The silly, annoying and downright frustrating…

Just of late, in addition to the health challenges I’ve been dealing with, I’ve also been feeling somewhat peeved. Sometimes those words have been a true reflection of the emotion I’ve felt, while at other times, it been very much a polite euphemism.

Here’s the kind of thing I mean…

My car has just had its sixth flat tyre in as many years. Due to increasing age and physical limitations, Himself & I now choose to engage a service to carry out the replacement task. And while the need to commission someone to do stuff you once did without thought is a facet of ageing that I do not love and does significantly peeve me, that wasn’t the primary source of annoyance. What sparked my frustrated fury (OK, so what I was feeling was a lot more than annoyance) is that surely six flat tyres in six years is excessive – especially for someone who does very few miles? Himself, who does more than double my mileage has had one flat tyre in that timeframe. I may have thrown my toys out of the pram about this, especially after the situation was made worse by the website for said service acting up – not once, not twice, but three times! Fortunately their customer service the following morning was exemplary, meaning I was able to downgrade back to peeved.

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In my day job, I work for an IT company where the staff have operated remotely for 10+ years, and where each of us provides our own hardware and internet connectivity. As I had to upgrade my PC late last year, I’m – once again – using the most modern hardware. By dint of the fact I’m usually the first to upgrade, I’m also the first to encounter the inevitable incompatibility issues between the newest and most modern kit (mine), and that kit which is used at our HQ (where our boss actively avoids updating anything).

Over the years, when any problem is encountered, the presumption is always that the fault must be me or mine. Yet 99% of the time, it turns out not to be. So far this year: the company is using an old style protocol which internet providers in the UK now block or don’t allow; and an upgrade within Microsoft’s security settings is preventing me using the tools designed eons ago to maintain the company’s databases. It’s always a ridiculous process while we do the dance until – finally – it’s established it’s a limitation at HQ. My advice to you is unless you’re an IT techie, do not work for an IT company, for this is how techies treat normals.

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And finally…

While windows have always needed cleaning, having really high ones has necessitated the acquisition of specific kit with extendable poles… and that’s just for the indoors. Outdoors, our landlords require a professional window cleaner be engaged to clean on a monthly schedule. As certain of the windows would require a step ladder in addition to the extendable pole kit, I’ve been more than happy to sign up the recommended individual. But I was hugely disappointed to discover they use some sort of brush with a drip system, and they don’t wipe down the glass afterwards. So, despite being cleaned, our windows constantly have dried on drips. I’m not peeved enough risk my terrible balance on the cobbled surface outside certain of the windows – indeed, I accept this may be why the window cleaners use that decidedly unsatisfactory system. But I do miss my wonderful old style window cleaners who, despite looking like escapees from a punk rock band… left absolutely no drips 🙂

How well do you cope with things which you previously did yourself but are unable to do now due to ageing/illness/injury? Are things getting to you more – and do you know why? Do you have a system which helps you to feel less peeved or unhappy with life?

© Debs Carey, 2025