Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Irked

I'm feeling a little ranty today. I think part of it is that we are under major proposal deadline pressure at work. I worked this past weekend and I've been staying late at work every night. In the meantime, I haven't been getting enough sleep and my Google Reader got so out of control that I finally gave in and marked all as read. And it's ALREADY starting to get out of control again. I had a sore throat yesterday and I am seriously hoping that it's sleep deprivation and not a virus that's making it happen.

So, five little things that are bugging me today:

1. Why do people always crowd in front of doors as soon as they open? It drives me NUTS when people start to get on the bus without letting people get off first, and the same thing with elevators. Just pause for a second and look where you're going instead of charging blindly into a crowd of people. And on a related note, look behind you when you walk through a door! If someone is behind you, you don't have to stop and let them go ahead of you, but you could at least avoid shutting the door in their face. I just saw this happen to a woman with a stroller. A guy went through a door ahead of her and didn't even look to notice the door HITTING THE STROLLER as it closed behind him. COME ON.

2. I have recently been totally craving all sorts of unhealthy food. Specifically, I want greasy Chinese (egg rolls! And fried rice! And crab Rangoon!), cake with tons of icing, and a huge bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. These items don't really mesh with the whole Weight Watchers thing. Sometimes I miss the carefree days when I didn't pay much attention to what I ate and I didn't have the first clue how many calories were in all the unhealthy food I liked.

3. I didn't watch the NBA draft lottery yesterday, but I saw that once again the worst team in the league did not get the first pick. As always, commentators seem shocked by this. It's driving me a little bit nuts. Yes, the odds are stacked for the worst team in the league to win, but only insofar as they are more likely than any other one team to win. This does not mean that they are objectively likely to win.

Say there's 10 teams, and everyone gets one entry in the lottery except the worst team in the league, which gets two entries. Now, if you have to guess which team will win, you should pick the one with two entries because they're twice as likely as any other team to win. This is true. However, their overall chance of winning is still only two out of eleven. It is much more likely that any of the other nine teams will win instead. I know that most people aren't math people, and really I'm not a math person either, but it bothers me that NBA commentators, the ones who are supposed to understand how the draft lottery works, don't get it. Every year, the worst team in the league doesn't win! And every year, the sportscasters are shocked! Come ON.

4. The down side to not paying utilities is that we don't have total control over our heat. When the system is on, we can control the temperature, but when it's off, that's it. During the first spate of springlike weather last month, our building turned off the heating for the season, and it's been off ever since. Unfortunately, we've had more 40-degree nights than 75-degree days since then, and it is FREEZING in our apartment. We added an extra blanket to our bed and getting out of the shower has become almost unconstitutionally torturous. Consistent spring weather, where ARE you? Soon it's going to be SUMMER and if it gets all hot and humid without first giving us our fair share of sunny, breezy days, I am going to be PISSED.

5. I have to get to work. AUGH.

So, what's irking you these days?

42 comments:

  1. Thankfully I can still put the heat on in my apartment but I SHOULDN'T. Why? Simply because it is almost JUNE.

    Mainly one thing is irking me these days: my job.

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  2. I'm irked when I have to explain things several times to people. They call, ask a question and I answer and then the next day they do it again. This goes on for days! So frustrating!

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  3. The heat issue is annoying me as well, except that it's my office, which means I have to share my space heater with my office mate. I'm cold, it's my space heater, get your own!

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  4. RE: your #4?
    I let the oil run out because i thought we were done with the cold weather. Since heating oil is SO EXPENSIVE right now, i sort of half-heartedly decided that it's not going to get cold anymore and that maybe i didn't need to call the oil company for a delivery anymore this season. Yeah, big mistake. Last night was FREEZING and taking a shower this morning - torturous. Unconstitutionally. Ha!

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  5. Oh, that's another thing about home ownership - don't buy a house with oil heat. GAH so expensive and so annoying to have to keep tabs on it. Go with natural gas heat when you start looking - it never runs out! What a concept.
    HATE THE OIL.

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  6. that thing with the heat would irk me too

    and lately? just traffic, really. and money. I HATE MONEY.

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  7. That same temperature control thing! It's chilly in my apartment and I can't do anything about it.

    What irks me? My persistent cough that won't go away.

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  8. I'm all over #1. I also get offended when men don't let women out of the elevator first. I'm not old fashioned, but I feel it is common courtesy.

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  9. What is irking me lately? EVERYTHING. But especially people who are always rude to me when they deign to talk to me, but now they feel like it is ok to ask me super personal questions about my pregnancy. WTF? We are not friends.

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  10. I think the better question for me today is what *isn't* irking me. Because that would be nothing. And I still don't know how you can stand not being able to control your own heat! It was freezing last night! Here, at least.

    (And thank you for your email. I'll write soon.)

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  11. My boyfriend has the opposite problem- it is constantly like a sauna in his apartment which requires nakedness while at home.

    Irks for me, presently:
    1. Work
    2. My MIA friend
    3. Work
    4. Work

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  12. My annual frustration with parents who don't RSVP for birthday parties. How much pizza do we need? How many goody bags should I make?

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  13. I'm irked that it's Wednesday and not Friday of a long weekend.

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  14. I'm irked by the weather as well, but here in MN getting into the 60s is still pretty normal for this time of year, so I shouldn't complain. At least all the ice is off the lakes!

    Mostly what is irking me today, though, is our agency management system at work. If it was any slower it would be undoing things I've already done. Seriously, people in Texas that run this thing, get it in gear! I have things to accomplish sometime this century!

    Wow...thanks for letting me get that off my chest. I feel a little better now (or I will feel better, until I try to do something else work-related).

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  15. Today I am irked about people driving in the passing lane. I'm cool with driving in the passing lane if you are going 10-15 miles OVER the speedlimit, but 15 miles under the speed limit, come on! Really, if I want to go 10-15 miles over the speed limit, its not Slow Joe's job to drive in the passing lane making me go SO.SLOW.

    Thanks, talking about it, helps. LOL.

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  16. I thought of writing a list but, um, it would be ungodly long and it can all be summed up with five words: Boy Logic and the weather.

    *Sigh* Let's just run away :)

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  17. At least the cold weather gives you an excuse to snuggle with Torsten!!! :-)

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  18. FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK.

    a) i appear to be getting a sinus infection.
    b) i'm EXHAUSTED because of it
    c) which means i'm bailing on the gym all the time
    d) which is just making me feel worse
    e) and OH MY GOD SPRING COME ON ALREADY
    f) and i have to have A Talk tonight and it's stressing me out
    g) i hate Talks. HATE
    h) i hate that all of the above is able to get me so stressed and pissy
    i) which just makes me MORE stressed and pissy

    i'll stop there, but obviously i could go on ALL FREAKING DAY like that. ew.

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  19. Ms. Karen's "IRK" list is very long. At the very top is Lord of the Manor who seems to be under the impression that Ms. Karen has nothing to do all day but do research for HIS textbook project.

    Writing fiction isn't nearly as important as dishes, laundry, and HIS research (in HIS opinion, anyway). Yeah, whatever.

    Oh, and HIS car is in the shop, so I have to do ALL the driving because no one else in this household will learn to drive a manual transmission.

    And...and... must step away from keyboard before it bursts into flames.

    Feel better soon, Jess. It sucks being sick AND irked at the same time.

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  20. Ignoring the math! Always an irker for me. Well said on the NBA draft stuff.

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  21. Damn, now I want some crab rangoon!

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  22. Thanks much for mentioning Cool Ranch Doritos. Now I WANT.

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  23. Ugh, #1 is totally on my list too. Come on people, I know my mother isn't the only one who taught her children elevator and door holding etiquette!

    Also on my list: bad drivers, our schizophrenic spring weather, insomnia, and worst of all is Monday evening's migraine that I am *still* recovering from which kept me from Jen Lancaster's book signing last night! Sob!

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  24. You lost me on the NBA draft one, but I hear you on #2. For a while, I thought that getting in the habit of eating healthy was killing my cravings for unhealthy stuff. Apparently not so much, because now I want everything you just mentioned!

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  25. I'm also with Alice on a & b on her list. I've been fending off sinus infections off and on since January. Sadly that is not an exaggeration, and I am SO OVER IT!

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  26. I don't watch basketball, but I just asked Jason about the draft last night. Is that the only sport that uses a lottery system?

    The #1 thing that irks me lately is the alarm clock. Seriously. I effing despite that thing. GRRRR.

    (Also, Jason is getting more and more on my case about eating better and exercising and blah blah blah I'd rather eat Cheetos and sit on this couch, thank you. I think he is setting the alarm clock earlier and earlier hoping I won't notice and will somehow magically want to get up early to exercise. Guess what? NOT HAPPENING.)

    I will exercise outside once the damn temperature reaches 70 degrees. That is my law. The End.

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  27. weather is definitely on my list too. oh and boys. but you knew that already. :)

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  28. The crowding the door thing! ARGH! Don't people who live in major urban areas know better? Kick 'em in the shins.

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  29. I HATE it when people crowd the doors and don't wait for people to get off. I'm really obnoxious about it and will barge my way through the crowd as I get off an elevator if people crowd me.

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  30. DUDE. Getting out of the shower when it's cold in the bathroom is CRUEL. At my old house we had a good 2.5 inch gap under the bathroom door and it was always positively FRIGID. Not okay.

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  31. That is a serious list of annoyance! I do get overwhelmed with google reader sometimes to. It makes me anxious and annoyed. But what is REALLY irking me is the $50 I had to put in my little Honda Accord to fill it up and now I almost had to fill it again.

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  32. ugh.

    main thing vexing me (like the five cent word?) MONEY.

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  33. I live in a current state of irk. I always find something to whinge about lol.

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  34. Can I add to your #1 that it is perfectly acceptable in modern society for a MALE to step aside before getting on the elevator to let women pass AND to hold a door so that a woman can exit first. Apparently chivalry has died somewhere along the way, or around here it has!

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  35. yes. DEFINITELY this stupid weather.

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  36. My horrible, horrible roommate really irks the HELL out of me.

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  37. my Google Reader is beyond out of control... but I keep telling myself I'll get to it all eventually. Right.

    Lately people who don't wear deodorant and then stand next to me have been pissing me off--my olfactory glands can only take so much abuse in a single day people!!

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  38. I'm afraid if I start I won't stop.

    Sorry to hear you're under the weather. As for all those cravings, I just succumbed to mine: Orange Crush Soda. Yeah, I know. Ick. Don't ask, 'cause I don't know what the deal is. I'm normally a Dr. Pepper gal.

    And people who don't hold doors open and rush boarding the bus/Metro/elevator suck. Plain and simple.

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  39. I think what's bugging me the most is the neighbor who brings there dog to do it's biz in my front yard then pretend to only speak mandarin when I ask them to clean it up.

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  40. I know! I hate when people let doors slam in other people's faces. So inconsiderate. And I've been itching to turn off the heat in my apartment (because HELLO expensive) but the weather is NOT cooperating. It's nearly June, and we're hovering in the mid fifties. Wrong, it's just so wrong.

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  41. everything! But in my defense it is "that time of the month" lol.

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  42. What's irking me is that I just found out an hour ago that our oil fill/vent pipes have to replaced! Stupid poorness, dangit it's irritating!

    Also, I'm sick of spring colds/allergies. If it weren't for bees and honey and plant propogation, I'd say 'screw you, pollen!'

    I liked your draft rant.

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