Pet Peeves

by Allison Pang

For the most part I tend to think of myself as fairly easy going. (Not sure that's entirely accurate, but generally speaking as long as I'm fed I tend to be able to handle most things in stride.)

However, there are a few things that definitely push my buttons. (And these are sorta random, but I thrive on chaos so I guess that's okay.)

1) When things don't work.

To clarify - I'm definitely a technophile. Nothing irritates me faster then when my highly priced electronic gewgaw stops working. Particularly the computer - I'm in the tech industry so much of my daily life revolves around computers in some fashion. Hard drive starts failing? Overheating video cards? Blue Screens of Death? BLACK Screens of Death? (Yeah, got that one once. Uncool.) And of course it's always when I'm on travel someplace where there's no internet and I won't be anywhere near a store where I can buy parts or find a way to recover it for 10 days. And something is due. Somewhere. (That or I go somewhere and forget my charger. Either way, massive fail.)

2) Lying


I don't mean white lies - but actual, in your face, falsehood. It cheapens everything.

3) The Dregs

I don' t know why, but I can't eat the last of anything. If there's a spoonful of milk left in the container, I will totally open a new one just to avoid using it. Goes for jelly too. Or ketchup. Anything wet, I guess.

4) Pantyhose

Used to wear them back in the day - won't touch them with a 10 foot pole ever again.

5) Selective Hearing

I have kids and pets with both. How is it they can hear the TV from three levels away but I can stand and holler up the stairs for 2 minutes and it's all like "Sorry, didn't hear you, mom."? But I think that also goes for things in general. People have a tendency to hear/read only what they want to (myself included). I suspect the world might be better off if we *really* paid attention to what was going on.