A list of things I don’t love – part 2

I really didn’t think I’d revisit this, but doing one is surprisingly cathartic 🙂 Thanks, as ever, are due to the lovely Kari at A Grace Full Life for inspiring this list. On now with an A-Z indulgence of my grumpy old woman side…

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Adequate – despite the dictionary meaning of the word as sufficient, suitable and satisfactory, there’s something about the word which comes over as negative, as if there’s something lacking. It’s a word I prefer to avoid for this reason.

Blisters – are something my feet have been plagued with since schooldays. A badly fitting shoe can cripple me within minutes at any time of year, and even the most comfortable and worn-in shoe can cause the soles of my feet to blister in hot weather. I regularly use plasters as a preventative measure in the summer, otherwise I’d have to become a hermit and miss out on all that lovely sunshine.

Camping – I’ve stayed in a US campsite where the facilities were top notch. But here in the UK, the facilities are rather more miss than hit.

Desk – my desk is not working for me at all and while I will continue trying to re-arrange and to de-clutter to make it better, I may have to accept it’s quite simply the wrong shape and size.

Expel – I was threatened with expulsion when first in boarding school in England, which fortunately didn’t come to pass. But I have recently discovered that the politicians (or ex-politicians) I most like and/or admire currently are those who were expelled from their party by Boris Johnson (idiot ex-PM of the UK).

Fleas – well, actually all kinds of bugs which bite. I am one of those people who gets bitten, so I’m presuming my blood tastes good. When I grew up in the tropics, the mosquitos would make a meal of me, so it’s something I’ve had to learn to live with – but the itch… it’s enough to drive a person crazy. It’s also why I would never skimp on taking my anti-malaria medication if I travelled again.

Gawjus – instead of gorgeous, and other variations of this trend of misspelling and mangling perfectly good words – just why?

Hair – I proudly went grey a long time ago – dye and my hair texture do not get on, so it was an easy decision and I’ve become used to my hair being low maintenance. But my hair has started to demand a constantly changing cycle of product while its condition changes from oil slick to desert at whim. The trouble is I only have a small bathroom, and I hate it being cluttered with stuff.

Ick – is a word being much used in the dating world. While feeling “ick” is a reasonable response for some things, when talking about someone who uses emojis, or pronounces David Bowie’s name wrong, “getting the ick” sounds overly dramatic – and (in my obviously not so humble opinion) could be just cause for someone to “get the ick” about you 😉

Just joking – if used as a get out of jail card when someone has said something rude or inappropriate. Just apologise for goodness sake!

Knee – or rather I don’t love them when they stop working as well as they could. Let’s draw a veil over that topic for now.

Liquorice – or anything with the flavour of aniseed – and that includes Pastis. I don’t care how cool and French it is, it can go with the Gauloises straight into the bin of things I will not be assaulting my body with.

Nutella – or any other form of chocolate spread. Look, I love bread in all its forms, and I like chocolate. But together? Just no!

Oranges – or rather the peeling of them. I tend to eat those little satsumas and mandarins by preference just because they’re easier to peel, but I really prefer the taste of an orange.

Positivity – of the forced or toxic type. Genuinely positive individuals – or the the Pollyannas of the world – while often difficult to live with are at least admirable in it being their true nature. But when it is forced, or worse pushed upon anyone going through a tough time… grrrrr.

Regret – I believed the negative emotions I’ve been working through of late to be solely depression or grief. But my Osteopath offered up regret during an in-treatment conversation, and it struck a chord. It’s an emotion I very much don’t love.

Sneezing – I can sneeze so violently that I put my back out. Seriously. I’ve also coughed with enough violence to pop a rib cartilage. I went through a couple of decades of having really bad colds which blew through me like a gale (almost quite literally). As an added treat is I suffer from hay fever too…

Turmeric – but only because it stains when I spill it. I take my hat off to people who can eat without spilling their food, especially when eating with their hands as I do with Indian food. In truth, I’d happily wear a bib like they offer for those eating seafood with their hands.

Uber – or rather people who say uber when they mean ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ or some other form of superlative. Almost as annoying as people who use super as an adverb.

Volume – on the TV specifically. Being the person who doesn’t have control of the remote in our house (except when I’m watching rugby), this is a pain because advertisements are played at such ridiculously high volumes, leaving you at danger of being deafened if you’re watching something quiet and have turned the volume up. Especially as, for some unknown reason, Himself doesn’t use the mute button but painstakingly turns it down, notch by little notch.

Waking up with a start – especially when I can’t remember why, or what was happening in my dream, and I’m just left with the racing heart and raging emotions.

Xerox – I’m old enough to have used the term “xeroxing” to mean photocopying. I do not love this fact. Xerox themselves, I have no particular issue with 😉

Yummo – Rick Stein (British TV chef) uses the word a fair amount – he’s not just a grown man, but a grumpy old one too – so it sounds absurd, and like a ridiculous affectation.

Zero – or rather when people use the term “zero in” in the world of business. Yes, we know what you mean, but why is there this need to keep on dragging terminology from other worlds into the business world in order to impress how hip, happening and successful you are?

What do you think about some of the items on my list? Are there any items of your own that you’d like to share?

© Debs Carey, 2024