I think it's me, because everybody can't actually be as annoying as I find them

The BBQ Pit
1

I’m getting to where I can’t leave the house without becoming annoyed.

All day at work I sit here and listen to my cubemate gab on her phone to her mom or her best friend, telling all her personal details and medical problems. Then, in the afternoon, she chomps Chex mix. She chomps it loudly and proudly for at least two hours. I feel like I’m going to scream, but somehow I contain myself.

Then, the other cubemate cracks her knuckles several times a day and calls her babysitter ten times. It’s not as annoying as aforementioned cubemate, but still makes me feel like killing.

Yet another co-worker is the most bland, whitebread moron on this planet. Just looking at him annoys me. The other day he acted all drunk in a meeting because he had taken cold medicine. Give me a break. Who gets high on cold medicine?

Then I feel like I get terrible service every time I go to any fucking store. Yesterday, I was trying to buy a turkey that had no tag on it. But, it was the turkey I wanted because it was the only one big enough. I told this to the cashier and was met with rudeness and eye rolling. Lovely. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy spending $30 for a fucking bird just to be treated like an annoyance.

Then I went to Target, where I bought $200 worth of Christmas presents. Trust me, I didn’t want to go there. I absolutely hate going to stores that are busy with the general public. Babies crying, children running wild, rednecks arguing over which toilet paper to buy, I withstood it all and made it to the register without losing it. Unfortunately, the stupid fucking cashier left one of my bags somewhere on her register and I got home without it. She was the one putting bags in my cart, and I didn’t realize I needed to check through everything before leaving because of incompetency.

So, I drive a half hour home and am looking at my purchases before I realize this. I call the store and after being put on hold three times, the bitch manager told me to come back. Well, no shit. I told her I thought she should compensate me for my troubles, considering I would have to drive 30 min. there and 30 min. back home. She said she’d give me a $5 gift card to pay for the gas. Gee, at $2 a gallon, it’s taking up more than $5 for me to run all over town to pick up my purchases that should have made it home with me the first time.

As I’m leaving the apartment, I get behind some asshole whose going 5 miles an hour through the complex. So, I ride his ass for a second. He stops his car, gets out, and proceeds to tell me that he’s going to “fuck me up” if I hit his car. Naturally, I told him to bring it on or get the fuck over the speed bump and hurry his ass. I felt like ramming my car straight up his fucking tailpipe. My blood pressure is rising just thinking about it.

And of course, by the time I go to the store I was pissed as hell and had to stand in line for 15 min. I swear, I cannot deal with this kind of crap. I don’t even want to leave my house, because dealing with people has become too much of a chore and one of these days I’m going to truly lose it.

So, is it me? Am I just extra bitchy-sensitive here? I think I must bring this stuff on myself or I’m just a shit magnet.

2

I’m not sure but if it’s you, then it’s also me.

3

[Considers posting, then decides that, no matter what I say, Indygrrl will then be annoyed with me, too.]

4

Honestly, there are two incidents in your list that I feel you may be overreacting about.

I won’t comment on his lack of interestingness. But I do want to point out that lots of people get “high” on cold medicine. It’s why there are warnings on the back of the box/bottle that caution against operating heavy machinery. My godson (and a friend of mine’s son as well) is extremely ADHD and has other neuropsychological problems. Cold medicine makes him absolutely insane. Starts off as the life of the party, goes suddenly sullen, then becomes verbally and physically abusive. I, on the other hand, can’t take the recommended dose of Nyquil unless I’m already laying down. So that, IMHO, is all you.
This is a bit of an overreaction as well:

It’s not like your apartment complex is 20 miles long. At most you’d be inconvenienced for a few minutes. Plus, you don’t need to be speeding in an area where there may be kids running around. What’s the limit in your complex, anyway? All the ones I’ve lived in have been 10 mph; assuming that, he was perfectly within his right to drive 5 miles under the limit.

Finally, don’t “ride someone’s ass” and expect them to just blandly go about their day. His response was totally over the top, but you don’t need to be rising to the occassion when some stranger gets out of their car to confront you. Plus that guy probably went home and bitched about the annoying bint that couldn’t slow down for two minutes. :slight_smile:

5

[acknowledges **Thudlow’s ** wisdom, but can’t help but posting anyway]

I think the answer is both; people are incompetent and stupid, but you may be letting it get to you too much.

“I can’t leave the house without becoming annoyed,” “I feel like I’m going to scream,” “feel like killing,” “Just looking at him annoys me.” “I cannot deal with this kind of crap. I don’t even want to leave my house, because dealing with people has become too much of a chore and one of these days I’m going to truly lose it.” - these are all pretty extreme reactions. Granted, you may have been using hyperbole in your writing. You’re a very good writer, and your posts consistently amuse me. If so, move on, nothing to see here, WhyNot got whooshed again.

If this isn’t hyperbole, however, perhaps you should consider getting yourself screened for depression. In many people (raises hand) depression isn’t sad and weepy and woe-is-me, depression manifests as seething anger and frustration with the whole world. In my case, I was taught from an early age that to take blame for anything bad was the worst thing a person could do - so I nearly always blame my own feelings on someone else. I don’t get mad - you piss me off. Took a few years of therapy to get over that pattern and accept responsibility for my own reactions.

IMHO YMMV I really, really like you don’t get mad at me.

6

Haha, thanks. I know I’m thoroughly depressed in life. I take medicine for it, but it doesn’t seem to help, especially this time of year. I should be in anger management or something because I really feel like all of those things. I’m really very upset today over several things, and yesterday I cried for an hour over the Target thing. I’m not sure what to do except hold on and wait for it to get better after the evil holidays.

I’ve always been this way, but it’s only this year that I really truly just want to be at home. I feel irritated almost the minute I walk out the door every day, and by the time I do get home I pretty much need Valium to get my heart rate down (slight exaggeration, but not much).

7

I noticed that you’re from Indianapolis. You’re not related to Ron Artest or Jermaine O’Neal by any chance, are you?

8

I sent that last post before reading your last post, Indygrrl. I thought that you were only joking but now I see that you’ve actually got a real problem. I apologize.

9

Haha, no, but we’re kindred spirits, me and Ron. He’s totally my hero today. I wanted to jump in there and beat some ass with him. That would be my exact reaction to the situation, only I probably wouldn’t have held back as long as he did.:smiley:

10

Yes, indeed. If I had a nickel for every time I wanted to bitch-slap someone till they cry . . . Well . . . I’d have a lot of nickels.

11

The exact same thing happened to me at Target. I called in and found that they had kept my bag at the customer service desk, and I could come anytime to pick it up. I was THRILLED that they had actually kept the bag instead of just calling it lost and returning everything to the shelves. The idea that it was the cashier’s fault that I didn’t bring all my bags never crossed my mind. I felt that this was very good customer service.

So, yes, it is you. You need to chill out and realize that not everyone is out to annoy you.

12

Indygrrl, I know exactly how you feel. The other day I said to my boyfriend that I’m at the point where if I dropped my toothbrush on the floor I’d punch out the bathroom window and scream. I think its part seasonal, part post-election despair and part just straight-up depression. I realized a couple weeks ago that I need to do something about it, so I’m going back into therapy, starting tomorrow, for the first time in 13 years.
You know what I think you need? A special night out. A mini-vacation. Make the significant other wine and dine and utterly pamper you. Go to your favorite restaurant, drink a $50 bottle of wine. Only listen to YOUR music in the car. Wear something you love. Sometimes when I’m so bitter I barely see straight a little mini-vacation can work wonders.

I hope you get to feeling better soon.

13

It sounds like you need a bit of a break. You’re probably going to have to orchestrate it yourself, but try to take a long weekend where you do nothing but lie in a bubble bath, eat bonbons and read cheesy books. Unplug the phone, fob yer tot (you have a tot, correct) off on your mom, or a friend, or someone, and chill.

It’s tough to find the time to do this, but you’ll thank yourself after if you do. :slight_smile:

14

Even though it sometimes seems that everyone is out to annoy you, the simple fact is that people are overwhelmingly stupid, shitheaded, and abrasive, and you shouldn’t take it personally.

15

I would love to wear your brain for a day and see what it feels like to be on the other side of the fence. My only reaction in times like that are to get mad, blame someone, and demand compensation. I really cannot imagine finding any silver lining in a lot of situations. It’s a shitty way to live, I know it, but I can’t just turn my brain into something it’s not.

And our whole family is this way. Can you imagine Sunday dinners?? Me and my dad had a fight yesterday about him scraping his chili bowl, and then my sis piled on with her annoyance, then he yelled, then we all had brownies and discussed how much we like Ron Artest. :smiley:

16

Indygrrl, aren’t you the one with the special-needs daughter? If so, I think you’re allowed to save all of your patience for her and get really annoyed at other people (although I am one of those people who gets totally loopy from cold medicine, so I’ll avoid you when I’m on the NyQuil). I mean, anyone’s patience is finite, and I’d say you have a damn good repository for the majority of yours, if you have to pick and choose (ditto for Eve with her aging mother).

If I’m wrong about who you are, then . . . well . . . maybe try that $50 wine idea. :wink:

17

I know you are aware you have depression, but I’m thinking whatever you are taking is not cutting it. Have you dealt with the problems causing the physical pain you are in yet? You have got to take care of that so you can take care of your depression–they are fueling each other.

My depression frequently manifests itself as anger, frustration with everything, etc. As far as dealing with day-to-day crap, I’ve discovered that I just prefer not to put myself in situations where I’m likely to get pissed off. Seriously. Rather than shop at any of the 'marts or Target, I shop at smaller stores where I get excellent service and feel better about my day. I also have started carrying thank you cards in my car so when I get great service I can reward it immediately. This perpetuates the great service because it makes the under-appreciated retail worker feel better and then they give better service to the next customer.

Plus, I prefer to do business with companies that pay their employees a living wage–I have the luxury of living with someone who knows how much the various businesses in our area pay their people and what type of benefits they offer. We try to go only to businesses that do well by their employees. The only 'mart we regulary do business with is a small employee-owned discounter that is located here in the NW. We get better service as a rule by going to these types of businesses and it removes stress from my life.

Really, going out of your way to do things that make you happier–including making other folks happier during your day–can go a long way to making you hate people less. I know you said you couldn’t avoid going to Target at the worst possible time, but part of getting away from hating people is avoiding them when they are at their worst.

And to echo what other’s have said, take a mini-vacation. I’m on vacation this week. I’m not doing anything; just hanging out with the dogs, visiting my daughter and grandbaby today, and enjoying not dealing with the people who make me crazy during the normal course of my life (the public and my co-workers). mr.stretch is working today and tomorrow and things are quiet right now. I feel better already.

18

I made the mistake of going to Meijer today, during the afternoon. There were little old ladies seemingly purposefully blocking the aisles and women with tons of little rugrats spread out across the aisles and women in motorized Meijer wheelchairs parked just perfectly to block the aisles and… So I waited until these people got out of my way until I realized, hell, they are being assholes, why should I be polite?

So I spent the rest of my time there bumping people out of the way and saying loudly “EXCUSE ME!!!” and shoving my cart around corners without looking, and you know what? It was the most liberating experience that I’ve had in a while. I think that most of my frustration arises when I try to be polite. When I give up on being polite I feel much better, and actually grinned a bit when I managed to bump two shopping carts at once.

Shopping and driving are two very annoying experiences for me. You’re not alone :slight_smile:

19

You can borrow the mantra I use when these things happen to me:
“I hate people.”

20

Hang in there. It’s definitely a holiday thing.

I went to the grocery store today to pick up the last of the Thanksgiving shopping. I deliberately chose to go today in the middle of the afternoon so the crowds wouldn’t be so bad. (I cruised past the store this weekend, and judging from the parking lot, it was a zoo.) It was busy for a weekday afternoon, but not crazy busy, and I congratulated myself on my thinkingaheadness as I picked up a cart and started winding my way though the store with my list, which was written neatly and organized by aisle. This holiday thing, I thought, is a breeze.

And then everybody. was. in. my. way. Every freakin’ aisle had some idjit’s cart parked kitty-corner, blocking the way. Every freakin’ item on my list had at least one bonehead camped out in front of it attempting to compute unit prices on their fingers. And the motherfuckers were out of turkey breasts.

Those bastards.

But looking at it objectively, it wasn’t any worse than a normal. There’s just more pressure and more tension during the holidays. Ordinary irratations pile up on your nerves and don’t get purged like they should.