I wanted to call this post Things That Piss Me Off, but I guess the nice girl in me came through at the last moment. I’m pretty easy going, but I do tend to keep things in. Sometimes, I guess, I just need to vent a little. So, to that end, here are five things that really annoy me.
5 Things that Really Annoy Me
Other Drivers
There are so many things about other drivers that really annoy me, especially living in a resort town, especially living in a resort town that attracts old people an older crowd, but I thought I could combine all my peeves into this one section. First of all, nothing related to my town or the age of the drivers, why don’t people use their damn turn signals? Jeez, it’s a flick of the wrist, but apparently, that is too much effort for about 75% of drivers to attempt (that is my own estimate, nothing official). Not only is it potentially dangerous, it is also downright rude. C’mon man..let me know what you’re going to do!
Also on my pet peeve list: Drivers who drive 10-15 mph below the speed limit, especially in the left lane, people who suddenly realize that they need to make a left turn, and even though they are in the right lane, swoop swiftly across the road, traffic be damned, instead of driving a little farther and making a U-turn. Yeah, I get that you’re lost, but I still tend to think my life is more important. And they have this little gadget now, called GPS, available in most cars and phones. Check it out.
Instagram (un)Followers
I get really annoyed with people who follow you on Instagram, wait until you follow them back, then unfollow you. Hey! There’s an app(s) for that!
People Who Don’t Tag Their Dog
You guys know that Alan and I rescue a lot of dogs. Our primary goal is always to find the dog’s home. For crying out loud people, if you own a dog, put a tag on it! Or at least chip it (and keep it up to date). If your dog gets out, don’t you want to get him back? Do you want to risk his injury or death, or getting captured by animal control, having to endure days in the shelter, or even someone else thinking he is wonderful and keeping him for themselves? It’s an $8 investment with a priceless return!
Runners That Don’t Return a Greeting
What makes some runners so special that they can’t manage the effort to say hi, wave, or even nod their head, in response to my greeting? I have been running for over 25 years, and I always acknowledge other runners. Come on, people, you’re not working so hard that you can’t do the same. I once met Steve Scott, who has more sub 4-minutes miles than any other runner in history, as we were running along the coast in Carlsbad. Not only did he nod his head and say hi the first time we passed him (in opposite directions), when we passed on the return trip, he offered a “great job!” That’s class, and if he can do it, everyone else can too.
Blogs with Bad Grammar and Spelling
I know I’m not perfect in the grammar department. I know I make mistakes, It happens, even to the best and most careful writers. What annoys me are the writers that don’t seem to care. Multiple typos in a post? Maybe proofreading would be in order. Spelling mistakes? Your blogging theme probably has a spell check option. Use it! Basic grammar mistakes? Come on…if you are publishing your writing for the public, it might be time to learn the difference between “to” and “too,” “there, “they’re,” and “their,” or “your” and “you’re.”
Phew! That felt good!
I happened to pass a runner this morning who totally ignored my “good morning,” wouldn’t catch my eye, or acknowledge my existence. Knowing that I was posting this, I just smiled to myself, and thought, “I bet she can’t even run one sub-four-minute mile!”
Okay, fess up. What really ticks you off? Oh, and feel free to call me out on any grammar mistakes or typos I didn’t catch. I asked for it.
Weekly Linkups
My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!
Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie and Dixya
Tuesdays on the Run with Marcia, Erika, and Patty
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Jen, and Nicole
The Plant-Based Potluck Party with Deborah
The Running Coaches’ Corner with Rachel, Suz, Lora Marie, and Me!
Friday 5 2.0 with Rachel and Lacey and Meranda
I hear you on drivers. I run into distracted drivers daily. I tell my teenager who is fairly new on the road that her biggest challenge is how to react to the stupidity of other drivers. A really cute boutique in a town near mine did the follow/unfollow thing to me yesterday. I will never shop there again. Maybe that’s extreme but that’s how I handle businesses and brands who do it.
The scariest thing a mom can do is send her kids out on the road for the first (or the 100th!) time. And not because of them but because you know how bad the other drivers are.
That boutique may have a social media person and the owner may not have a clue. Maybe you should tell them why you won’t shop there. They may be apologetic. Maybe. 😃
LOL> While I heart a good runner wave, sometimes I lose the ability to process greetings while I”m running. And then return the greeting 20 steps later. It is actualy quite comical.
Haha. I still think at least a head nod is something anyone should be capable of. 😉
I hateeeee drivers who don’t use their turn signals but decide that I was somehow going to read their mind about them cutting me off at the last minute to get to the exit lane. IG follow-unfollowers suck butt too…and I’m also totally with you on blogs (+ sites in general) with crappy spelling/grammar (especially when it’s in the titles!)!
I had a broken turn signal for a while and I felt so guilty the whole time! So glad I got it fixed!
I agree with all of the above but it really gripes me when a runner doesn’t wave back to me as well or acknowledge my existence. It also makes my day when an obviously seasoned runner tells me, “Good job.” I am new to running (a year) and sometimes feel like I am moving in the most labored and awkward movements – but to hear that little bit of encouragement is kinda of like, “Welcome to the club, glad your hear” JK sorry had to put that in there to make you smile, “Glad you’re here” Love your blog!
Haha! You (almost) got me.
Well, if I passed you on the road I would definitely welcome you to the “club.” Runners need to stick together!!!
Well, I have to apologize because I am a blogger with horrible grammar, horrible writing and no matter how many times I proof read there are always mistakes Im sure. Am I happy about it? NO!! I can tell you that I do care, I proof read many many times, and Im trying to improve. But Im not a writer and english was not my strongest subject but I won’t stop blogging and putting my post with bad grammar out there. Why? because I love sharing recipes and health information with people and as long as my readers can get the recipe and tips, I don’t think it matters if I used the wrong to or missed some comas.
Anyway, I love the idea of this post! Other drivers and unfollowers annoy me as well.
I’ve read a couple of your blog posts and I don’t remember anything cringe-worthy 🙂
I think the point is that you try. No one is perfect. I certainly know that I’m not! I look back at old posts that I know that I proofread several times and still find mistakes! One thing that helps me is the free version of Grammerly (though it is kind of annoying sometimes). It catches your spelling and grammar mistakes and suggests the correct words.
OMG I’m so with you on the driver thing, well everything in this post too. (SEE I spelled it right). I live in Phoenix and it’s like driving on a racetrack. No one uses signals, people cut you off and if you’re not driving 20-25 miles above the speed limit they flip you off. Don’t even get me started on the snowbirds who show up and drive 25 mph on the interstate and can’t back out of parking spots. It’s a GREAT place to live!
We have snowbirds here in La Quinta too. It can get pretty crazy, especially when there’s event going on (like a big golf tournament this week).
Oh my gosh. I love you. Were we separated at birth? LOL
Don’t forget about the sudden necessity to use an apostrophe before any word that ends in “s.” *insert angry face emoji here* Seriously, that is one thing that absolutely pisses me off!! Why? Why does it need to be in every word? WHY?!?!?!?!?
And I’m so with you on the runner’s nod or some form of greeting. At least raise your finger or something! Good grief.
The people who use an apostrophe when it is not needed are usually the ones who don’t use it when it is needed!
I will never complain about grammar mistakes because I am sure I have made a few! Nothing as egregious as there, their, or they’re though! However, sometimes when there is a mistake my mom will email to tell me because she gets up super early in the morning and I guess thinks she is my proofreader!? The thing is, I will read a post 3-4 times and still there is sometimes something I will miss.
My husband and I recently took the PA turnpike about 2 hours to Philadelphia and back and no one was using turn signals to change lanes or pass. It was astounding! I am just so used to using mine it would be hard not to. I’m the person who uses my turn signal to turn into my driveway when I know there is absolutely no one else on the road haha!
Have a great weekend, Debbie!
That’s hilarious about your mom! I love it! I really don’t mean to diss the people who really try their best. It just seems that so many people don’t. (And I know I make plenty of mistakes myself, but I do my best to correct them.)
100% agree with all of these. You know how I feel about spelling and grammar. There are no excuses with Grammarly being free and all. In fact, the app is working as I speak and doesn’t like the with in the previous sentence…
That follow unfollow thing is really annoying and almost caused a brawl in our fitness blogging group. Does it even help? Doubtful.
I just mentioned Grammarly in a comment above and I did state that it was sometimes annoying. But so helpful!
I will never get the unfollow thing. It mostly annoys me when people join in these threads where the intention is to follow each other back. It’s just rude!
This is awesome! I live in a major city and traffic drives me nuts. Most of it is from people texting and driving and it’s super annoying. When I run, I’m sure I make ugly faces but I do my hardest to smile whenever I see another runner. 99% of the time I get nothing back. That’s so lame but I secretly hope they stub their toe later lol.
LOL. I think it’s worse in the city. Of course, around here I don’t even pass that many other runners, but when I travel to the city it is much worse.
I know my grammar isn’t perfect either but I definitely know what you mean about those posts that are just full of mistakes! And the runner thing- there is a guy that always runs around my neighborhood in the morning. He’s the only person I see besides dog walkers and I always wave, he hardly ever waves back!
It’s even worse when they’re neighbors!
I will sometimes let my friends know if there is a typo in their post title because it IS the title! But although I notice other mistakes it doesn’t bother me that much because I know once in a while I make mistakes too. It’s not because I don’t know proper grammar (I am a former English teacher) but it’s mostly because I blog from my phone and my ipad and those devices seem to think they know better than me as to what word I want to use (and they don’t).
Although I will say I use to read a blog where the author only used lower case letters and hardly ever any punctuation. I couldn’t take it any longer (eventually she stopped blogging)!
I don’t understand the Instagram follower thing. I would never waste my time trying to figure out who’s following me and who’s not. Perhaps that is why my following number gets higher and higher and those who follow me is getting lower and lower. I might need IG help!
The Instagram thing is annoying because it’s the point! It’s rude to follow just to get people to follow you, then unfollow them.
I am certainly not perfect with my grammar or spelling. I seem to always find mistakes when I look back at old posts! And I proofread several times. Thank goodness for Grammarly. It catches a lot!
I sometimes wonder whether people would appreciate it if I pointed out (kindly) a glaring mistake. I know that I would, but I usually don’t because I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. 🙂
I often wonder the same thing about pointing out mistakes ( I guess it’s the teacher in me…haha). If it’s a friend though, I will usually text them if the mistake is in their title.
Oh and I totally wondered the same thing about the runner wave or nod. I acknowledge every runner on my trail but I hardly ever get a nod or wave back. Makes me thing that maybe I’m not working hard enough..haha
I am going to quickly use your rss feed as I can’t to locate your own electronic mail registration weblink or maybe e-newsletter assistance. Do you could have any? Remember to well then, i’ll recognise so that I may join. Thank you.
???
Did you just peer into my mind and write out some of the very thoughts you noticed? (sorry, that didn’t sound grammatically correct LOL). I live in a fairly small town (big town for Iowa standards, but small in comparison to the world in general), and very few people use their turn signals…the joke it that it’s because everyone already knows where everyone is going anyways. Thanks for the daily laugh…hope you’re feeling cleansed 😉
Sometimes the grammar rules are a little relaxed for blogging, just to make it conversational and I’m fine with that. I’ll occasionally change a sentence so that it ends with a preposition just to make it sound more natural! lol
I don’t understand the turn signal thing, though. It has to be the easiest thing EVER that a driver has to do, yet so many people don’t bother. Crazy!
Oh this is too good! I’m so right there with you on these!! Especially other drives!! Grrr….they can really drive me nuts sometimes and I have to hold in my inner anger! 🙂
AND YESSSS—tagging your dogs is HUGE!! I just want to keep them all otherwise!
Why do you think I have 11 dogs? Stupid people don’t tag or chip their dogs, and by the time it takes to put up posters, look for the owners, etc., well, we’ve bonded. 🙂
I rarely drive because I’m clearly the most superior driver on the road. People are just dumb and I can’t take it. My crystal ball doesn’t work in the car, dillweed!!
I do bike a lot though and I have to tell you, I’ve really become one of those GET OFF MY LAWN types of people. Biking in the Netherlands is great. We have traffic lanes and signals and we have rules to follow. Just like a car. so NO, BIKING 10 ABREAST WITH 5 OF YOU IN MY LANE IS**NOT** GOING TO CUT IT. Every. Single. Work Day. I have to yell at other cyclists at the same exact spot because they are not paying attention and they are biking in my lane heading straight for me. Yes. I’m YELLING at 8 in the morning at other bike commuters. Also a lot of ‘THANKS FOR SIGNALING’ comes out of my mouth as well. Cyclists don’t signal either. Well, I do *hmmph*
One other thing that really really really gets on my t*ts – smoking inside our apartment building, in the general areas and in the lift. who smokes in a lift? honestly? could you be more selfish and inconsiderate???
I am with you on ALL OF THESE.
I see bad drivers every day. People driving without lights in the dark, people who blink right and then go left, people who don’t blink at all, people who drive in the middle of two lanes… GAH! It’s not that hard, people!!
Also, in this day and age, you’d think that blogs with bad grammar and spelling mistakes should be a thing of the past (hello GRAMMARLY!). I admit that I sometimes find the occasional typo in my own posts, but I really try to make sure that I double-check before hitting publish!