New Year's Resolution 2006: Try to be more tolerant.

I was trying to reflect and evaluate so that I could come up with an attainable New Year's resolution. Instead of evaluating my own short-comings that I might be able to focus and improve upon, I found myself analyzing my most vexatious pet peeves. If you know me, you know that these vexations come out very often mostly in the form of unspeakable curses and highly sarcastic banterings. Only my closest friends hear these curses and banterings. I try not to subject strangers to them as I must keep up the appearance of "Sweet Reagan".

-Not calling when you say will. This most irritating blunder is most often committed by men, more to the point, men of romantic interest. In other words, guys you're dating. I have no idea why they feel they must do this on such a regular basis, but I can't think of anything more annoying or so basically disrespectful as this one. In my opinion, it's a lack of respect for my time. It's all very simple, if you say you're going to call at a certain time or when you get home, do it. How hard is it?

-Not being somewhere when you say you will and not calling to update me of the change in plans. This one is very close to the previous one and again, very basic respect for my time. If you say you will be done with what ever you are doing and we can meet after that, and then don't bother to call to tell me plans have changed, expect me to return your lack of respect.

-Not calling to make an appointment. Unfortunately, I have to deal with this one very often in business. I have a very busy office and I absolutely love when tenants just show up to have a pow-wow about whatever strikes their interest (sarcasm). My first question is always, "Do you have an appointment?", only because I know what's coming next. They ask for the manager, who in turn tells me she's too busy with reports or leases or whatever, and then I go back to the tenant and ask them to email her or call her to make an appointment. More often than not, it's something simple that I can help them with, but they always insist on bothering the manager with it. I don't see how the poor woman doesn't have a nervous breakdown. Again with the disrespect for other people's time.

-Smacking your gum or food. I've discovered this one most recently. I cringe around people who do this. It's right up there with scratching your nails across a black board. I go into an anxiety attack when they get right next to me and do it in my ear while trying to carry on a conversation. It's so distracting; I can't even concentrate on the conversation at hand. Somebody please get me a razor blade (for myself)!

-When people try to talk to me while I'm on the phone. It's even more frustrating when both people are trying to tell me something important that I should really be listening to. I assure you, I can multi-task, but why not just wait your turn.

Trust me there's more, but I won't bore you with it anymore. So in analyzing my thoughts on these few pet peeves, I've realized I need to try to be a little more tolerant (I thought I had been). Oh sure, when these things happen, I don't by any means fly off the handle and go psychotic on the poor souls. I keep my cool and try to talk myself into understanding that this is just how most people are: Completely unaware and clueless.

Damned tolerance.

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