Pet Peeves

I said I would post something about the party on Saturday, but to conserve the dignity of my friends, I decided instead of make a list, and considering the name of this blog is 'Rants of a Normal Norman', I figured I'd make it a list of my pet peeves.

1) Pessimistic people
     Honestly, I really hate it when people get sad or blue for the smallest things. I live my life just shrugging the bad things off. I may worry sometimes, mostly about school, but normally it all turns out well in the end. I wish more people could live like this. I really just want to hit some people over the back of the head when they're sad about something small, especially when they can easily fix it, or get over it. There are so many people in the world who have hit rock bottom, and some of them are still happy.

2) Anyone under the age of fourteen with a cell phone
     I got my first cell phone when I was in grade ten, and that was after having to use the pay phone at school several times. It was a hand me down from my sister, one of those flip phones. I was overjoyed to finally get a cell phone. And now I'm seeing kids in elementary school with iphones and other expensive devices. When I was in elementary school, I played on the playground or stayed in drawing and reading. I had no idea what a cell phone was, and the only way to listen to music was through a stereo or a walkman.

3) Summer
     I know that sounds stupid, but there is so much about the summer I hate. It's almost impossible to sleep at night because it's too hot for a blanket, but without it the monster under the bed will get you (I know I'm not the only one!). All the bugs suddenly come back in hoards, and every day I'm screaming and running from wasps and bees, not to mention the colonies of ants that invade the house. The sun is too bright and burns me too easily, so I stay inside as much as possible, but that annoys my parents so I have to get out of the house at least twice a week.

4) Winter
     Odd, since winter is actually my favourite month, but it's only because snow outweighs pretty much everything. But then it's so damned cold! No matter how many layers I put on, I will always be cold. Then of course, where I live, we're more likely to get slush or rain, not snow. I'm not looking forward to walking up the hill to my college when the ground is even a little slippery.

5) People who take photos of their food
     I understand if it's a special occasion, like Christmas or Thanksgiving and you're planning on documenting it. But honestly, if you're just going out to lunch, or sitting down for dinner by yourself, what is the point of taking a photo? Oh, you made it yourself, and it looks beautiful? You're just as special as everyone else who can cook.

6) People who claim to love a movie based off a book, even though they've never read the book
     I guess this can go both ways, but honestly, how often is a movie made into a book? The truth is that a good amount of movies are not original. They're based off a book, whether the book is good or not, and about 90% of the time, they completely butcher it. Maybe I'm just being bias, since I love books more than movies, but really, a book contains much more detail than a movie can, despite the fact that movies show everything. Read Inkheart for example, then watch the movie. Anyone who has seen only the movie will never know that there are two more books, which are even better than the first one. Whoever directed Inkheart did a terrible job. (Although I love their casting for Mo. I always envisioned Brendan Fraser playing him)

7) People who claim to hate something just because it's popular
     I'll admit it, I read Twilight. I believe I finished the final book before I even started the tenth grade. This was before I started reading Wheel of Time, and before my only interest in books turned to medieval fantasy. I liked the love story, but by the final book I just wanted to scream and toss it against the wall. However, I will also admit that I do, in a way, admire Stepheni Meyer. She may not have written a top quality series, but she made a ton of money off of it none the less. What is more, she was an amateur writer, who followed her dreams (quite literally...) and achieved a lot of fame, both good and bad. Now I don't ever want to write something that half the popular will hate and make fun of, but at least I know that if Stepheni Meyer can be so successful over Twilight, then I can hopefully become successful over something even better. The sad truth is, apparently now I need to have handsome and overly gentle vampires to please most of the female population... What I'm trying to say here that although I'm not particularly fond of the Twilight books, and I have no interest in the movies, I don't go around slamming them at every opportunity I get. I may make the occasional joke, but only at the parts that I truly hated. Same goes for Justin Beiber. I don't hate him, but neither do I like him. Instead of complaining all the time, I just don't listen to him. By complaining, I would be giving him more attention than I care to give. It would show that I do care about him and what he does.

8) Dragging feet
     Does it honestly take so much effort to pick up your feet? You know that by dragging your feet, you wear out the soles of your shoes much quicker, and therefore need to spend much more money to buy new shoes? I've had my pair of red converse since grade nine, so about five years now, and they only recently got a tiny little hole in the heel of one shoe. In fact, I have only worn out one pair of shoes since grade nine (not including soccer cleats) and those were a pair of boots, where the fabric was not stitched to the heel very well.

9) People who silently sing along to songs
     Hey, if you belt out the song at the top of your lungs, I don't care. I find it quite amusing, actually, and I'd probably applaud you after. And it has nothing to do with whether you're good at singing or not. What annoys me is that it keeps me from properly hearing the song. I hear the lyrics, but I also here something mumbling along with them. It's like being in class and trying to listen to the instructor, but there's a group of people at the back whispering.

10) People texting or calling me during class
     I know it's difficult to remember when I'm in class, but it would be really great if people could make an effort to not not make my phone go off. It's really embarrassing when the whole class is silent, and then suddenly my phone starts vibrating. And it always seems to happen during a test... The worst part is that I don't have caller ID, so I have no idea who called, and I cannot call them back to give them an ear-full. For some reason I keep getting calls from people asking for Devon. It's been going on for three years. Whoever Devon is really needs to get off their ass and tell everyone his new number, because the next person who calls me asking for him is not going to be greeted by a cheerful person.

I have so many more pet peeves (I love to rant, after all) but I think I'll leave them for some other time... When I can actually remember them.