June 16, 2008

Celebrate Pet Your Peeve day!

[By Merry]

cat

There's a reason Crabby doesn't usually let me post on Mondays.
I loathe Mondays. If I'd been involved in the design of the weekdays, Monday would have been left off the list altogether.

Then I thought, well maybe a lot of people have things that annoy them, and maybe it would be a liberating feeling to create a day specifically for people to voice their own pet peeves.

Celebrate Pet Your Peeve Day!

What annoys you? Today I'm especially irked at people who make left turns. For some reason they feel impelled to initiate the left turn by veering to the right and then yanking the steering wheel until they're practically diagonal across the lane. No way annnnybody's going anywhere until they can make their turn.

I was going to put together a list of things that annoy me, but then I did a little research. Frankly, I've been outclassed: this site lists hundreds of annoyances: http://www.getannoyed.com/ (This is one seriously annoyed person, let me tell you.)

Excuse me? Merry, what does this have to do with fitness?

Hey, it's important to be aware of how peeved people can get. Remember the man who had a 'gym rage' incident in a Spin class? His neighbor would not stop being loud and obnoxious, so the man picked him up off of the bike and threw him against the wall. Kinda cranky. The surprising part is this: Man involved in Gym rage acquitted. (Apparently the jury didn't believe the victim's injuries were caused by being slammed against a wall. Maybe they were, maybe not, but at the least I would have thought some anger management classes would have been indicated at this point.)

There are a lot of people concerned with gym annoyances. You need to be prepared, or else you might have a close encounter with a wall yourself.

What's the most annoying gym habit?


How can I be sure that I'm not part of the problem?



My Summary
Personally, I think all you need to do is to be aware, don't stare, try not to scare, and learn to share. Simple, eh?

One more annoyance -- I know how peeved Crabby feels about performance art, so I thought I'd include an example.

I have to confess that I kinda liked this one. Public Displays of Musical Affection put on a 'spontaneous' performance in Union Square in San Francisco.



What peeve do you need to pet today?

37 comments:

  1. what does it mean that I am drawing a BLANK?

    Id say it means Im devoid of peeves---but Im painfully aware it more aptly indicates Im a full time resident of P-Town (waves to the crab!). Population: MizFit.
    from the trite (husband and his incessant channel flipping when we're watching tv together. I swear it makes me irrationally anger---like Im being held VIEWING HOSTAGE to his whims) to the irrational (people who park too far away from the person in front of them on the street...so if I could smoooosh all the cars together I could fit mine in TOO---but I cant).

    off to work,
    cant wait to read other peoples' far more creative peeves.

    M.

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  2. I work in a building with about 400 other people...it's like a sea of cubicles. There are 3 chronic smokers that sit near me and they HACK. ALL. DAY. LONG. These are the same people who don't stop to wash their hands in the bathroom because they're in too much of a hurry to get out to the smoking area. Oh and they don't cover their mouth during the hackfest either. Seriously people, STOP SMOKING!!!!!!! Ok, I feel better. Off to work!

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  3. Two pet peeves came to mind immediately, I think because they relate to where I spend most of my time. 1. People who do not use their turn signals/indicators. They just go on about their driving weaving in and out, expecting me to have ESP about what they are going to do next. 2. People who insist on using their cell phone in the gym. 'Nuff said.

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  4. About 3 weeks ago I sent off for a "COMPLAINT FREE WORLD" wrist band. It arrived. I'm wearing it :-)

    Dr. J

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  5. Oh, how I heart lol cats!
    I was actually writing a blog about the things that drive me up the wall, and trust me, with my current hormonal state, they are many, and they make me very emotional.

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  6. oooooh, what about people who change lanes in front of you and signal /after/ they've completed the lane change? Like that's going to be any help.

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  7. But Dr J -- it's healthy to complain! You're venting. Something like that. Isn't that healthy? ;)

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  8. Colleen? Earplugs. Definitely.

    Mizfit -- you could always peeve your husband by hiding the remote! I figure the exercise involved in getting up to change the channel would be good for him. (Y'know, like people used to have to do in The Old Days.) Also it would cut down on the amount of channel surfing ;)

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  9. Oh I have so many pet peeves I can't count them all. I need yoga or deep breathing or something ;). My biggest exercise-related pet peeve are people who do not follow the "feet on the left, wheels on the right rule". I almost was run over by a biker yesterday who was riding on the wrong side of the road (I was running), and the exact same moment, there was also a car coming in the opposite direction. We almost all died (I exaggerate). I've actually yelled out the car window before at people on the wrong side...and I fully admit I have issues :).

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  10. Nothing better then a good Monday morning whining session! My Pet Peeve sits next to me all day! My co-worker is constantly *sighing*, these deep breaths when he is annoyed or just moving! It drives me up the freakin' wall! This annoys me just as much as hearing people chew. Whether it be food or gum or worse yet slurping their drink, OMG! It is so disgusting. Why are some people so loud?!?! Is it that hard to eat, drink, or chew in silence?!?!? Phew...I feel better...THANKS =)

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  11. Definitely healthy to vent!

    Apparently its a Winnipeg thing, but I really don't like it when I let someone in front of me when driving and they don't acknowledge it with a wave. Its such a silly thing, but I get really irritated when I don't get that wave!

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  12. My peeves - coworkers; people who do not yield to me; disgusting bathrooms; finding there is no more string cheese in the fridge; people who don't watch for others in a parking lot; my mom when she feels the need to tell me every detail about her latest trip to WalMart; my husband's flatulence; my preschool daughter's fear of going poo in the big potty; people who smoke but think the smell will be covered up with a little Charlie perfume; and my brother-in-law who absolutely must eat lunch precisely at 11:30 lest the world crumble around his feet, even when we aren't meeting for lunch until 1:oo; and people who say "growed" and "I seen him" (ie my MIL).

    I could go on and on, but I think that is sufficient for today. =)

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  13. Ooooh, the Bag Lady loves a bitch session!!!
    That said, she can't really think of any peeves. Not that she doesn't HAVE any, she's just having a senior's moment... well, okay, there's one - when I run into someone I haven't seen in a long time, and they call me by name, and ask after my family by name, and I'm standing there like an idiot, saying "Hey, how ARE you? Gosh, how's....ummm....your husband?" And don't remember the person's name until like 3 in the morning two days later....
    Is that a peeve, or just a whine? (And I agree with Mizfit about the channel surfing - drives me nuts!!)

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  14. Peeves: most of mine are allergy related. But there's noise, too (no, I don't want to listen to your preference in music, even at the stoplight, much less through the walls or windows; no, I don't want to be kept awake by your conversations with your girlfriend or your dealer at two in the morning; I don't care how much fun you're having riding your motorbike up and down the hill after midnight, I want to sleep)!
    And chainsaws. These are not a big problem on a daily basis, but right now I'm listening to some across the road, and they sound like "stupidstupidstupid" because these guys started taking this sixty foot tree apart IN the middle of a THUNDERSTORM! Gah.
    The allergies are more like a whole barn full of peeve than a pet. I can control what I eat (if I read labels and eat my own cooking most of the time), I can run the air conditioner in pollen season (and buy an exercise bike, yeah), I can take antihistamines and allergy shots for 49 years, but unless I wear a gas mask everywhere I go, nowadays I will react to what people bathed and did laundry and adorned themselves with. (Linking back to public transport: as a teenager I used to take the bus fifteen miles to the library. Now, being shut up in a bus for forty-five minutes of breathing all that fragrance would ruin my week, not my day.) It even made the gym less and less endurable, as I got more and more allergic to the sanitizer they used. It was a large well-ventilated space, and even so people's shampoo and detergent bothered me.
    Well! That was quite a whine! And so on topic. Whine=cranky. Allergies=obstacle to fitness

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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  15. our neighbors smoke morning, noon and night and we share a deck with them. If I'm out there reading, smoke blows into my face. My friend comes over with her newborn baby girl and her virgin lungs? The neighbors don't bat an eylash and light up again. It's awful but I feel like I can't say anything becasue (a) there's no "no smoking" policy in our condo association and (b) I just KNOW they would retaliate by telling me they want me to cover up more (sometimes I'll sneak outside and try to tan my butt a litt.e No thongs or anything- just hike my shorts up.) Classy.

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  16. I'm loving all these comments!
    And I can relate to them too.
    Especially the one about the string cheese.

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  17. Shanna - do we work at the same place?!?! Maybe I just need a new place to sit. :)

    Dr. J - I saw those on the news the other day - I really need to invest in one - or forty! :)

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  18. Well there is something that for some reason has been happening alot lately at work...coworkers who for WHATEVER reason try to talk to me when I AM ON THE PHONE. AAHHH!

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  19. I love that song...:)

    My peeves? People who don't turn off their cell phones at movies...and then ANSWER them. That and people who walk about with their mouths open. And if they chew with their mouths open too? bleh.
    Drives me spare...

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  20. And what about people who have those earpiece cell phones? If you say something to them, they stare at you and then respond to the cell phone conversation.
    Or... are they really on the phone or just talking back to the voices in their head? It's hard to tell.

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  21. Colleen!

    They will send you two of them for FREE!!
    Why can't they send four!!! Happy now, Merry?

    :-)

    Dr. J

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  22. I work in a hostel (cheap, self accomodating hotel, essentially)

    My #1 pet peeve is people who hork into the toilets. That shit floats, people. Which means it doesn't flush easily.

    Honestly - hork into a tissue and flush that. Gah!

    My #2 pet peeve is people who start cooking in the kitchen at 9:30 even though they know it closes at 10 and I have to do a final wipe down before I leave at 10. Assholes.

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  23. I can't think of any pet peeves since that Bjork video just made my whole stinkin' day!! How fun would that be?? Anyone want to meet up for a Public Display of Musical Affection? Please????

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  24. Gym pet peeve: The guy who works into my sets without asking and then refuses to return the machine to the previous setting - c'mon, don't be rude dude (and he does this EVERY time even after I've asked him not to!)

    People who remark that "BLANK" needs to be done and then walk away when it would take them all of 10 seconds to do it themselves. I'm thinking of my roommate and the frigging kitchen counter here! Wipe it down yourself instead of telling ME it needs to be done. Grrr.

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  25. In a parking lot, when I'm stuck behind someone who is waiting for a space, when there's AN EMPTY SPACE 2 spaces further down the row. Just PARK, for God's sake! Being 20 more feet from the door won't KILL YOU!! And it's especially irritating if the person in the space they're waiting for is unloading the cart, rounding up the kids, etc. JUST PARK! In the time you're sitting there waiting for the "closer" space, you could have parked in that one 2 up from you, and you'd have already PASSED the woman with the kids on your way into the store! JUST! FREAKIN'! PARK!

    *Sigh* That felt good, actually. Thanks!

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  26. I suppose the "gym pickup" is my greatest annoyance. And if you can't resist trying to hit on someone, try to pick your time better? When I am pouring sweat and grunting to leg press a ton of weight, this is not the time to come over and chat me up about small talk. It makes me want to club you with a barbell.

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  27. Pet Peeves huh???
    I have so many it hurts...

    At the gym:
    Cell talkers, preeners, men in short shorts with no inner-liner (I have seen waaaay too many old man balls for my 25 years), when I'm filling my Nalgene and someone drinks from the fountain next to me and takes all my water pressure, douche-bags who come to open gym and try to teach everyone the "right" way to play, and number one...don't judge me because I wear a bigger size than you. I'm here doing my best and making my life healthier and lifting heavier weight than you, so back off...

    On the road:
    Flipping me off when you're the one who did the wrong thing, not acknowledging that I let you in, no signal, veering, obsene music as loud as it can go and nasty smells coming from your car into mine...

    Other places:
    Chewing with mouth open, body odor, screaming children, loud cell phone talkers, pants too short, visibly dirty clothes/hair...

    Really, I should just stay home...

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  28. This is a great post for a Monday! Some of these peeves are just like mine. I am with Mary Anne in Kentucky though. Please stop using your perfume/hairspray/laundry soap etc in such a manner that I can smell/choke on it from 10 feet away while standing outside!

    Note to the company that makes Gain: scents can kill, no it doesn't smell wonderful, stronger smell is not better smell!

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  29. No peeve, life is beautiful, natch. just saying hi.

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  30. These are hilarious!

    Since I started a whole damn blog based on my pet peeves I will give you all a break from my whining for a moment or two. Yours are all quite a bit funnier!

    I'm back from a few days out of town, so have a lot of catching up to do... back tomorrow with more accustomed griping.

    (And for the record, the Bjork thing was pretty cute. I'm not against ALL performance art--just anything involving mimes or clowns or people who get in my way).

    See y'all tomorrow!

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  31. I don't like clowns either, but they're more of a scary thing than a pet peeve. (And I certainly don't want to pet them!)

    Pet peeves...

    Apparently I become rather annoyed at hearing "shh!" intermittently for 60 seconds straight... but I did like the dancing of the spontaneous people. :)

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  32. Three words: hair on soap.

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  33. Beth -- one word: Yuuuuuuck!

    I agree that the first minute of people going "shhhh" got annoying.

    The BBC posted an article on pet peeves in the English language today. It's shameless how they always copy Cranky Fitness:
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7453584.stm

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  34. But after the first minute, the video improves :)

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  35. 12 year olds that refuse to get out of bed for school......guess what?? i didn't want to get out of bed either

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  36. I hate it when people step on my yoga mat with their bare feet.

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  37. Juiceboxmom:
    My mom got tired of fighting with us about getting up in the morning, too. Her solution was to put a bunch of marbles in a Tupperware container and then put it in the freezer! After that, we got one wake-up call. If we didn't get up, she dumped those marbles right into our beds (under the covers)! Lemme tell ya, nothing gets you up faster than trying to get away from COLD marbles that roll to wherever you move!!!

    (And in the mornings, when she said "Get up" and we didn't, we knew as soon as we heard her say "Ok, then" we were in trouble! I think she only had to use the marbles once on each of us! After that, she'd say "ok then" and we'd leap out of bed, screaming, "I'm UP, I'm UP!)

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