A Pile of Stuff I Can't Stand

I've been having no luck making it to thrift stores lately. And when I do, I find nothing worth buying. It really is starting to feel like I'm going to have to wait until I can get to a small town to find good stuff. Even still, I'm not sure. My folks live in St. Catharines, a mid-sized town near Niagara Falls. The prices and selection aren't always terrific there either. Heck, they even have a silent auction at the Goodwill down the road from them. My dad has been known to bid on items there. I often see nostalgic Fisher-Price toys from my childhood, but I can't bring myself to get into an auction situation.

March is here and that can only mean that in two more months the weather will be mild enough in Toronto for yard sales to start up again.

Since I have no great finds to share, I thought I'd share some stuff I can't stand. Andy Rooney must be rolling in his grave.

• Quick edit movies, TV shows, and commercials. It's style over substance that makes me want to grab a tri-pod and clobber the director. This style of editing is so early nineties NYPD Blue. Boring.
• People who get on a bus, sit in front of you and start talking loudly on their cellphone.
• The smugness of the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. How about leading our country instead of stalling parliament until you can get the opinion polls just where you like them? Stop phoning in your leadership.
• Oprah, Dr. Phil, and that creepy Dr. Oz guy. I'm sure they all started out with honest intentions, but the sensational programming is too much to take, so I just don't watch these shows.
• Medical studies that everyone starts changing their way of living for, only to have another medical study come out a few months later contradicting the findings. What ever happened to "eat a balanced diet and get some exercise?"
• Being forced to listen to "easy rock" while waiting at the dentist's office.
• People who have no sense of boundaries e.g. people who cannot pick up on your body language or tone of voice that it's time to go or get off the phone.
• Clusters of people who stop at the top of escalators to talk, oblivious to the meat-packing conveyor belt of people trying to get off.
• Celine Dion. We don't need to hear about your fertility woes. If you really had wanted to have another child, you would have made it a priority instead of playing Caesar's Palace for all those years for all those millions. Money talks...
• Celebrities, politicians, and professional athletes who make fools of themselves and then hire damage control people to help them save face.
• When you go out of your way to do something nice for someone and they don't have the courtesy to acknowledge it.
• Discovering something really good and then it feels like everyone else discovers it and the magic is lost.
• Being a person who's generally happy and then being interrogated on an off-day for not being cheerful.
• Being forced to watch commercials before movies begin.
• Seeing cool actors and musicians featured in magazines and then discovering that they've been "dressed" in $2,000 jeans.
• Discovering that one of your favourite products has been discontinued.
• Humorless celebrity chefs with massive egos.
• Drivers who don't indicate before turning.
• People you work with who create a competitive atmosphere rather than a collaborative environment.
• People who snap at you for things that aren't your fault.
• People who forget what it's like being young.
• Those who belittle seniors.
• E-Harmony dating commercials. I'm happily married and these gooey couples blathering on about how happy they are even make my bile stir. I'd hate to be a single person forced to sit through these. Hit the mute!
• 10-minutes-of-fame useless celebrities such as Jersey Shore players. Go away!
• Too much information culture of rehab rehash, etc.
• When my cat crawls on my black pants just before I'm ready to leave for work.
• Fruit flies.
• Unsolicited advice. Today a colleague started lecturing me about drinking too much coffee.
• Canned laughter.
• Canned vegetables.

Ahh. I feel better now. I could go on, but I better not. What are the things you can't stand?