Peeved pets. Always gets my hackles up.
Little dogs that look so cute, but when you reach down to pet them, they start yapping like a loon.
[quote=ârocky raccoonâ][quote=âsulavacaâ]
My doorman who tells me I have returned home every singe time I return home and that Iâm leaving every time I leave. Why?
[/quote]
That reminds me of the security guy at our building. Every day when I walk outside to grab something to eat I get an enthusiastic âchi fan!â.
Like I donât know when itâs chi fan time. Or at least try and come up with something new to talk about once in a while. 
[/quote]
Those are both just greetings; theyâre being nice to youâŠwhen he says âchi fan!â, heâs just abbreviating it instead of saying âni chi fan le mai?â Considering that many doormen are usually pretty surly and barely offer a grunt, Iâd say you two are pretty well off. 
[quote=ârocky raccoonâ] [quote=âsulavacaâ]
My doorman who tells me I have returned home every singe time I return home and that Iâm leaving every time I leave. Why?
[/quote]
That reminds me of the security guy at our building. Every day when I walk outside to grab something to eat I get an enthusiastic âchi fan!â.
Like I donât know when itâs chi fan time.[/quote]
Stating the activity of the other person is a common greeting in Mandarin speaking places. At least thatâs what my textbook says. Iâm sure sjcma will be along to correct me.
To join in the fray, these are things that piss me right off:
-
Taiwanese who donât obey their own countryâs laws. Mostly this is about drivers (morons who stop on or plough through crosswalks, weaving like they are drunk, etc.) but it applies to other things as well, such as buttheads smoking where itâs prohibited, littering, et cetera. Iâm not perfect, but thereâs a reason why Iâve never been arrested in the seven countries Iâve been in.
-
Foreigners who donât say hi. My social circle is small, but at the very least I look foreigners in the eye and nod my head, if not more like a wave or a âhiâ. Are these people so stir-crazy from being here that they are terrified of other foreigners?
-
Taiwanese and foreigner smoking, if you couldnât tell from the other thread about it. Itâs bad enough that they do it, but in public bathrooms? While they cook food in restaurants? In the back rooms of the Wellcome market and other stores? Standing in the doorways of buildings? Drivers in taxis? Come on, a little courtesy and a little brainpower please.
-
People who wonât shut up when they should. This is in general (not to any social or ethnic group) but is also not in general (Iâm talking about specific situations). When someone asks me a question, they should STFU while Iâm answering - if a person doesnât want to hear my answer, he/she shouldnât waste my time by asking it. Here are my three cardinal rules of conversation:
(a) You listen with the ears, not with the mouth.
(b) They (mouth and ears) do not work at the same time.
(c) If youâre not ready to listen, youâre not ready to talk.
I have a moron for a co-worker who incessantly wastes my time because she doesnât like my answers. The idiot âthinksâ if she repeats it often enough that Iâll tell her what she wants to hear or the thing she asks for will magically appear. I donât care how many times she asks, if somebody else (her or others) donât provide me with information or materials to do a task, I canât do that task. For example, she was pestering me all week about why I havenât made my students write a Flyers tests or marked it when nobody has given me the tests to hand out to students, including her and others who have the masters copy and have not made any copies. Itâs truly astounding.
Sleepyhead. I never talked to random furriner boys in the street. They might have been Canadian!
Well, if you say âhiâ first, Iâll probably reply âhiâ. (But I make no guarantees seeing as I was raised by lemurs and such.) But there is no way in hell Iâm going to randomly say hi to foreigners, or nod at them, or yell âhowdy bud!â, just because they are foreigners. Iâm not terrified of them. Iâm just trying avoid feeding a pet peeve of mine:
âOh youâre from X. So and so is also from X. Do you know him?â
For X of small cardinality, thatâs a sensible question. But otherwise⊠âOh, youâre from Canada. Jimmy is also from Canada. Do you know him?â Iâm tempted to reply: âSure, Canada is the size of a small village. Iâm the village idiot and Jimmy is the sheriff.â And then see whether the sarcasm registers with them.
So just to avoid feeding that nonsense, Iâm specifically avoiding looking like Iâm buddy with all the random foreigners I run into.
[quote=âSleepyheadâ]
I have a moron for a co-worker who incessantly wastes my time because she doesnât like my answers. The idiot âthinksâ if she repeats it often enough that Iâll tell her what she wants to hear or the thing she asks for will magically appear.[/quote]
Hereâs a peeve of mine, probably related to yours.
Her: âWe can go to restaurant A or restaurant B. Which one do you want to go to?â
Me: âI donât care. Pick one.â
Her: âNoooo⊠you pick one.â
Me: âOkay, restaurant B.â
Her: âYou want to go to restaurant B⊠Ooooh⊠I want to go to restaurant A. [pouts]â
Me: âBloody hell! If you made a choice already, why the hell did you ask me?â
Basically, if youâve already made your fscking mind about something why ask for my advice and then reject it because it does not correspond to your choice?
[quote=âlemurâ]Hereâs a peeve of mine, probably related to yours.
Her: âWe can go to restaurant A or restaurant B. Which one do you want to go to?â
Me: âI donât care. Pick one.â
Her: âNoooo⊠you pick one.â
Me: âOkay, restaurant B.â
Her: âYou want to go to restaurant B⊠Ooooh⊠I want to go to restaurant A. [pouts]â
Me: âBloody hell! If you made a choice already, why the hell did you ask me?â
Basically, if youâve already made your fscking mind about something why ask for my advice and then reject it because it does not correspond to your choice?[/quote]
Yes, this drives me nuts. My ex did it to me all the time! :raspberry: :fume:
Hereâs another. I have a lot of ex stories!
Me: âA strange thing happened to me today. I was walking along the street andâŠâ
Her: âAre you going to wear that?â
Me: âUh⊠yes, of course, thatâs why I have it on. Anyway, as I was saying, I was walking along the street and this crazy-looking guy approaches me andâŠâ
Her: âYou should tuck your shirt in.â
Me: âPlease, listen to me. As I was saying, this weirdo comes up to me and starts blabbering aboutâŠâ
Her: âDoes this make me look fat?â
Me: sighâŠ
[quote=âSleepyheadâ]
- People who wonât shut up when they should. This is in general (not to any social or ethnic group) but is also not in general (Iâm talking about specific situations). When someone asks me a question, they should STFU while Iâm answering - if a person doesnât want to hear my answer, he/she shouldnât waste my time by asking it. Here are my three cardinal rules of conversation:
(a) You listen with the ears, not with the mouth.
(b) They (mouth and ears) do not work at the same time.
© If youâre not ready to listen, youâre not ready to talk.
I have a moron for a co-worker who incessantly wastes my time because she doesnât like my answers. The idiot âthinksâ if she repeats it often enough that Iâll tell her what she wants to hear or the thing she asks for will magically appear. I donât care how many times she asks, if somebody else (her or others) donât provide me with information or materials to do a task, I canât do that task. For example, she was pestering me all week about why I havenât made my students write a Flyers tests or marked it when nobody has given me the tests to hand out to students, including her and others who have the masters copy and have not made any copies. Itâs truly astounding.[/quote]
Sounds like virtually every American Iâve met. Iâm to trying to be an asshole, but every single American Iâve met in Taiwan talks over me and doesnât listen to a word Iâm saying. They never ask you about yourself, just rant on (always loudly, too) about themselves and their opinions. And everyone wants to have a go at the poor Canadians! They are positively demure by comparison.
Why do you do this? DO you do it when youâre back home in Canookialand? Iâm perplexed. Do you mutter to yourself and wave your arms around angrily while you walk along, too? Iâve never been in the habit of nodding and saying hi to random strangers in the street and to me it just sounds bloody strange, if not a little unsettling.
It doesnât terrify me, but it sure as hell has me checking my peripheral for escape routes or sizing the fellow up for a chinning if he tries anything on.
âHiya pal, got a light?â Classic opening for a mugger. 
Yeah. You donât feel compelled to nod and smile at every foreigner you see in Carnegieâs or the Brass Monkey, so why would you do it in the street? Not as if we foreigners are Freemasons or something. And, god forbid, the person might actually be American! Donât encourage them with a nod and smile. They might follow you around all day and embarrass you in the 7-11 barking the three Chinese words that they know for all to hear!
[quote=âChrisâ]Her: âDoes this make me look fat?â
Me: sighâŠ[/quote]
Let me first quote an obligatory clichĂ©: âItâs a trap!â 
Now as to the proper course of action, maybe first you sigh but then you better find a way to avoid answering that question because there is no good answer to it.
You: Yes, baby, it makes you look fat.
Her: Youâre saying I am fat! Bastard! :fume:
You: No, baby, it does not make you look fat.
Her: Liar! :fume:
You: I donât have an opinion.
Her: You no longer look at me like you used to. You donât find me desirable anymore. 
Pray for an opportune diversion. 
Absent a diversion, be prepared to simulate a stroke because thereâs no way you can answer correctly.
Student: Please translate this file.
Me: OK. Do you have any other files for me to translate?
Student: No.
Me: OK, letâs get started. (work, work, work⊠type type type⊠check electronic dictionary⊠Google for English names of companies⊠ask student what a phrase means⊠oh, itâs a typo⊠work work work⊠almost done! Half an hour till next student comesâŠmaybe Iâll have time for some lunch.)
Me: OK, done! Hereâs your copy of the file. Please go sign over there.
Student: Oh, I also have this other file for you to translate.
Me: :fume:
Me: So, what was your major?
Student: My ⊠major?
Me: Yes, what did you major in? What subject did you study?
Student: Uhhh⊠math, chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, biochemistryâŠ
Me: Um, youâre just listing the courses you took. What was your major subject?
Student: I donât know what you meanâŠ
Me: (shouting to consultant across the room) Hey, Julie, what did he major in?
Julie: (shouting back from across the room) Biology.
Me: Thanks! You majored in biology.
Student: Oh.
:fume:
How can one graduate from a four-year university and not know what one majored in?
(And just try asking a student if their degree was a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science⊠âOh, Bachelor of Biology I thinkâ, âOh, I studied science, so it must be a Bachelor of Scienceâ⊠aaaaaarggghhh!)
[quote=âChrisâ]
(And just try asking a student if their degree was a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science⊠âOh, Bachelor of Biology I thinkââŠ[/quote]
Bachelor of Biology? Thatâs funny. If thatâs the case then I wish I could have gotten a Masterâs in Dodgeball.
And today (related to one of the above posts):
Me: Hello.
Student: Hi. (Sits silently.)
Me: Your files, please. Then we can get started.
Student: Oh. (Searches for USB stick, finds it, gives it to me)
Me: All righty then. Which files need to be translated?
Student: Letâs start with this one.
Me: Any others? I see youâre scheduled for three pages. This one is two pages. Which file is the third page?
Student: (silent)
Me: 
So, youâve just got this one file to translate? Two pages only today?
Student: (silent)
Me: 
OK, then. Two pages it is. Unless you have another file that needs to be translated.
Student: (silent)
Then the consultant who handles the studentâs case happens to walk in from lunch.
Me: Hey Emily! Heâs scheduled for 3 pages. This file is two pages. Whatâs the third?
Emily: His resume.
Me: Sigh⊠
(Copies resume from studentâs USB drive and begins work.)
:fume: :raspberry:
You should surreptitiously add at the bottom of his resume:
Cannot communicate effectively.
Cannot count to three.
One of my ongoing pet peeves is when Taiwanese say âdweiâ or âdwei, dwei, dweiâ in response to something they have just said or told you. WTF? Are you trying to convince yourself that what you said is right or accurate? :loco:
Someone please tell me Iâm not the only one who notices this.
[quote=âMerâ]One of my ongoing pet peeves is when Taiwanese say âdweiâ or âdwei, dwei, dweiâ in response to something they have just said or told you. WTF? Are you trying to convince yourself that what you said is right or accurate? :loco:
Someone please tell me Iâm not the only one who notices this.[/quote]
Gotta love âhaoâ or âhao, hao, haoâ after every statement or answer.
[quote=âMerâ]One of my ongoing pet peeves is when Taiwanese say âdweiâ or âdwei, dwei, dweiâ in response to something they have just said or told you. WTF? Are you trying to convince yourself that what you said is right or accurate? :loco:
Someone please tell me Iâm not the only one who notices this.[/quote]
Yeah. It drives me crazy. It does it does it does.
[quote=âMerâ]One of my ongoing pet peeves is when Taiwanese say âdweiâ or âdwei, dwei, dweiâ in response to something they have just said or told you. WTF? Are you trying to convince yourself that what you said is right or accurate? :loco:
Someone please tell me Iâm not the only one who notices this.[/quote]
Well, itâs kind of like in English: when one person is talking, the listener says âmm hmmâ, âuh huhâ, etc. to express that theyâre actively listening. So it doesnât mean âyesâ or ârightâ; it means âIâm still listening⊠please continue.â
What drives me nuts is âhao, hao, hao,⊠ho! ho! ho!.. hao, hao, hao,⊠ho! ho! ho!â (switching from Mandarin to Taiwanese and back.)