5/12/09
So, lately I’ve been reading this book (which shall go unnamed) in my English class. Actually, it’s a play but you catch my drift, right? Anyway, in said book there is a character whose…how do you say this…“natural tendencies” have elicited a very distinct response from me and the majority of the class. What is this “distinct response” you might ask?
Annoyance.
Sheer, agonizing, torturous annoyance.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I get annoyed very easily. Heavy emphasis on “very”. Which is probably why this particular character in this particular play just about did it for me. (I know, I know. I need to give her a chance, let her tell her story, etc. And I’m trying, I swear I am. But there’s only so much trying I can do.) And if you know me at all, you know that the smallest things can tick me off.
An example: the IPhone
What about the IPhone? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s the applications. The billion gazillion applications that only worsen our addiction to technology. I’ll be sitting on the couch in front of the TV, just waiting for the commercials to stop so I can get back to watching whatever show I’m watching and BAM! An IPhone ad pops on screen promoting its newest application. The car finder, the bird identifier, the level. And I’m sitting there going, “Are you serious? You’re serious?” I just don’t understand. I mean, we have brains. Use them. Use that 3 lb. organ that has developed over the past 90 million years to remember where you parked your car. Take a picture, draw a map, anything. Just don’t rely on your phone to do it for you. (That doesn’t mean I hate Apple. I swear, Mr. Jobs. In fact, I have an Ipod.) I’m sorry, I’ll stop. The applications are just one of my pet peeves.
Now, I’m sure we’ve all been in this position. Being trapped with that certain someone or something that knows the exact combination of button-pressing that will send us careening right over the edge. Of course, if they’re especially good, they can drive you so close to the edge that you think you’re about to snap but right when you’re about to get there, they reel you back in, leaving you teetering dangerously over the point of no return. It’s almost like an art albeit a cruel one.
So, for those of you who, like me, have difficulties dealing with our pet peeves in more positive ways, what’s next? “Life has a lot of cages. People living and working shoulder to shoulder get aggressive, aggravated and annoyed. It happens to all of us, and it’s our nature to react poorly.”
What to do, what to do…
I guess, to me, the most logical answer would be to simply ignore the things that tick us off. Easier said than done right? I mean, we can’t always just up and leave whenever we get annoyed by something. But there are other things we can at least try to avoid.
When that fails, breathe. Think happy thoughts. Favorite movie, celebrity crush, whatever floats your boat. Imagine that you are somewhere else, anywhere else besides where you are at that very moment. And whatever you do, don’t snap.
Don’t.
Resist the pull of the dark side.
I know it’s hard. Believe me, I know. But hey, we just have to deal with it.
So, lately I’ve been reading this book (which shall go unnamed) in my English class. Actually, it’s a play but you catch my drift, right? Anyway, in said book there is a character whose…how do you say this…“natural tendencies” have elicited a very distinct response from me and the majority of the class. What is this “distinct response” you might ask?
Annoyance.
Sheer, agonizing, torturous annoyance.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I get annoyed very easily. Heavy emphasis on “very”. Which is probably why this particular character in this particular play just about did it for me. (I know, I know. I need to give her a chance, let her tell her story, etc. And I’m trying, I swear I am. But there’s only so much trying I can do.) And if you know me at all, you know that the smallest things can tick me off.
An example: the IPhone
What about the IPhone? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s the applications. The billion gazillion applications that only worsen our addiction to technology. I’ll be sitting on the couch in front of the TV, just waiting for the commercials to stop so I can get back to watching whatever show I’m watching and BAM! An IPhone ad pops on screen promoting its newest application. The car finder, the bird identifier, the level. And I’m sitting there going, “Are you serious? You’re serious?” I just don’t understand. I mean, we have brains. Use them. Use that 3 lb. organ that has developed over the past 90 million years to remember where you parked your car. Take a picture, draw a map, anything. Just don’t rely on your phone to do it for you. (That doesn’t mean I hate Apple. I swear, Mr. Jobs. In fact, I have an Ipod.) I’m sorry, I’ll stop. The applications are just one of my pet peeves.
Now, I’m sure we’ve all been in this position. Being trapped with that certain someone or something that knows the exact combination of button-pressing that will send us careening right over the edge. Of course, if they’re especially good, they can drive you so close to the edge that you think you’re about to snap but right when you’re about to get there, they reel you back in, leaving you teetering dangerously over the point of no return. It’s almost like an art albeit a cruel one.
So, for those of you who, like me, have difficulties dealing with our pet peeves in more positive ways, what’s next? “Life has a lot of cages. People living and working shoulder to shoulder get aggressive, aggravated and annoyed. It happens to all of us, and it’s our nature to react poorly.”
What to do, what to do…
I guess, to me, the most logical answer would be to simply ignore the things that tick us off. Easier said than done right? I mean, we can’t always just up and leave whenever we get annoyed by something. But there are other things we can at least try to avoid.
When that fails, breathe. Think happy thoughts. Favorite movie, celebrity crush, whatever floats your boat. Imagine that you are somewhere else, anywhere else besides where you are at that very moment. And whatever you do, don’t snap.
Don’t.
Resist the pull of the dark side.
I know it’s hard. Believe me, I know. But hey, we just have to deal with it.
