penelope pet peeves, continued

1. White noise. For example, ceiling fans, box window fans, air conditioning, oven fans, bathroom vents. Leaf blowers and flourescent lights. Maybe leaf blowers aren't really white noise. And none of these really bother me to distraction, in most cases, but I notice that when they're finally turned off, I suddenly feel much more peaceful. The absence of said noise is downright lulling. And yet some people need white noise in order to fall asleep. Humm.

2. When someone says repeatedly and emphatically, "You just don't understand." As in, you don't know my plight. This expression used in any form used to immediately raise my blood pressure until one day I realized that it's not supposed to be perceived literally. Like, What the eff, I'm trying to understand--maybe if you stopped saying that? So now it only bugs me when someone is driving it home as though using a sledge hammer. In which case I have to remind myself, a) it's not literal, b) whomever is speaking is simply riled up about his or her own situation, and c) it will probably get stuck in my head and at some point in the next week, I will inadvertantly use the expression myself.

3. Boys who tell their girlfriends, fiances, or wives to "shut up" in a non-facetious manner, and/or call them "stupid" or "dumb" in same manner, such as Wes to Johanna on the Road Rules/Real World Challenge. And by the way, Wes? This girl's way out of your league.