The Saint
The pettiness of pet peeves
Hillevi Gustafson ruminates on the melodrama of the mundane
We all have them, our very own collection of pet peeves. Call it an amalgamation of things that really annoy us - sometimes justified, sometimes irrational beyond imagination. Consider this my treatise on the annoyances that plague our existence.
One thing that really gets me going is banking in this country. This is not another op/ed on how they helped ruin the economy. No, this is personal. Specifically, this is about Internet banking. It makes no sense to me why you cant transfer money from one account to another, within the same bank, over the weekend. Is that not the whole point of online banking, to provide a service when the banks are closed? It doesnt take that much effort to move some numbers around on a computer, its kind of what computers are for in the first place.
On another note, iTunes is getting one my nerves again. I love iTunes store, so this is more of a domestic dispute than a full on war. Like most people, I have a bit of a fetish for all things Apple (heck, Id even get the iPad if the banks would just transfer my money already). Its a great store; the fact that they just sold their billionth song is a testament to that. It's just annoying that youre only allowed to play bought tracks on authorised computers, and you can only authorise five computers.
Speaking of limits on entertainment, lets take a moment to hate the regions on DVDs. Part of me understands why iTunes puts limits on how far you can spread your music, but this is one control that cannot be justified. I bought the DVD, I bought the laptop and Ive done everything according to the laws of society and morality. People travel so much and so much effort is put into making entertainment portable, so how does it make sense to try to restrict it?
Then there are the bigger issues, things that cannot be changed but bug us nonetheless. The amount of times Ive heard people curse the weather lately is fairly impressive. The weather is actually one thing that I am generally at ease with, what I cannot stand is the fact that this country cant handle ice. Were in northern Scotland for crying out loud, youd think the city would be prepared to deal with it. Instead I end up falling on my butt every time I want to get to class.
Then there are Mondays. Garfield had the right idea, lets wish away all Mondays. Its not even the day itself that is the problem its the concept. Waking up on a grey Monday morning is akin to having someone pour a bucket of water on you. Its a new start, but generally that just means catching up on everything you had meant to do the week before. We dont even get lasagna.
This list can go on forever, my pet peeves range from the legitimate to the whimsical. I hate getting halfway down the hall before realizing that Im wearing the wrong shoes, Bill OReilly makes me froth at the mouth and dont get me started on the fact that there are separate taps for hot and cold water.
I guess the point that Im trying to make is that in the end your pet peeves are not a big deal. Ill be the first to admit that I get hung up on things. After a while you just have to live and let live, realise that the world isnt out to get you and maybe its time to abandon some pets. Being melodramatic is overrated and if you think about it, isnt it kind of annoying how much time we all spend on being annoyed?
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