WHAT REALLY GRINDS MY GEARS

1.  MORMONISM.  Obviously.
I mean, just read this blog...

2.  LIES.  Being lied to really irritates me.  And what's worse than being lied to is finding out you've been lied to and deceived.  That really grinds my gears!!  Of course, this "pet peeve" is directly correlated to #1 above.

3.  IGNORANCE.  The definition of the word "Ignorance" is lack of knowledge, information or education.  The context in which I am using it is to mean people who lack knowledge or information and yet parrot a position just because they have been told that they should feel a certain way.  People have brains for a reason.  So I really wish they would think for themselves and make up their own minds - and then have the guts to speak up.  And when a position that a person has taken has been shown to be ridiculous, they should have the good sense to admit that they were wrong.  Of course, admitting that a person doesn't know something from the get-go is a good position to take and shows some character.  But unfortunately, ignorant people tend to stick to their guns, no matter what.  Not a good position to take.  And of course, IGNORANCE seems to plague many members of the Mormon Church.  (Another direct correlation to #1 above.)

4.  NARROW-MINDEDNESS.  People who dismiss everything that they don't understand or have been told is WRONG usually do so because they are NARROW-MINDED.  Of course, this characteristic usually goes along with IGNORANCE.  People really should make up their own minds - and they shouldn't adopt an attitude simply because their religion tells them to believe a certain way.  Dismissing entire groups of people because they don't dress "appropriately," are a different race, are gay or lesbian, or whatever, is very petty.  Unfortunately, I think religion does this to a lot of people when it should be teaching people to be tolerant of each other and understanding of other people's differences.  And again, NARROW-MINDEDNESS seems to run rampant with a lot of people who are embroiled in Mormonism.  Yet another direct correlation to #1 above.

5.  JUDGMENTAL PEOPLE.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of JUDGMENTAL people in the world.  And a lot of them are Christian (and Mormon), which is surprising since in the Biblical scriptures they rely on it specifically says to Judge Not, that ye be not judged (Matthew 7:1-5).   That scripture (and directive) seems rather straightforward, so I don't understand why it seems to be lost on a lot of people.  But sadly, so many Christians and Mormons seem to go around passing judgment on everyone and everything.  Yes, another correlation to #1 above.

AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THERE ARE THINGS BESIDES MORMONISM (and related topics) THAT REALLY GRIND MY GEARS... such as...

6.  NEGATIVITY.  People who are always pessimistic are a real downer, and I have a real hard time being around people like that.  Doomsayers.  Nitpickers.  Energy Vampires, sucking the life out of everything.  Always complaining.  Always putting other people down.  Always sure that something horrible is going to happen.  Seemingly never able to just enjoy life and go with the flow.  I was married to a man like that... and that's one of the reasons why he's now my ex-husband...

7.  RUDENESS and INCONSIDERATION.  Some people only think about themselves and seem to have little regard for others in the world - and they also seem to have no concept of the effect of things they do or say on other people.  Of course, those types of attitudes also apply to public transportation.  Lately, since I began taking the train to work, these types of attitudes have really hit me when people take up an entire seat, and when asked to move their stuff (and body) so someone else can sit down, they get all huffy (which has happened to me more than once or twice).  I asked a woman to move over this morning, and you would have thought I was asking her for a kidney!!  She reluctantly moved but left her rather lage purse in the middle of the seat, so that when I sat down, I was hanging off the seat.  So I asked her to move her purse, and again, she got all huffy, said "Well, excuse me" rather loudly, and then got up and moved.  Is it too much to ask that people take one seat on a bus or train?  And not to pile the other half of the seat high with their paraphernalia?  I mean, unless they've bought two seats, they shouldn't be taking up two seats, particularly when there are people standing.  And when I said something to that effect, a lady across the aisle from me butted me and said, "Well, there are still a lot of empty seats."  OK, there were empty seats - but most of them were the backwards seat, and I can't sit in those because of my vertigo problems.  So that left the forward seats, all of which were occupied by at least one person.  But why should I have to explain that?  And why did this women have to butt in a situation that didn't involve her in the first place?  Some people need to learn the concept of minding their own business - not speaking unless (and until) they are spoken to.

8.  LACK OF SAYING "THANK YOU."  It really irritates me when I hold a door open for someone, and they just breeze right through without saying thank you.  Or when I let another car in a long line of cars and the gesture is not recognized (with a nod of a head or the wave of a hand... or something).  Or I hold the elevator door for someone who is coming, and they get on the elevator without saying a word.  It's as if the person feels entitled to nice gestures from the people around them, but they don't have to acknowledge it.  Of course, on the other hand, perhaps I shouldn't feel like I need a "thank you" and should just do random acts of kindmess without expecting anything in return.  Guess I'm not that big of a person.  Perhaps something I should work on...

9.  CELL PHONES ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.   I mean, really... do they think we want to hear their entire conversation?  their lengthy gabber??  their loud laughter???  Particularly when the conversation is obviously very private.  I would never have the gall to carry on a very long, very loud conversation (or a private one) on a bus or a train, but some people don't seem to think anything of it.  How unbelievably rude.

10.  PEOPLE WHO TAKE UP TWO PARKING SPACES.  Or park very crooked... I mean, were they on drugs when they parked their car?  Or when people park their cars so far over the line that when you arrive to get your car, you can't get in the driver's side and have to crawl through the passengers side.  Wow, that's irritating!!

11.  TAILGATING.  Drivers who tailgate cars at excessive speeds, which is a problem everywhere but was a huge problem when I was living in Georgia.  Seriously, Atlanta has the worse traffic of anywhere I have lived (and I lived in Los Angeles for 30 years).  The drivers in Georgia are absolutely maniacs, and they tailgate like nobody's business.  Traffic is better out here in Colorado... not perfect, but much better.

12.  BEING A PEDESTRIAN.  Not that I don't like to walk - I do.  But I hate it when I'm out walking, and approaching me is a group of 3 or 4 people walking in my direction, taking up the entire sidewalk and not moving over when they see me coming.  Or people walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk, making me have to bob and weave my way through them.  Rules of the road apply to sidewalks as well.  People are supposed to walk on the right side of a sidewalk, just like a car.  And they aren't supposed to take up the entire sidewalk (just as they wouldn't take up the entire freeway).  Somebody needs to clue in a lot of people.  Of course, being a pedestrian who wants to cross an interesection can be a tricky proposition as well.  In Atlanta, there were many situations where I practically got run-down while crossing a street.  And there were several times when people actually honked their horns at me and then began yelling for me to "hurry up."  Very frustrating, especially since it wasn't like I was crossing at a snail's speed.  Being a pedestrian in Atlanta is basically taking your life in your hands.  Being a pedestrian in in Denver is better - not perfect, but much better.  But overall, the world is in too much of a hurry these days (especially in the South - and Southern Hospitality is all but dead at this point).

13.  BICYCLES IN DOWNTOWN DENVER.  I think it's great that so many people ride bicycles in downtown Denver.  They're healthy and in shape, which is great.  BUT... most of them think they can ride their bicycles however and wherever they want.  They think no rules apply to them whatsoever.  They ride their bikes through interesections with pedestrians... with cars... against red lights... against traffic... with cars coming... with trains coming... very dangerous (and annoying).  I really wish they would decide in what category they want to be and stick with it - and not think that all categories apply to them across the board.

14.  APOSTROPHE ABUSE.  I'm not the Puncutation Police or the Grammar Nazi (or the Spelling Czar), but really, some people need to get a clue.  Look at this website and then tell me I'm wrong.  Here's a preview...

Of course, this example is rife with grammar and punctuation problems - and it should read, "Pumps are not taking Debit Cards.  Please fill up gas and pay inside with your Debit Card or use as Credit at pump.  Thank you.  Sorry for inconvenience."

The other common error in punctuation and/or grammar that really grinds my gears is the misuse of IT'S and ITS.  As explained on the Better at English website at this link, it's (with an apostrophe) means it is or it has (as in "It's very hot outside" or "It's been raining for hours now").  On the other hand, Its (without an apostrophe) is the possessive form of the pronoun it, which is used when talking about something belonging to an IT (as in "Colorado is known for its great skiing").  I guess being a legal secretary for over 35 years has made me very conscious of proper grammar and punctuation.  The upside is that it has made me a good proofreader.  The downside is that seeing misusages like this really grind my gears.

15.  TV COMMERCIALS.  I like watching TV, but when commercials come on, most of them really irritate me.  First of all, they are usually way too loud and practically blast me out of my seat.  And a lot of them are completely inane.  I mean, REALLY... some of the advertisers must think that they are playing to a group of 5 year olds, not grown adults who have the power to make or break them based on whether they are able to sell their product to them.  Of course, there are some good TV commercials, especially around Super Bowl time.  But regardless of how good or bad the commercials are, they tend to overplay them to the point where I want to scream.  And that really grinds my gears!!

16.  TV SHOWS.  There are a lot of ridiculous TV shows as well.  Particularly in the situation comedy category.  Right now, they are in the process of advertising the new Fall TV Schedule, and it amazes me just how many ridiculous shows are coming on next month.  The quality of TV shows just never seems to improve from year to year.  Of course, here are some good shows on TV (even in the situation comedy category), but they are far and few between.  Sometimes I think it's better to just watch reruns - like Seinfeld, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Sex and the City, MASH, and so on.  Perhaps there should be a moratorium on new TV shows, and they should be required to just play reruns of good old TV shows... on which the public votes... 

17.  MOVIE SEQUELS - AND REMAKES.  Truly, I think there should be a law that before a sequel to a movie can be made, the public should vote on it - and that law should apply to remakes as well.  I mean, did Rocky really need so many sequels?  Or Rambo?  Or Dumb and Dumber... I mean, really? - Dumb and Dumberer?  And did Conan the Barbarian really need a remake?  I mean, they already made a sequel, Conan the Destroyer, and now they thought it was a good idea to remake the movie entirely?  Plus did there really need to be so many Planet of the Apes movies?  Did Ocean's Eleven really need a remake and a sequel?  And I just heard that they're going to do a remake of Dirty Dancing.  Of course, they already did a sequel of Dirty Dancing called Havana Nights, which bombed - so what would possess them to do a remake of the original iconic movie?  I guess Hollywood is running out of ideas, so they keep recycling old movie plots.  Talk about beating a dead horse.  Of course, this rule should also apply to "prequels" (and yes, I'm talking about Star Wars... the first 3 movies were great, but then they do 3 more as "prequels"???  Not a good move).  Seriously, there ought to be a law...

18.  VAMPIRE MOVIES AND TV SHOWS.  Enough already.  Seriously.  Please stop it.

Of course, I could go on, but instead, I'll refer you to what is termed as the Web's Largest List of Pet Peeves.  Very long list, and some good (and very funny) stuff.

Based on the foregoing, I guess it would probably be a good idea for me to just lock myself in a room somewhere and not go outside.  Then I wouldn't have to deal with all the idiots in the world.  But then, I wouldn't be able to rant either... at least, about all this stuff... 

By now, you may have figured out that the above picture (What Really Grinds my Gears) is from Family Guy.  Or perhaps not, if you've never watched this extremely funny (and rather irreverent) cartoon series.  During one segment, Peter Griffin began doing a news feature about What Really Grinds My Gears, and naturally, he dissolved into rants about ridiculous subjects.  Absurd, but funny...

But then, Peter Griffin is Peter Griffin, and ranting about absurdities and ridiculous subjects is just what Peter does (and it's very funny in this context).  But Peter Griffin is a cartoon character, and Family Guy is a TV show/cartoon series - not reality.  One would think that modern society could rise above this type of behavior... unfortunately, though, that's not always the case...


http://www.fox.com/familyguy/