Berkhof's 12 most irritating little things

Ferdinand Berkhof | Friday October 25, 2013 11:43

Out of a sheer wish for survival, I will not go into the little but regular irritations that occur between a man and his female companion in a relationship. All those who have been in a steady relationship for some time know that the alliance between members of opposite sexes is invariably and uncontrollably strained and often troublesome. 'You can't live with them, you can't live without them' is a popular phrase. I met my wife over twenty years back and we've been married for over eighteen years. The frictions and irritations will never stop but somehow, we've managed for all this time and I'm pretty sure we will continue to do so. My wife is my wife and I love her unconditionally, no matter how much we fight.

So what I'm talking about here are the other, daily little frustrations and irritations we all deal with. They can be small things but since they occur so often they can become a real pain. Let me list a few.

 

Caller tunes

When you call some people on their cell-phone, you have to listen to their favourite music before they pick up. Their favourite music, not necessarily yours.

 

Phone etiquette

Or somebody calls you on your own phone and once you pick up, they ask you: 'Ke bua le mang?'  You mean you don't know who you called?

 

Cutting queues

Those things really bug me. Then there are those people who try to jump the queue at the bank. It's month-end, you know the queue is long but you persevere, sometimes for hours, because you have to get things done. Then, when there are only three people in front of you, out of nowhere appear those creatures who 'have been queuing in front of you' all along. Nobody can confirm or dismiss them so they get their way. It bugs me tremendously.

 

Mascom ads

There are the perpetual Mascom adverts on my cell-phone, at least one every day, telling you about the latest offers I am never interested in.

 

Poor parking

There are the people who can't or won't park their cars properly, forcing you to get in through the passenger door when you return from shopping.

 

Chewing gum

There are the people chewing gum with their mouth open, and, as for gum, there is the stepping in other people's chewing gum, something you only realise when you want to change your foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal.

 

Fake American accents

There are the people who put on fake American accents, trying to sound cool but only make an absolute fool of themselves.

 

Go tla siama

There are the people who tell you: 'go tla siama', no matter what problem you present them with. And then of course there are those who last used the toilet before you and leave exactly two sheets of paper on the toilet roll and you only find out when you're done. Curse them!

 

Skeif

Then there is the behaviour in our local bars, which I happen to frequent quite regularly, just because I happen to like them. I spend many enjoyable hours there, but sometimes, things can get quite infuriating in those places as well. You are enjoying your beer and a cigarette and, all of a sudden, a complete stranger approaches you, doesn't even bother to greet you and tells you: 'skeif', meaning he'd like the rest of your cigarette. I don't mind sharing a cigarette with someone but at least you could greet and ask. It bugs me and if I'm in the wrong mood, people get told off quite seriously.

 

Bula boot

Another irritating practice in the local bars, especially towards month-end; you're having a pleasant conversation with some of your friends, enjoying a cold beer. In comes the twenty-five-year old BMW sekorokoro with two young boys and their girlfriends. They park under a tree, open all the doors and the boot and from thereon, everyone within a radius of three hundred metres has to enjoy their choice of music. It seriously bugs me.

 

Dark sunglasses

Then there is something I consider as outright rude. People, whether you know them or not, who come and talk to you wearing very dark shades. Shades so dark you can't see their eyes. I find it extremely rude and it bugs me. Why? Because eyes say much more than words. Someone can say: 'I love you' and smile while saying it, but eyes can tell you the complete opposite. Take off your shades when you talk to me. What are you trying to hide? It really bugs me.

 

Commenting on this before you read

Finally, dear readers, there is one thing I have to say about the comments to my blogs that sometimes bugs me. I fully realise I sometimes write about controversial issues. I want to. I like to get discussions going, getting people to think about issues, knowing very well I sometimes go against the grain, present opinions that many people disagree with. I don't expect people to agree with me and I welcome comments from people who utterly disagree with me. I don't even mind being called names, which quite regularly happens. What does bug me is that it is often clear that a large number of people comment without having read the actual blog; that people comment on the title only. That seriously bugs me. Click on the link, read the blog and then call me anything you want to.