Still Off Topic: How You Peeve

Okay, here’s the fun part. Here’s a list of things that annoy people. Go through the list and tell us the following:

1 – are you male or female?

2 – are you guilty of said behavior?

3 – are you annoyed by said behavior?

Be honest – and be pseudonymous if you must, but be honest. This is data collection going on.

Since I suppose it’s only fair that I go first…

List of Peeves

singing/humming/whistling to yourself whilst going about your business

always having a negative attitude [Always irritating.]

constantly criticizing other people/things [Ditto]

leaving things on your bed and/or desk

staying for way too long and talking with absolutely every person at any and all social functions [That’s my host at the kiddush the morning I’m actually ravenous.]

never asking directions

drinking straight from the sink as if it’s a water fountain, with no cup [Not annoyed by it, not guilty of it.]

having too many shoes [Is there such a thing?]

putting back empty containers [That’s just stupid. And annoying.]

Putting back jars without screwing the tops on properly [Ye-ah that’s annoying. Says the girl mopping pickle juice off the kitchen floor.]

cracking knuckles [Occasionally guilty. I mean, knuckles sometimes need cracking… Not annoyed by it.]

Setting your alarm for very early and definitely before anyone else wants to get up

hitting snooze repeatedly because you set that alarm before even you want to get up [Had a sem roommate who did this. The only reason I never killed her was because I was too tired to get out of bed. The worst part? It was this jaunty dance tune. Argh!]

setting an alarm even though you sleep right through it [Had a sem roommate who did this too. It was practically a chorus of ignored alarm clocks in there. I offered to break this one’s alarm clock, and I offered to wake her up instead. The latter suggestion went over better.]

Leaving the shopping bags anywhere and everywhere instead of putting everything in place.

Talking on the phone when I am trying to fall asleep.

Not putting books back on shelves.

Leaving clothes to hang on the back of the bathroom door. [Messy, but only irritating if they never ever get moved. Not guilty.]

Not making one’s bed

clicking/tapping pens

dripping water all over the bathroom floor after a shower [This one bugs me. I mean, why should I have to wear water shoes in my own bathroom? Not guilty, of course.]

Being cheerful in the morning [Sometimes guilty. Depends what it’s the morning of and whether my roommate hates cheerful people.]

Making noise when I’m asleep (or before I’ve had my coffee)

Leaving books in the bathroom [I’m always amused when people have libraries next to the toilet. Seriously, how much time can you spend there?]

Leaving a computer in the bathroom [The mind rebels. Not peeved, though.]

Eating in front of the computer

Giving pet names to the spiders and yelling at anyone who dares to touch them

Allowing the dog on the coach and the bed

Letting a cat eat in one’s plate

Not putting back the drinks in the fridge [Not guilty, yes peeved. Clean up after yourself.]

Drinking from the carton [If it’s your own personal carton, I don’t care what you do, but keep your lips off anything we share. Wouldn’t do it myself, though, barring dehydration and lack of cup.]

Leaving toothpaste uncapped/capping it sloppily [Toothpaste, if not carefully maintained, has the capacity to degenerate into something decidedly messy.  Keep it neat, please.]

Squeezing toothpaste from top not bottom [Oh how this bothers me. It is just plain wrong.]

Hair/stubble in the sink/shower [I try not to do it and appreciate the same consideration.]

Toilet paper over versus under

Socks left on the floor

Clothes tossed over chairs [Yeah, I do it. And usually put it away the next day. You couldn’t recreate my week’s dress history by drilling through archeological strata on my armchair or anything. I think randomly chucked clothing is fine, as long as you keep most of your clothing in the closet, not draped over the furniture. I mean, if you’re trying on a gazillion outfits in search of the perfect one, you can’t be expected to hang rehang every item you go through in your quest.]

Toilet seat up/down [Keep it down!]

Hanging laundry to dry on the shower rod [Bothersome, but not grievously irritating. I generally avoid it.]

Scattered shoes/slippers

Things stuffed into drawers

Closet doors left open

Things not returned to their places (be it bathroom scale or box of tissues)

Leaving lights on [Turn off lights behind you. This one bugs me. I don’t do it.]

Leaving dishes in the sink [Guilty. Well, why do dishes three times a day when you can do them only once?]

Leaving things in the pockets of laundry [Pockets? Who has pockets? You must be male.]

Slurping soup [Eyew. Please please please don’t do it. I only do when I’m trying to make the parentals despair.]

Not replacing toilet paper that’s run out [If you don’t do this then you are a selfish and shortsighted… irritating person. So there.]

Makeup left on sink [Is this referring to goopy things dribbled on the sink or bottles?]

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Off Topic: The Confessional

The credit for this post goes t LawSchoolDrunk, whose idea at yesterday’s post was too much fun to resist. Direct quote:

There should be a conversation piece posted by Bad4 on all sorts of house/dorm etiquette issues/pet peeves and have a female/male perspective conversation.

Once, an NMF was telling me that she doesn’t understand why couples fight. “If something your spouse does bothers you, you tell him/her. And then they fix it. What’s the big deal?”

“So you managed to resolve all those important issues like socks on the floor and toilet paper over versus under without any screaming fights or tears?” I asked in joking disbelief.

“Oh my gosh, please. He doesn’t like when I leave socks on the floor, so now I put them in the hamper. It really wasn’t hard.”

At this point I cracked up at her candid reversal of the stereotype, but I have to admit: I also kick off my socks at bedtime and forget about them. Though, to my defense, I pick them up when I see them on the floor the next morning. Usually.

So, which other women out there are ready to ‘fess up that they leave their socks lying around?

Wait! Don’t say anything yet. I don’t want any confessions yet. First let’s make a list of roommate peeves. That’ll be today’s task. Tomorrow we’ll reveal which gender is prone to which behaviors and who annoys who with what.

So I’m trusting you to have self-control. Do today’s task today and leave tomorrow’s fun for tomorrow.

Here’s my starter list:

Drinking from the carton

Leaving toothpaste uncapped/capping it sloppily

Squeezing toothpaste from top not bottom

Hair/stubble in the sink/shower

Toilet paper over versus under

Socks left on the floor

Clothes tossed over chairs

Toilet seat up/down

Hanging laundry to dry on the shower rod

Scattered shoes/slippers

Things stuffed into drawers

Closet doors left open

Things not returned to their places (be it bathroom scale or box of tissues)

Leaving lights on

Leaving dishes in the sink

Leaving things in the pockets of laundry

Slurping soup

Not replacing toilet paper that’s run out

Makeup left on sink

So, what have I left out? Time for your suggestions. Remember, just suggestions. Don’t weigh in with who does it and who it annoys yet.

While googling around for some ideas, I came across this WSJ article about how marriages break up over small stuff. Because, like my NMF pointed out, if there’s mutual respect, these things are easy enough to work out (in theory).

The article adds a few more items to the list:

My dad recently went on for eight minutes—I counted—about my mother’s proselytizing for sunscreen. Husbands told me about wives who “chomp” their gum or park the car crooked in the driveway, and wives griped about husbands who leave newspapers on the floor, refuse to put coasters under their drinks or walk around the house naked. One friend told of how her husband untucks all the sheets before getting into bed. A nonprofit executive said his wife has actually bickered with him while she was asleep.

Bathroom habits came up repeatedly. Working on this column, I’ve listened to tirades from men and women about toilet seats (up or down), toilet paper (over the roll or under it), hair left in the sink, bras hanging on the back of the door, dirty tiles and toothpaste tubes. “You cannot squeeze from the middle,” one woman insisted.

The dishwasher was a sticking point in Vige Barrie’s first marriage. She says her husband often left his dirty dishes in the sink or on the counter, a habit that so infuriated her she even brought it up with their marriage counselor. “It was beyond me that he couldn’t get his hand in gear to deliver a dirty dish a few inches over to the dishwasher,” says Ms. Barrie, 57, who works in media relations at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. “Was I a maid?”

~ From Honey Do You Have To…? in the WSJ