cents and then proceeded to sit at her table and turn the lemons into free lemonade. Seriously folks - its people like you that make our food costs go up every year. It kills me that I work in a corporation of professional people that STEAL!


9. People being late and not making my time valuable. I'm not hugely impatient. But I can't stand for people to stand me up, or show up 30-40 minutes late with no call, or to have an appointment at 4:00 and get there only to find out they are running an hour and a half behind and didn't have the decency to call me.I LOVE how a dr office will charge you for rescheduling less than 24 hours, but they have no problem calling you and rescheduling same day - after you've already taken the day off from work and its too late to go in and make up the hours. My time IS valuable. I know the unexpected happens - so I'm not complaining about those people. I understand if you are late because you kid had a blow-out diaper just as you latched him/her in the car seat. But if you were 40 minutes late because you are having a bad hair day and refused to just do a ponytail,or because we were just meeting for coffee but you refused to leave the house without curling your eyelashes, or because you fell asleep and didn't set an alarm, or just didn't give yourself enough time to make it on time.. that irritates me. At the same time I cannot stand being late. So if you want to see me stress.. watch me as I'm running late for something. I will totally beat myself up!


and finally
10 -People acting like my success in life is "luck." (warning - this may offend people, but is not meant to!)I can't STAND it when people say "you are so lucky..." or when people try to take advantage of my success while living an irresponsible carefree lifestyle. Yes, I'm so lucky to have paid my way through college. I was lucky to major in computer science and minor in math. I was lucky to give up many parties and nights out with friends to study and keep my GPA up. I started at the bottom of the food chain in my job and have SLOWLY worked my way up by sticking with the same job for the past 10+ years. I luckily work unpaid overtime, I come in on weekends, I put 100+% towards doing my job well and that has helped secure my job through many cuts/displacements. I live a debt-free lifestyle (except my mortgage), not because I'm rolling in money, but because I live within my means. I don't buy everything I want and charge up credit cards to get it. I don't live in a big, fancy, expensive home. I didn't get a mortgage I couldn't afford with the hopes of refinancing later. I make choices, priorities, decisions, etc. So I can't STAND it when people look at me and act like I've had it so easy and success just fell in my lap. I've definitely paid my dues! I know these are tough economic times and I'm not lashing out to the people who have been truly unlucky. This is not to say I don't consider myself blessed either. But just don't assume I'm successful because I'm "lucky" - I'm successful because I didn't take the lazy road. I'm successful because sometimes I say "no" to the fun things in life to be responsible. Maybe I'm just "lucky" to have a good head on my shoulders and we'll leave it at that :)