Thursday, June 25, 2009

Curb Your Pet

They call them "Pet Peeves." It conjures up an illusion of something cute and cuddly, but probably still needs to sleep in a cage at night. These are the quiet annoyances that drive us all quietly mad. Like the one about people who stand in line at a fast food restaurant just to wait until they get to the counter before deciding what they want to eat. It's fast food. Even for the people behind them. That's why they put the big, colorful pictures up there on a lighted board. They even put the prices right next to them so you can figure out how best to maximize your fast food dollar.
And that's the problem with pet peeves. You don't really own them. Much in the same way that "no one can own a cat," you can't really be in charge. You feed on them, and they feed on you in some twisted symbiotic fashion. If you have acknowledged that you do, in fact, have one of these then it has already grown to some unmanageable size. Pet Peeves need to be let out now and again for air. We call this "venting." Without this periodic adjustment, they can turn nasty, and start to compete with rational thought.
It may have lead to something more insidious. You could become "one of those people" that others reference when they are talking about the pet peeves that they have about people like you. Or worse, you could become a stand-up comic.

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