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Sitting in Starbucks is an interesting way to pass an afternoon.  I mean, I have good company with my wife and her good friend, and therefor, a fair share of laughs.  But listening to the conversations around us is just too much fun sometimes — especially in a college town like Ithaca, NY.

However, in overhearing things, it’s fair to say that I’ve found a fair number of things that simply annoy the heck out of me.  This list isn’t by any means complete or all that fair to those around me.  So, in no particular order, here we go.

1. The word ‘super’ when used in response to the question, “How are you?”  I have no idea why this bugs me so much, but it just does.  I can’t help but think of the word ‘super’ as it relates to size, or quantity — think “supersize”.
2. People who wear headphones and still sing along to the music.  Seriously?
3. People who listen to music and don’t wear headphones.  I don’t like your music and I wouldn’t expect you to like mine.
4. People who feel the need to re-arrange all of the furniture.  While I don’t mind this in principal, when you insist on blocking the walkway so no one can pass just to fit that eighth person at you tiny little table, you’ve gone too far.
5. Noisy children.  Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t mind kids all the time. But to allow them to run and scream in a public place simply pisses me off.
6. People who start a conversation while waiting in line for the bathroom.  Don’t talk to strangers — especially while waiting to go to the bathroom.  Just don’t do it.  Ever.  For any reason.
7. People who bring printers / scanners and set them up on a table.  Don’t you have a home?  This isn’t just annoying, it’s quite frankly weird!

So… what pisses you off in a coffee shop?

Edited to add:

8. Loud ringtones.  If your phone goes off over and over and over, you aren’t popular, you’re annoying.  Phones do have vibrate functionality.
9. Fake / excited “valley girl” type accents.  Very annoying in all settings.  Piercing and shrill in a coffee shop.  Should be outlawed everywhere except for perhaps some areas of California.

As many American’s struggle to make ends meet, one of the hot topics for added expenditures is higher gas prices.  However, apparently GM, or at least its vice chairman Bob Lutz, feel that higher gas prices are a good thing.

According to this CNN Article, Lutz met with the press at the Detroit North American International Auto Show and stated that if gas was taxed at a steadily increasing rate, then both consumers and automobile manufacturers would benefit.

GM’s Corporate Greed

GM’s big offering in this years Auto Show was their new electric vehicle the Volt.  I get the impression that they are putting a ton of effort into hyping this vehicle as it’s their answer to the hybrid vehicles other manufacturers are producing.  However, this isn’t an easy sell.  While many American’s are interested in the concept, it will be hard to convince them that the Volt offers anything not already available.  In typical greedy corporate American style, it seems that Lutz wants the government to implement an increasing fuel tax to make such alternative fuel vehicles more appealing.

Essentially, the message Lutz is giving to the consumers is that their vehicle isn’t able to compete in the current marketplace, and therefore, he wants the marketplace to change — not his company’s product.  I’d like to call bull shit.  Make a product that can compete, or go home.  As a hard working, middle class American, I don’t want to foot the bill for your marketing campaign.  Lutz then goes on to say:

Every time gas prices go back down, everybody starts buying big stuff again. Gas prices go up a buck, the big stuff is unsellable and everyone wants small cars. Go figure.  It’s like the collective memory is about three weeks long. We can’t run a business that way.

Sadly, I have to agree with his last point. They can’t run a business that way, or apparently any other way.

Rising fuel prices could devastate many Americans

In typical big business fashion, Lutz appears blissfully unaware what his proposed tax could do to many Americans.  If gas prices increase by a dollar over the next four years, I know that my budget would have to change.  That’s not insignificant!  And the worst part of this whole thing?  The people who can’t afford the higher gas prices are the same people who can’t afford a new vehicle.  So frankly, I think the logic is a bit off.

Oh well.  At least Ford had a good showing at the Auto Show!

This is getting ridiculous.  Seriously ridiculous.

So tonight, I have a wonderful dinner with my wife, and we sit down to watch a DVD and catch up on what’s going on in the world.  From across the couch I hear “Jon and Kate’s divorce is finalized!” Thinking to myself, what the heck news is my wife reading, I ask.  Turns out, it’s freaking CNN Top Stories RSS feed!  And here’s the article.  What the hell people.  Is this what our country finds “Top News”?  Apparently, this is where our countries interests lie.

Let me make a couple things clear.  I hate celebrity news.  I hate cable TV.  Yes.  I said it.  Hate me all you want, but to me the idea of paying hundreds of dollars a year to purchase the rights to watch TV laced with ads is completely ludicrous!  And every time I talk to my cable subscribing friends, all I ever hear about is the lack of good programming.  And yet they still pay!  So you can imagine my frustration that going to a reputable news source for some insight into the happenings in the real world, I come across two people who have turned a divorce into a publicity stunt and are dragging their children along for the ride (and even more publicity).

And I think what’s even worse is that we, as Americans, have allowed this to happen by actually giving a shit when some rich celebrities sneeze.  Get over it people.  Put down the remote, disengage yourself from your fake world inside that picture box and look around the room.  Look around your community.  Here are real people.  In today’s economic times, the last thing we need is to focus on those who have plenty of money and fame and choose to do nothing good with it.  Instead, we should focus on something real, something tangible.  What about that friend you know who’s going through a divorce and it’s tearing them up?  What about those around us who have no family to celebrate the holidays with?

So yes.  Call me bitter, call me un-American.  But get these two idiots out of the news and let them fight their fights behind closed doors.   Because I’m sick of hearing about them!

Having had a long day at work, I wearily trudged through the grocery store this evening in search of something fun to cook for dinner.  Entering the local grocery store I grab a little hand basket and attempt to quickly scurry over to the meat department.  Here, my friends, is where the trouble starts.  You see, at 6:30 PM there are two types of shoppers in any given store — those in a hurry to get home, and those who are retired and have nothing better to do than to wander around the grocery store with a cup of coffee and gawk at everything.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m sure I’ll be retired some day.  Hopefully, I’ll be doing something better with my time than shopping for groceries!  Seriously.  Aren’t there more fun things to do?  I really think there must be a lot of lonely shuffleboard courts somewhere.

After weaving around a seemingly endless crowd of slow moving people, I approach the seafood counter with my mind set on purchasing a nice piece of salmon.  Drawing near to the counter, I realize that an elderly woman in front of me is arguing with the poor guy behind the counter.  Mind you, he’s the only guy behind the seafood counter so my prompt escape from grocery store hell depends on his service.  And here’s the kicker!  She’s arguing with the seafood guy about why he can’t “trim” the fat off the piece of fish!  Yes, that’s right.  The lady wanted the fat trimmed from a fucking piece of cod!  Becoming disgruntled that the seafood counter guy refused to comply with her wishes, she wheels her shopping cart away in anger, almost taking out two or three innocent bystanders in the process.

Approaching the counter, and being a bit of a smart ass, I ask the guy for “that piece of fish right there where I’m pointing.”  As he’s about to wrap it up, he asks if I’d like him to take the skin off it.  I tell him that’s okay, I’m good.  But, not being able to leave it at just that, ask “But could you trim the fat off it?”  He just glared at me.

Oh well.  Apparently he wasn’t ready to laugh about it just yet…