We get it, you’re an important person. But if your phone is glued to your hand, the rest of us start to wonder what is so lacking about our conversation skills. Try taking a break from texting your boo, updating your Facebook status and tweeting at your loyal followers and live for a minute. You’ll have more to say to your boo, Facebook friends and loyal Twitter followers anyway.
This is especially applicable if you’re in a foreign country where you and your mates speak the native language fluently, but insist on speaking to one another in rapid-fire German instead of joining in a group discussion. You’re excluding everyone around you, and you most definitely aren’t getting a true cultural immersion experience. Put yourself out of your comfort zone and practice expressing your thoughts in a different language for a change!
I’m sure your hilarious story about getting trashed last night and waking up with rice all over your bed is a knee-slapper. But the rest of us don’t really care, and definitely didn’t ask you about it. “Inside voices” didn’t go out of style when you graduated from primary school.
No. the sidewalk is a shared place, not a catwalk designed just for you and your friends. Either pack it in or stay off the streets, people.
Of course it’s nice to chat up strangers. But the person at the library who is cramming for a final exam doesn’t want to talk to you about the intricacies of the French Revolution.
We’re HUNGRY. If you’re not planning on sharing, stop taunting the rest of us. If you’re on the train home with a take-out box of chicken lo mein that you’re eating with single-minded determination, take a look up. When you see your fellow commuters staring at you with a mixture of hatred and ravenous-vulture eyes, that’s your cue to wait until you get home to finish off your meal.
It’s unclear who exactly thought up the newspaper design. It’s ENORMOUS. And there’s no way to fold it easily, or quietly for that matter. And if you’re on a crowded train during rush hour, you’re about to elbow at least half a dozen people in the face in your attempt to get to the sports section. Be a normal person and read it for free online when you get to work.
If I wanted to listen to Limp Bizkit, I’d download it myself. Actually, first I’d seek emergency therapy to figure out why the hell I’d want to listen to Limp Bizkit, then I would download it myself. Turn it down. The beauty of headphones is supposed to be that your music isn’t playing out loud for the world to hear.
Besides the obvious dangers, there are some major annoyances that you’re creating for the rest of the road by being an inattentive driver. Like making them sit at green lights while you finish off your text. You can still make the light as it turns yellow, but nobody behind you can. And refusing to brake gradually, meaning that everyone else is forced to slam on their brakes as well to avoid hitting your lazy behind.
This is a big one — tipping in bars and restaurants varies from country to country, but the onus is on YOU to figure out the social norm of wherever you currently are. Bartenders and waiters in tipping countries make little or no salary, so your neglectful attitude towards tipping means they just served you and your party of rowdy friends for three hours for free. Not cool.
You’re not a baby. Or a dog. And you’re not nearly as subtle as you think you are behind your newspaper. Look up, or at least wear some sunglasses.
