Things that confuse/annoy you

[Johnny1996]

Not sure why this came to mind nearly two years later when it's now irrelevant, but one thing that annoyed me during senior year of high school was all but being forced to fill out those "request more information" cards that presenters from postsecondary schools pass out.

In economics class one time, a speaker from a business school kept pressuring me into filling one out. I had already told them twice that my post high school plans didn't include a business school (or any school for that matter) and there was no changing my mind. When the speaker tried a third time I finally had enough and complied, but intentionally left my phone number and email out. No point in having to deal with texts, calls and emails from a school that I know I'll never think about attending in my life. Surprisingly enough I never got a letter from them unless my family threw it away without saying anything to me.

 

[Carbon_6]

Overly cautious drivers tapping their brakes for unnecessary reasons....

Just like that one new driver I encountered this morning.

Oncoming traffic, corners... straight sections of road. I've had my fair share of those out in the wild.

Best to just give them space, rather than make them even more anxious by getting into a fit of rage.

 

[DesertPenguin]

I totally get that. On my drive to work I transfer from one highway to another using an exit/entrance ramp. Both highways have a speed limit of 55mph but on everyone slows down to the 30s and drags along until they have to merge with the other highway and it does nothing but create potential for danger and more traffic. Yes you have to slow for the initial turn off the highway but after that it's basically a straight shot to the other one and a clean merge. Really frustrating that people can't drive at appropriate speeds.

I genuinely think people are afraid of how speed feels. They don't like the sensation. That's just messed up. It's the one thing we as humans (who drive) all have in common as doing for most of our adult lives. Why is everyone not an expert after five years of driving?

 

[Carbon_6]

I totally get that. On my drive to work I transfer from one highway to another using an exit/entrance ramp. Both highways have a speed limit of 55mph but on everyone slows down to the 30s and drags along until they have to merge with the other highway and it does nothing but create potential for danger and more traffic. Yes you have to slow for the initial turn off the highway but after that it's basically a straight shot to the other one and a clean merge. Really frustrating that people can't drive at appropriate speeds.

I genuinely think people are afraid of how speed feels. They don't like the sensation. That's just messed up. It's the one thing we as humans (who drive) all have in common as doing for most of our adult lives. Why is everyone not an expert after five years of driving?

Could be a range of culminating factors: crash victim, trust issues after near misses, lack of spatial awareness, fear of speed as you stated, etc.

Or it could be as simple as seeing their method of driving as the right way, and everyone else is in the wrong.

 

[DesertPenguin]

Another could be they just never got proper driver's education. I was taught to go up to the speed of the road you're merging with to safely merge. If you're going much slower it's not anticipated and throws people off, making things more dangerous.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Typed this out last night but didn't post as the convo had moved on, but what the hell...

They should, but some don't and it will always confuse the hell out me when they don't want help. Or even think of getting help.

As with most things, the nature of the condition is dependent on many factors, I suspect it is simply not as straightforward as you perceive it to be. It might make sense when applied en masse, to expect people to want help in dealing with their drinking problems, but in a real world individual basis, it's rarely that simple. I, for instance, don't need help stopping drinking, I can stop if I want to... it's three days of hell, a week of limbo and then things just feel normal again.. with me, it'd be a question of addressing the reasons why I drink not the drink itself, but while my life is the way it is, I simply do not want to give it up, even though it's directly and indirectly hospitalised me in the past, and it's a significant cause of my financial woes - it's still better than not being drunk - and after attempting to get drunk by sucking the isopropanol out CD cleaning wipes, having slept rough a number of times, and having "dry-anuary" mean you don't wake up in a strange place in a puddle of your own bodily fluids.... I don't say that lightly.

I don't doubt there are parallels between Shem and I in terms of how we drink, but I sense why we drink is fairly different - you wouldn't "help" us the same way, and we wouldn't respond to "help" the same way.

.. I need to add a flipside to this also... nearly all of the best things about my life are their because I enjoy drinking, I have zero desire to abstain completely, and if I do, it'll be because I've replaced alcohol with substances currently classified as illegal where I live.

 

[kolio]

Typed this out last night but didn't post as the convo had moved on, but what the hell...

You're entitled to your opinion just as much as anybody else here.

I would agree that not everybody needs the same treatment. There isn't a "cure all" for addicts except for them taking responsibility for their own mind and body. The only thing bystanders can do is to try and be supportive of their sobriety efforts. Naturally, the way of being supportive may change from addict to addict. Which you have stated.

But, I don't think the reason they are addicted has much to do with it. When someone is addicted, excuses to stay addicted are plentiful. Right?

What I've come to conclude from your post is that when someone is in a good state of mind, they still don't always want help. I find it very hard to believe that somebody would want to become addicted again. Or head down the wrong path again. Unless...

nearly all of the best things about my their life are there because I they enjoy drinking,

Then, I would understand why somebody wouldn't want help. But, this still just sounds like an excuse to not get help to people like me. I'm not going ask how this possible, as it sounds pretty personal (unless you want to). Just going to say thanks for the insight, truly.

I'd like to add that I'm not here to single people out and make them feel like crap for having an addiction. Just stating that it is quite confusing from the other side of the river.

Thank you for adding more insight.

 

[MatskiMonk]

When someone is addicted, excuses to stay addicted are plentiful. Right?

But, this still just sounds like an excuse to not get help to people like me.

You are not wrong...

but you don't fix a leak with a towel.

 

[W3H5]

but you don't fix a leak with a towel.

Douglas Adams would have...

 

[TheNuvolari]

Umm... aren't atheists refuse any kind of thing connected to Christianity, mainly God? 'Cause I know a guy who wants to kill everyone who believes in God but he's still a die-hard devil-ist. Can anyone clarify?

 

[TexRex]

'Cause I know a guy who wants to kill everyone who believes in God but he's still a die-hard devil-ist.

That's not so much an atheist/"devil-ist" as it is a sociopath...please don't lump the two [three, since an atheist wouldn't believe in devils anymore than gods] together.

 

[TheNuvolari]

That's not so much an atheist/"devil-ist" as it is a sociopath...please don't lump the two [three, since an atheist wouldn't believe in devils anymore than gods] together.

View attachment 792919

Okay, thank you for the clarification!

 

[Johnny1996]

I never really understood why music taste was such a big dealbreaker to some people. To me it just seems like such a trivial reason to reject someone.

 

[UnkaD]

I never really understood why music taste was such a big dealbreaker to some people. To me it just seems like such a trivial reason to reject someone.

I have a friend that's pretty good at tuning things out. He doesn't really put much thought into music to begin with, so I can see that side of the spectrum. I on the other hand am a bit sensitive when it comes to auditory sensations and most of the time I can slide by background music with no problem. However, if there is something playing that I find very displeasing, even if it's not very loud, it can be really really really tough for me to ignore it. So yeah, divergent tastes in music would be a strong let down for me. There'd have to be a common ground for us to share while keeping the other stuff to headphones or solitary moments, but I wouldn't see why such things would force to separate two people who otherwise like each other.

 

[W3H5]

To some, music plays a big part in their life often stemming from childhood. My wife and I are complete opposites; she rarely listens to music and when she does it’s stuff I hate, whereas I have a soundtrack playing for most of my day consisting of anything from Motown to doom metal.

I do feel a bit disappointed in her lack of enjoyment for music as I have other friends that I can just talk about albums with for hours, I wish I could do that with my wife, but I can’t. Is it a dealbreaker? Obviously not. Does it matter? Yeah, it does.

 

[Lameonade]

It annoys me when people ask me questions that could be easily answered with a quick and painless Google search.

We have an Alexa device in the living room and sometimes my mother asks me questions that are so simple that I feel like 90% of the time if I asked Alexa for the answer, it'd be the correct one I was looking for. She knows it's there and she knows how to query it, but doesn't use it for whatever reason. I don't even have the answer 30% of the time and end up searching for it on the spot to find it, and then telling her 15-30 seconds later. Sometimes she's even sitting at her laptop with it on and has her phone no more than an arms reach away. She knows how to search for things on those too.

Which brings me to another point; we live in a two story house, with my bedroom being on the second floor and the living room being on the first. Usually when my mother wants me to come downstairs, she yells my name from the living room and waits for me to come downstairs. Sometimes I don't hear her the first time for whatever reason (music playing, headphones in, sleeping, etc.), and she's one to get agitated that I didn't respond the first time. So I bought an Echo Dot to put in my room. I set it up, gave it a name, and told her it's able to be used like an intercom; just say "Alexa, drop in on [my echo's name]" and presto, intercom. I even showed her the call feature ("Alexa, call [my echo's name") as an alternative. I did it multiple times too. Months later and she's still yelling up to my room to get my attention.

This could turn into a huge complaint post about my mother, but I don't want to sound too much like a spoiled whiney brat (it might be too late).

 

[The Bman]

@Lameonade To further prove the first point, I tend to be a walking facts machine while socializing. Search engines make that trait moot. It sucks, mostly in due part of my general apathy.

 

[kikie]

Body language and trying to understand what other people mean.

 

[W3H5]

Body language and trying to understand what other people mean.

Are you one of those people who doesn’t recognise flirting?

 

[TheNuvolari]

Everyone got an idea why are protesters trying to slow down the traffic when they are actually protesting against the government?

I mean, they are certain the drivers are against them or what?

 

[kikie]

Are you one of those people who doesn’t recognise flirting?

Affirmative.

 

[Skython]

I never really understood why music taste was such a big dealbreaker to some people. To me it just seems like such a trivial reason to reject someone.

I love music. I love playing it, I love writing it. I love hearing good quality music that expresses somewhere sincere and true to the soul. And if there was no musical common ground, I think it could be a dealbreaker because I'd possibly see the unwillingness to at least try to understand as small minded. I'd think it represents more about the individual than the isolated situation. Though it's one factor of many, and if they are a good person it could easily be made up for. So you're right, if it was the biggest dealbreaker, it would be a bit trivial. Yeah, my thing about loving music is a bit pretentious, and even exaggerated, I know.

 

[HoseHead]

I'm particularly annoyed with the new trend of naming snow storms.
Harper. wtf is that? Who decided this was a good idea? It's just a snow storm, they happen all the time (sometimes weekly) in the northern states.

I can, however, understand naming hurricanes. First off because generally they tend to be larger and more destructive than snow storms, but also because there are clear guidelines defining a hurricane, minimum sustained wind speeds for one. But naming a snow storm, come on......

And while I'm ranting about this, the names they chose are stupid trendy names too!

 

[UnkaD]

I'm particularly annoyed with the new trend of naming snow storms.
Harper. wtf is that? Who decided this was a good idea? It's just a snow storm, they happen all the time (sometimes weekly) in the northern states.

I can, however, understand naming hurricanes. First off because generally they tend to be larger and more destructive than snow storms, but also because there are clear guidelines defining a hurricane, minimum sustained wind speeds for one. But naming a snow storm, come on......

And while I'm ranting about this, the names they chose are stupid trendy names too!

We didn't get a name for the week of rain we finally got in the Los Angeles region.
Three or more days of rain here is rarer than hurricanes.

 

[kolio]

I'm particularly annoyed with the new trend of naming snow storms.
Harper. wtf is that? Who decided this was a good idea? It's just a snow storm, they happen all the time (sometimes weekly) in the northern states.

I can, however, understand naming hurricanes. First off because generally they tend to be larger and more destructive than snow storms, but also because there are clear guidelines defining a hurricane, minimum sustained wind speeds for one. But naming a snow storm, come on......

And while I'm ranting about this, the names they chose are stupid trendy names too!

It's a Weather Channel thing.. or NWS. I cant remember. But its is so dumb. I hate it. I hope the trend dies out quickly.

 

[Northstar]

It's a Weather Channel thing.. or NWS. I cant remember. But its is so dumb. I hate it. I hope the trend dies out quickly.

It's the Weather Channel, both weather related government agencies (NOAA & NWS) have come out against the practice. I haven't heard the names used outside of The Weather Channel, so I wouldn't even consider it a trend personally.

 

[kolio]

It's the Weather Channel, both weather related government agencies (NOAA & NWS) have come out against the practice. I haven't heard the names used outside of The Weather Channel, so I wouldn't even consider it a trend personally.

Well, yeah. It's not a trend. I used that incorrectly.

What made me think of trend is how people are hastagging the names of these storms.

 

[Saur]

I don’t like naming snowstorms either, since nobody in a northern state, or indeed any state, is going to care that this storm had a name a year from now. In fact, I suspect many people don’t care at this moment that it has a name. Storms like hurricanes, which have a significant effect on some people’s lives, are a different matter in my opinion because they get remembered, but it feels totally unnecessary in the case of storms that aren’t too far out of the ordinary.

 

[Johnny1996]

I guess this would fit here. This happened freshman year of high school.

A student had a doctors appointment in the morning, so he missed the first few hours of the day. I guess he had car trouble or something, so he rode a bicycle to school after the appointment. He also stopped at Subway on the way there. Not long after he was in class, he got called down to the principals office. He got in trouble for having a bicycle on school property and bringing in food from an outside source, both of which were against the rules though not stated in the handbook which was the only reference any students had to the school rules. Basically the student had no idea he was in violation of any rules, so he thought all was clear. Supposedly he even had to throw the entire bag of food away before he had a chance to eat any of it.

Turns out the no bicycles and no outside food rules were new additions halfway through the year, and no one was ever made aware of it. The school told us that if there were ever any additions to the rulebook, we would all get new ones but we never did. No version of the handbook was available online unless you were a high up on the staff, so truly the only rulebook we had was the original physical version given on the first day. If something was edited in, the only way we knew was to be told by the principals or superintendent, but it was still our responsibility to know all of the rules all the time. Which we legitimately could not do because again, we only had access to the original handbook. This whole discrepancy made it seem like the school could make up a rule on the fly that the student body wouldn't know about, then use it against us for punishment. And if someone did get punished but wanted to see exactly what and where in the rulebook they were in violation with (which did happen about 20 times over three years that I heard of), the school refused because "we knew the whole time and were just trying to get out of trouble" and there was nothing any of us could do about it.

 

[W3H5]

No bicycles rule? Burn the place down.