People Who Do Things That Mildly Annoy Me

Inspired by Erik Deckers' People Who Bug Me who was inspired by Davezilla's More People We Dislike

1. People who don't want to learn.

At an old job, a coworker was complaining about how long and difficult it was to do a task. I offered to show her an easier way to do it. Her response was, "I don't have time to learn anything new right now."

I've also heard people claim they were too old to learn, or that their brain isn't what it used to be.

To me, the great thing about life is everything you learn. When you stop learning and experiencing new things, what's the point?

2. The Happy Mafia

I am a fairly happy, sometimes annoyingly optimistic, person. I don't find anything wrong with having a positive outlook on life, or finding the silver lining in the dark damp cloud. I always have a smile for you, especially if you smile at me back.

The Happy Mafia takes this one step farther. These people never "let" themselves have a bad day. They spew inspirational quotes and anecdotes. They don't let other people be in a bad mood, they make it their mission to cheer said person up. When I'm having a rough time and one of these people try to cheer me up, all it does is piss me off.

Being happy is good and healthy, but anger and sadness are healthy things too. I believe everyone needs a variety in their emotional diet to be able to deal with life in general. Sometimes it's OK to be in a bad mood.

3. The Grumps

Yep, you guessed it, The Grumps are the arch nemesis of The Happy Mafia. Commonly seen behind the counter at a retail store or fast food restaurant, these people seem to radiate ennui. These are the people who never smile, never say hello, never wish you a good day, never say thank you, etc. Sure, I know you hate your life, but that doesn't mean you have to make me hate my own.

The Grumps are the most disgruntled when at war with (usually being preached to by) a member of The Happy Mafia.

4. Inconsiderate people who live in their own little world, or are the center of the universe.

This includes a lot of people. These are the people who park their cart in the middle of the aisle at the grocery store. These are the people who cross in the middle of the road in front of oncoming traffic (I rant to no one in particular about this when I drive through IU's campus). These are the people who don't look before backing out of a parking spot. These are the people who spot a friend in the middle of a moving crowd and stop right where they are to talk to them instead of stepping off to the side.

Basically, anyone who routinely does things without thinking, "How will this effect the people around me."

5. People who don't leave voicemail.

Okay, I've been pretty general until now, but this is one of my pet peeves. Typically in an office setting, someone is away from their desk, someone else calls for them, they leave them a voicemail, when that person comes back to their desk, they check their voicemail. "Will you just give them a message," is not more efficient.

First, you're relying on my memory to actually pass the message on to them. Most of the time, I don't know when that particular person is in or out of the office, so I have to keep checking to see if they are back yet. When I do that, usually I get wrapped up in my own projects and end up giving them the message after they had been back for an hour or more.

Or, I can write the note and leave it on their desk. Which then gets covered up with somebody else's note. Or is picked up with a pile of papers. Or is blown off by a random breeze.

You know what I usually do when someone asks me to pass on a message instead of going to voicemail? I call that person's voicemail and leave a message.

Part Two: If you call my phone and I don't answer, please leave me a voicemail. Even if you dialed a wrong number, leave a message that says, "wrong number, sorry." That way, when I see that I missed a call, I don't drive myself nuts trying to figure out who's number it is. Or when I know who's number it is, do I call back? Why were they calling? Was it an emergency and I wasn't available? If so, can I still help? When I miss a call and that person doesn't leave a voicemail, I immediately feel guilty for missing the call. I don't get many calls, so if it's important enough to call me, please, please, leave me a voicemail.