"I don't have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation”*

In junior high I sat close to this guy named Rodney. He sniffed incessantly. It was like he had a perma-booger that was lodged in-between the inside of his nostril and the outside world. That, or perhaps he had super stuffed up sinuses. Regardless, it bugged me. A LOT. To the point that I had a hard time concentrating in class. Did I ask the teacher to move me though? Of course not. But, really...is that an acceptable reason to move your desk? Because of someone sniffing? Did I coyly pass him a tissue and beg of him to, 'blow!'? Well, no. Wouldn't that have been rude? Inside my young brain I guess I felt that eventually he'd realize it himself and he'd go retrieve his own tissue.

You see, I'm terrribly affected by repetitive, inane noises... a tap dripping...someone drumming their hands on a desk...clinking one's ring on a table...someone snoring...an answering machine or cell phone beeping over and over and over with an unheard message...nose whistles...snapping of gum, or better yet, chewing of gum with one's mouth open that makes that distinct 'chewing noise'...nose whistles (oh, did I already list that?)...

Repetitive noises such as these make me ragey. I really would be the perfect candidate for some sort of torture method whereby the victim is tightly bound and made listen to one of those noises on repeat. I wonder how long I would last before I decided to try to swallow my own tongue in an effort to make the noise stop? I can't be the only person out there like this, am I? Anyone else wanna fess up to being equally susceptible as I am? What do you do to cope? Do you make a physical effort to make the annoyance stop - like getting up and moving away from the noise, or telling someone to stop their damn chewing in your ear, or suck back the G.D. snot already? Or do you try to pretend it doesn't exist - imagine yourself on a faraway beach of white sands and turquoise waters, sipping on a frosty, umbrella drink? Maybe I need therapy.

*Quote by Whoopi Goldburg