Life's Little Irritations

We all have those things that irritate us to no end. It could be an unorganized closet, our hair being out of place, or an unruly child. I thought I would share some of the things that bother me and maybe you can share some things about yourself...

One major annoyance for me is hearing people chew. I don't know why but it both disgusts and makes me mad. There is something about the sound that drives me absolutely nuts. I know I'm not the only one though. There is a condition called Misophonia. I don't know if I have it or what but I will post a link at the bottom of the post with more information if it sounds interesting to you.

Another thing that really bothers me is when someone dog-ears pages in a book or rolling soft covers so they can read it with one hand. From a young age my mother taught me that books are precious things and need to be cared for. She told me not to break the spine or bend the pages. Books are so poorly cared for these days and it upsets me. I'm a book lover from birth and I have my mama to blame (or thank) for that. It bothers me how little respect people have for such an ancient art. You can learn so much from books and share so many stories. What's not to like about them? So please, if you have a book around me don't mistreat it or I will end up taking it from you and beating you with it.

Since I was a kid one thing that has irritated me was when someone squeezed toothpaste from the middle of the tube instead of the end. UGH It bothers me so much I used to lecture my mother... MY MOTHER... about it. I used my own allowance to buy those little things that you put on the end of the tube and pull it down to get every last drop. It was at that point that my mom bought separate toothpaste for me. I think she got sick of hearing it.

Now, I wasn't an English major in college. In fact I was a psychology major. HOWEVER, I am a self proclaimed Grammar Nazi. I know I'm not perfect. I make mistakes and I SUCK at spelling but it irritates me when someone speaks in double negatives or uses a word improperly. It also annoys me when someone doesn't know which form of their, there, or they're to use in a sentence. They teach that in elementary school for goodness sake. Try to retain your education instead of throwing it in the toilet.

The only thing that can get me upset faster than any of those things is bad drivers. I know all of you can agree with me here. There are people that just shouldn't have a driver's license. I'm talking about the people who speed up to pass you then once they are in front of you they slow down... WHAT THE HECK!!!! Seriously? Was it that important to get in front of me? Or the people who sit at a green light because they are busy texting their BFF or whatever. UGH Put down the phone!

Anyway... I hope you can find humor in some of these and maybe even agree with some of them. Consider this part one as I'm sure more irritations will pop up.

Terror on Court Street

So, my friends, I went through the worst thing ever today. I would have rather had to go through my entire divorce again than have to do this. Just the thought of this one thing puts me on edge to the point that I want to cry. I'm talking about going to the dentist... I know. I know. I'm an adult and I shouldn't be afraid of going to the dentist but I've had some really bad experiences before.

When I was a little girl going to the dentist was TORTURE! I remember having to get one of my teeth pulled at a young age so they could put in a spacer and that was before the braces. After the braces I ended up having my wisdom teeth pulled. After that I went to have a cavity filled and the dentist didn't numb me well enough. I was saying "OW." every few seconds and in tears. She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't hurt. Stop being a such a baby." To this day I can't believe she said that. It was beyond rude and SO unprofessional.

Today I got to my 1 o'clock appointment at 12:30 for two reasons. Number one is that's when Dad dropped me off because he had to get Mom her lunch. Number two is because I figured I would have some paperwork to do because I'm a new patient. I was so not going back to Western Dental. (Their stuff doesn't last.) I was locked out of the office until 5 minutes before my appointment. I filled out my paperwork and turned it in. Once I turned it in with my insurance card and ID, I stood there waiting for her to say she didn't need anything else. The receptionist looked up at me from behind her computer with a look that reminded me of a popular high school girl. "We're done..." she told me in a tone that more said. "Why are you still here?"

I went back to my seat and sat there... and sat... and sat...for almost an hour listing to her talk rudely to everyone that came in and everyone on the phone. Once she got a break I asked her how long it was going to be. She acted like I shouldn't even be talking to her. She said it was typical to have an hour waiting time that he always did a cleaning and all the work that day. I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT. Something inside me froze. I really didn't want any more work than necessary. I told her that I was having extreme anxiety about even being there and she somewhat tried to reassure me that everything would be fine.

About an hour after my appointment time I got called into the back. I thought "Finally. Maybe I can make it through this." They took my X-rays and all that stuff then left me to wait for the dentist. I waited for a while then he came in and did his thing. He injected me with the first shot of Novocaine and left me to wait.... and wait.... and wait.... During this waiting time I ended up having a major anxiety attack and started crying. The girls were nice and tried to comfort me.

 By the time he returned I was already starting to lose the numb. He got to work and it hurt. He gave me another shot. It still hurt so he got a different kind of numbing agent. That worked! All the way up to my top eyelid was numb. He finished and one of the assistants cleaned my teeth and I was all done. I nearly ran out of the building and got into my dad's truck. "Get me out of here!"

"Can I See Your ID?"

Going to the library is a fun event for my family. We can spend hours there just looking through the books just trying to make a decision. Its hard to get me out of the place. It's like my paradise. My dream would be to have a library of my own where I could live out my days with my nose stuck in a book. What annoys me is when people misuse my utopia or abuse the books.

My story begins just yesterday on a family outing to the library. I was so excited to be back in those hallowed halls of books that I could barely keep myself from running inside like a little child. The entrance smelled of apple pie and sunshine. I'm serious. It must have been the cleaners they used but it was heavenly. I walked through isles and isles of books looking at world after world of magic and imagination. *sigh* Pure heaven... but I digress... I found the book I wanted and I set of to find my parents. I found them at the upstairs computers and started walking toward them. As I did one of the librarians asked if I had any questions and I shook my head. It was as if she didn't want me to go to my parents. I went anyway and my mom told me to sit down as she looked for books to help my father learn to fly a plane. 

I pulled up a chair and she wrote a little note on her note pad. She described a man not far from us who's computer screen was facing us. I looked behind us and noticed the security guard watching him carefully. He moved his screen to another page and inserted a picture of himself into what looked like a driver's license. My jaw dropped and I looked at my mom. 

"Did you guys tell them?" I whispered shocked at the whole situation. Mom nodded and did her typical "I-can't-believe-this-is-happening" laugh. Apparently he and another man were making fake IDs out of the library for some time now and his partner had gone downstairs to complain about people watching their computer screen. And the Darwin Nomination goes to.... Moron in the Leather Jacket and his Less Brilliant Sidekick.

I mean, seriously? Who goes to the library to make fake IDs? You are bound to get caught! 

Yesterday's Adventure

So yesterday started out normal. Get up, take a shower, get dressed, go to work... Sounds almost boring right? Well once I got to work things started getting busy as usual until a big family came in for pictures. I was assigned to make the sale. As I was going through the pictures I came across a picture of all the women (and girls) of the family. I commented on how beautiful they all looked and they informed me that it was a four generation picture. I immediately had to hold back tears. My mom has been wanting one of those pictures for years and now it will be impossible since my grandmother died in January. My great grandmother is still alive but the picture would be incomplete. I wish I could have gotten this done for my mom.  I managed to keep my composure and get through the sale with a smile, however forced it was.

After my shift was over I remembered that I needed to get my pre-admit done for my surgery on Monday. I rushed to the hospital and sat there for about 45 minutes waiting for the person to get my information. I thought I was going to be late for my second job of the day but luckily they called me in and it took about a half hour.

My second job was babysitting for a couple who are divorcing. Not only were the children upset from that but two of them were sick with the fever. They were very cranky and fussy the whole night. I was there for 6 and a half hours. So in total I worked for 9 and a half hours and I couldn't be more proud of myself. My body isn't happy and is really really sore but it was so worth it.