I am so totally buggin’.
I agree with both, although I have started to get used to the ‘like’ thing.
Snapping gum could cause me to be homicidal. Not really, but it’s almost to the point that I might just say something to the person next time.
‘Um, excuse me, but you’re chewing your gum LIKE A COW.’
Meh. I still prefer it over men of a certain age who burp, fart and pick their orifices in public.
My 5 year old is already abusing “like” “totally” and “so”… as in “Mom, I’m like totally not friends with Emma any more. I am SO not her friend.” It’s like nails on a chalkboard.
She’s also picked up that annoying thing where statements become questions. Such as, "So I was in my classroom? And the teacher left for a while? And one of the boys got up from his desk?..
It’s only a matter of time before I snap. Perhaps Spartydog and I could form a support group.
I do appreciate the self-effacing humor, but I’m afraid I will now forever picture you as this guy.
Which isn’t so bad, considering my previous mental image of you was Tim Curry’s head on Strawberry Shortcake’s body, but as a mermaid.
I need more sleep.
Hate hate hate gum chewing but go all postal on gum cracking. An ex bf used to chew his (cinnamon flavored) gum with his mouth open. Grrr
Yeah, so like the other day I was brushing my hair and blah, blah, blah…you know what I mean? And then so-and-so did such and such and I told her that was just stupidn you know what I mean? And I hate it when I wake up in the morning and I was having a really good dream but I can’t remember it, do you know what I mean? …
Do you?
Dearest, sweetest friend of mine, I don’t mind listening to your random stream of conscience “conversations” really and truly, I don’t. However, when you say 'Do you know what I mean?" As a period after every sentence I assume, firstly, that you are asking retorically. Secondly, when five or six of these arw strung together, I begin to feel the need to gouge out your eyeballs while screaming “Do YOU know what I mean??” As I feel this would be so detrimental to our friendship, I respectfully request that you refrain from asking constantly if I know what you mean (as there has never been a single time I have not, in fact, not known what you meant). In the event that you absolutely find yourself unable to fulfill this request, please for the love of all that I hold dear, stop asking this question and then actually waiting for me to respond with an affirmative answer.
I beg you.
This is actually quite easy to train them out of. Don’t respond when they are speaking like this, point it out every time, or mock them.
fisha-mother of 5, none whom roll their eyes, say “like” or “you know” excessively, or speak in questions. They tried the head movement thing, but when I bawked like a chicken every time, it lost some of the appeal.
At least around me, or in general conversations. Around their friend, all bets are off.
I would also like to ask that y’all forgive my errors. I hit submit on accident and posting from my BB makes it impossible to edit in time. 
I have a co-worker who has a loud peircing laugh at the the end of every sentence, as if she’s said something witty 9as far as I know she never has 
) . Also, she is from Jamaica, and despite being in Cleveland for chrisakes insists on a very cartyoonish Jamaican accent that Mike Myers would cringe at.
“You know, mon, you’ll be travelling next week to New York, tee-hee-hee…”
“Yes, mon, yor tickut be non-refundable, tee-hee-hee-HEE-HEE…”
Hey, you stole my answer!
Odd – most times I hear this, the words that come out next don’t appear to have had any great amount of thought formation put into them.
But the gum popping is really annoying. I was almost assaulted on a bus because of this.
I was sitting in a seat, reading my paper, when a woman got on the bus, sat down across the aisle from me, and suddenly snapped her gum loudly. I was startled, and looked at her. She said, rather aggressively, ‘Does me chewing my gum BOTHER you?’ Without stopping to consider, I said ‘oh, no; it’s very nostalgic. It reminds me of growing up on the farm, with our contented cows chewing their cud as we milked them.’ She stood up and scowled at me, and probably would have struck me, except that everybody sitting around us burst into laughter.
I am thirty-eight years old. I am a heterosexual, single male. I’m not even sure I dislike being single, but of course I have the single guy’s roving eye, and sometimes on the bus or train, some older teenage girls will get on, and they do look very pretty. I do notice this.
Then they open their mouths to speak. And I realise how young they are. It’s a total turn-off. As it should be, I guess.
Question for Americans (and other non-Australians):
Do teenagers in your area answer EVERY last statement with “Are you serious?”
They’ve been doing it here for five or more years, and it’s driving me batshit crazy. I don’t have much contact with teenagers, but even people up to 25 (whom I work with) are doing it.
“It’s a nice day today!”
“Are you serious?”
[Represses the urge to yell, “NO, FUCKFACE, I WAS LYING!!!”] “Er, ye-es”