whatannoys.me

A friend of mine and I were tweeting (you can follow this site @whatannoys_me) the other day about the huge annoyances we run into throughout the day, and this one brought some great laughs. The popped collar is one of those fashion trends that needs to die a slow and painful death. Seriously…who the hell even though of something so ridiculous as making your shirt collar point up? What evil genius thought…you know how I can make people walk around looking like complete idiots and at the same time they think they look like the coolest kid on the block? I know…I’ll make them put their collar to their shirt straight up in the air! Genius!!

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To the ladies out there, you may never have to worry about this one, but for us guys…there is always that one guy who decides that the perfect time to strike up conversation is while you are doing your business.

So there you are…relieving yourself of your daily liquid intake. You are probably thinking about the tasks of the day, where you want to go next or just thankful that you made it to the restroom on time. You hear the door open and another man in search of self release enters the restroom. It might be a crowded restroom day or you are the only two performing this function at this point in time…regardless…it doesn’t matter. Without even skipping a beat, this guy picks out his urinal of choice, gets started doing his thing and then it comes…”Hey man, how’s it going?” (more…)

Initially, I considered this bluster to be a factor of everyday life and likewise; have accepted it as a common ground amongst my peers.  But let’s not stray from the point too quickly!  When you hit up your friend, neighbor, or coworker and hear the statement, “Hey!  Leave a detailed message and I will return your call as soon as I am able,” from their voice mail greeting, why do you insist on not keeping up with your end of the arrangement.

Naturally, one might question my tact and logic behind the question, “keep up with your end of the deal,” but it is very simple.  When you call my personal cell phone or land line, you typically hear something to the effect of, “You have reached the voice mailbox of Justin Shattuck and I am currently unable to accept your call; however if you would leave me a detailed message including:  your telephone number, name, best method for getting back in touch with you; and any other important details concerning your call, I will get back to you at my earliest convenience.”

Seems simple enough right?  I am asking you for a specific amount of information and I am giving you a nice outline for educating yourself during future phone relationships that end up with your petty self in their voice mail box.  You are likely receiving my voice mail because I do not wish to speak to you — in fact I am actually busy is unlikely.  But, let’s for the sake of argument simply say that I am busy.  So what do you do?  It is supposed to be as simple as you leaving me your damn name, phone number, email address, or even a postal address to write you back.  If you left me a message stating that the best contact method to reach you was via snail mail, I would respect that. (more…)

Ah…the infamous co-worker that is so confident in their abilities that they really believe that the company would just fall apart without their abundance of value and commitment. You know this worker. He is probably sitting over your shoulder right now telling you any or all of the following:

• How he knows everything.
• How busy he is.
• How his boss doesn’t know what he is talking about.
• How he would do everything differently and it would be soo much better!
• How hard he works.
• How no one else can do what he does.
• One of his fantastic “if it wasn’t for me…” stories.
• The list goes on and on…

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This is one of those annoying things that I am elated that I never have to do again. First dates are one of the most annoying things on the planet. Recently, I was sitting in Starbucks just typing away on my MacBook Pro when I noticed a couple sitting several chairs away from me. This couple was obviously not too far away from the “hi, my name is Frank” stage. All of the uncomfortable first date signs were there.

• Random stupid questions like “so what do you do?”
• The man could not get comfortable and find his “I look cool by sitting like this” pose. Instead he was trying to figure out where to put his hands…which came off as looking uncomfortable.
• She could not get that “I’m really listening” smile off her face. I think it was actually stuck there for the rest of the night.
• Continuous small talk that had no real destination.
• I am pretty sure both of them were shaking uncontrollably.
• Fake interest in subjects that they have no experience in to keep the conversation running.

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My wife and I are Cold Stone Creamery freaks! Really…it’s a problem and I seriously think we keep the one down the street from our house in business. When you go to Cold Stone for ice cream, you expect a little bit of a wait. Not a big deal really…you get up there, order your ice cream, watch them mix all the sugary greatness together and go about your lives happier with a bowl of delicious ice cream in your hand.

Not too long ago, we ran into a couple of ladies that were taking their kids out for ice cream. Great…they are getting their kids out, enjoying the nice day and having fun out together…so where did it go wrong? They are COMPLETELY those people in line. Their conversation with each other is more important than making sure that they…and their kids…are not a nu sense to everyone around them. (more…)

This has to rank on my top 10 list, so let me paint you a picture. You are walking through the grocery store, with the list your wife handed to you, trying to find that very specific kind of noodle that she wants to cook with. As you are contemplating…how can there be so many noodles…a perfectly normal human being walks by. All of the sudden you hear it..

beep beep! Honey! Don’t forget to pick up paper towels! beep beep!

beep! beep! I know…you told me 5 times this morning…I got it! beep! beep!

beep! beep! Ok…just making sure…you forgot last time! beep! beep!

Great! Another person in a public area with a Nextel phone that wants us…their attentive audience…to hear EVERYTHING they say to their gracious talker on the other end of the phone! Why on Earth, do these people insist on making all of their conversations public knowledge? (more…)

Some of you might not be aware of this, but the Mexican population has a special way of pimpin’ out their rides. This does not apply to all and there are some of them out there that know how to do it right…but the vast majority in our area could write “How To Butcher A Car For Dummies”.

I honestly do not know what the root cause is, but if they go into an auto parts store and see any sticker that has flames, a Nike check logo, chrome bolt on parts or wheels that don’t actually fit their car…they HAVE TO BUY IT. It is something in their nature that makes that a must have item for their early ’90′s Honda. They just can’t go without it! (more…)

Everyone knows one  of these people. They just can’t seem to do ANYTHING quietly. Every move, every word and every action in their life has to be at a volume that just isn’t acceptable to the world around them.

You are having a nice quiet cup of coffee at the office trying to clear your brain as you get ready for the day. Maybe its spring and you can hear the birds chirping outside. All of the sudden…SLAM! GOOD MORNING!!!…COUGH! SNEEZE!…HOW ARE YOU?! That’s right…your loud coworker is here to disrupt the entire office! Great! Just what I was looking forward to this morning! Worse yet, all of that noise came from the complete other side of the office. He hasn’t even really made it over your way yet, and to add a cherry to this sundae…his office is right across from yours! Now you get to listen to the obnoxious speaker phone conversations and annoying music that you hate all day long! It doesn’t get much better than this… (more…)

So what started the idea of this site and the whole premis behind it? Something that annoys the absolute hell out of me! I know…big surprise given the domain name.

So I am driving down 400 south this morning and I come across that typical sideways driver. What is a sideways driver you might ask? They are one of the most annoying creatures on the planet when you are driving in periods of high traffic.

A sideways driver pays more attention to the drivers next to them…instead of the ones in front of them! (more…)