Patience is not my virtue. People who turn left just slow enough that I miss the light, late arrivals, missing a call by two seconds and calling right back and the person doesn't pick up, Ke$ha, misbehaved children in the grocery store, birds who chirp too loudly in the morning, the morning in general ... the list of things that I find annoying could go on and on.
I've recently had a very unsettling realization about all these aggravations, however: I'm guilty of most of them. Certainly not all of them - I know how and when to turn my car, and although I've been known to sing in the shower occasionally, I definitely could never be accused of causing the same kind of ear-bleeding racket as a Ke$ha song.
But I know I do a lot of things that drive me crazy when I see others doing them. So as part of this realization, I will admit things that annoy me which I also do myself with hope that I will stop doing them - and so will everyone else.
1. Eating crunchy food in the silent parts of the library stacks. Nothing drives me more insane than when I am trying to work on a thesis and someone in a nearby cubby is chomping away on something. Yet I frequently catch myself digging crisp apples out of my backpack in Clemons or trying to keep myself awake in Clark by chewing on some especially brittle pretzels.
2. Walking too closely to people without passing them. The number of times I have found someone walking right on my tail instead of just slowing down or passing me ... It's creepy and makes me feel like I'm being chased. When this happens, however, it never occurs to me that this person might be doing the exact type of tailgating I do to people when they are walking especially slow and there's no way to pass them.
3. Asking professors to repeat basic information such as due dates and paper length that the whole class just heard less than a minute ago. It's rude and especially aggravating to people who have more pressing questions. But unfortunately, I know there have been times when I've totally spaced out and done it myself.
4. Making a lot of ruckus when you know your roommate is trying to study. This is no one who does this on purpose - hopefully - but many are guilty of it. Finished with work and ready to celebrate, you forget other people have different schedules and due dates.
5. Rehashing every aspect of a test right after taking it. This is a big one. It's also one that overachieving packs of University students do all the time. As much as I cringe when someone brings up a difficult exam, I am still dying to know what they thought about it.
Getting these pet peeves off my chest makes me feel better already. We all probably do these things every now and then, but maybe if we remember how much it annoys others, we can take the necessary steps to quit these obnoxious habits as well as them eye-rolling and pointed mumbling associated with them.
Katie's column runs Tuesdays. She can be reached at k.mcnally@cavalierdaily.com.
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