things that bother me

It is time once again to talk about the things that bother me ... and there are many. Don't get me wrong. I am a happy person, and I am normally not negative and focused on all of the bad stuff that is going on. But I also think it's fun every once in a while to talk about those little things that just drive you up the wall. So, here goes:

1. People who water the sidewalk and not the lawn. I'm not sure why people ever do this, but it's quite frequent in Salt Lake for me to have to get off the sidewalk and walk in the street in order to avoid a major shower on my way to work. These aren't just grandmas that can't seem to adjust their sprinkler system, either. This is big businesses like the Plaza Hotel that find it more cost-effective to saturate the cement sidewalks than actually provide moisture to their pansies out front. Someday I hope I might actually get to continue my journey to work on the sidewalk...but I'm not holding my breath.

2. Hair on the kitchen floor.... and in the fridge ... and in the sink. This is not only annoying, but it's totally unsanitary and disgusting. I have some pretty sloppy roommates, but it is never acceptable to use the kitchen as a hair brush. I am just waiting for the day when I pull a huge clump of hair out of my sandwich, or find some in my milk. Yuck. I'm getting the shivers just thinking about it.

3. Frigid air conditioning. It is now July, and it is hot in Salt Lake. Thus, the office where I work has the AC on high to keep everyone from sweating it up. Unfortunately, during the past few weeks I have shivered so badly that I actually had to bring my fleece BYU-Idaho blanket to work with me. Today, I had it wrapped completely around me, and I was still getting goose bumps. There has to be a happy medium between broiling and being frozen.

4. Trash sitting three feet from the nearest can. This one reinforces to me how lazy some people are with their fast food wrappers. I mean, come on. You just saved a half hour by going to Wendy's instead of some sit-down restaurant, yet you don't have the time to walk a few more inches and stick that hamburger wrapper in the trash. Or, better yet, you're a poor shot but you have even worse rebounding skills. Enough with the analogies. I think I have beat that horse dead.

5. People who saunter when you are obviously in a hurry. This one happens to me often, probably because I am a fast walker, and I like to get to places in the shortest time possible. At times I take time to smell the roses, but most of the time, I walk quickly by the American Beauties. This also applies to those pedestrians who take their sweet time crossing the street when there is a pileup of cars trying to get somewhere. Sure, we know you're enjoying your summer walk, but if you picked up the pace a little, maybe we could get home before the sun sets and all we have of our nights are old reruns of Seinfeld. OK, so you're not that slow, but still. It would be nice to speed things up a bit.

I have finished my little list of all the things that tork me off now, and I do feel so much better. Maybe tomorrow I might be a little more tolerant of that slow pedestrian in front of me. Maybe.