Ten pet peeves.

I love a list. Especially lists about writing lists.

This is a very negative list... a collection of ten random things that just bug me and make me all twitchy. They are in no special order, and I'm sure there are many more I could have added. Especially on a slightly hungover Sunday.

My ten pet peeves:

1. Websites with sound. I have spoken about this before on my blog... I get all jittery when I casually click onto a site and I'm suddenly assaulted with unwanted noise. Why oh why? Luckily the exit is one click away.

2. The phrase, "it's a much of a muchness". My mum used to say this all the time when I was a kid and it was always like fingernails on a chalkboard... what does it even mean?? Urgh.

3. Bad manners. What I mean is, when someone accidently bumps into you while walking past and doesn't say "sorry" or give an apologetic nod. Even worse: kindly letting someone in while driving and not getting 'the wave'... harsh.

4. 'Two sittings' in restaurants. This is when you call and try to make a restaurant reservation and they say something like, "sorry, we have two sittings: 6:30pm and 9pm". It's always made me feel a bit more like a walking wad of cash than a valued customer who has the right to enjoy their meal for as long as they like.

5. Burping. I can take any kind of bodily noise except that which escapes from the mouth. It literally makes me shudder. Unfortunately, this is a common event in Chinese culture. I'm still learning how to deal with it.

6. People talking in movies. I can't even talk about it. Yuck.

7. Automatic phone menus. Do they ever work? How easily do you find you get through to a real person? How many times have you become so lost you had to start all over again? Or hung on forever and then the line goes dead? And how can these wealthy companies keep putting up their fees yet spend less on customer service?

8. No notice. I do not deal well with impromptu events, gatherings, get-togethers and catch ups. I don't even like the word impromptu. I am a planner. If something happens that is unplanned, my first reaction is to panic. I have never liked people just dropping in unannounced. And I never do that to other people. It's not that I don't want to see people, it's just that I didn't plan it.

9. Movies, books and TV shows without romance. Unacceptable.

10. The font Times New Roman. I admit, this is random. But that font just rubs me the wrong way... always has. Is that because it was the very first font invented and lost it's mojo a long way back? Was it even the very first font??

That is far too big a question for a Sunday.