Please Don't Stand Too Close To Me!

I would consider myself to be a pretty laid back and chill person. Of course, that obviously doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that people do that annoy me. I’ve thought long and hard (well maybe not too hard) about the things that I find a bit annoying. And so, I came up with a list. Here goes!

Slow walkers

First off, I want to clarify that this does not apply to handicapped people or the elderly. This applies to those who are perfectly capable of picking up the pace just a little bit. Many a time whether I be walking down the sidewalk or down the aisles of a grocery store, I will, without fail, run into someone that decides to walk at a slow pace.

Not only that but sometimes, they even stop right there in the middle of the sidewalk to reply to a text or check a notification on their phone! Gah! Please kindly step to the side and away from the middle of the side walk and do all that! What’s more, sometimes, I will come across a small group of people, say 3 or 4 that will decide to take up most of the sidewalk. Sometimes, they even all stop in the middle of the sidewalk too.

Standing too close

Several times, luckily not too often, I will be standing in line at a store, and the person behind me will be standing a little too close to me. For the grocery store, it’s usually not the person themselves, but their grocery cart. If I would take just one step back without looking or thinking anything, I would probably accidently step on their foot!

Laughing obnoxiously

Everyone has their own unique laugh and I actually find that very cool but sometimes there will be someone that has this really loud and obnoxious laugh that never seems to end. Sometimes, they laugh at just about anything and everything — things that aren’t really all that funny. Not in an offensive sense but it's just that it wasn’t all thaaat funny.

Folding fitted sheets

I know there is a method or trick to properly fold a fitted sheet. I just haven’t mastered it yet. Every time I attempt to fold a fitted sheet no matter how careful I am, I always end up unintentionally rolling it up into a ball. I think I should look again on how to fold a fitted sheet the right way. This haphazard rolling it up into a ball-like form just isn’t cutting it!

Licking envelopes

I’ve never looked forward to sealing envelopes the old fashioned way. Even before Covid. It wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t leave such a weird taste. I won’t lick an envelope to seal it shut unless I have no choice. Instead of licking envelopes, I use an adhesive roller to seal it shut. Glad I don’t have to lick stamps too!

90+ degree summer weather

I really enjoy the warmer weather and right now after a long winter it seems, I am loving the spring weather! In just a few months, though, come July, I will be cursing under my breath and wishing for autumn or even some snow!

I love weather between 60 to 80 degrees but as soon as the thermometer climbs past the 90 degree mark, I don’t even want to be outside. I live on the east coast of the United States so the greatest factor of my annoyance of summer weather is the humidity. I have no idea what the hot weather is like in the dry desert area out west like in Arizona for instance. I’d imagine it’s not much better.

Revving engines at 1 am

This annoyance usually occurs during the warmer months. It will be a peaceful night, I will be relaxing in bed watching a movie, reading a book, or if it’s 1am, most likely sleeping when suddenly I’ll hear someone revving up their car engine along with whatever music is blaring on their radio as they speed down the street. I haven’t heard any such activity lately at 1am. Hopefully it stays that way! Sure, it only lasts a few seconds as they pass through but it’s just something I don’t want to hear at 1am!

Not cleaning up after themselves

When I was a kid, I was taught to clean up after myself. It was expected and showed respect for other people. If you make a mess, you help clean it up. I guess there are some out there that have never been taught or disregard this message altogether.

Also, in relation to this annoyance, people that don’t wash their hands after using the restroom! That’s just gross! I do understand that some people are allergic and sensitive to certain soaps and use hand sanitizer that they carry with them. I can only hope that the people that I’ve noticed leaving the restroom without stopping at the sink to wash their hands really did use their own hand sanitizer!

Pop-up Ads

I will be reading an intriguing article or video, or even taking one of those “what character are you” kind of quizzes, when not even halfway through, an ad pops up. Most of the time, it’s an ad for something I’m not even remotely interested in. I just want to read the article on NASA’s next space mission, watch a funny cat video, or see which Harry Potter character I am!

Cell phones ringing and pinging

This primarily applies to places where cell phones should be placed on either vibrate, silent, or turned off such as in a movie theater, a church service, or a library. However, I really don’t care to hear the ping or chime of each time a person receives a notification. I do understand that some people are hard of hearing and don’t want to miss a potentially important phone call. I get that, but if you honestly don’t have to have your notification sound settings up that loud, please consider turning them down just slightly.

That was all that I could come up with for now. Of course, after this article is published, I’ll think of even more annoyances that I wish I would have added here. It never ends!