Pet Peeves

I think most people tend to share the typical driving pet peeves. Ya know, when someone is driving slow in the left lane and won't move, or when you pass a car because they're going slow and then they speed up and pass you just to get in front of you and then slow down. One related to the speed-up, slow-down annoyance is that of the non-cruise-control user: the person who can't figure out how fast they want to go so they keep passing you in the other lane and then slowing down randomly. This process continues invariably until they possibly realize that the car next to them in the other lane hasn't changed speeds once.

And do i need to even mention the cell-phone drivers? They get on their phone and then totally lose all sense of reality. "I'm doing what? Driving? You're crazy! I'm obviously talking on the phone with my long-lost twin brother that needs my undivided attention since it's been 45 years since i've seen him..."--which explains why they zone out and have no concept of what speed they're going, or what lane they're in, or the fact that they're even in a car--"wow, this scenery is wonderful...and it keeps changing and i don't even have to do anything except sit comfortably in this soft chair that reclines..." I'd be hypocritical if i said i never talk on the phone when i drive. It's true, i do talk on the phone sometimes. But i can say with confidence that i'm always aware of what lane i'm in, i always check my blind spots, and i'm constantly aware of how fast i'm going (i use the cruise control...one of the greatest inventions ever...). I get tired of the guy on the phone going random speeds or going as fast as the person in front of them, not realizing how fast that speed is.

So, i have a new pet peeve that i just realized this week. Once again, it's related to the use of cars. This time instead of having to do with driving, it has to do with parking. In my apartment complex (as well as in many parking lots at shopping centers) there is a section of parking spots in the middle that are separated by a line in the middle (see this picture since i'm bad at discriptions). Basically you can either park facing towards the center line or if no one is on the other side you can pull all the way through and face away from the center line. That's totally cool...unless you don't pull all the way past the center line. So basically, you're almost taking up two parking spaces because you have no idea how to use your sideview mirrors to see the parking space lines behind you and because you're clueless as to what the length is of the car you drive every day.

I'm okay with people making mistakes, and maybe struggling with depth perception. But one thing i'm not very okay with is not fixing things that are easily fixable. The fact that the person driving the silver '08 honda civic can't properly park the car isn't a big deal. What is a big deal to me is not properly parking it and then just leaving it after getting out of the car and realizing it's not properly parked. Thanks for taking up two parking spaces! I have no pity on you if someone else who cannot properly park decides to park behind you and they too, like you, struggle with the length of their car and happen to put a severe dent in your bumper that is overhanging the center line by a couple feet...but i'm not angry or anything...