This week, it’s all about those little things that get under our skin: pet peeves! What’s the difference between a pet peeve and a complaint? We talk about that as well as how so many people inflate pet peeves into bigger issues. Is social media part of the problem, or does it all depend on how we use things? When is a pet peeve a sign of a bigger problem, and how can pet peeves actually be good? We talk about that as well as revealing our own pet peeves. Somewhere along the way, Shawn talks about eating chalk. Seriously. That part alone is worth the listen, but even beta listeners admit — from start to finish — that this is one of the best episodes of Men in Gorilla Suits to date!
Feel free to share your pet peeves in the comments, or leave a rating or review on iTunes if you like this.
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I’m usually pretty laid back in public, but littering is my pet peeve. Litterbugs drive me crazy. I will go out of my way to point out trashcans to trashers. Close second – people who smoke in doorways. Bonus peeve points for those who smoke in doorways AND throw their stubs on the ground! GRRRR
Funny about crunching, munching sounds being a pet peeve – I LOVE that kind of noise. Any crispy, crackly, crunchy, munchy, snap-crackly-poppy noise. Popping gum, popping campfires, cracking knuckles, cracking wood, crunching dry leaves, cereal, crackers, ice . . yep, I crunch ice.
I saw this in my G+ stream about how to cope with grocery store peevishness: http://youtu.be/xmpYnxlEh0c
When I see someone throw trash out the window of their car, there’s a split second there where I consider ramming them with my own vehicle. So I’m with you on litterers.
Shawn: Yeah, when I see a driver littering on the street, there’s a split second when I consider summoning an asteroid. No more litterbug, and a memorable lesson to would-be litterers. But . . I’m not gonna be *that* guy. 😉
CMS: Littering gets to me, too. It’s just like, “Oh, come on! Are you REALLY that lazy?!” And with cigarette butts…you just wanna say, “If you loathe the thought of using your car’s ashtray, maybe you should reconsider your habit.
I have friends who smoke, and they don’t throw things to the ground. They put out the cigarette (truly making sure things are out so, ya know, the state of Texas doesn’t burn), and throw the butt away or take it with them until they can. So I know it can be done. I suppose what gets to many of us is the lack of consideration. There was a time it all got to me much more than it does now, but really — these days you have to be a bigot, a racist, or something with a certain conscious effort behind your cruelty to get me truly angry.
The DFW speech…thank you for sharing that. I have never read anything he’s written, outside of some tennis essays. I’m very familiar with him, though, from reading about writers. And yet…this was new to me. And I agree: it comes down to choosing. In the positive/negative episode, it really hit me: I chose to not be so friggin’ down all the time. Shawn did, too. And it’s not easier, but the effect it has on things carries over.
I found out today that my car crapped out. It can be fixed, but it makes no sense to sink that kind of money into it when it can go to a down payment for a new car. In the past, I’d have chosen to be down. I’d be grumpy about a car payment and the hassle of it all. Now, though, I’ve chosen to see the good in it all. A more reliable car means mini road trips in a car that won’t die along the way. It means a safer vehicle than our 10-year-old car. I’m looking at the positive side of it. There was a time I’d be down about it — even mad. Maybe even sad.
But in a weird way, it’s a reminder that I made a choice to not settle for crappy jobs. So, while I don’t make a lot, there’s still enough of a buffer with funds that taking on a payment is not the hurt it would have been 4-5 years ago. And there’s a bit of, “Okay, how can I supplement income to make up for the payment so we have a reliable vehicle AND no dent to income?”
I now laugh when cut off in the grocery store by employees, knowing they are on a track and aren’t rude…just focused on a task. I have a tumor in my head that’s not such a bad thing, so I know that there are worse things in life than letting a pet peeve or a setback like a car finally dying get to me on that level. And I liked the DFW speech enough that I may finally break down and read something he’s written. Thanks! 🙂
Christopher: “Can your butt, or take it with you.” That’s my new go-to phrase for butt droppers. Though more than a few of the smokers I’ve encountered are “angry smokers,” and have pitched a fit at the suggestion they take other people’s health and comfort into consideration. One time at a restaurant I actually had a table of smokers pitch a fit because I and the people with me quietly chose to move to a non-adjacent table to escape the wave of smoke rolling over the booth divider. As if *we* were the rude ones. How dare we be holier than thou. Years ago I saw a bumper sticker that read, “I smoke and I vote.” Yeah, so what? It struck me as so absurd.
Good luck with your car purchase. My next car will be self-driving and electric. I may have to wait a while. 🙂
You’re welcome for the DFW link. He was quite an intriguing guy, very thoughtful in his video interviews. I think I’ll read “Infinite Jest.” I found this in Wikipedia: Harold Bloom described the book as “…just awful” and “[written with] no discernable talent.”
All the more intriguing. lol