What little things drive you completely up the wall....?

[Luci]

All this "calm down" complaining is bothering me. I'm sorry it annoys you, but it doesn't bother me a bit, and sometimes helps.

Sometimes I would have a problem with a a kid in the library, thought I handled it well, then would try to tell my supervisor about it and talk really fast and babble. She would tell me to calm down, it's OK, and I would take a couple of deep breaths and tell her the story calmly, succinctly, clearly.

Sometimes when things are really going badly and I call Customer Support, the same thing happens - I speak quickly and lose my train of thought. Only the agent just tells me she/he is there to help, but please calm down to explain my problem. Bless them. It's never failed, and I applaud the patience!

The only time it really bothers my is if I am crying uncontrollably (very rarely). I can't calm down then until I get the pain out.  I just try to avoid people, then, but sometimes can't.

If it bothers so many people, why do so many other people use it and expect positive results? It must not annoy the calmer person, because he is using it on someone else.

[Julian]

This IKEA talk reminds me of the time we tried to buy a kitchen cabinet.
You set up the cabinet (main piece, doors, what goes inside..) with an Ikea kitchen clerk, he gives you a list of things you have to pick up yourself (shelfs or wire baskets or what have you) and the barcode that will be scanned for you to buy the set. Scanning the barcode relay the info to the warehouse and they start getting your order then.
That's when we found out, after quite a delay, that one of the door they sold us, on the premise that they had it to sell to us, wasn't actually in stock.
We're brought to customer service, where the clerk starts telling us that we'll have to come back another time. It's A) really inconvenient anyway and B) moreover because we don't have a vehicule, live inside the city so the closest Ikea is waayyy too far for public transport and I had asked my dad to drive us that day. I wasn't going to ask for a trip to Ikea every week (not that I would mind, I love Ikea.)

Years ago, back when I lived in an area with an Ikea, I went through a very similar thing.  Ex and I wanted two large wardrobes, sliding doors, minimal hanging and mostly shelf space.  We went through Ikea, worked out which bits we wanted, what size, how many, the whole works.  It would have ended up costing around $1600 per wardrobe.    

Anyway, unfamiliar with the 'buy it in bits' concept, we got some assistance from one of the Ikea staff.  When she looked at their inventory, there were very few pieces available to purchase.  Could we order them in?  No.  Could she tell us when any more were coming in?  No.  Was there any chance, however slim, that we might be able to actually get all the bits in any reasonable timeframe?  No.  And even if we did get all the bits eventually, we'd still have to get them assembled.

We left and went to a local furniture place, where we bought two customised wardrobes, exactly fitted out as we wanted them, in a flat pack.  The price included a man to come out and assemble them where we wanted them.  It took him next to no time (about 2-3 hours) to assemble both of them, whereas ex and I would have needed all day and relationship counselling just to do one!  The price?  $800 for both.

[diesel_darlin]

All this "calm down" complaining is bothering me. I'm sorry it annoys you, but it doesn't bother me a bit, and sometimes helps.

Sometimes I would have a problem with a a kid in the library, thought I handled it well, then would try to tell my supervisor about it and talk really fast and babble. She would tell me to calm down, it's OK, and I would take a couple of deep breaths and tell her the story calmly, succinctly, clearly.

Sometimes when things are really going badly and I call Customer Support, the same thing happens - I speak quickly and lose my train of thought. Only the agent just tells me she/he is there to help, but please calm down to explain my problem. Bless them. It's never failed, and I applaud the patience!

The only time it really bothers my is if I am crying uncontrollably (very rarely). I can't calm down then until I get the pain out.  I just try to avoid people, then, but sometimes can't.

If it bothers so many people, why do so many other people use it and expect positive results? It must not annoy the calmer person, because he is using it on someone else.

Theres a difference between a caring/helpful calm down versus a hateful snippy YOU NEED TO CHILL OUT. I would also appreciate someone telling me soothingly to calm down. Its all in the tone of voice.

[Piratelvr1121]

When I'm on the phone with my best friend and get upset she'll usually say "Honey, you get screechy when you are upset and I can't understand you."  It is true, I do tend to get a bit high pitched when I'm upset and don't always realize it.

[cabbagegirl28]

All this "calm down" complaining is bothering me. I'm sorry it annoys you, but it doesn't bother me a bit, and sometimes helps.

Sometimes I would have a problem with a a kid in the library, thought I handled it well, then would try to tell my supervisor about it and talk really fast and babble. She would tell me to calm down, it's OK, and I would take a couple of deep breaths and tell her the story calmly, succinctly, clearly.

Sometimes when things are really going badly and I call Customer Support, the same thing happens - I speak quickly and lose my train of thought. Only the agent just tells me she/he is there to help, but please calm down to explain my problem. Bless them. It's never failed, and I applaud the patience!

The only time it really bothers my is if I am crying uncontrollably (very rarely). I can't calm down then until I get the pain out.  I just try to avoid people, then, but sometimes can't.

If it bothers so many people, why do so many other people use it and expect positive results? It must not annoy the calmer person, because he is using it on someone else.

Theres a difference between a caring/helpful calm down versus a hateful snippy YOU NEED TO CHILL OUT. I would also appreciate someone telling me soothingly to calm down. Its all in the tone of voice.

It's also infuriating when "Calm down" comes in the saccharine tone that says, "You need to calm down sweetie, and I'm talking to you like you're much younger than you are." I can tell the difference between someone trying to soothe me and someone being patronizing, so I don't put everyone who tries to calm me in that category. I actually prefer when someone yells "Calm down!" or something stronger at me, because then I feel like their mood matches mine. However, I know that's not everyone's taste, so I generally avoid doing that.

Something weird that's driving me up the wall: I am an English as a first language speaker, but I started learning German at about age 15. Lately, I have been having the worst time coming up with phrases that I need to say...in English. Yes, I can now better explain myself or think faster in German than I can in English (at certain points). I've also had dreams where I can't speak in English. For example, I had a dream that someone asked me what time it was, and I could only tell them in German, but the person didn't understand German. Or, in real life, where I started saying "Doch" and "Na ja" instead of "Yeah" and "Uh huh" in conversation. That elicited some stares.

[Elfmama]

Speaking of Ikea, my folks once got a trundle bed for me from Ikea and my mother would warn me afterwards not to buy a bed from Ikea because due to the way the mattresses are you can only ever by sheets from them cause no one else makes sheets to fit them.

Stand back, Ikea!  I have a sewing machine and I know how to use it!

[Piratelvr1121]

Speaking of Ikea, my folks once got a trundle bed for me from Ikea and my mother would warn me afterwards not to buy a bed from Ikea because due to the way the mattresses are you can only ever by sheets from them cause no one else makes sheets to fit them.

Stand back, Ikea!  I have a sewing machine and I know how to use it!

Funny thing is, my mother also had a sewing machine and miraculously the only time had use for it was when I asked if I could borrow it. 

[suzieQ]

Bodies that don't co-operate, or, The Law Of Sod.

I had an ambulatory ECG done last week to try and get to the bottom of some palpitations I've been having.

I had the thing on for 2 days. Did it do anything while I was hooked up to it? Nooooo. Of course not. Not a thing happened, except that I developed a nice rash from the adhesive on the pads.

Machine went back to the hospital yesterday. This morning my heart's jumping around like the cast of Riverdance.

Why? Why does this happen?!

I had the same thing happen and I wore the contraption for a *week*! Ugh! I just gave up on it. When I start getting palpitations, I cough hard and that stops it. Works for me.

[Elfmama]

When the commentators on the Olympic coverage assume that laypeople know just as much as they do.  "Wow, I think even non-skaters can see how she flubbed that gerplinksky!"  No, no we can't.  She jumped up in the air and spun around, and landed without even bobbling, much less falling flat on her bacon-fed knave.

[Lorelei_Evil]

I think I'm going to start calling any gymnastics move I don't know the name of a Gerplinksky, since I hate figure skating and refuse to watch it.  Mind if I borrow the term?

[Elfmama]

I think I'm going to start calling any gymnastics move I don't know the name of a Gerplinksky, since I hate figure skating and refuse to watch it.  Mind if I borrow the term?

Be my guest.    It applies to any athletic move, as far as I'm concerned.

[Lorelei_Evil]

Thanks!  The network coverage is driving me crackers, but the streaming is much better if you stream by event.

[perpetua]

Bodies that don't co-operate, or, The Law Of Sod.

I had an ambulatory ECG done last week to try and get to the bottom of some palpitations I've been having.

I had the thing on for 2 days. Did it do anything while I was hooked up to it? Nooooo. Of course not. Not a thing happened, except that I developed a nice rash from the adhesive on the pads.

Machine went back to the hospital yesterday. This morning my heart's jumping around like the cast of Riverdance.

Why? Why does this happen?!

I had the same thing happen and I wore the contraption for a *week*! Ugh! I just gave up on it. When I start getting palpitations, I cough hard and that stops it. Works for me.

It got better. I went into A&E with them a couple of weeks back, they got so bad again. By this time I'd had them constantly (like, 5 or 6 a minute) for at least three days. Yet every time they laid me down and put the darned ECG machine on me, they stopped. It ended up so that the ward sister had me sit up and put the machine in front of me and went off and left me to it, telling me what button to press when I had one, so they could try to catch them on the printout. Whereupon of course the movement of my hand pressing the button gave too much interference and told the machine I was probably having a heart attack. Which clearly I wasn't.

It was so frustrating. I could see them going past on the screen, but there was just no way of capturing them. I sat there for an hour trying to do it to no avail.

Thankfully I think we've worked out by a process of elimination that it's my stomach causing them (doc thinks it's gastroparesis, urgh), which I guess explains why they stop when I lay down for the machine.

[Black Delphinium]

Honest tea finally put out a sweet tea, which would be awesome, but it has Stevia in it, which has a weird aftertaste to me. 

[TeamBhakta]

When the commentators on the Olympic coverage assume that laypeople know just as much as they do.  "Wow, I think even non-skaters can see how she flubbed that gerplinksky!"  No, no we can't.  She jumped up in the air and spun around, and landed without even bobbling, much less falling flat on her bacon-fed knave.

What annoyed me last night was Matt Lauer & company saying repeatedly "they're coming to this year's Olympics knowing they won't win" and "they don't come to the Olympics hoping to win."