Screaming Babies

Don't you hate it when you are exposed to screaming babies in public? This really, really irritates me. Maybe more than anything I've written about thus far. I feel like people allowing their babies to be obnoxiously crying in public is an absolute nuisance. I'm sure I'll view this differently when I hopefully have a family of my own. My mentality then will probably be, "well it's a public place so my baby has as much a right to be here as you do." I don't agree with that argument now but I may someday. Regardless, I cannot stand when babies cry in public. Take church for example. I spoke about cell phone disruptions in church but what is equally bad if not worse is a crying baby disruption. I go to church for calmness and tranquility and I don't expect it to be interrupted by an infant who doesn't even realize why he's at church. Another example is in a movie theater. If you suspect that your infant may get rowdy during the movie, DON'T TAKE HIM TO THE MOVIE! It's that simple. It's disrespectful to the other patrons of the theater and has the potential to ruin the experience for everyone. Also, it's just financially irresponsible to pay however much you're paying for a child to watch something he'll most likely never have a recollection of. A crying baby isn't as bad in an open area such as a park because you most likely have the opportunity to give yourself some space from the crier. In an enclosed area, however, you are most likely not granted this luxury. Another example is in a restaurant. I cannot stand it when an infant acts out in a restaurant. I came to eat here because I wanted to get away from the loud noises of my neighbor cutting the grass of my roommate playing loud music and I want to enjoy my meal in peace. A crying baby can ruin that peace in a matter of seconds. Literally seconds. What's even worse is when the parents don't do anything about it and just let the baby cry. That's just disrespectful and irresponsible. Some things just rub me the wrong way and a crying baby in public is one of the big ones.

Until next time,

Zac

High School Leftovers

Don't you hate it when you're around people who only talk about the "good times" they had in high school? Let me first say that I'm guilty of telling a high school story or two, but I try not to dominate a conversation talking about those four years that most of us have experienced. When it comes down to it, most people have experienced the same four years with the exception of interchanging some dates and names. I'm sure most people pulled a senior prank and most people probably experienced a bomb threat. Most of us created our own senior skip day or started some ridiculous food fight. For the most part, we all have the same stories. I can't think of one person who's not guilty of telling a high school story, but the people I can't stand are the ones who ALWAYS talk about high school. It's almost as if they're living in the past and they want to go back there. Don't get me wrong: I probably wouldn't trade some of the memories I made in high school for almost anything. With that being said, however, my memories probably don't mean that much to anyone but me or my close group of friends from high school. For some people it's all they talk about. My stance is that at some point we each need to move on with our lives. Not to say that we can't reminisce on the "good times," but we need to live in the present. Living in the past is counterproductive and causes people to dwell on mistakes and form regrets. We can't change the past so we shouldn't dwell upon it. I don't care if you tell a story from elementary school or even preschool, just don't tell me another freakin high school story. The high school stories that I love to hear are the really interesting and unconventional ones, and they usually come from the people who talk about high school the least.

Until next time,

Zac

The Shopper

Don't you hate it when you go shopping with someone and you have a particular objective in mind and the other person is constantly preventing you from achieving that objective? I'm afraid this may cause an uproar because many people think shopping is the kind of act that should be randomly done and takes several hours to perform. I, however, have a different opinion. Although on a rare occasion I will randomly walk around in a store for anywhere up to 15 minutes, I almost always walk into a store having a particular item(s) in mind. For example, if I need a new hockey stick I walk into Dick's Sporting Goods, grab a stick, purchase it, and leave. I don't stop and look at the shoes because I don't need or even want new shoes. The same goes for almost all of my shopping endeavors. I have an item in mind. I search for said item. If found I buy it and leave. If I don't find it I'll probably go to another store and look for that item. I'm a pretty basic shopper. I understand that not everyone follows this outline for shopping but some people are downright ridiculous with how long they take to shop. Sometimes I'll be shopping with people and I honestly wish I could make them wear horse blinders so they aren't distracted by everything they see. What bothers me even further is that most of the time these people know that they either don't have the money to spend or will choose not to spend the money on these items. They are simply looking for the sake of looking. It's an unproductive practice and is frustrating for the people they are shopping with. I understand that some people take longer to shop than others, but there have been times where I've had to wait for literally hours while the person(s) I was with was just wandering around and never ended up buying anything.

Another shopping habit that bothers me is when you're in line and you have a few items and the person in front of you has dozens, but he fails to courteously allow you to check out before him. I understand that he was in line before you so it's his right to check out first, but at the same time it's a common courtesy to allow a person with fewer items in front of you. Plus that person would be doing a good deed, which should give him all the more reason to do it. Along these lines, I really get irritated when people with more items than allowed at the express line go in the express line. Come on! The express line is designed for people who need to get in and out. If you have more than the allotted express items then please have the courtesy to obey the rules. I once asked a worker at Walmart why they don't really enforce the express line rule and she explained that they more than likely have to get a manager involved which would ultimately take more time than if the employee simply checked out the customer's products. Even so, I feel like if I was an employee I would call the person out simply as a matter of principle.

The occurrence of these shopping gaffes is enough to keep me out of the store unless something is a necessity or I have a real burning desire for it.

Until next time,

Zac

Work Week

Don't you hate it when you absolutely get nailed with a ridiculous amount of work in one week? This type of situation can be applied to many situations, but the ones I would imagine to be most common are at the workplace and with school work. In my life the problem presented is always with school work. One week I'll have one quiz and one short homework assignment due. Maybe one of my classes will even get canceled. Seems like a pretty great week, right? A week like that gives me plenty of time to research fantasy football, watch movies, and play video games for hours. As I bask in the glory of an extremely easy week, I fail to remember that the following week I have three tests and a presentation due. Sunday night rolls around and suddenly all hell breaks loose. Before I go any further, a situation like this can be easily avoided by doing some of your future work the preceding week. At the same time, who wants to ruin such a glorious off week when you're used to always being busy? I also don't want to seem like I'm complaining about weeks like this because they are sometimes avoidable. I'm simply stating that they are usually miserable weeks. Anyways, it's Sunday night and you have a test tomorrow, a presentation Wednesday, and a test on both Thursday and Friday. Most of us know how these weeks usually go so I won't go into many details. They usually include a limited number of meals along with limited hours of sleep and unhealthy amounts of caffeine. At the conclusion of the week you've completed all assignments. You're not sure what your grades are, but at this point you're too exhausted to even think about them anymore and that's the end of it. I guess what I find so annoying about these weeks is simply the lack of balance. I would rather have two tests and a homework assignment due one week and the next week have one quiz, one test, and one presentation. When the work is spread out it is much easier to manage. It's usually just a set of unfortunate circumstances that results in weeks like these. Eventually the syllabuses from your classes will catch up to each other and at least one of these weeks usually rolls around each semester. The same can be said for people in the work force. I'm sure weeks exist where you have nothing to do and you feel like you're getting paid to sit in a cubicle, while you have other weeks when you feel like you're not getting paid enough for what seems like and insurmountable amount of work. More often than not these weeks are unavoidable; we simply need to take them in stride and relish the easy and moderate work weeks.

Until next time,

Zac

The Movie Watcher

Don't you hate it when you're watching a movie and someone excessively comments on it? I love most genres of movies and I enjoy watching them in a theater, in the comfort of my own home, or in the homes of others. One thing I cannot stand, however, is when I'm watching a movie with someone and they are constantly talking during the movie. One of the most annoying phrases that I'm sure most of us have heard at least once is, "oh watch watch! This is the best part!" Seriously!?! Shut up! When people say that I create an image in my mind of what would make that part be "the best part" to me and when it doesn't happen I'm disappointed because the part wasn't as good as I expected. I will judge if I think that is the best part or not AFTER I see it. I also can't stand when people talk excessively in a theater. I too am guilty of a whisper here or there, but when people are basically having a full-fledged conversation in the movie theater it really irritates me. I paid to watch this movie in silence and darkness on the big screen and I find it very disrespectful when people have these conversations. If you must talk about whatever it is that badly, leave the room, have the conversation in the hallway, and return when you're ready to be quiet. Or, if you can't be quiet in the movie theater, just wait until it comes out on DVD, rent it, and scream at the top of your lungs while you're watching it in your own home. I really couldn't care less if someone did that, but if I'm paying to see the movie in relative silence I expect to watch the movie in relative silence. Another thing that bothers me is when people ask others, "did you figure it out yet" during any movie that has some sort of twist to it. Although one may not intend for the question to come across as such, it usually seems to me like one says it in a condescending manner. Almost as if he's saying, "did you get it yet? Because I did and if you didn't that means I'm smarter than you." So what if I got it or not; it's none of your business. I would usually rather not figure it out so that when the twist comes in at the end I'm really surprised and then it all comes together when it's supposed to. With that being said, the next time you want to talk while you're watching a movie with a group of people, stop and think about how annoying it is when other people are doing it.

Until next time,

Zac

The Excessively Proud Person

Don't you hate it when someone is excessively proud about something that he shouldn't be excessively proud about? The first example that comes to mind is when people have excessive pride in their town/state/country. Don't get me wrong here; I'm a full supporter of being proud of one's roots and I respect people who are. I also love and am thankful for the freedoms and liberties provided for me in the United States. I do feel, though, that there is a line that needs not be crossed. For example, I can't just say Ohio sucks because I'm from Pennsylvania. I have no grounds to say that Ohio sucks. The word "sucks" in general is really generic because it isn't really definitive about anything. I'm proud that I'm a resident of the Pittsburgh area, but just because I love where I'm from it doesn't mean that places where other people are from "suck." A more specific example of this is sports teams. I have friends from Ohio and the New England area who are supporters of the Browns and Patriots, respectively. I honestly don't know how many times I've sat around on Sunday afternoons watching NFL games and heard the same argument that consists of, "the Browns suck" followed by, "yeah well the Steelers suck." The entire disagreement usually consists of comments along those lines and has limited substance. I love the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, and Pittsburgh sports in general, but these discussions get downright ridiculous. It would be different if someone said something along the lines of, "the Detroit Lions are a poorly run organization because of Matt Millen's terrible run as an ineffective general manager." I think that most NFL fans (whether from Detroit or not) would agree with that assessment. That is much more productive than saying, "yeah Detroit sucks!" Another thing that annoys me is the "my child is an honor roll student" bumper sticker. Congratulations...I don't care. You don't need to advertise to the entire world that your child made the honor roll. Yes it is an accomplishment, but people do it every day in every state across the United States. I personally respect somebody more who is modest about his accomplishments than providing an arrogant advertisement. I think that everyone has things that he should be proud of and I don't want to discredit people's accomplishments, but before you run around boasting the accomplishments of you, your hometown, or your kin try not to be the excessively proud person.

Until next time,

Zac

The Homework Caller

Don't you hate it when those people from your class only call you when they need help with homework? This happened to me more in high school than in college, but it still happens on a rare occasion. You've done the work that's due tomorrow a couple days ago because you know the Steelers are playing the Ravens on Monday Night Football. You're hanging out with your friends watching the game, and you get a call from a classmate who you don't really know outside of class. And so it begins. You decide to ignore the call because you expect you know what the want. Two minutes later you receive a text message saying, "hey this chem homework's pretty tough" as if he's trying to have a legitimate conversation. You wait a little while but finally respond and play it off as if you were in the shower. He asks if you're done and you say yeah, but the whole time you're trying to play it off as if you're unsure if your answers are correct because you don't want to leave the comfort of your couch to help him. Finally, you just give in and decide to meet him in the library. Depending on the course, assignment, and individual you're helping this could take anywhere from five minutes to five hours. Whenever it's done, it's done, and you're annoyed because you missed Troy Polamalu's 90-yard interception return for a touchdown to seal the deal in overtime. What's even more annoying than this is when you receive a call or text message from an unknown number desiring the same thing. Honestly? You don't even know me well enough to have my phone number, so you probably don't know me well enough to ask for help with your homework. That is what really irritates me. At least with the first type of person you have his phone number for a reason. Maybe you two exchanged it in class for this purpose or you got it randomly at a party. Either way you two have each others number for a reason. The unknown number person had to work to get your phone number from someone else. If he used the time that he took to get your phone number to work on his homework instead, he may have completed the assignment and answered his own question. At the same time, I've been that guy. I try really hard not to be and the people I usually ask for help are my actual friends, but I am guilty of this and I would venture to guess that most students are. I usually end up helping in either situation because I know if I was in a bind and needed help I would want somebody to help me out. In the future though, try to get the work done a little while in advance so you at least provide the courtesy of not asking for help at the last minute.

Until next time,

Zac

The Passing

Don't you hate it when you have an awkward encounter with someone you're walking past? There are really any number of awkward situations that stem from this, so I'm gonna try to name a few in no particular order. The first one that comes to mind is the door hold. I personally enjoy holding doors open for people because it makes me feel like I'm doing a good deed. At the same time I don't just stand there all day holding the same door open. The unfortunate exchange I'm talking about is when you know there is someone behind you but he is that perfect distance away so that you don't know whether to hold the door for him or not. Once you get to the door you hesitate because you still haven't made your decision. At this point it's safer to hold the door because the hesitation has caused the person behind you to realize you considered holding the door, but if you don't do it then you seem like a jerk. The only problem is if you do this then it feels like you're holding the door for an awkward amount of time. This isn't a terrible encounter, but still annoying. Another walking situation that gets on my nerves is simply when you walk past someone you generically know and you are unsure how to greet him, if at all. This person is probably someone you had a group project with two years ago, is the friend of a friend you met at a party, or maybe someone you did a random community service project with. You know who he is and you're almost positive he knows who you are, but you probably don't remember each others names and don't know how to greet each other. When the two of you are about ten feet away you definitely make eye contact, but when the time comes to actually pass this individual you pretend like you didn't see him. Whether you turn your head the opposite direction, pretend to be in deep thought, or pull out your cell phone like you've just received a text message, you purposefully avoid the person. Again, not a huge deal: just really, really annoying. My advice is to just say, "hey." That way you're not ignoring him but you're not committing to a 15 minute conversation either. The final annoying passing I can think of is when you make eye contact with someone you don't know. Each of you just so happens to look over at the same time and you stare into each others eyes for the second and a half that you're passing each other, but no one does anything. It's just an awkward feeling. I honestly cannot express how many times I've made an awkward smile at someone because I don't want to give him a cold, hard stare. After the fact I usually feel like an idiot because he probably just whispered to his friend, "did you see the way that kid smiled at me? Weird." Oh well, worse things have happened. I guess just to summarize the easiest way out of these awkward situations is to just be courteous. Take that extra second to hold the door, say hi to the person you might not know too well, and if you're gonna smile, try to make it as normal as possible.

Until next time,

Zac

The Automated Voice

Don't you hate it when you are forced to deal with an automated voice? Last January I accidentally left my National City debit card in the ATM machine. Thankfully technology allowed the ATM to swallow the card before some criminal could steal it. Regardless, I proceeded to call the toll free National City phone number to cancel my account and order my new debit card. I listened to an automated voice for over ten minutes and that is no exaggeration. I understand that it might be more fiscally responsible for these companies to use automated voices, but at the same time I am a huge supporter of customer service and the automated voices really irritate me. I consider myself a patient customer and primarily rate a company on the level of customer service it provides. Back to the automated voices. I don't know what bothers me most about the automated voices: the tone, the delay, or the repetitiveness. The tone is barely enough to keep me awake while I'm listening. Sometimes the delay is so long that I think there has been a phone disconnection. I feel like the repetitiveness speaks for itself. If you slip on the keypad and hit the wrong digit, you go through the same three minute introduction that you just experienced. Another thing that bothers me is that the automated voice only offers Spanish as an alternate language. If your company is going to offer Spanish, please offer French, German, Dutch, and every other language that people speak. At this point, I want the people who comment to finish this entry. Finish it how I would, finish it how you would, do what you please. Have fun with it and thanks for reading.

Until next time,

Zac

The One-Upper

Don't you hate having a conversation with that person who ALWAYS finds a way to one-up you? I'm gonna try to keep this brief as this is a topic I honestly think I could discuss for hours. As I sit here trying to think of specific examples of this type of person, my brain is filled with so many that it's difficult to process them all. If you can't think of a one-upper in your life (which is highly doubtful) or don't know what one is, let me explain; the one-upper is always better than you. Your house has 3 bedrooms and his has 4. You know someone who won $1,000 on the lottery and he knows someone who won $10,000. You scored a 90 on your psychology test and he scored a 95. No matter what you say, he says something bigger and better. The first thing that bothers me about this person is that he thinks he is the coolest thing since sliced bread when in reality he's not. No one is. He somehow feels better about himself by indirectly putting other people down. I honestly don't believe if he is trying to hurt the other person or if he somehow justifies his actions as building himself up. In reality, I think most people who are intelligent and independent enough to think for themselves realize what the one-upper is doing and either don't believe what he says in that specific instant and/or discredits this person as a legitimate source in general. There are at least a few one-uppers I can think of off the top of my head and I take almost everything they say with a grain of salt. Fortunately I wouldn't consider most of my closest friends one-uppers so I'm not surrounded by this type of person too often. The times I am however, I have little patience for it. Usually I'll be in a social setting and a friend of a friend or a generic friend will be the one-upper. As tempted as I am to call him out on it, that would mean that my discrediting of him would be just as immature and disrespectful as his initial put down. As Ghandi said, "an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind" so that is no solution to the problem. My solution is usually to try and change the subject or just walk away from the conversation. I have better things to do than sit there and listen to how he knows more about agriculture than us "city folk" just because he grew up with a few animals and vegetables in his backyard. Another specific example I'm thinking of is my friend who thinks he is enormous. All he ever talks about is how big he is. Don't get me wrong, he's bigger than the average Joe but he's no Andre the Giant. Get over it, you're bigger than the average man. If that's the best thing you have going for you then you should pursue a career in the NFL or NBA because the last time I checked there are no size expectations for doctors, lawyers, or most careers that people pursue. One of the other things that bothers me about the one-upper is the fact that rarely do you meet someone who is better than you at every single thing you both do. In fact, I will go as far to say as it's almost not possible. No one is ever the best at everything. With that being said, the one-upper is usually lying about at least one thing. Taking all of these things into account, I wonder how the one-upper expects us to take him seriously. Like I said before, I take each one-upper statement with a grain of salt and I encourage each of you to do so also. When encountering the one-upper in the future, try your best to remain patient and realize that there are others who agree that he is a bullsh*t salesman with a mouth full of samples.

Until next time,

Zac

The Borrower

Don't you hate it when you loan someone something and it takes what seems like an excessive period of time for him to return it? I don't mind loaning people things, but if I am loaning you something I expect you to get it back to me within a reasonable time period. Now, each individual has his own threshold of what he deems a reasonable time period. Depending on the loaned item and reason for the loan my threshold varies, but if the borrowing period exceeds a month then I usually become irritated. The easiest example of this that comes to mind is money. I don't mind loaning people money because I've borrowed my fair share of money in my lifetime, specifically last year around this time when I was studying abroad in Scotland. At the same time though, there has to be some level of decency involved. I know of at least a few people who are notorious for either not paying people back for an extended period of time or simply not paying people back at all. He is the same person who, when you ask for your money, is "waiting on a paycheck." He's also drinking the pricey beer on the weekends or taking his girlfriend out to a expensive dinner on a random Tuesday night. Not to say that these people aren't what I would consider good people or positive contributors to society; they just really suck at paying people back. In my eyes, one should pay one's debts before spending money on the things that aren't necessary, such as exotic alcohols or fancy dinners. That's just my opinion though. After speaking with a few women I've discovered an additional example that I believe bothers women more than men, but nonetheless probably still occurs with men. This situation specifically involves the borrowing of one's clothes. From my conversations with these women, the primary annoyance occurs when they loan someone an article of clothing then a few weeks later see that person wearing the article of clothing again. You've spent hours looking for this shirt that you swore you brought up to school, but your search was in vain and you somehow convince yourself that you took it home last weekend even though deep down something tells you that's not true. Then, sure enough, you walk into the Commons (cafeteria) on a Tuesday afternoon for lunch and you see that little weasel wearing your shirt again! You don't want to confront them about it as to seems like you're being rude, but at the same time you want that shirt back. That's not unreasonable at all. My attitude is that something is borrowed for a specific purpose. Once that purpose is fulfilled, return the item. It's exactly why DVD rental stores and libraries have return dates. He needs the items back to loan out once again. Now, I understand that individual people usually don't use their items in the same capacity as a DVD rental store in terms of loaning, but they probably want the items back for personal use. I guess as long as I get the item back in the long run it usually doesn't bother me too much, but it's still something that I view as inconsiderate an annoying. I did you a favor by loaning you something and the least you can do is return it in a timely fashion. Taking that into account, I don't want this to seem like a personal attack to those who have borrowed, are currently borrowing, or hope to borrow from me in the future. Just return my stuff within a month if possible lol.

Until next time,

Zac

The High School Run-In

Don't you hate it when you run into those generic friends/acquaintances from high school? There are about 15-20 people with whom I graduated who I still consider my friends and enjoy socializing with while I'm at college and also home on breaks. With the exception of these 20 people, I don't really wanna talk to you. It sounds harsh, but that's my stance on the situation and I would believe most people feel the same way. Yeah there are those people in high school that you may have had their phone number and randomly hung out with them at some point or another. That was great in high school, but now it's a probably a non-existent relationship. I'm gonna present a situation to you and to try and describe what I'm talking about if you haven't already been able to relate to it. This happens to me probably once per break and a couple times in the summer, so about half a dozen times a year. I will be at the mall with my brother or friend or maybe just walking around by myself, when from a distance I see someone that I think I graduated with. I probably haven't seen them in a couple years which allows enough time for them to change their appearance. Also, I graduated with over 350 people so I had a difficult time recognizing some of these people during high school. As you approach each other from opposite ends in the long corridor of the mall, you begin to recognize the person as generic friend/acquaintance. Someone you knew in high school but weren't close enough with or didn't really care to maintain the bond of a real, legitimate friendship. This is where you have to develop a plan of attack. I usually try to avoid conversation at all costs so my usual strategies are in no particular order: 1) turn around, right, or left without being obvious about avoiding him or 2) find a safe haven such as a restroom or a store. Both of these options do however still carry a risk. With the first option you could turn a different direction and be staring in the face of yet another generic high school person. That would be really unfortunate. Additionally, with the second option you are completely cornering yourself either in the restroom or store so both options carry their own risk. If you decide against attempting to avoid the person in those manners, you now have a secondary list of options. These include, in no particular order: 1) as you walk past you can pull the whole "I'm talking on my cell phone" routine (most of us have done it), 2) walk past with your head down or 3) walk past in a brisk fashion like you're quickly traveling somewhere and give him a generic smile or head nod accompanied with a "hey" that you would possibly give any random person that you make awkward eye contact with, and play it off like you don't recognize him. If all of these fail, you're screwed. Sometimes I freeze in these situations and find myself getting stuck in an unfortunate conversation with somebody who doesn't really care about the answers to the questions he's asking. He's asking the questions because that's what people do in these situations, not because he's legitimately interested. Examples of these questions are, "what's your major again?" or "are you still dating (insert name of generic high school boyfriend/girlfriend)?" The question I can't stand the most is, "wait where do you go to school again?" Honestly? Okay, I can see forgetting your friend's major because I don't know all of my closest friend's majors, but forgetting where I go to school is bad. That is when you know they really don't care about maintaining the friendship after high school. These situations can easily be avoided by staying out of public places and moving far from home at the conclusion of college. This is no guarantee that these situations will be entirely avoided, however. My sister Meg, who was recently on her honeymoon in Mexico (and also provided me with the idea for this entry), saw and had an awkward encounter with two of her husband's former classmates. Sorry for the awkward experience Meg, but I'm glad it generated another annoying occurrence that could strike when you truly least expect it.

Until next time,

Zac

The Cell Phone User

Don't you hate it when someone fails to follow cell phone etiquette or constantly uses his cell phone in public? I'm first going to mention that I've been guilty of both of these things and for that I am not proud of myself. It's a flaw of mine that I try to improve as much as I can because I feel like there is an appropriate time and place for cell phone use. I guess each person has his own idea of cell phone etiquette, but I believe that most people follow a general protocol. For example, I cannot stand it when I'm sitting in church right about to say the lord's prayer and I hear "Juicy" by Notorious B.I.G. As much as I love that song, I want to hear it on a Friday night when I'm hanging out with my friends and not when I'm trying to connect with my god. If listening to Lady Gaga helps you connect with your God then more power to you, but please do it on your own time and be respectful of the other people in the public place of worship. Another place where having your ring tone on is inappropriate would be in a meeting. There a fewer things I can stand less than when someone at a meeting is speaking and proceeds to be interrupted by "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga or some other loud ring tone. If not silent, at the very least one should put his cell phone on vibrate. I understand that in some extreme circumstances people will have family emergencies or something along those lines, but more often than not people keep their cell phones ringers on for convenience. More than being annoying though, I think these people are acting disrespectfully. It won't kill you to not use your cell phone for an hour or two, so try it out sometime. Most of the church services and meetings I attend last less than an hour and I personally find it relaxing to NOT have my cell phone with me during those times. In today's fast-paced and always connected society it's actually nice to have some time to yourself and allow yourself the opportunity to not be contacted. A final example that really gets on my nerves is in the movie theater. I came to the movie theater to watch the movie in the dark because it adds to the experience to me. This is especially terrible during a suspenseful or frightening part of the film. Someone lighting up the theater with his cell phone and clicking on buttons really takes away from the movie experience that I paid for. Personally, it's tough for me to concentrate on the movie when I'm surrounded by people sending text messages and on occasion answering a phone call. If it's so important that you must answer, please step outside and have respect for the other people in the theater.

An additional cell phone habit that I find frustrating is when someone is constantly using his cell phone in public. If someone is using it non-stop in a private venue then I don't really care because he's privately by himself and I don't even know the difference. In public though I just find it to be annoying. Many of us have probably experienced a time when we're randomly hanging out with friends and EVERYONE in the room is sending a text message except for you. Not only do you feel like you're the loser with no friends other than the ones you're sitting with, but you can't even have a conversation with someone because everyone is too busy sending a text message. It's just downright rude. Let me reiterate that I send text messages while I'm hanging out with my friends, but I try not to be excessive about it. Yes, we all have our own versions of "excessive" but I can barely stand when I'm trying to have a conversation with someone and he is text messaging then when he's done sending his message he looks up and goes, "what? Sorry I was texting." That is so frustrating to me. A related frustrating example is when you see someone in passing and you hear him say a generic phrase like, "hey how's it goin" and you respond because you think he's talking to you, but you then realize he's talking on his phone. This occurs more often with blue toothes (blue teeth? I honestly don't know but I feel stupid typing the word toothes) than with regular cell phones, but it still occurs with regular cell phones. This situation is similar to the misinterpreted wave I discussed in an earlier entry. It's nothing major but just an unfortunate social failure that makes you feel like an idiot. Oh well, worse things could happen. Having that in mind, please try to use courteous cell phone etiquette in the future and maybe turn your phone off once in while when you're at a social gathering. After all, what were you doing 10 years ago when most people didn't have cell phones? Exactly what you should have been doing: socializing with the people around you.

Until next time,

Zac

The Foreign Language Speaker

Don't you hate it when bilingual speakers who you know speak English speak a foreign language in a public venue? Now before anyone jumps down my throat and calls me culturally insensitive or ignorant, allow me to explain myself. Imagine you're on a bus or in an elevator. You just finished speaking with a foreign exchange student in English. He proceeds to turn to another foreign exchange student and they begin an extensive dialogue in an arbitrary foreign language. Come on. You were just speaking English to me and now you're speaking a foreign language that I don't speak right in front of me so I can't help but be suspicious that you're talking about me. Regardless of whether you are or not I have every right to suspect that you are or else you could have just continued speaking in English. If you're isolated with other people who speak that language it's a different story because everyone within listening distance understands you. For some reason though, when people do it on a bus or in an elevator it really peeves me off. I just feel disrespected by it. I mean, I understand that you're in an unfamiliar location and sure it's nice to talk in your native tongue but at the same time it's rude. You were just speaking to me in English so don't change it up like you have something to hide. It's kind of like whispering in public. You are only whispering because you have something to hide or you want people to think you have something to hide. A similar situation for me would be if I was having a casual conversation about a new scientific discovery with two physicists, then all of a sudden they start talking about quantum mechanics or particle physics. Part of me feels like they do it because they KNOW it's something you won't understand. Who knows, they might really be in love with the fact that they know something that you don't and by speaking in that foreign language feel better about themselves. Again, I'd like to reiterate that I don't lose sleep about this situation. It's pretty much I walk off the elevator and think to myself, "that was really annoying" and that's the end of it. I might mention it to a friend later, which isn't unlike the other situations I've discussed in this blog. If it doesn't really annoy you then don't worry about it but I'll certainly be on the lookout for the foreign language speaker in the future.

With that being said I'd like to thank my brother for the idea behind this entry. He randomly texted me last week with this idea for the blog. Thanks Jord.

Keep providing me with ideas everyone! The more material I have to chose from the more I can provide you with the best entries, so please continue to comment!

Until next time,

Zac

The Bathroom Blunders

Don't you hate it when you have a "crappy" experience in the bathroom? I apologize for the pun, but with an entry like today's I just couldn't seem to pass it up. Anyways, today's post will focus on the unfortunate occurrences that individuals sometimes experience while in the bathroom. The first of these can strike on any given day at any given time: the non-existence of toilet paper. I know, I know...the images can be disturbing. So picture this. You finish up a long day of work/school, nothing particularly eventful happened. Just another day on the job. You go into the bathroom, park yourself on the can, grab your favorite magazine and begin to do the deed. Things are going well. You find an article about the drama in the World Series because the two starting pitchers for Game 1 had previously played for the Cleveland Indians or a cute new way to turn that old flower pot into a candle somehow. A little while has passed and the deed is almost done, so you reach for the toilet paper. But GASP, THERE IS NONE! Muahahaha, the inconsiderate family member has struck again! After he finished his extracurricular bathroom activities he decided not to reload the TP roller because dinner was burning or the commercial was over, or maybe he's just too lazy to do it. Thinking nothing of it, he tends to the meal or watches the news. You go in there and you're the new victim. Now this isn't necessarily an absolute disaster. Pending the design of your bathroom, you may be able to reach some back-up rolls under the sink or on top of the toilet. If this is the case consider yourself lucky. If this isn't feasible, there is still one clean alternative: someone else in the house brings you some toilet paper. This is a difficult process to maneuver simply because there are any number of circumstances that could be working against you. For example, no one else could be in the house, he could be in the basement, his bedroom door could be closed with him behind it, etc. If this doesn't work, you have to bite the bullet and do the unthinkable. Depending upon where the reinforcements are you may have to do some brief shuffling inside the bathroom or even worse actually leave the bathroom. You now have some unfortunate circumstances on your hands (maybe literally and figuratively). Uh, nasty. I think most of us can imagine what happens next so I'll leave it for you to create your own ending. Regardless of how this situation ends, it could definitely be worse. For example, you could be at a guest's house. How terrible would that be? That is just a terribly unfortunate situation. If they have extra rolls in the bathroom it's not too bad, but if they don't what would you even do? I like to consider myself to be a pretty creative person, but I wouldn't even know where to begin solving that predicament. This can also be a problem if you're in a public restroom. Wow.

An additional bathroom blunder that isn't nearly as bad but still annoying has to do with bar soap. I don't know how many of you use bars of soap but at my house we use them. With that being said, it will be easier for those bar soap users out there to relate to this problem. Don't you just hate it when you're already in the shower and you notice the only soap around is the tiny smidgen? Not only is this slice of soap small, but it's usually slimy and probably has some hair mashed into it. This is a pretty unfortunate situation. Not nearly as bad as the one I previously discussed, but still annoying. You have three primary options at this point. They are, in no particular order, 1) get out of the shower to retrieve new bar and potentially drench bathroom/hallway, 2) use shampoo or other product to wash body, and finally 3) use slimy soap. Ouch. Depending on the situation I'm not quite sure what I'd do. Hopefully you'll not need to make that decision.

With that being said I'd like to thank my dad for the idea behind this entry. He randomly called me one day last week with this idea for the blog. Thanks Dad.

Until next time,

Zac

The Constant Complainer

Don't you hate it when you're near people who are always complaining? Let me first clarify the difference between commenting on something and complaining about something. An example of commenting on something could be, "I'm having a really hard time with my math class. It's pretty difficult" whereas an example of complaining about something could be, "I hate my math class! It's so impossible and the professor sucks!" If you don't see the difference between these two situations then you are probably more understanding than I am, but I consider myself to usually be a relatively understanding person so try to bear with me. For those of you who use social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, this complainer is also the person who posts, "OMFG! 2 tests tmrw FML" or something along those lines as his status. He's also the person in class who goes, "ah this is the worst class ever! I hate it so much" and other variations of that. One of the things I hate about these whiners is the generalizations they make. Before you declare, "this is the worst class ever" you should probably stop and think if it truly is the WORST CLASS EVER. I mean, worst class ever? I don't think I'd ever feel comfortable making that statement because I've not experienced every class ever. Likewise, they frequently use the word hate. Hate is a really extreme word that I think many people in our society overuse on a daily basis. When I imagine hatred I think of intolerable loathing. The experience the complainer is involved with is obviously tolerable or else he still wouldn't be participating in it. Another one of the things that bothers me so much about these individuals is just the fact that they are complaining. Part of me feels like they complain either because they're desperately seeking attention or they love to hear themselves speak. Some people are just miserable and look for things to complain about. I don't really get it. But the number one reason why I hate the constant complainer is because they have the power to change their current situation, but instead of changing it, they choose to complain about it. No one FORCES you to go to college. No one FORCES you to take that difficult Biology class. No one FORCES you to do anything, so either suck it up or change your life. My attitude is that if something you can control bothers you so much that you must complain about it, then just change it. I understand that in high school it was so awesome to hate school and type things like "Mr. Smith is a turd ROFLMAO" and "Mrs. Jones looks like a man LOLZ" but you're an adult now and you chose to do what you're doing. With that in mind, the constant complainer doesn't always have to pertain to a college atmosphere. For example, it could be one of your co-workers who perpetually complains about his wage or the boss' incompetence, but fails to do anything about it. If you deserve to be paid that much more or are that much more intelligent than the boss, then get a raise or get a promotion. That's basically it. The more people stand around and complain the more negativity that radiates throughout the world. My attitude is that if you're complaining about something that could be seen as positive then consider yourself lucky. There are many people in the world who have more legitimate reasons to complain, so try to put your situation into perspective. Next time you're around one of these constant complainers, try turning their situation into something positive or suggesting they view it differently and if you make a convincing enough case they'll probably stop dead in their complaining tracks.

With that being said I'd like to thank my friend Luke for the idea behind this entry. It's something we've discussed before and he recently reminded of it in light of my assignment. Thanks Luke.

Until next time,

Zac

The Slow Driver

Don't you hate it when you're driving behind a slow driver? Many of us can sympathize with THAT person who is driving slowly in the left lane of a two lane road. Yeah, it's obnoxious when he's driving 5 or 10 miles below the speed limit, but what I find to be even more annoying is when he is driving exactly the speed limit. The reason I find that more annoying is because I know, deep down in my heart, this driver is justifying his actions by saying to himself, "I don't care if they're tailgating me, I'm going the speed limit." It's almost as if he is purposely slapping the drivers behind him in the face. He will not go one mph above and that really peeves me off. Going along with that he will attempt to pass the driver in the right lane who is traveling 54 mph in a 55 mph zone, which is just ridiculous. That process in itself takes more time than most of us might think to worry about, but I was curious to find out exactly how much time it takes so I did some math. We can probably agree that the length of an average car is around 16 ft. 55 mph = 80.67 ft/sec and 54 mph = 79.2 ft/sec. Subtracting 79.2 ft/sec from 80.67 ft/sec we get 1.47 ft/sec. Then, we multiply that by 16 ft and we obtain the result of 23.52 seconds. 23.52 SECONDS! If you trust my math, that means that it takes almost a half a minute to pass the other driver in the right lane. Do you realize how many things some of us could do in 23.52 seconds? I won't provide any examples but if each of us stops and thinks about how long it takes us to perform certain activities we could understand that 23.52 seconds is enough time to perform some significant acts. Going along with this idea, one thing I hate almost as much is the slow driver on the one lane road. In this type of situation there are the slow drivers and there are the slow drivers who tease you. For example, slow drivers just drive slowly, usually 5-10 mph below the speed limit, which is annoying enough. The teasers however, drive slowly around the bends then once you're legally able to pass them in the passing sections of the road they speed up. They don't just speed up to the speed limit; they exceed the limit. You want to pass them but at the same time you have to draw the line with excessive speeding. Once he reaches another no passing zone the teaser drops down to 5-10 mph below the speed limit once again. These types of drivers aren't gonna cause you to pull your hair out, but they do enough damage for someone to remember if it's happened to him.

With that being said I'd like to thank my boss for the idea behind this entry. She brought it up to me last week when we were at work. Thanks Kara.

Until next time,

Zac

The Nosy Classmate

Before today's entry I want to inform everyone that from now on when I speak of an arbitrary person, I will address that person as "he" or "him" instead of typing "he or she" or "him or her." My main reason in doing so is not to discredit the possibility of one or many of these people being female; rather it is to avoid annoying repetition as was seen in the previous sentence. Back to the blog...

Don't you hate it when that one obnoxiously smart person in your class comes up to you and asks you how you did on a recent assignment when he already knows he or she did better than you? Now, let me describe who that one person is. He is probably not one of your good friends or maybe not even a friend at all, but you acknowledge his presence when you see him purely because you don't want to seem rude. That one person is the one who everyone in the class, including him and the professor, knows is the most intelligent. They also know that this student chooses to participate in an "unconventional" social life. When most students are going crazy with their friends on a Friday or Saturday night around midnight, this student is studying or sleeping. Disclaimer: I am not disagreeing with this lifestyle. These students have the right to do with their time whatever they please, but the point I'm trying to make is that most students don't take this approach. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. So most of us have one of these students in most of our classes and we can picture who it is. Now imagine you get a test back that you took last week. You got an acceptable score: nothing amazing, but you're satisfied. I'm not gonna throw any numbers out there because different people have different standards. Class ends and you begin walking to your next destination. The nosy classmate quickly approaches from behind and once reaching you asks, "hey, how'd you do on the exam?" You proceed to say, "I was satisfied with my score" and ask how he did, solely for the reason of seeming like you're interested even though you're probably not. He replies ever too confidently, "Well, I set the curve again. A 97 this time." At this point it's all you can do not to turn and yell something obnoxious right in his face or maybe even inflict physical pain on him, but you decide to refrain because you realize it's not even worth you time. You walk away, huffing and puffing about how much this student's arrogance irritates you. You tell a couple of your friends about how annoying he is and that's usually the end of it. That same situation might not play out every time, but it's definitely happened to me multiple times. Now, don't get this person confused with the people who legitimately care. There have been multiple students in my classes who have asked me how I've done on assignments, but the difference is that I KNOW these people are my friends and have a legitimate interest in my success. I guess we all just have to have a filter to determine the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Interaction with the nosy classmate isn't the worst thing that could happen, but his actions might be bad enough to bother you for an hour or a semester, so keep your eye out for him.

Until next time,

Zac

The Misinterpreted Wave

Don't you hate it when you're in a public venue and you see someone you know who is waving in your direction, then after you wave back you realize that they're waving to someone behind you? This happens to me probably once a month either in W&J's eating facilities or one of the other buildings on campus. Usually it's a person who you know from casual conversation or who you've had a class with, so you're suspicious about him or her waving to you in the first place. I usually ask myself, "why is generic friend waving to me?" Before I can usually answer my own question my hand will shoot up and begin waving back, usually in an aggressive manner so he or she knows I'm responding to the greeting. After another second you realize that you two still haven't made eye contact and you begin to suspect something. You turn around only to see the REAL person that the greeter is now waving to. You immediately put your hand down and subtly glance around to see if anyone noticed. Sometimes the other people you're with will be immersed in conversation and won't notice your social failure; other times they will call you out on it and then you feel like an absolute clown. Either way it's obviously not a total disaster. The misinterpreted wave is just another one of those annoying once-in-a-while occurrences that probably won't ruin your day, but at the same time really gets on your nerves.

Until next time,

Zac

Welcome

Hey everyone. For my first post I'd just like to provide you with a brief introduction as to what my blog will be about and my motivation for the blog. When given the assignment I decided that I wanted to write about something that people of most ages and backgrounds could relate to, as opposed to a specific topic such as sports or my current college experiences. With that in mind, the idea for my blog is simple: I will be writing about the annoying everyday occurrences that most of us experience and most of us hate, hence the name "Don't You Hate It When..." Not everyone experiences these things on a regular basis, but chances are at some time or another in your life you have experienced or will eventually experience one or many of these annoyances. With that being said, I appreciate you reading and I hope you enjoy the blog. Please include your approvals, criticisms, and frustrating experiences...who knows, maybe your experience will one day be featured in "Don't You Hate It When..."

Until next time,

Zac