Annoying People

 
   Authors' note: I understand that some to whom this may apply may be reading this, so I therefore wish to state in advance that firstly I'm not aiming at the individual, rather at the idea, and secondly that I may exaggerate to bring out a point or make it funny.

   Also, it goes without saying (thanks to the Feminist Movement) that the feelings portrayed here can apply equally to either gender.

.   .   .

   We sit back to back. No, no, we're good friends, it's just that we sit at different tables. The catch is that our backs almost touch - and there is supposed to be enough room for someone to pass between us. Still manageable, you say? Well, every time he stands up, the following happens: 1) The back of his chair knocks into mine, jolting it; and 2) he leaves his chair out and doesn't slide it back into its place.

   On the first issue I won't be the one to criticize him, as he probably miscalculates the space behind him, and I don't expect him to turn around every time with a caliper to ensure that he won't bump into me. But on the second count, there is no excuse. It often will get to the point (after I've stood up and fixed his chair 1001 times,) that I feel like sending his chair flying in such a way that he'll never be able to bump it into mine again, if that's at all possible.

   I just don't get how someone can do something like that so many times and not realize that (much as I may hide it) I get annoyed! He must have grown up in a society where chair-jolting and chair-stranding are time-honored customs, thus making them his societal norm. How else could he have learned the art? Why, at the brink of my patience he will suddenly put his chair back halfway, so I have just enough room to maneuver around him.

   That's that. Not that I think my particular issue is shared by you, reader, but this type of annoyance can take on more humble and subtler forms, with  which I'm sure you can associate.

   And do take a look next time, for like a million other things, you can tell alot about peoples' character by observing whether they slide their chair back into its place at all, and if they do - ponder this: Their mood can be determined as well: Is it "Clang-Blong-Bonk" or "Sss-Thonk"?