15. Three pet peeves
Only three? Well, okay.
Number three: Signs with misspellings or grammatical errors. I know, this is petty of me. But it annoys me. During a recent trip to Vegas, I saw an entire line of parking spots with signs reserving them for service vehichles. Not just one misspelling here, but an entire row of them. And when I went to the opera the other day–as one does–the subtitles twice read it’s when they should have read its. Shudder.
Number two: Travelers who complain when everything’s not exactly like it is back home. I was once stuck with one of these people for a week while I was in Hungary and the Czech Republic. The rest of us came close to throwing him off a moving train. If you love everything at home so much, great. Stay there. The rest of us are delighted to explore the world’s diversity, even when it means we encounter things that are less than perfect.
Number one–drumroll please: People who don’t do their fucking job. I don’t care what that job is. College student. Fast food worker (yes, I was once one of those). Member of Congress. Whatever it is you have responsibility for doing, do it. Preferably, do it well. Don’t leave the rest of the world to pick up your mess.
I could be at least a little forgiving of #3 (not much but a little) but #2 & 1, oh yes those. I was tempted to grab this one woman in Canada and just drag her out of the store. Not only was she holding up the line for me to waste money on tourist crap, she was LOUDLY arguing that as an American she shouldn’t have to pay this high Canadian tax. The clerk shut her down with ‘I’d rather pay the tax and have free health care.’
I could post #1 all over the university.
My university too!