Thursday Thirteen #145

Today I shall give you a few of my favorite little peeves. We all have them, the little things that just drive you nuts even though they shouldn't.

1. Food labels. I read labels a lot these days because my doctor told me to watch my sodium. But on food labels, servings aren't the entire bottle of soda. No, the labels are for half a bottle. Or half a candy bar or 1/8 cup of cereal. They are very misleading unless you read the entire thing, measure and do the math.

2. My phone rings and it is my bank trying to sell me insurance. Excuse me? You are my bank. I don't want to buy insurance from my bank. I buy insurance from my insurance company.

3. Telemarketers. Thanks to the government "do not call" list I get fewer of these than I once did, but still, the little loopholes about being partners and doing business with someone gives them the right to call you all the time make the list less than perfect. I do believe some countries don't allow telemarketing at all, and good for them.

4. Warranties that aren't. A warranty should cover all costs. I hate replacement warranties that are not. As in, something breaks and you can get it fixed but you have to pay a small fortune in "shipping and handling" that is nearly as much as what you paid for the item. I bought the product in good faith and then I have to pay for you to fix your mistake?

5. The weather. Okay, I can't do a darned thing about this but it is not supposed to be nearly 100 degrees in Virginia in June. That is August weather. In June it is supposed to be 75 degrees and breezy and clear, not hot and humid as hell. But there is no climate change because it snowed last winter, remember?

6. Artificial sweeteners. Aspartame and sucrulose are rat poisoning in disguise, dumped in our foods, and I am finding it more and more on those labels that are so difficult to read. This is probably all to the good because it means I have to resort to real foods which I should be eating anyway, but I worry about what this stuff is doing to other people. And to me when I slip up and eat it.

7. People who pull out in front of you and then slow down. I don't know what these people are thinking. Maybe something along the lines of, "I need a new car, if I slow down this yoyo will rear end me and their insurance will buy me a new one."

8. Toilet paper holders. I hate having to put new rolls on the holders. So there.

9. I'm like, you know what I'm saying? and other stupid phrases that permeate people's speech sometimes. I know a few people who are so busy saying those phrases that I never have a clue what they are actually trying to talk about.

10. PEOPLE WHO SEND EMAIL OR INSTANT MESSAGES IN ALL CAPS. This is terrible Internet etiquette and I find it quite irritating because it is quiet shouting. It makes me want to hit the delete key immediately.

11. Along the same lines, people who forward stupid political things to me. Most of it is wrong or just opinion and when you do forward such things you're just adding my email to some spam list. Or at least to a list of your friends whom I don't know. So stop it already.

12. Dogs in stores. Unless it is a service dog helping a disabled person, dogs do not belong in Lowe's or Kroger or Walmart or any other place where pooches seem to be turning up lately. I don't care if it is your little snookums. Leave the dog at home where it isn't likely to get close enough to me make my allergies flare up. Not everyone likes dogs, particularly big dogs that look like they could swallow your leg in one single gulp. Please be a little more considerate.

13. Lastly, the hard plastic from hell that covers batteries, computer and camera accessories, and other things. It requires dynamite to get that stuff open and it seems like a terrible waste of resources. Can't they come up with better packaging?

Many people play Thursday 13. Go check out the list of folks playing this week here. Ya'll come back and see me, ya hear?