What makes you a PITA?

In My Humble Opinion
61

You know, I had offered every single time that they could run the things by me BEFORE it went to print, but NOOOOOOO, they didn’t care, so they sent them out as is even if I made mention of the errors.

Sunrazor: I’m so glad you don’t visit my house. We are specifically getting a bench for the front hallway so that people don’t walk around our house in shoes. I don’t like wearing shoes inside, and I have enough to clean up after. If it bothers you that much to accommodate something that’s probably a cultural thing, then don’t visit or don’t be a PITA about it when reminded.

62

“Tell me what’s happened up 'til now.”

"Well, first the earth cooled, and then the dinosauers came . . . . "

63

And sometimes I nitpick spelling.

dinosaurs

:smiley:

64

I think we’ve had several threads on this in the past, but I’m not going to take the time to look them up.

This seems to be one issue that really polarizes people. I have a sister who is a “take off your shoes in my house” nazi, and I avoid going there whenever possible. Why should I have to get partially undressed just to visit you?

65

Clumps of products on the belt that make up bag-sized portions:

frozen dinners
yogurt, cheese, cream cheese tubs, smaller bottles of refrigerated stuff, deli meat
cereal boxes
canned goods/jarred goods
bread, bagels, pastries, tortillas
toiletries/paper/chemicals/magazines/gum
fresh fruits and veggies
prepared foods/soup

66

I fight for every mark after a test.

67

In this I agree with your in-laws, though I know I’m in the minority. I can’t for the life of me understand why shoes should not be like outerwear—to be taken off as soon as one arrives. Why wouldn’t one want to MINIMIZE the amount of dirt from outside that has to be cleaned up later from the carpet? It just doesn’t make any sense.

But yeah, like nearly everyone else, I keep my shoes on in other people’s houses, and don’t ask visitors to remove theirs when they come to our house. At the same time, I almost never wear shoes inside my own house.

68

Of course not, A Hoosier Mama. Recreational wordsmithing is a noble pursuit. There is the hazard of becoming so polysyllabic that some people can no longer understand you. I’ve been there, and done that.

If you hear the OED saying, “I am the One True Dictionary. Thou shalt have no other dictionaries before Me,” it’s time to get some perspective. The OED is an excellent dictionary, but it isn’t the One True Font Of Knowledge. There is no such thing. If you get into the box where you say, “The OED says it. I believe it. Game over,” you are limiting your horizon to one book.

“Don’t mistake the edge of your rut for the horizon.” --James Patterson

Sometimes, I can be a pompous PITA. :smack: I think I probably would have deleted this whole post, if it didn’t illustrate what makes me a PITA. :wink:

69

So I’m reading the thread, saying to myself, not me, not me, not me… And then I run into this:

Oh yeah, baby. You put a fingertip smudge on my monitor and it is fucking ON.

If I had a stun gun I would be tempted to employ it.

“Okay, so, what we want to do is, you take the column of unreconciled vouchers, and you total them up in this cell, and then copy the value to here-- NNGGGhurk” –thud, flop flop flop, twitch–

70

I don’t have a strong opinion on this myself but I will share that my mother HATES to be asked to remove her shoes. She has had several surgeries on each foot and so at this point her feet are basically disfigured. She doesn’t even want to look at them, let alone show them to anyone else. I suspect others may have similar motives - like foot odor or a hole in their sock.

71

My Reader’s Encyclopedia gets a lot of mileage, too. I’ve got more than one way to be a PITA . :stuck_out_tongue:

72

It’s mostly an issue of being polite and well-mannered enough to follow someone’s house rules. Why be a boorish guest in someone else’s house when that tiny bit of effort they’re requesting will only cause you a very small bit of discomfort over a small period of time and they won’t have people blatantly disregarding (and disrespecting) their house rules? If I’m in a house where it’s not obvious whether I take shoes off or keep them on, I ask. If it’s readily apparent, I follow the house rules.

73

Rather than consider shoes as outerwear, I think most people consider socks/stockings as underwear. They are just as averse to walking around someone else’s house in their socked and shoeless feet as they would be walking around in panties and bra. Well, maybe not just as averse, but along the same lines.

74

Before y’all tangle yourself up with the shoe question, you might want to familiarize yourself with this five-page slugfest.

75

Yeah, that’s what I was going to say, Cervaise. If (generic) you really want an international incident again…:smiley:

76

First, I almost always wear shoes that tie, and it is a royal pain in the ass to sit down and untie and then re-tie the shoes every time I want to go outside. If our culture were one in which one rarely stepped outside and spent most of one’s life indoors, that might not be an issue, but that’s not our culture.

Second, I was raised in a home that was, according to my father, “civilized,” and civilized people keep their shoes on because we are civilized, not cavemen. Illogical? Yes, but very, very civilized.

Which leads to: Third, it’s a matter of hygiene. There’s a reason restaurants and other public places advertise, “No Shoes, No Service.” It’s why we don’t all eat from a common pot or drink from a common carafe.

77

This is one of my biggest weaknesses, too. At work, people will send me something just to get my opinion on it. I think they must cringe behind my back when they do so because I must edit it. As a writer, I can’t help myself. I’m just incredibly picky. So I usually send it back covered in redline. I’m surprised I still get things to review sometimes.

78

I discovered that my current irritableness was shown by how fast I got dissatisfied with the current radio station. I’ve solved that with iTunes podcasts on my iPod. Ahhh… being able to fast forward and directly choose radio…

79

  1. I’m odd about food in many, many, many, many ways. Generally- if someone other than me cooked it, I really don’t want to eat it. (I won’t complain about it, but I generally won’t eat it)

  2. I can be both arrogant and pretentious. I tend to think I’m smarter than I am… or, really, assume that people I don’t agree with are dumber than I am.

80

Yeah. And let us add undisciplined. Put 'em on a leash. And quiet them down. Screaming, running, kids accelerate me from level headed and reasonable to the point of insanity in less time than a McDonald’s server.

Worse, if I become sufficiently annoyed I will explain my ‘PITA’ views regarding public behavior to you and your children. Just did it yesterday at our daughter’s wedding reception. Yes, my wife will elbow me. Or kick me in the shin. And it will hurt. But I will get my point across. And I will continue until such behavior is acceptably modified or I embarrass you enough that you pack up your unruly kids and leave in disgust. (Usually, as was the case yesterday, to the standing ovation of others present.)

Other PITA behavior that I share (without going back and quoting every single line):

The whole key thing mentioned by D_Odds: Mrs. Disguise, there is a reason why we have two sets of keys. Thou shalt not touch Lucy’s keys.

The whole customer service thing. For normal, everyday service, I behave in an acceptable civilized manner. Leave appropriate and sometimes even generous tips. And if I should get good or superior service, I go out of my way to bestow an appropriate complement. I talk to managers. I write letters. I make referrals. I become your marketing departments greatest ally.

What makes me a bigger PITA than anything else I do is this: If I get substandard performance I go out of my way to make certain that everyone knows about it. I talk to managers. I write letters. If possible I will drive customers away from your business. After I leave your establishment I will become your marketing departments worst nightmare. Anyone who gives me a 10 second window of opportunity will get a 10 minute ditribe on what a lousy experience I had with your business, and why I now do business with these other guys …

My wife, who is looking over my shoulder, suggests that I should mention that I go to McDonald’s (apparently) for the sole purpose of getting practice in the above. (They screw up my order 99% of the time, so I get lots of practice!) True to my word, Arctic Circle has only screwed up my order once in the last 4 years. Good service (they actually spend a few minutes training new hires), reasonable prices, and quick and efficient service. And you never even have to ask for napkins. :smiley:

And one last thing Mama suggests: When you are talking to me, Say What You Mean. If you are in any way ambiguous or phrase something that in a way that might in someway be interpreted in way that is clearly not what mean, I will purposely, intentionally and with great malice misinterpret what you say.

“Nobody doesn’t do that …” (and yes, I will interrupt you just to make my point …)

“Well, if ‘nobody doesn’t do that’ then, since a double negative = a positive then ‘somebody must do that’ so get to it!”

“Your order will be ready is just a sec …”

Second’s up. Where’s my food? What do you mean that’s not what you meant? Where’s your manager?

Yes. It all must be true 'cuz Mama says it’s true. And she will not enter a McDonald’s with me.

I am a Pain In The Ass.

Lucy

P.S.
I heard that. Get off my lawn.