i don’t have many pet peeves, which I define as something that can ruin a day, event, mood. Annoyances don’t count unless they fit that criteria.
But this is one of mine. I hate one friend and one couple friend who are chronicle. They always grab the very best seat at the table of a restaurant. LOL! I know, sounds petty…but it’s my peeve! It doesn’t matter if I’ve planned the event, they have, our anniversary, etc. They will make sure their backs are to the wall. Most people aren’t chair hogs, so it’s never noticeable or a big deal. The man in the couple pulled it again the other night. DH said next time he’s going to say proactively, let’s let the ladies have the views. What can he say?
But what about my other friend? I don’t want to be the one hurrying and grabbing, especially when there are others. Typically I won’t voluntarily take the worst seat if I’m seated first all the time, usually a medium one. Or if I planned the event, hell yes, I’m seating in the good chair. Like I said, it’s never an issue except for these two.
So how do you deal with the chair hog friend? When alone or in a group? Do you just suck it up? Do you speak up do they know you know exactly what they are doing? Like…lets sit over here, I don’t like my back to the crowd anymore than anyone else?
With the couple it actually made me mad the whole evening at the guy. He pulled this on an anniversary dinner one, too.
^^^I don’t understand all the apostrophe love these days. I see it a lot here on CC too.
My own pet peeves:
People who do not acknowledge that you just opened a door for them.
People who drive slower than the general flow of traffic in the left lane on the highway, or speed up when they see you are trying to enter the highway.
When people take phone calls during a live performance and don’t leave; similarly, people who don’t take their children out of a room/performance/venue/restaurant when they start crying or throw a tantrum.
People who stop the flow of traffic so you can turn left across a four-lane road. Do they not understand that their “kindness” is not kind at all? You don’t know if the other lane is going to stop, and by edging out you are now blind to it. Don’t they understand it is more of a kindness to just keep the traffic flowing, and you’ll turn when it all clears?
People who answer a two-alternative question with “yes.” Example: “Would you like your coffee in a travel mug or a ceramic mug?” “Yes.” That doesn’t help me. Might as well not have even asked the question to begin with!
people who are at a stop sign waiting for you to pass, and then they start inching forward in anticipation. so of course i freak out thinking they are just gong to pull out right in front of me and slow way down. and then they get upset that i slowed down, even though it is their fault because if they would just stay stopped, i would have just sailed by without slowing down. lousy inchers drive me nuts.
@conmama - it’s time for you to break out the place cards! You could even deliver them to a restaurant in advance if you’re planning a special dinner there.
I’m not sure I’m a chair hog. I am left handed and do not like to bump elbows with others. So I try and take an end seat or in the corner where I’m less likely to be obtrusive.
My pet peeve, a certain person wanting to build a huuuugggeee wall. ;). And the people who support him.
Using “then” instead of “than” (John is taller then Bill).
When you go out to dinner with a group that orders multiple drinks, hors d’oeuvres, bottles of wine and then expect the bill to be split evenly, or simply don’t put in their share. I’m not a huge eater or drinker. If I ordered salad and hors d’oeuvres, I’d probably be fairly full before the main course came. Still, when I go out with a group, I expect to pay more and don’t have a problem with that. I often put in up to 50% more than my share, but inevitably we still always come up substantially short, and it seems like the ones who order the most always put in the least. These are grown adults who I assume must know how to do basic math adding tax and tip. What gives? Are they just cheap?
Yeah, I’m left handed too and try to get a spot so my left arm will be free to not get in any elbow fights with rightys.
Pet peeve - when I’m traveling in a left lane and someone is on a side street wanting to turn right to be heading the same way I am. They may intend to turn into the right lane but time it EXACTLY to be turning when I’m approaching - so I have to break cause I don’t know if they have actually seen me or not! Just wait for the road to clear!
It seems to be increasingly common especially among younger people, even those well educated and attending selective schools to say. “Me and him are…” or “Me and John went…” I’ve even heard it from people on TV who should know better. Is this now the accepted grammar?
I don’t like when cars go around a vehicle that’s stopped on a single lane road waiting to make a turn. I was stopped at an intersection on the edge of a college campus this morning waiting to turn right when the car to my left slowed to make a right. He had to wait for students to cross the road before he turned. I should have had time to make my turn, but the woman behind him whipped her car into the other lane and sped past him up the hill. If I’d pulled out, she would’ve broadsided me.
@kandcsmom , but then I’d feel like the cheap one. Ha!
As a recent example, I went to a birthday celebration for a friend at a wine bar. People were ordering bottles of white wine, champagne and hors d’oeuvre plates. I seemed to be the only person who liked red wine, so I ordered 2 glasses of red. That’s it. When the bill came, I put in $100 which was about what everyone’s share would have been if we split the bill evenly with tax and tip, paying for the birthday person’s share too, No problem. But they STILL came up short. Grrrrr.
There are “better” seats at a table? Sorry, clueless here. What constitutes a better/worse seat? Why is sitting with back to a wall good/bad? Never heard of this one.
Pet peeve: chewing sounds. If I can hear someone chewing, I have to leave. I work at home now, but when I worked in an office, I had to have earplugs/headphones to drown out the sounds of people eating chips or crunchy things.
Incorrect usage of me, myself, or I. This is particularly egregious in emails: “If you have any questions, please contact John or myself.”
I swear, no one reads what they’ve written out loud to see if it makes sense.
It makes me twitch.
