Me

I was reminded today that I "always" have a problem with women who show strength. Then I was reminded that actually, I have a problem with a lot of things that a lot of people do and that is just one of many. They are right. I do. I have a lot of anger in me. Where has that come from? Why am I so angry with the things so many people do? Is there one underlying reason or does each "issue" have its own source of bitterness?

The annoyances are varied. Here is a sampling of my pet peeves to show that I am not biased against one particular group. Also, I do some of these things myself. So sometimes I hate them because I do them and wish I didn't.

1) Talking about how many women you have been with. The women are always "so hot" and that is the most important part of the stories or conversation. Most of the people I associate with that are my age are long over this. I think it is more of an age thing.

2) Talking about how much happier you are in a different situation to prove that you are over an old situation. This could be a relationship or a job or a school or whatever. But people cover up all their pain over losing this by broadcasting how much better things are now and how "over it" they are or how horrible it was back then and isn't now. The whole time it is obvious they are hurting inside. They are in denial and not admitting the grieving.

I mean if they need to keep proving how much better things are now they probably are not that great. Or they still have regrets over losing what they had. If they were really in a better place they would feel no need to keep talking about how much better things are now compared to then. They would just talk about how good things are now as they are without need for comparison.

3) Trying to do things against the mainstream just for the sake to be against the mainstream and not for the pure reason of doing it. This actually puts you in the mainstream because it is mainstream to want to be anti-establishment. I have so much more interest in people who do what they do for the purity of what it is as opposed to it being something different.

4) The inability to see other perspectives than your own.

5) Thinking fans who get mad at their sports teams are not "true fans." There is a group of people out there that think true fans stand by their teams by never saying a bad word about them no matter the quality that is put o the field. They believe you should wear your team colored glasses and blinders all the time and never admit the shortcomings. They don't realize the fans that are opening their eyes and looking at the team as it is and not shying away from claiming they suck when they really do are the fans that know more and feel more and hurt more than any other fans. In fact these fans that are complaining and speaking negatively about their team are the ones that still go to games no matter the weather or success of the team while those so called "true fans" are ignoring the team until they get good again.

I take this personally because I am one of them. I constantly complain about my teams. But where was I for the last Browns' game of the season for three seasons when there was nothing for them to play for and the weather was so nasty you couldn't pay people hundreds of dollars to be out in it for more than 20 minutes? I was at the games. So if you wanna question my fan hood when I am crying a storm over how much my team stinks.....SHUT UP!

6) Loving teams that are currently good and acting like you were always a fan. Then sporting the jersey of the most well known player from said team until they stink.

Common offenders:
Lakers/Kobe Bryant fans....

Shia Lebouf who sported a LeBron jersey on the Best Damn Sports Show Period a during James rookie year and even SAID he wasn't a Cavs fan but a LeBron fan!!!!!!!! Jerk. I loved Transformers, but forget him.

Yankees/Derk Jeter fans.....

Red Sox/Celtics...well I just hate Boston fans period. Cry me a river.

7) Big guys that think they can do whatever they want just because of their size and the rest of us are supposed to be scared of them. I would love one day to put some meat head in his place. But I never will. That is precisely why they get away with it. They know scrawny little knuckleheads like myself couldn't do anything about it.

8) Chesters walking around with their designer shoes, collared shirts unbuttoned down with a necklace hanging down and expensive sunglasses on chomping on gum and wearing their highlighted hair in some fancy style thinking they are cooler and better than everyone else, in particular me.

9) Thinking teachers leave the same time the students do and have cake walk jobs.

10) Acting like softball is some sort of important sport. I love playing softball. I thoroughly enjoy it because I can hang out with my friends, compete, exercise and enjoy the nuances of the game. But I never think anyone other than me and the other players give a darn about it. I also don't believe anyone, including myself, are any kind of an athlete out there. Guys who waltz in there with their brand new bags loaded with powder, eye makeup, Oakley sunglasses, elbow and wristbands, metal cleats, two mega bats that cost hundreds of dollars, several high quality balls, a dry erase board for the lineups and talking of the 42 cork balls vs the 44s and then act like they are God's gift to the softball world just to have an excuse every time they don't hit a home run as they swing as hard as they can for the fences every at bat, just make me laugh. Usually they are so freaking hillbilly here in Ohio that it is even funnier. I just can't believe how serious they take everything.

11) Doing the OH! IO! cheer all the freaking time. Or at the wrong time. Listen, I love my Buckeyes and I like that cheer as much as the next guy but for crying out loud can we let it rest a bit? It has reached the point of overkill that even Buckeye fans like myself find it obnoxious. When we are down 21 points and mounting a drive that could get us back in it, DON'T break that out! Especially at a bar hundreds of miles away from the game. I'm trying to concentrate on the game. Or at a time when we are obviously destroying the other team.

12) Calling me "Big Kat" when I wear the #45 jersey. For some reason when I wore that jersey complete strangers would always call out "Hey Big Kat" to me in a mocking tone like I thought I was Andy Katzemoyer when I wore it. It never happens with any other jersey I have ever worn. I never heard anyone else get called that when they wore the same jersey. What in the world was going on there? I know I am a scrawny guy that would never be mistaken for a football player so why did I get so much crap for wearing it? There were plenty of other people just as skinny as me wearing that same jersey at that same time. Why me?

13) Talking about how bad your local team when you obviously don't know what you are talking about. This is different than talking about how bad your team is because you just love them too much. This is that naive fan who tries to look like they know something and jumps on the bandwagon of ripping on the team like the angst ridden fans like myself when they have no clue. They pull out general comments about how bad they are when actually the team is pretty good. It is about the gerneral v. specific. Those of us who love the team so much are negative about specific aspects like the Offensive Line or the passing game or particular game plans or play calls whereas the ignorant poser fan just says the team sucks because they are said team and "always suck."

14) Nitpicking things that are going on in front of you that you are in charge of as though you can't see they are happening. This comes when you are teaching or parenting or dealing with other people whose behavior or job is under your watch. Ususally the observer will make comments like "didn't you see that?" or "Are you going to do something about that?" "So and so is doing this or that." They have this nasty tone of disgust or judgement towards you while you are trying to handle things as best you can as quickly as you can. Or maybe they are observing from a distance with little or no "real" experience int he situation you are currently in. But somehow they know how it should be. It's like those people born on third thinking they hit a triple. While you busted your rear end to get a single against a 100 mph pitcher and sit two bases behind them on first.

I see this on tv as well and it ticks me off so much. Kill the attitude. The person was set up to fail and you sit there and start picking out every little thing that isn't working right just as they happen. I think it was a commercial for Dr. 90210 when the dad was supposed to take care of the kids and they weren't listening to him so his wife immediately points out they weren't listening to him at all. REALLY? Well, thank you because I couldn't see that for my freaking self!

I had a really rough class during my student teaching and had to come up with something to use when I when full board on my own late in the year to keep them under control and attentive when I taught. So I came up with a behavior plan. It is one I use to this day and have had tons of success with. In fact people have come in to take pictures of it to publish throughout the district. Parents love it, other teachers have incorporated it and most importantly students LOVE it. It works. But I had this professor who totally tore it apart and threw educational theory after educational theory down my throat as to how bad an idea it was and how I shouldn't be using it. I felt like complete crap because I was very proud of it. My mentor teacher even thought it was a good idea. I mean it was his class. He knew what I was up against. This professor who was so out of touch and spent her time in Upper Arlington had no idea but everyone thought she did. When she came in to observe my use of it, she nitpicked every little thing the kids did like I didn't realize they were doing it. If she only knew what they would do to substitute teachers and to me in the beginning of the year. Maybe Johnny was looking the other way or playing with his eraser while I was demonstrating something but he wasn't throwing that eraser at Suzy two rows to his left.