General Annoyances September 14 2011

I am having a bad day. No scratch that, the last week or so has been really testing. At work, at home, on the news, out and about...certain things are really starting to tick me off - I'm a nice guy and just let it go but I really need to vent. Here are some things that really make me RAGE

#1 People that have conversations in the entrances of stores. It obstructs entry to the store! I went to my local newsagent the other day and there were two women both with MASSIVE prams/strollers talking right in the door way. I just wanted to check if the new Rolling Stone Magazine was in, there was a little gap they allowed for people to squeeze past them but the shop is one of the busiest in my town. There were people trying to come out so I let them have the right of way. Finally I got in, found the magazine (and that they published my letter :D) paid for it and went to leave...they were still there. EGH! So I went to squeeze my way out but there are people coming in, here I am standing in no man's land in the store feeling like an idiot. I finally got out onto the street and felt like that guy that escaped from prison in The Shawshank Redemption.

#2 People that barricade supermarket aisles with shopping trolleys. It seems whenever I go to the supermarket to grab a few items every aisle is deserted except for the ones that I use. Now I consider soft drink a staple, they never move it from the dedicated aisle and the prices very rarely change...yet whenever I go to get some there's someone with a trolley skewed across the aisle seemingly inspecting each and every bottle and the prices...WHAT THE HELL?!? You walk up to go past and they never seem to notice the person coming up the aisle that won't be able to pass. I know sometimes I'll 'hog' an aisle when it's empty but I sure as hell know when someone's coming and get out of the way. I swear these people expect people to be blocked and have them say 'excuse me' before access is granted. Jerry Seinfeld made a joke about this once...EXCUSE YOU! I've done nothing wrong.

#3 Narrow checkouts, MOAR PEOPLE WITH TROLLEYS! These days I use self serve checkouts 99% of the time. If I don't it's because suspiciously there's a bigger line up to self service than there is for someone to do scan and bag groceries for you, or because I have too many items to try to juggle in the minuscule space provided at the things HMMPF! Anyhow the new phenomena seems to be that the checkouts have very narrow spaces where customers stand...I mean really it looks like two trolleys couldn't simultaneously go through at the same time...yet people insist on trying like they failed how shapes work when they were still a toddler. Again being stuck behind one person, in front of another with someone to your back at a checkout is really, really, uncomfortable.

#4 Trolleys in parking lots. Oh boy this one really annoys me. You go to the supermarket in your car. You manage to avoid hitting children running around, elderly folk that don't look before crossing a non-designated area and other vehicles with operators oblivious/uncaring to road rules. There it is a car park remains! You get ready to line it up and go in and...someone's left a shopping cart right where your car was to go. DAMN IT! This one really ticks me off because my works car parking lot backs onto a supermarkets parking lot. Some days there are more shoppers parked in "our" spots than there are workers, it's irritating but I can accept that, but it's when people just ditch their shopping trolley really annoys me...like it's so hard to walk the 10m to replace the thing? Come on now.