1. The way people drive in the snow.
Ok, so I live in a state that gets a lot of snow. And no, it's not Alaska. And despite the fact that we get three feet of snow (at least) every winter, I feel like I'm the only person here who understands how to drive in the snow correctly. There are two situations that arise every time we have a snow storm:
1. There is four inches of snow on the road and everyone is going 60
2. There is no snow in one lane, and packed snow in the other, and everyone is going 30 in the clear lane forcing me to go into the snowy lane to get around them.
2. There is no snow in one lane, and packed snow in the other, and everyone is going 30 in the clear lane forcing me to go into the snowy lane to get around them.
Here's a tip: If there is snow on the road, slow down. You can be late. Your life is not worth whatever amount of money you're going to miss by being late for work. It's just not. But, if the fast lane is clear, and the slow lane is snowy, and you want to go 30? Just drive slow in the snowy lane so other people don't have to risk their lives to get around you.
I actually watched a person weave between two lanes on a highway to avoid patches of snow today.
Seriously, you LIVE here. You know what the weather is like you drive on these roads. If you can't figure it out you really shouldn't live here. Do what's safe, but don't be an asshole about it, because driving like an asshole is unsafe. Ok? Ok.
2. "Oh you're a writer, I have a great project for you!"
Maybe you do, maybe you don't. Tell me about it. Don't assume that just because I am a writer I want to write everything the world. Every writer has different skills and different preferences. Don't assume that every writing project will make my heart pound with excitement. By all means tell me about it, ask me what I think. Ask me for advice. But don't automatically assume that just because I know how to put words together in a sentence better than the next person that I want to write YOUR project. I might. I also might not. Tell me about it, let me make that decision.
3. People who can't let people be people.
I'll do my best not to make this one long winded, but we'll see.
I am SICK of this perpetuated idea that people who are "different" are not the same as other people. This is where I climb onto my soap box and shout across the land, so bare with me.
People, are people, are people. I don't care if you're gay, straight, bi, trans, pansexual, asexual, treesexual, whatever. I don't care what color your skin is, or what country your from. You are a person. You talk, you listen, you breath, you bleed, just like me. I cannot stress how frustrated it makes me that it is 2014 and we are still discriminating against all sorts of people. It makes me so sad, that people actually kill other people because of who they are or what they believe. I wish that people could realize that other people, regardless of what they think, or believe, or who they love, are people too. That deep down we are the same. And I really don't think people (as a race) can ever get there. And that in itself is heartbreaking.
4. The idea that all people who work in customer service are dumb/lazy
This one isn't that wide spread anymore, because tons and tons of college grads are resorting to McDonalds and call centers because jobs in their field do not exist. But regardless, I work in a call center. I talk to hundreds of people a week. And plenty of them talk to me with the assumption that I am doing that job because I am not smart enough to do another one.
Let's clear something up, right now. Every single person I work with is smart. I do not work with a single person that I see and think "wow that person doesn't have any common sense". Not all of us have a college degree, but a lot of the people I work with do. And A LOT of them (most) are mothers who work there to support their children. They are smart, hard working people, who have to put up with you're bullshit day in and day out.
I had a woman spell Maine for me the other day when she was giving me her address. It's degrading. I get it if you live on Maine St (instead of main st) and you're spelling it to tell me that, but if you live in Maine? Yeah I can figure that one out. But it's not even that. It's the condescending way some people talk to people in customer service. It's stupid. We can go back up one of these and say, they are people just like you. Before you yell at one of us remember that. It's our job, not who we are.
5. People who cannot respect people who work in food service
Before I worked in a call center I worked at a cafe, and a sandwich shop, one at college and one in the summer. I was lucky in that all of the customers both places had were generally understanding and calm. Not once did I ever get yelled at, or disrespected. But I have seen it happen to tons of people.
Your waitress/ is not your mom, your maid, or your servant. Ask for stuff, they are there to help you, but DO NOT demand anything. "Can I have a fork,please" is just as easy to say as "I didn't get a fork. i need a fork now."
Always remember, these are the people who are handling your food. And if you're rude, they're going to go into the back and bitch about you to their co-workers. They just are, that's how it works. Doesn't mean they're actually going to spit in your food. But being rude to your server makes you look like a big baby.
On the same vein, tip well (20% if you're in the USA). Not because you don't want to look cheap, but because they worked hard to get you your food on time, and they smiled at you through the entire meal and joked with you even though their feet are killing them, and they've been at work for 9 hours. Most waiters/waitresses/bus people make under minimum wage and have to claim their tips in their taxes to make up the difference. If you leave two dollars on a 50 dollar bill that means that at least three people have to split that two dollars. It's not enough to make up the difference, and what they've done for you is worth a lot more than that.
6. Being environmental conscious automatically garners the label "hippie."
I recycle religiously. That does not make me a hippie.
My parents have solar on their house. That does not make them hippies.
I believe in global warming. I am not a hippie.
Hippies are from the 60's and they lived in communes.
Environmentally Conscious people want to make the world a better place to live in. They want the human race to survive for as long as it can. Because we are not destroying the earth. We are destroying ourselves. The earth will be here long after we're gone extinct. It's a harsh reality. But it's true. The earth will be here, and all we will be is skeletal cities and plastic bottles. Scars on the landscape. All we want is to try to keep us here a little bit longer. That does not make me a "hippie" it makes me conscious and thoughtful. And all of the people who will not recycle, or will not buy into any of this because that would make them a "hippie" are not helping. It's time to toss out the word, or at least the negative connotations and decide that every human wants what's best for humanity.
This is where it starts.
7. Grammatical errors in things put out by big companies
I can be a reasonable person. I understand that errors happen.
If you are a huge company you are bound to make some typo's every once in a while. But if that typo is in a promotion code in an email you send to millions of people? That's just lazy.
Either get a new proofreader or try harder.
8. "Oh, you're a writer, so you're a journalist?"
No. Don't assume this. Also don't assume that all writers want to be novelists, bloggers, grant writers, whatever. All writers like different things. Personally I hate journalism. I'm bad at it because I'm too opinionated (who would have guessed). And I am so sick of people telling me to go work at the local paper.
That would be great. Except I'd still hate my job. No thanks.
9. "That's bad for you, you know.
Yes, I'm aware that McDonalds/Coca-Cola/Caffeine/Candy/Ice cream is bad for me. I don't need you to be my mom and tell me that. I'm partaking it in right now, and you telling me it's bad for me just makes me want to enjoy more of it. This mostly happens to me with caffeine. Caffeine and I are best friends. I love coffee, it's my favorite thing. I've had lots of people tell me that it's bad for me. I don't care. I honestly don't. Because A, if you actually look up the effects of caffeine lots of studies say it's not really that bad, and in some cases it's actually good. And B, I enjoy it. I like Coke, I love coffee. The worry that when I'm 60 it MIGHT cause me trouble is not enough to make me not drink it for the rest of my life. I don't want to have health problems in my future, but I also refuse to live my life fear that someday something could happen. We are all going to die someday. I refuse to live my life worrying about what vice of mine is going to finally be the thing that does it. I'm going to enjoy myself. I get one chance at this. I'm not going to waste it worrying about dying.
10. "You don't have a New England Accent."
I get this all the time at work. Because people who aren't from New England assume that all New Englanders sound like they're from Boston. We don't, by the way. Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut do not have that accent. Rhode Island and Massachusetts each have their own, and it's similar but it is not the same accent.
And in reality there IS a New England accent, or at least an accent for each state in New England. But it's not that traditional one. If you put two people from Vermont together in a room and you're from Arkansas, you probably aren't going to be able to understand them (because we talk too fast and all of our words kind of mix together, and we don't pronounce T's at the end or in the middle of any word. They just don't exist).
But the reason it drives me crazy when I hear it while I working is because I'm actually trying NOT to have it. I am enunciating every word. I have my customer service voice on. This is not how I actually talk. So, I don't have an accent at all, because you have to be able to understand me. And it's SO hard to make people understand it. And really you can't just turn your customer service voice off to show them that you're telling the truth. It's not that simple. You're either in one mode or your in the other.
I love my accent. Don't tell me I don't have one.
Another note is that a true New England accent (of any variety) always includes a large smattering of swears. If I'm not swearing at you I'm not in accent mode. Typically when I'm in the car and road raging (which is about 98% of the time I'm driving) nearly every thing that comes out of my mouth is a swear. My best friend about died laughing the other day when this stream came out of my mouth. Bleeps are for dramatic effect.
"Mother Beeepers, I'm bleeping going, you bleeping bleeps."
I'll climb off my soap box now.
If you didn't think I was a bitch already, y'all know it now.
xoxo.