Day 7: I only get 5?

I routinely point out pet peeves #571 and #4,367. The challenge says just five. Le sigh. Let’s try. Oh, and expletives not deleted. You were warned.

#5 Enunciation

Truly, is it so difficult to pronounce words? If so, do you think I will be more receptive at higher decibels? Are you in such a hurry or did (do?) you really believe the twelfth letter of the alphabet was ellamenopee?

Speak Right meme

And I am not in the market, thank you very much.

#4 Punctuation

I would much prefer to read something with no punctuation and get the completely wrong idea than be assaulted by something loaded with misplaced punctuation which makes my eye twitch because the obvious effort was to use punctuation instead of language to make the point.

I have been known to string more than eight obscenities into a grammatically correct sentence over quotation marks, semicolons, commas (and lack thereof) and ellipses. If your email contains more than three (3) total exclamation points, I am likely to have a stroke from the rapid rise in blood pressure.

Power of Punctuation meme

#3 Shoes

In the house. Before you get to the door, you have had bricks, stairs and two different types of mats to get the crud off your shoes. When you step inside, there is another mat. No one else is wearing shoes. It is how the floors stay clean. Completely not rocket science.

#2 Laziness

Let’s get something directly off my chest. I do not expect anyone to put as much into any one thing as I do into everything. Very few people I have ever encountered are as driven as I am. On the other hand…

  • Get out of the bed every day and do something, even if it is wrong. At least you will learn what not to do.
  • When presented with an opposing viewpoint, do more than blink. Process the information.
  • Punching a clock does not entitle you to a paycheck. Performing your job at a satisfactory level might.
  • Dirty socks cannot crawl to the laundry basket no matter how strong their odor.
  • If you break it, fix it or buy another one directly after you dispose of the broken one.
  • Toilet paper rolls from the top.
  • If your engine seizes up because you could not drive through an oil change, you will have to call a cab.
  • Laps to the kitchen for a refill on your sweet tea and crullers are not exercise. Neither is complaining about the weight you are not losing.
  • You did not have time to mow grass, but you had time for a FRIENDS marathon?
  • You do not get a gold star for putting your plate in the sink (right beside the dishwasher) when you have more than 18 dirty implements where you fixed your meal… which I am allergic to…
  • You use it once a month. Why is it on the counter every day? I make coffee 8 times a day, and it is in the cabinet.

#1 Stupidity

Anyone who has ever spoken to me, read The M3 Blog for more than two posts or known me for more than 6.1 minutes knows:

I abhor stupidity.

Hate. Loathe. Despise. We really are not in the ballpark yet. It will always be my number one pet peeve. As (rotten) luck would have it, it has become more and more prevalent.

Red

Makes me see…

I entertained the idea as I aged and amassed more knowledge I was just perceiving stupidity which had gone unnoticed in the folly of my youth. On the contrary, the blatant disregard of facts, the circular logic, the died-in-the-wool propaganda spewers (and the sheep keeping them in said wool), the blind eyes, the black eyes and the non-compunction is far more prevalent than it was even 10 years ago.

Get the stick out of your tailpipe. I have taught adults (including a husband) to read because they were ignorant, having gotten out of high school without being able to read a job application. I teach my children. I educate adults around the globe on myriad topics. I am über-patient when it comes to ignorance. Ignorance is never having had the opportunity to learn.

Stupidity is having the opportunity and actively turning it down.


Do we share a pet peeve from this list? Are you up for the challenge? Which of your pet peeves got a tweak recently?

Hashtags: #30daychallenge #petpeeves

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37 Comments

  1. I share many of these including the no shoes rule. The only exception to this was my father who had many foot surgeries and wore special shoes. And now my next door neighbor who would have a difficult time getting shoes off and on.

    My number one pet peeve is being told to do something that I am well aware of to do. Or already doing. Yes, this happens often.

    (I appreciate being tolerated even though I know I am an offender on one or more of these. )

    🙂 Did you chuckle because you agreed? I knew it!
    C. Brown recently posted..I May Not Be Present When I Am HereMy Profile

    Reply
  2. Sorry the TP one makes me laugh, I just don’t really care. Why is this a peeve?

    Bad mannered children in public places, why oh why did you not teach them manners and why are you inflicting your spawn on me? That is on the top of my list.

    Off shore customer service, this is my number two though it often rises to the top. This might sound terrible, I want to speak to someone who speaks my native tongue when I have an issue especially with my banking or credit card. Don’t even get me started with technology.

    The rest, you covered it my sister.

    Reply
    • There is just a right way to put TP on a roll and it is over the top. There is no room for discussion on this as far as I’m concerned.
      Bo Lumpkin recently posted..It’s Your ChoiceMy Profile

      Reply
    • The CS issue is one which vacillates in my top ten. Mostly when I am on the tele about digital services which do not translate regardless how universal HTML is.

      As to the toilet paper, I often go in the dark. Things needs to be where and how expected 😉
      xxx

      Reply
  3. Red, these are priceless! Fortunately, only a couple persist in my household, and I can live with those.
    At the moment, my pet peeve is people who think apostrophe s is appropriate for making plurals. Didn’t ANY English teacher (4 years required subject, right? not to mention grade school) ever manage to explain that very very few instances require an apostrophe s to make them plural? I’d rather see a possessive without the needed apostrophe.
    As for stupidity…it is indeed increasing exponentially. Glad to know you also discarded the fleeting notion that the perception of stupidity is not because we’ve become more cognizant ourselves, but that the proliferation really exists.

    Reply
    • OMG I am currently fighting that battle with Little V. Having never seen a plural with an apostrophe from me, she developed the habit from reading books. Makes me want to kick some editor in the shins. Twice.

      Reply
  4. Ignorance can be overcome but you can’t fix stupid.

    Reply
  5. Shoes in the house, not putting things away in the kitchen and for goodness sakes….stop putting the phone down 3 inches from the receiver.
    Lorre Lyons recently posted..Ruminating The RumorsMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Mary Helms

     /  June 18, 2015

    Thank you. Stupidity, laziness, toilet tissue rolling from the bottom, tardiness, and incorrect use of
    homonyms seem to be a daily peeves in my life lately. Don’t ask me a stupid question and I won’t give you a sarcastic answer. Laziness causes you to not have money, food, gas and a way to support yourself. I cannot and will not support you. Toilet tissue always rolls over the top. How would you like to hang upside down. If you agree to have me somewhere at a certain time, please be here in time to pick me up, stop for gas and deliver me 10 minutes early. You don’t even want to get me started on homonyms. As far as I’m concerned they are basic English and as such are not complicated. #petpeeves

    Reply
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