Pet Peeves
What annoys you??
image courtesy of dusty29100 at deviantART.com
We all have them…those little things that really annoy us. I’ve noticed lately that I have more pet peeves than I realized.
I really annoys me when:
- I write a whole post then I hit “Save” or “Publish” or “Preview”, and suddenly I’m told my login expired and I need to login again….of course, at least half of my post disappeared! Yes this just happened, and I don’t have the brain power to do it again right now. Ugh! I how annoying!
- I go to a party with many people in attendance, and the only towels in the bathroom are those little finger-tip towels. Ick! They are dripping wet within half an hour! Why do people do that?
- I go to a party and they have the rooms decorated for the party, but the bathroom is dirty. again…Ick! Of course, they also have no towel at all in the bathroom!
- I email a company and don’t get a reply, or I email a company and explain I’m emailing because I’m hearing impaired and can’t talk on the phone, then they email me back that I need to call. That’s just rude.
- Insurance companies give you the run around….for weeks and weeks.
- I am asked at the doctors before a procedure if there is any way I could be pregnant and I answer “no”, but they make me take a pregnancy test anyway…Why Ask? Just tell me to pee in a cup!
- people won’t admit to something they did wrong. (for example, we had new carpet installed last weekend, in our bedroom there are two gouges in the wall. It was covered by a paint that does not match our paint, it’s close, but it doesn’t match. They didn’t even fill in the holes, just painted over them. Now they say they didn’t do it, they said don’t have paint. I KNOW it wasn’t there before, it’s right by the door, I see it every time I walk out of the room!) Why do people not take pride in their work? Or show respect to other people….and that brings me to another pet peeve….
- people are rude! So many people are rude and do not respect others, or their environment. Think about the car that cuts you off and speeds away, only to get stopped at the same stop light you do. The person who throws trash out on the road, or in a parking lot. The person who leaves a grocery cart in a parking place. People who are rude to those who provide customer service to them….like waitresses, cashiers…ect. And on that note….
- people do not get off the phone when they are checking out of a store, or at the bank…ect. How rude is that?
- people who talk on the phone, or text when driving. Texting is simply stupid….what on earth are they thinking? But…how many times have you been aggravated by how someone is driving, only to look over and see they are on the phone? It’s illegal in our state, but people do it constantly. (and I’m not talking about hands free)
- I have to wait way past my appointment time…anywhere. Why is my time considered less valuable than the person I’ve come to see? And I really hate it when they are very late, and don’t apologize, or thank me for waiting…ect.
- people who are very educated use bad grammar. There’s a difference between someone who doesn’t know any better, and those who just don’t care. (there is one person I know who should know better, but she always says “weren’t” when she should say “wasn’t”…it makes my skin crawl.)
- people who write everywhere as if they were texting! I have a friend on Facebook who writes her status updates like that…it drives me crazy, and I will admit I often do not understand what she is saying.
- Things I’m looking forward to are delayed over and over. (I got a call from my surgeon’s office today telling me we have to reschedule my surgery from July 11th to the 19th or after! We just set up the surgery yesterday, now another delay. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m meant to get this cochlear implant. One delay after another. This should have happened 3-4 weeks ago. I’m so depressed about all of this. It has been a constant stressor for almost 2 months!) Yes! I am annoyed! Heck, I’m downright pissed!
See what I mean? I have a much larger list of pet peeves than I ever thought I would. Things used to not get to me so much. But please note, I don’t hate the people who do these things, I simply hate some of the things they do.
I must practice showing understanding, and compassion….but I’m sure some of these things will always annoy me.
What is your Pet Peeves? Are some of yours the same as mine?
Memories of Mom…
Nineteen years ago today, my mother died.
I asked some people to share a memory they have of my mother….Here are some responses I received:
My Parents in the mid 1980′s
(from my best friend in High School) Boy, do I have memories. Let’s begin with that laugh. Especially when she laughed at television shows. And to this day, I remember her sneezes… the sound and the way she would let go of the steering wheel when she sneezed (because she didn’t want to jerk the car). The patience of a saint – especially since we would make such huge messes with Halloween decorations, fake fingernails and heaven knows the bedroom messes. And when I think about the times when we would get “that look.” You know, the one where she didn’t approve of something we did or said. She didn’t have to say a word… you knew exactly what she was thinking when she was perfectly quiet, but looking at you like you had lost your ever-loving mind. I REALLY enjoyed your mother.
(sister of my friend above) She was so funny, she always made me laugh. I can remember riding in the car with her dont remember where we were going or what we were doing but I can still remember seeing her as if we were riding in there right now!
(from a cousin) Oh darling Wendy … your mother was my second mom. When she lived in Greensboro before you were born, I would run away from home and go to her house to “live”. Of course it was just over the hill and little did I know she was standing on the porch watching for me to come over the hill and my mom was on our porch watching me climb the hill. I was never out of sight of them. What a team! I also remember the time when I was about 8 that I cut my own hair. I was so proud of myself. Needless to say we made a special trip to see your mom to get it “evened out”. LOL … guess I wasn’t the hairdresser I thought I was. I have lots of memories, but one more that I’ll share … you may remember living in Navy housing … a brick duplex. I can’t remember the name of the place but it was something park. I remember the “bug” truck coming around spraying for mosquitoes every evening. A lot of the kids would follow the truck to get in the cool mist. Your “mean” mom made us come inside … God bless her every day for having the sense to get us out of that poison.
Photo of the spouses of my father’s siblings (and my mom, she is all the way to the right – note there were 9 children all together) This photo was taken in the late 1970′s
(another dear friend from High School) I remember her sweet voice…..I sure called you enough and she always asked how I was……she was very patient with us because we would chat for some time…..back then, we didn’t have call waiting, only a busy signal….lol….
(a neighbor when I was growing up….one correction to his memory, my mother never had a rattle snake or any other poisonous snake, but she did have non-poisonous snakes) Wendy, I can remember growing up in Rock Bluff and thinking ” That lady must be crazy…she plays with snakes all the time.” She even had a pet rattlesnake! She wasn’t crazy at all as I got to know her better. She was a very kind and interesting person. I think she taught all the kids in the neighborhood how to handle snakes. Before we knew it we all were riding bikes with a snake in hand that we had caught. I thought of her and her snakes just a few days ago and wondered what ever happened to “Mrs. Calloway” but after reading this message i figured out that she passed while I was off at school.
She was a very kind and caring woman and I’m sure you miss her dearly! I’ll always have great memories of growing up in Rock Bluff and she was a big part of that!
(a sweet friend from High School – note when I asked for these memories I included my poem Memories of Mom and Me, this is what he refers to.) There is nothing more that I could say more elegantly than You. Just I Miss and Love Her to . Love You Wendy.
(a friend, but when my mother was alive I was not close to her, her sister and I were good friends, the three of us did some things together, but now I consider her a dear friend.) I remember she always seemed to be moving so fast like maybe she knew time was short. I remember thinking that when you lost her.Reminds me of a lightning bug in the summer. They have a glow that fades when the weather chills but if you have seen one just at the right moment it is never forgotten. I only met her a few times but she seemed to be so dedicated and devoted to you. A moment with a mother like that is a blessing. I am sure she is already cleaning a spot in heaven for all the people she loved.
(from my father) One of the best memory I have is when I med Flippy (my mother’s nickname), I was on the bus returning to Norfolk after a weekend at home. The bus stopped in Greensboro around midnight and I saw her getting on the bus the seat next to me was empty so I pretended to be asleep so she would sit there. Lucky me she did take that seat so not long after that we started talking, I was out of cigarettes so I ask her for one. Needless to say we didn’t sleep a bit on the bus from then to Norfolk. I got her phone number in Norfolk and called her later Monday, From that time on we fell in love and had a beautiful life together.
I’ve printed this poem before, but for those who missed it, or have forgotten, I’m including it again since I mentioned it above. This poem was written within the first few hours after my mother died, and was read at her funeral.
Memories of Mom and Me
-I look around me and all I see,
brings back memories of mom and me.
-The clouds in the sky; for hours we’d look,
picking out colors and shapes and books.
-Oh, look there’s a snap bug – remember him?
a play thing for me and mom again.
-A sea shell reminds me of a walk on the beach;
my diploma, a goal, she believed I could reach.
-Let’s go to a movie – her favorite E. T.
then go to the park and swing with me.
-An ice cream cone, a frog, a snake,
a Thanksgiving dinner we attempted to make.
-All the things around me I see,
bring back memories of mom and me.
-The people who loved her, I see in their eyes,
the love that she gave them was no surprise.
-She had a heart as big as the world
and the soul of a little girl.
-People who knew her will never forget,
because she affected everyone she met.
-Reminders of my mom are easy to see,
for there are parts of her inside of me.
by Wendy Calloway (Holcombe) June 23, 1993
Wonky, Sloshy Head
Image from deviantArt. “loose” by pehdtsckjmba
If you have Meniere’s, I know you know what this title means. For the past few days, (actually I think it’s only been two, but it feels like a week!), I’ve had the wonky, slosh head feeling. I dare not move my head too fast or I’ll fall down, really, I did this yesterday! I haven’t felt like this in a few months, I wonder what has started it now?
Could it be….
- Hormonal Changes? It’s that week, but it hasn’t started yet.
- Missing one of my meds for a day and a half? (that’s 3 doses) This is what Stuart thinks it is, but I’m wondering if part of that isn’t just him feeling guilty because he forgot to go and pick it up. (it was Buspar for anxiety and panic attacks – these started in January, I haven’t felt more anxious the past couple of days, just wonky!)
- The weather? We have had some big weather changes almost every day. We’ll have beautiful clear skies, with a lot of heat…and then we’ll have a lot of rain all of a sudden! But this has been happening for weeks, so why bother me now? (it has been increasing my headaches, but I haven’t noticed the disequilibrium before.)
- It’s just that time? We all know Meniere’s is NOT predictable. So maybe this is just the monster saying hello.
I’m still so grateful that I haven’t felt like this in a while, actually I’m not sure the last time. Not much since the surgery in December. I have to say, I’m thrilled with the results of that surgery. I have only had one mini vertigo attack caused by Meniere’s since my recovery. Yay! The Endolymphatic Sac Surgery was a big success for me.
(I’m still waiting on our insurance company to send the right type of letter to Duke, so I can get my Cochlear Implant surgery scheduled. They have been so evasive about this, how hard is it to say that this is covered under our plan as of this date with an in-network doctor. As long as our plan doesn’t change everything should be the same. NO, they send a letter saying they can’t give a predetermination, because the plan may be canceled or changed, the doctor may not be in-network…ect. They never even say if it’s covered by our plan at the present time! What a pain! So I won’t be getting my CI activated before my birthday….I’m so disappointed.)
I promise to write a post about this whole journey, and show which processors I chose, as soon as I feel a bit less wonky.
Hard to Get Started Again…
I miss blogging, I miss my blogging friends….but it’s hard to get started again.
Now I think of things that have happened since I’ve been away that you don’t know about, and things that are going to happen….so much to talk about I’m overwhelmed. Eh….maybe not so much. My life really isn’t that exciting.
I went through a bout of depression, that knocked me off my feet. By that I mean, I didn’t want to get out of bed. I’d wake up and think, what reason to I have to get up? I couldn’t think of a reason, and the sleeping side effect was not helping!
Vancouver Sunrise by Lauazee from DeviantART http://fav.me/d32s7vm
I know part of the depression started when Sandy died. But the biggest problem is a bit strange….at least to me, my therapist says it’s normal. I’ve been feeling better. The Meniere’s isn’t bothering much at all since the surgery in December. The Intracranial Hypertension (High CSF), is minor and under control with medication. My migraines are not as painful, but they are causing vertigo often! So much so that there is no way I’ll ever be able to drive again. The Migraine Associated Vertigo (MAV) gives me NO warning. I wouldn’t even be able to pull over to the side of the road, the world just goes crazy immediately. I can’t even walk around the block by myself, or do things in the yard. I tried one day, and it did not end up good. So I’m stuck in our house, unless I have someone with me (meaning Stuart). I know there is plenty I could do in the house, but when you can’t do things you want….well everything else kind of falls flat.
But I’m better. Really. It’s kind of funny. I was watching Sponge Bob Square Pants and he was singing, “I’ve got an attitude of gratitude….” And I realized I used to every day think about things I’m grateful for, and I hadn’t been lately. So I started thinking about it, and I felt better. Also we’ve been talking about fostering a dog, or perhaps adopting. Sandy was a rescue dog, and we’ve been thinking that taking care of another dog who needs rescuing would honor her. This has made me feel better about things, I really miss Sandy, and do NOT want to replace her, but the thought of honoring her by helping another dog….that makes me feel better inside.
Now that the sleeping has gotten back to normal, I’m feeling better about other things too.
We went to see the audiologist on Wednesday. I picked out all the options for the Cochlear Implant (CI) that I want! We expected to have heard from the insurance by now, but it’s seems to be a big old pain in the butt. And all I can do is, wait patiently. I’m not the most patient person!
Now, I’m started… let’s see if I can’t make a habit of this!
