Things that annoy me.

This isn't a Thursday Thirteen, per se. Mostly because I don't think there will be thirteen things on the list. I'm a pretty easy going person. It takes a lot to aggrivate me. But the things on this list are things that make me want to take someone's head off. And they are probably stupid things to you, but I think we've already established that I'm strange. So here they are, in no particular order:



- Ads that are embedded into websites. You know the ones that I'm talking about. They appear as soon as you get to a webpage. They're usually advertising a movie or Oreo cookies or something like that. And they usually have sound that starts screaming at you. Wanna close it? Good luck finding the teeeeny tiny little "x" that is either all the way at the top or all the way at the bottom of the page. Grah!

- People who do not use their cruise control. This doesn't apply for all you big city-type folks. But I live in PO-DUNK. A traffic jam is five cars waiting at the stop light. Yes I said THE stoplight. There's only one between here and semi-civilization. Why would you not use your cruise control? Because it makes too much sense. It's much more fun to alternate between 45 and 75 MPH on the highway.

- Bad endings. I've discussed this before. I hate when a movie or book ends bad. Mostly because I read or watch a movie to be entertained. And when they end bad, I usually spend the next few hours overanalyzing and re-writing until the ending suits my Happily Ever After criteria. Pathetic, yes, but if people would just write good books and make good movies all the time, I wouldn't have this problem! :)

- People who don't control their children in public. Being a parent is hard, I know. But when your child bites another child and makes them bleed? And you don't do a damn thing about it other than laugh? That pisses me off. How can people who are trying to teach their kids how to play with others explain those types of things? Add also the people who just let their kids run rampant and expect other people to parent them. Sorry, but that's YOUR job. Yeah, maybe you didn't sign up for it, but it's a lifetime gig, so start acting like it!

- People who stop in the middle of an isle/mall/street/etc. Again, living in Podunk, I deal with this a lot. I'm all for stopping and saying "hi" when you run across someone you know, but DO NOT just stop in the middle of the road and expect people to maneuver around you! This is especially annoying when the senior citizen types do it in the grocery store. "Oh, Edith, I haven't seen you since yesterday! Tell me your whole life story. Right now. Don't worry about those other people. They don't have LIVES or anything that they need to get to." OK, so I've never heard that exact conversation. But sometimes that's how it feels. Really, is it that hard to pull your cart over and out of the way so that other people can get past?

And people who speed along in the mall, only to stop dead in their tracks at the sight of something they like. Granted, I've been guilty of this a few times. But that's usually when there's a big sign outside of Bath & Body Works or Old Navy that says "SALE!" or "Gift With Purchase!" or "Carrie! Come and make yourself bankrupt right here! Because it's so pretty!"

This only became annoying to me when I started trying to push a stroller through the Mall of America. Those strollers don't just stop at a moment's notice. And then it's MY fault that I ran into you. Please!

So I guess that's it for now. I'm sure I'll think of more as the day progresses. And who knows, round here I could always find a whole new one to add to the list!