I have a lot of pet peeves. I didn’t realise just how many things annoy me until I started to write them down.

Leaf-blowers

What is up with this? They make a lot of noise. They blow leaves from one spot and scatter them to another.  If Dyson can invert the technology they are most famous for from sucking up dirt into a bag to hand-dryers, hair-dryers and bladeless fans, why can’t whoever makes the leaf-blowers just suck up the leaves like vacuum cleaners? If they already exist, then why aren’t all gardeners using them already? (Do you hear me, neighbours?!)

Where did you get your license?

Poor driving is a very broad category so we could be here for a while. Let’s start with people who don’t understand the concept of signalling. Is it really that hard? You use that little indicator stick “thingy” in your steering wheel when you want to turn a corner or change lanes. Pretty obvious to me. Also, even if you have trouble telling the difference between your left and right, all you have to do is know which side you want to turn your car to and indicate in that direction. The number of times I have seen people indicate left and then turn right, or vice versa, is astonishingly high. 

How about people who brake going uphill? You may think I am joking, but I assure you I am not. I can understand the need to brake and slow down when going downhill, especially if it is a steep decline, but the law of gravity generally means that, in order to progress up a hill, you need to accelerate to move upwards. This happened many years ago when I was a passenger in a car that was following one such driver. Whoever the instructor was who taught that driver was obviously asleep during the lesson.

And then there are the inconsiderate parkers. I’m talking about the people who take up two parking spaces by parking over their assigned space, those who park in disabled spots when they are not mobility-restricted, those who double park in driveways so that you can’t get out or those who park too close to your driver’s side door so that you can’t get back into your car. If you don’t have a sun roof, good luck getting in.

Tailgaters. Need I say more?

Hold that door!

I open a door and step through. Someone is walking close behind me so I hold it open for a little longer, expecting them to take the door as they get near enough. Instead, they step through and push past me as if I was a door-person and ignores me. Not a word of thanks. Worse still is if you see an open elevator door and you start to run towards it before it closes, and you see there are people already inside but they make no attempt to hold the door open for you and they just snicker as you are one step away as the door closes right in your face. Makes me want to scream: “Karma will get you back!”

Where’s the volume control?

Have you ever wondered why some restaurants are so noisy? It’s because some people don’t know how to use their “inside voice”. All it takes is one person to talk loudly for everyone else to feel the need to talk even more loudly in order to be heard. Also, what’s the deal with people talking on their mobile phones on public transport? As if it isn’t bad enough being trapped in a confined space with people who may have questionable hygiene, sitting next to/near/in the same vicinity as someone speaking loudly on their phones, sharing every intimate detail about their lives, about which I have no interest, is often enough to give me a headache. There is a lot to be said for driving to work in your own car. Oh, and if I can hear your music coming out of your headphones, then you are already half deaf. Better start learning sign language, mate.

Believe me, I could go on and on but I shan’t. For now, anyway. Next time someone steps on your foot and fails to apologise, be sarcastic as my mother taught me. Say really loudly: “well, pardon me for putting my toes under your foot!”