Hell is bad days are other people

I seem to be in a bad mood. Why? Well, here’s a list of things that annoyed me today. (WARNING: contains rants, whining and bad language).

1) Slow cyclists who insist on coming around me and stopping RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME at a red light that I have reached first. Dude, I’ve now passed you TWICE, are you really gonna make me do it a third time? It’s not entirely safe, what with all the idiot drivers on the bike routes.

Which brings me to:

2) People who drive straight through a pedestrian crossing that is RIGHT OUTSIDE an elementary school when there is a KID on it, about one third of the way across and coming in their direction. And who then turn left without signalling, cutting off a cyclist (me) who has just started moving again after, y’know, STOPPING for the kid.

and

3) People (drivers and cyclists) who have no idea how to use a roundabout.
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4) Gym users who don't know how to use the circuit training area properly. It is NOT DIFFICULT, you do 30 seconds of weights, have about 10 seconds to get organised, do 30 seconds of cardio, another 10 seconds to get organised, do 30 seconds on the next set of weights, etc etc. There are gigantic flashing lights that say START, then STOP, then GET READY, then START again. But somehow, in an area with (I think) 12 sets of weights and therefore room for 24 people to pass around the circuits at the same time, even a much smaller group is enough to cause recurrent conflicts between 2 or 3 people trying to use the same piece of equipment at the same time. This is caused by people who a) jump into the middle of the circuits without checking which machines the cardio-doing users are about to move onto next, b) people who just want to use one piece of equipment, for like 5 minutes at a time, and only (resentfully) move off it when asked to by the person who is trying to get on, c) people who skip the cardio component, do double shifts on each machine, completely ignore the flashing lights and go at their own pace, go the wrong way round the NUMBERED circuit, or just generally DON’T GET IT. Oh, and d) people who put down a stretching mat and lie on top of the big stepping bench that runs the length of the room and that most people use as the cardio component. That didn’t cause any equipment conflicts, it was just really fucking annoying. But the guy was big and muscly and scowly, so what can you do? My circuit took about 8 minutes longer than usual (usual length: ~24 minutes), so I had to skip my usual short post-circuit rowing machine workout, and instead went to find a staff member to ask about official gym policy regarding circuit use, and what I should do the next time any of this stuff happens. (The “Circuit training only - no exceptions” signs would only prevent 2 of the 4 annoying behaviours listed above - IF they were actually enforced).

Which brings me to:

5) Gym staff who leave the reception desk unattended and who are generally nowhere to be found when you want to complain about something.
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6) People who are clearly retired but do their big weekly Safeway or London Drugs shop on a weekday between 12 and 1, when people who work (and there are a LOT of us in this area) are trying to grab a sandwich and some milk on their lunch break. ESPECIALLY if they decide that now is a good time to chat to the cashier / query a 3 cent discount they think they should have got / reorganise their handbag. Do you not SEE all the people standing behind you? (Same goes for tourists who use public transit during the peak commute / rush hour. Unless they are going to the airport, bus, train or cruise boat terminal. Which, if they are on my bus, they are most likely not. This didn't happen to me today, but does piss me off).
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7) People who suddenly stop dead or change direction in the middle of the sidewalk, or who stand right outside the doors of an arriving elevator so the people inside can’t get out. Extra points for giving me the evil eye if I walk into you.
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To summarise: if you want to avoid pissing me off, follow these two easy rules:

1) be aware of your surroundings
2) consider the effects of your actions on the people who currently share your surroundings

(Please note that I chose not to use my "bad people" tag for this post. With the exception of #2, I'm sure that all of these annoying people are perfectly pleasant members of the human race. They just need to WAKE UP and follow my rules).

Ooooh, I actually feel better now!

What annoyed YOU today?