A P.S. to the above post.

It seems like every time I use the express lane (8 items or less), the person in front of me has more than 8 items. Normally I fume in silence but this week I had had enough! The woman in front me had way more than 8 items so I asked her, very politely, "Excuse me, are you aware that you are in the express lane?"
I got back a very rude "So what. I've only got 8 items".
I answered back with a very polite "I don't think so".
She replied, in a very aggressive tone, "Do you want to count them?"
"Yes, actually, I would." So I did. "1, 2, 3, 4 ... 14, 15, 16". When I got to 16 I just stared dead-pan at her.
She sneered "Well, would you like to go ahead of me, since it's so important to you".
"Yes, thank you, I will" and I did.

Furthermore, I said to the three people behind me "Come on everybody, this lady is letting us go ahead of her because she's got way more than 8 items". The look on her face was priceless.

We stood in the queue, studiously ignoring each other for several minutes before she said "I only had 8 items when I joined this queue. I picked up the other items here at the checkout". It took her a good 2-3 minutes to think that one up. I just ignored it and didn't bother to comment.

I once complained to the cashier at Wally World because the person in front of me had at least 43 items in the express when I got to the front. I was told that they or anyone working at Wally World could not tell the offending party they had to use another line for fear of losing a customer. I told them "you just did".

Jealousy, jealousy and more jealousy. They see disabled people as having advantages and privileges they don't have. it doesn't occur to them to be grateful to be able to walk, or that most (probably all) disabled people would happily swap their disabled badge for mobility.

Did I remember to mention jealousy?

Things that irritate me are drivers who ride my bumper, people who mow and leave grass on my driveway, and people who don't use blinkers. There ought to be a law!

That happened to me once, and at the same supermarket as the incident I described above. I'm going to remember your answer for next time!

People who park really badly in 90-degree angle parking spaces, and don't even bother to fix it. Whether they're diagonally parked, or way too close to one side of the line, it's just irritating.

I was on the bus today and one girl said to her friends "Oh I parked so badly, I swear I wasn't even in the lines!"

...really?

I get very annoyed at people who won't stand up on public transport to let a disabled, pregnant, or elderly person sit down. It drives me insane because it's just so selfish. Especiallly irritating when people put shopping on the seat next to them; it's as if they think their shopping is more important than other people.

Gah! :P

Agreed. Equally I cannot stand people who push their way on to trains before people have had a chance to get off. Sometimes I grab these people and walk them back off with me.

People here teach their children to rush onto the train, squeezing past people to get a seat for themselves and parents. I am not scared of these children, as most seem to be, I lift them up and put them behind me and continue on my way. People here also will not give up a seat for an elderly or needy person, the best trick is pretending to sleep. I am afraid that respect for one's elders and betters seems to have disappeared. The other day it was reported that a young lad paid two fares on the minibus and insisted that the other seat was for his schoolbag. I am happy to report that the driver told him where to put his bag. My knowledge of Cantonese is good enough for me to understand where his bag was to go!

I did that once! I got my purchases on the conveyor belt, then reached back for the insulated bag I'd left right at the back, and had to ask the man behind me to pull his trolley back so I could reach the bag. The trolley was almost touching me. He must have thought that he could push me and make me go faster. He grumbled a bit and moved his trolley back for me. I was packing merrily, and he was tapping his toe and sighing deeply. I'm going as fast as I can!

This was in the years before loyalty cards, so all I had to find was my bank card, and that was in the breast pocket of my shirt. Except it wasn't. I dug deep into the shirt pocket - nothing. Where else could it be? I checked my jeans pockets, jeans jacket pockets, handbag sections... twice. Mr Impatient said "Excuse me, I don't wish to be unpleasant, but I am in rather a hurry."

I gave up. A roaming member of staff took me and my trolley to the customer services desk, where I reached into my shirt pocket, and pulled out my bank card.

I have no idea what happened. I can only guess that he was annoying my spirit guides as much as he was annoying me, so they took my card away to play. Thinking about it afterwards, I can see that it may have appeared deliberate. It wasn't, but I wish it had been!

I get annoyed with parents who let their children run amok in restaurants and hospitals without considering the dangers to the children involved. It's a rare event but I have pointed out to parents in hospitals that perhaps they should put shoes on the kids while visiting. There is always a chance that a needle or glass shard from a smashed ampoule will be on the floor waiting to spear the child's foot. Of course in restaurants it's fine to let your kids run around... bump into a waiter who is carrying a tray of scalding hot coffees, a bowl of steaming pasta or a searingly hot cast iron griddle. Even if people don't see their children being annoying and rude, can they not see that it's dangerous for the kids? *sigh*

Wow, I thought that only happened here... but then again, there are rude people everywhere. I cannot understand why people do that. I remember this one time, about 10 years ago, when I was riding the bus on my way to school and an elderly man got on the bus, so I offered him my seat but he politely declined. When the person sitting next to me stood up and got off the bus, the man sat next to me and said that was the first time in years that someone had offered him a seat. Then he told me he was a doctor, gave me a card with his name and the hospital where he worked as chief doctor and professor and asked me if I'd give him my phone number because he wanted to call my parents and tell them they had raised me right. I thought this was pretty unusual but gave him the number anyway. (I'm not saying people should give out their number to strangers, something I never do expect that one time). That night, the doctor called my house and told my mom what had happened (I had already told her) and thanked her and my dad for raising me properly and for being such a polite girl. It turns out that this doctor ended up being one of my sister's professors a couple of years later when she was doing one of her medical rotations; the world being a small place and all that. The most interesting thing of all this, to me, was the fact that an elderly man felt like praising a young girl for offering him a seat... as if that was such a noble thing to do, when in fact it should be something natural and common.

I totally agree!

Yesterday, while at the grocery store, I was walking in the "Enter" door when a young woman was walking out the same door, when the "Exit" door was right next to it. Her friend following called out to her that she was going out the wrong door and the first girl called out, loudly I might add, "WHO CARES?". Since she almost ran in to me, I almost said, "I DO!", but I held my tongue. Then while at the same store, the woman behind me in the check out line pushed her cart up to and past the point where I needed to use the keypad to pay. I said "excuse me" and she refused to move her cart! So I had to move it for her to get to the keypad to use my credit card to pay! Then I turned to her said that she was awfully rude and she just stared at me like she had no idea what I was talking about! I try to be courteous, I really do, but there are times when I just want to scream at people that are so inconsiderate.

many years ago I was waitressing in a rather posh silver service 5 crown (stars) hotel in Scotland. There was a big wedding this day and all these kids were running around despite the parents being asked that while the serving/clearing up was happening if the kids could be seated. I was clearing a table and had about eight plates stacked on my hand and as I've turned a kid ran smack into the plates. Poor [censored] - I'm sure he's still seeing stars. My hand didn't even ove such was the weight on it but he landed fair on his bum and his eyes glazed over. Thought I'd be in trouble but my boss had a "serves himm right" attitude. Te kids were very well behaved after that.

"but there are times when I just want to scream at people that are so inconsiderate."


I know the feeling. I work in a private clinic that is located in a hospital. I usually take the stairs for exercise but occasionally, when my knee is giving me trouble, I take the lift (elevator). I am constantly amazed at the fact that when the lift doors open, people will usually barge in without waiting for the people inside the lift to get out, and they almost never apologise when they bump into you as they force their way past you.

Recently, I got so fed up with this, that I started saying quite loudly, "It's manners to let us out before you barge in." I got a mumbled apology from one fellow the other day but most look at me like I've got two heads. In the past, I used to step aside out of their way and struggle to exit the lift, but now I stand firm and refuse to budge.

"I get annoyed with parents who let their children run amok in restaurants and hospitals without considering the dangers to the children involved".


I manage a paediatric practice and it astonishes me that the majority of parents who enter our clinic totally ignore their children's behaviour.

Typically, they enter the clinic, come up to the desk to register, then sit down in the waiting room, grab a magazine and totally ignore anything their children do after that. It is very rare for a parent to actually interact with their child - read them a story, or talk or play with them. Naturally we have a toy corner and I've seen parents watch their children deliberately vandalise the toy corner or break the toys without saying a word.

I've had kids licking the windows, climbing onto the furniture and jumping off, trying to get into the examining room or my office (behind closed doors), trying to climb up and over the barrier around the reception desk, not to mention screaming and yelling and other antisocial behaviours.

I used to say nothing in the hope that the parents would deal with it but now I've realised they won't, so now I do!

Also, when I had children, I always had a bag packed with supplies - nappies (diapers), tissues, drink bottle, toys, books etc. Most parents seem to come unprepared so I am constantly asked "can you get my child a drink? or a tissue?" which is quite disruptive when I am trying to get patients ready for the doctor.

On that note, MG, I am rather tired of being the one to move to the other side of an aisle when there are two of us heading straight for one another. I caught myself today constantly weaving left and right to avoid running into other shoppers. And most of these were young people in apparent good health. Why can't any of them move out of my way? I'm tired of being a doormat. I have decided to step aside if the shopper coming at me is, 1) older than I am, 2) handicapped, 3)pregnant, or 4)holding a baby. Otherwise, move out of MY way!

OK, rant over.

Seems to me this is a case of kids havin g too much money. It certainly does not teach them respect.

I agree with pretty much everything that has been posted so far. But I'd like to add one: People who litter (especially when they throw things out of their cars - this includes cigarettes, even though I'm currently a smoker).

One day, I was at a (just turned) red light. The person in the car in front of me rolled down their window and threw out two bags of "fast food" litter. I'd been having a particularly bad day and despite my usual discretion (after all, they "could" have a gun in their vehicle), I got out of my car, picked up the litter, tapped on their window, handed them the garbage, smiled and said "oh dear, it looks like you dropped something" and got back in my car. The person was so surprised, they just took the lot and said "thanks". I dearly hope they took it home and deposited it in their own home garbage bin, but you never know. Sigh.

Jakeroo that reminds me of a woman I used to work with many years ago, and of one of the things which annoys me.

Jean was stopped at a red light then when it changed to green she accidently stalled her engine. The person in the car behind immediately started leaning on his horn so Jean switched off her engine, got out of her car and went to the car behind and asked what he wanted. "The lights are green" She then told him in her very refined voice that she knew the lights were now green and as was obvious by the jerk of her car as the engine stalled that she was attempting to move forward until he used his horn to attract her attention. Now if he didn't object she would restart her engine and drive off. All this took a couple of changes of the lights to achieve.

I object to people blaring on their car horns in such situations, fine if the driver of the stopped vehicle is obviously not paying attention, but not fine when a car has stalled.

Jakeroo - I bow to your wisdom. You did what I've wanted to do many times...especially when a previous neighbor tried to use our driveway as a trash dump.

Sue - are you feeling any better? I hope so.