Five for Friday: Pet Peeve Edition

Hello!  We again stand on the precipice of the weekend.  So many possibilities, so much fun to be had, or perhaps you are ready for some hardcore couch time.  Whatever it is you have planned, or not planned...enjoy.  My good friend called me yesterday and started the conversation with, "You might need to blog about this...".  When some people say this to me, it bothers me, others I will take their idea and run with it.  Her particular beef was worthy of the "Pet Peeve" edition.  Her gripe rings true with me so, I thank her for the gift of an idea.  Please note, I like ideas and topics, but if I can not make my brain and fingers believe in an idea...it will not make it.  Some of my own ideas do not translate well into written word.  Perhaps I need to start doing some spoken word beat poetry for the leftover ideas. (See that?  I hideous idea that will not come to fruition)  Here are my five peeves for this Friday...

1. People who can not focus on a conversation.  This is my friend's peeve, which I agree is horribly peevish.  Her beef is particularly with people during phone conversations talking to/ reprimanding their children, while on the phone with her.  We all know the best way to get your child's attention is to  answer a phone call.  Like moths to a flame they hover around you.  They list their "needs".  They whine.  I have always been of the mindset that children need to learn manners.  Interrupting people is poor manners.  Obviously, one should not neglect a true need of a child.  Good manners would dictate that you end your phone conversation and attend to those needs.  However, engaging in a secondary conversation with your child whilst on the phone with a friend is rather annoying.  This also applies to texting with people while trying to maintain a conversation with someone who is live, in front of you.  Yes, the occasional urgent situation may arise, but honestly, not that often unless you are a doctor.  Focus on the person who you are talking with on the phone or in person.  It is the kind, friendly, and polite thing to do.  
2. Writing the way you talk.  I have been told my writing is very similar to how I speak.  This is good for writers, because it means their writing has a personal voice.  My beef is not with the writers' personal voice.  No, my beef is with people that try to write out words that only exist in spoken word.  Writing out your lazy speech patterns bothers me.  Why?  I am not absolutely sure, here are some possibilities. Maybe it bothers me because it highlights that the offending person has poor grammar and diction? Maybe it is just because it reveals ignorance?  Or, and this is probably it, it gives the sloppy speech credibility when it is written.  This occurs mostly in social media posts.  Yes, I am a big fan of social media, and I am sure if I distanced myself from my FaceBook and Twitter feeds it I would have less annoyance and frustration.  Here are the words that bother me the most: prolly, gonna, coulda, woulda, and shoulda.  The correct words are: probably, going to, could have, would have, and should have.  And "ain't" is not a word, I do not care that it made it to the dictionary.  It is shit, so do not use it! Mumble and mush your words all you want when you talk, but if you are posting it on social media use STANDARD ENGLISH.
3. Leggings as pants.  Leggings are not pants.  Leggings are footless tights made of ever so slightly bulkier material.  Leggings are adorable under a dress, or a long tunic top worn with boots.  If you are rocking the legging with a regular waist or hip length shirt, you are missing the trend.  There are all kinds of reasons that leggings require a longer top (aka a tunic) or a dress.  Primarily, something called  "camel toe".  If you are not familiar with this term, please Google it, or see the Urban Dictionary.  It is not really flattering on anyone.  Leggings are not a standard replacement for regular pants.  Please spread the word.
4. People who are going to use all the words listed in #2 to annoy me. It is my peeve when people use peeves against other people.  It is cheap.  My beloved has told me many of his pet peeves over the years.  The knowledge of these things makes it easy to know what will bother him.  If I were an evil soul, I could just drive the man nuts by constantly pushing his peeve buttons.  I do not because it is  too easy.  I would far prefer to find new and interesting ways to get under his skin.  This being said, I know that I have friends who are also readers who will use #2 against me.  Do your worst.  I have steeled my nerves already.
5. Breaking News  Television stations use the term "BREAKING NEWS" rather loosely.  Yes, it is news that just happened, but no, not all of it deserves to interrupt the broadcast.  Example, most courtroom verdicts, especially those for scandal plagued former mayors,  do not deserve to break into regular viewing.  The whole term has been rendered meaningless by overuse.  Who really believes that something actually news worthy will be occurring when programming gets interrupted?  Not me.  I am genuinely surprised when it is something that is significant.

That does it for my Pet Peeve edition.  Thanks to my friend, who shall remain nameless, for her input.  I feel your pain, and I am with you.