...Why People Do These Things In Public

I'm just going to start listing them. There is no need for an introduction. These things are just plain annoying.

1. Littering. So like, you finish your cheeseburger from McDonald's and then you realise you still have the wrapper in your hand. Unfortunately for you, it's not edible. So what do you do? Do you burn off all the calories you just ate by walking to the nearest bin (I mean, you can actually see it, it's right there) or just casually throw it on the ground, hoping that no one sees? We do see you. Plastic bags and beer bottles are not decorative items. Unless you throw your food scraps and glad wrap onto your floor at home, then there is no reason why you are doing this outside.

2. Spitting spit (how redundant) or gum. Just like how you squirm when a bird defecates on you, we squirm when we step in your spit or your chewed gum. Our shoes do not like it. And it's rather gross. And, as expected, we don't want to see you doing this either. There are bins and tissues for a reason. Gum also usually comes with packaging - use that. Or otherwise, we'll have to take action and raid your home and spit on your carpet. Exciting.

3. This is one isn't even going to have a title. I hope this explains what I mean - in the men's changing room at the Newmarket Pools there are multiple signs above the hair-dryers saying "these hair-dryers are only to be used on the hair on your head". Gross.

4. Talking extremely loudly or even shouting at each other across the road. "Oh my God Daisy, I haven't seen you in like forever! -weird hand gesture-. What have you been up to?! Did you know Sandra got knocked up by a homeless man and had a baby?!" We don't care. And I don't think Sandra wants everyone to know that either. We certainly do not want to hear it being yelled across over a street. And then, you might even look disgusted at us for eavesdropping on your conversation. Your shrill, annoying voice is pretty hard to ignore. Sorry.

5. Playing music really loudly in your car as you drive with the windows down. We don't want to hear your s%^& music. And plus, you'll probably go deaf. Really, we have your best interests at heart.

6. Groups of people walking in a horizontal line on the footpath. So, we're in a hurry to get somewhere and you walk at like 2km/hour in front of us. And to make it worse, you and your three other friends are walking side by side so there is no way for anyone to pass you. We then have to risk our lives to pass you by walking on the car lane for a while. You don't need to hold hands to walk down a street (although I do admire the fact that all four of you can walk at the same speed).

7. Making out and groping. Get a room. Please.

... Why People With Facebook (Or -Insert Other Social Network Here-) and Phones Never Check Them When We Need To Contact Them

The modern world has been hit by a technology fever and life ain't like what it used to be. Honestly, I don't remember how I survived most of my childhood without phones and Facebook/Youtube/whatever but I guess you don't really know what you're missing unless you've actually tried it. As I was saying, internet and mobile phones have become what are known as "reputed necessities" (Thanks AS Economics) - that is, for all you who haven't been enlightened with this term, things that are not necessarily vital for our survival per-say (i.e. food, clothing, water) but necessary for surviving in the modern world. Some jobs would be virtually impossible without the aid of that handy little thing that we carry in our pockets. Essays would be rather difficult to write if we didn't have Wikipedia (love you) or "scholarly sources" on Google Scholar. Point is, these two things are very important.

As most of you should be aware of now (hopefully, you haven't been living under a rock for the last decade), there are multiple amounts of social networks. These have been developed to allow better communication between people and enables you to keep track and up-to-date with what is happening with people either sitting right beside you, or half way across the world (and all the people in between these two extremes). If you want to see an example of how these things began, please go watch The Social Network. Obviously after  reading this important post.

There is also now the dominance of people in the developed countries with mobile phones. I remember when I was in intermediate, having phones wasn't that common. Now even like 8 year olds have phones. Why not? They're handy. They're small (apart from those huge ugly brick phones that have been rightfully disposed of in society). They're practical. With a touch of a few buttons, wondrous things can happen.

So, what I don't get is why people who have a social network account (and subsequently, have friends on them)  never come online or why people with phones never check their messages or calls. If you've made the effort to create an account, or to buy a phone, why would you not use it? It's the same idea as any good really - you wouldn't buy food and then not eat it. So what's the difference here? The point of having these things is to increase communication efficiency and to notify you of changes or plans. There's little point in you having a mobile phone if we can't reach you in case of a devastating situation. There's also little point in you having friends on social networks if you're not going to talk to them or let them know what you've been up to. Make use of the resources you have as some people in the world don't even have access to these things.

And the most important thing about this problem is that it is so god damn annoying. We want to reach you but it's a rather difficult job. We try to message you, call you or text you to make plans but you don't respond. We try to tell you that there's a tornado coming your way but you don't check your phone. We try to link you to some amazing website that has all the upcoming exam answers (you wish) but you don't come online. You don't have to be addicted to social networks or your phone - just have the habit of coming on to check your notifications or seeing if there's anything on your phone.

While I'm on the topic of phones and annoying habits, I'm also going to point out three other kinds of people. The first type of people are those who are fully aware that there is a Facebook event invite and they choose not to R.S.V.P. We invited you and we want to know if you're coming or not. Have the decency to respond please. The second type are those who receive important text messages or voice mails and don't reply or notify the sender/caller that they have read it or received it. Let us know that you've got the message please. Lastly, the third type are those who post their every action as a Facebook status or a Twitter post. We don't need to know if you just woke up or if your fingernail chipped. Most likely because we don't really care. We will have no choice but to remove your status posts from our news feeds. Sorry =]