I’ve been meaning to blog this for quite awhile. I’ve got to share my biggest pet peeve in the whole wide world! ;)
PERSONAL SPACE in public places! It creeps me out when someone you don’t know invades your bubble in a public setting (especially when there is no need to do so)!
Let me give you a few “for instance” examples:
Public restrooms: If you are in a public restroom in a stall, and there are several other empty stalls, and someone comes in and takes the stall right next to yours?!? What is that about? Excuse me, random stranger, Do you really need to sit right next to me while I’m already trying to pretend I have some modicum of privacy in this large echoy puddly substitute for my own quiet little restroom at home?!? Seriously, how does proximity to another person in this situation not bother you?
The Gym: I already have a strong belief that gyms are horribly infested germ-filled petrie dishes. I bring my towel, I wash my hands, I don’t touch my face after touching gym equipment. But it still bothers me when I’m on an eliptical trainer, or a treadmill or a stationary bike, or a stairmaster and someone takes the machine right next to mine! There are plenty of other machines! Why doesn’t this person go sweat, and cough and breathe through their mouth a couple of machines down from mine?!? Give the germs a nice little buffer between this person’s mouth and my nose!?! I swear I spend half of my cardio time with my neck crained away from the person who’s decided to occupy the machine next to mine just trying to get some less infected air! Shudder!
The Movie Theater: Let me preface with the line my professor always used to toss out in college: “Movies are a communal experience. They are meant to be enjoyed in the public setting of a theater instead of holed up alone on your couch.” Be that as it may, I’d rather enjoy that communal experience with at least a one seat between myself and everyone else! Am I the only person to be upset after finding the perfect seat in the movie theater, getting my coat situated just right in the seat, arranging my candy and popcorn and soda in a perfect little lap picnic, settling in with the friend/loved one I chose to sit next to at the movie theater, only to have some stranger invade on my communal movie-going experience by sitting right next to me?!? Why do complete strangers feel the urge to invade the six inches of personal space that those movie seats give you? Why should I have to fight with someone I don’t know over the right to use my arm-rest? Yes! I said it, MY arm-rest! I was here first after all!
O.K. I realize that this may make me sound like a cranky-pants hermit who doesn’t like meeting new people, but let me clarify; I do like to meet new people, I enjoy parties and events and gatherings where I expect to be involved in a crowded public situation. I guess what I hate is the unexpected and uninvited invasion of my percieved personal space by people I don’t know and haven’t even made intentional eye contact with.
I’m writing about this in hopes that you’ll share a few words of solidarity or drop me a line with a list of your own pet peeves! I promise, sharing does make you feel better…as long as it’s not sharing a gym or a movie theater or a bathroom with someone you don’t know!