I humbly submit that we are all, each of us, an occasional pain in the ass. And sometimes we know we’re being PITAs (PsITA?) but we don’t care, right? There are things I know I do that the person I’m dealing with is thinking, wow, what a pain in the ass. Sometimes I agree; sometimes I don’t. But off the top of my head, here are my claims to PITA-hood. Please post your own.
I don’t like eating off of/ out of serving plates. If I’m eating pizza in a cheap pizza joint, I will ask for a separate plate to eat off of, even if it’s a personal-sized pizza.
I like a slice of lemon with my diet cola beverage. I always order it: “I’ll have a diet Coke with a slice of lemon.” If the server forgets it, I send him or her back for one.
I always walk around and inspect the rental car before I take it, and I make the rental agent wait until I’ve done so.
I’m a nit-picker. (“NO!!,” gasp the Teeming Millions.) When someone says, “When I was watching House on Wednesday . . .” I say “House” is on Tuesdays." I’m trying to work on this as unjustifiable PITA-ness.
I don’t like people to read my magazines and newspapers before I do.
I don’t like people to eat in my car. I eat in my car frequently, when I’m alone, but then it’s my car.
“Can I have your telephone number before I ring up your sale?” No. You can’t.
I need a lot of variety in my food. I can’t understand the “make a big pot of soup and eat it for a week” mentality. My husband and kids eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch almost every weekday. (Yes, I do occasionally ask them if they want a change.) I don’t mind occasional leftovers, but only about once after the initial meal (excluding pizza and Chinese food). Unfortunately since I am the cook this only makes me a PITA to my self.
[QUOTE=Jodi]
. . . I always walk around and inspect the rental car before I take it, and I make the rental agent wait until I’ve done so. Makes perfect sense, in terms of pre-existing damages to the vehicles and liability.
I’m a nit-picker. (“NO!!,” gasp the Teeming Millions.) When someone says, “When I was watching House on Wednesday . . .” I say “House” is on Tuesdays." I’m trying to work on this as unjustifiable PITA-ness. Makes perfect sense. Even if it’s not your original intention, correcting this error might lead someone interested in watching the show because of the discussion to be able to find it more readily.
I don’t like people to eat in my car. I eat in my car frequently, when I’m alone, but then it’s my car. Makes perfect sense, 'nuff said.
Me, I’m almost OCD about keeping to right when walking, especially the busy, congested streets of urban areas. There are exceptions to when this can be applied but, people, at least try. Don’t meander alll over the sidewalk and don’t make a point of crossing over in front me, just because you can.
And don’t get me started on cell phone users who meander while talking.
I’m an egotistal and stubborn SOB. Just ask anyone who works with me. I actually got a fake award for stubbornness (made up by our department secretary) back in 1999. I still have it hanging on my wall in my office.
I also insist that the letters that look the same upside down (I, S, N, etc) be placed in the correct orientation on the scrabble board. Mrs Geek, who is generally much more obsessive-compulsive than I am, constantly places them on the board upside down, and I MUST turn them around the right way or I just can’t continue the game. I am apparently so annoying about it that I’ve caught her lately flipping the letters around before I even say something about them.
I can be very indecisive while shopping. I will pick something up, carry it around for a while, put it back, get something else, go back for the first thing, etc. Sometimes I give myself a pain in the ass! It’s best if I just go shopping alone.
I change the radio station in the car almost constantly as I drive. Even if I find a decent song, chances are there may be something better on. Also, I want to check *all * of my usual stations, of which there are about ten. I try to restrain myself if there’s someone else in the car, but it’s difficult.
I also point out all typos, spelling errors, and misuse of apostrophes I see. Is that so wrong?
i do the same thing, and with the TV remote too. When a commercial comes on I have to mute it no matter where I am i get the irrestible urge to do that. Also I am a PITA with the volume. I turn it up on quiet parts, turn it down on loud parts and mute on commercials. Though some commercials are funny (geico, nerd boys in colored shirts, the staples big red button) and since the remote is always in my hand I unmute the funny commercials.
I lost the remote to the upsatirs TV so I have to sit close so I can reach the buttons.
I also have to have the toilet lids closed at all times when not in use. I let them bang shut so everyone in the house can hear that I am a PITA about it.
I always feel like a PITA at the grocery store’s deli counter. I like my sandwich meat to be cut very thin - shaved rather than sliced, really. It takes them twice as long to cut it that way and I feel guilty asking them to do it.
I don’t leave the drive-thru until I have tasted my iced tea to make sure it’s unsweetened.
I’m a picky eater. Not super-picky, like those people who will only eat five or so dishes, but picky. There are lots of things I don’t like because of their texture. Complicating the matter is the fact that I keep kosher. I’ll want to check the menu at any restaurant I’m going to before I go in, to make sure they have something I can eat (vegetarian or kosher fish) and that I like. I will ask waiters at restaurants questions like “does this have chicken stock in it?” I’m not happy if I go to a restaurant with someone and the only thing I could eat is a salad.
I can’t watch gory stuff in movies or on TV- it literally makes me nauseous. Before going to see any movie, I will usually check out one of those “web sites for parents” that detail what gory stuff might be in it, to see if there will be anything I won’t be OK with watching.
In almost all situations, I won’t drive if I’ve had even one drink at any time in the past eight hours. I won’t go to (say) a bar with someone if I can’t get home in any way other than driving myself.
I generally can’t pick up how to do something just from watching it being done. I need an explicit verbal explanation as well. If I’m doing something I’m not so familiar with doing, I may talk myself through it.
I don’t get nonverbal social cues.
I’m going to nit-pick your nit-picking. They might have a Tivo, and not watch shows live, like me. If I Tivo something on Tuesday night, I probably won’t watch it until at least Wednesday evening.
I do the same thing, but with my Tivo. I fast-forward through all commercials that I don’t find amusing, that don’t feature cute animals, and that aren’t for an upcoming show that I might like to watch. It’s great. It means I’m even more isolated from the general culture (I don’t even know when or on which channel American Idol airs, for instance), but I don’t mind. If I wanted to know that stuff, I could Google it.
I think I am a PITA when it comes to explaining things. I overdo it. When someone doesn’t respond to my explanation my instinct is to explain it further because I think they didn’t get it the first time.
My wife will sometimes catch me in this, and ask further questions just to see how far I will go before I realize she is just teasing me.
When I run out of explanation, I just start repeating myself to make sure I am understood.
Geez, I think I am doing it now! :smack:
Heh…how much time have you got? Seriously, though my worst things are that I am a grammar nazi. I can not stand when people use bad grammar. I can overlook it with a simple correction if it is a teenager (“Can I take your oder?” “I don’t know, are you capable?”), but when it is someone who should know better (such as school memos stating things like “the children is going to be blah blah blah”), or someone that absolutely should be using a spellchecker (such as my boss’ emails), ARGGGGGGGGGH, I have been known to take a red ink pen, correct the grammar and send school memos to the principal at my children’s schools before.
At the grocery store, I am so anal retentive about picking out fresh fruit/vegetables (no bruises, must be just slightly underripe, no mushy spots, has to actually smell like what it is, no artificial scent or wax!) that when I get to the register, if the cashier is at all rough with my fruit/veggies, I will make them take them off my order. Drop my oranges into the bag? Take them off. Let my tomato roll down the lane and be squished by the steaks? Take it off. Seriously, I know it makes me a real PITA, but it’s a huge deal to me. Usually, I will just grab the fruit/veggies as soon as they are scanned into the register and bag them myself, but sometimes I am otherwise involved and can’t.
Oh, and ya know, being a “cold-hearted bitch.” Some people think that makes me a PITA. I donno.
I don’t like to eat socially except in my own home.
Actually, no - I love to eat socially. But more often than is comfortable, it instigates IBS issues. Thus, anxiety ensues. Sometimes the anxiety is worse than the IBS. Better to just pack it at the restaurant for taking home.
I really don’t like sharing car rides, as driver or passenger. I need my car to get away from people if I feel I need to.
Sometimes I have to bail on plans at the last minute. Sorry guys.
I hate being a flake, but maintaining the above spares me the trouble of full blown panic attacks. I figure, it’s a hell of a lot better than the 2 years I spent being agoraphobic in L.A.
Me? I dislike just about all TV programs and follow absolutely nothing in the way of TV shows. Reality TV for me is the news. I don’t mean to come across as a TV snob or anything, but I can’t imagine having my weekly schedule revolve around inane programing designed to sell me cars, beer, tampons, and laundry detergent.
I am a PITA when it comes to organizing my work. My files are my way - color coded subfiles, alpha, and positional (left, right, center tabbed file folders). I like to be able to say the insurance policy is right tabbed, purple label in expando labeled discovery. I go on vacation next week. I’ve made a color coded key for the person sitting in for me. I told her if she messes up my files I’m eating the chocolate she wants me to bring back for her.
The other thing is work related too. I can’t stand inconsistent names in saving documents. Correspondence is lastname.number of letter. Has been for years. So, normally it looks thus: Smith.003. We have a secretary who will, despite 4 yrs on the job, save it as Smith.11-02-06. The date is already there, just a little further to the right. I spent hours fixing the directories until I realized that I shouldn’t care how she saved her files. I cringe whenever I have to do anything on her files.
I flip channels on the TV during commericials too. I try to say I’m being effective and watching two-three shows at once. The hubby doesn’t buy it, he thinks I have ADD. I’ve noticed my 7yro doing the same. Dad will torment him by swiping the remote and actually make him watch the commericials.
I got over switching radio stations constantly by getting an ipod.
