If you want to mess with me, just throw some balloons and/or Styrofoam into my cubicle at the office and I will flip - or I used to anyway. Now I do my best to remain calm and avoid the situation when I can. It’s not the popping of the balloon (which is more of a relief than anything), or how incredibly not eco-friendly Styrofoam is, it’s that wretched squeaking/rubbing noise they make. Surprising, for someone who works in the toy industry, dealing with Styrofoam doesn’t come into my path too often – lucky me.
Exception: if I am in complete control of my meal, I can sometimes use Styrofoam plates and cups. But once someone gets reckless/starts playing with their place setting – no way, not a chance.
What’s the deal here? No idea! I didn’t have a bad experience when I was a kid or anything – it’s completely irrational! But let’s clear the air: I’m not scared of balloons and Styrofoam! I don’t think they are going to hurt me; I just can’t be around it without my all of my alarms flashing red. So instead of saying I’m scared of balloons and Styrofoam, I say I really dislike (hate is such a strong word) Styrofoam and balloons.
So now you know – you have my kryptonite at your disposal and if you want to send me a big ol’ box of packing peanuts, go ahead. But really, don’t do it – I’ll get angry, and you wouldn’t like me when I get angry!
Hunter Public Relations staff members love a good survey, I decided to poll them about their (irrational) phobias, quirks, pet peeves and other strong dislikes. Below are some of the better answers I got back. Do NOT involve these things with any staff members you may meet – be easy, bro.
Food
Cold meat (e.g. cold cuts), the smell of Subway restaurants, the smell of burnt popcorn, fish, shredded coconut, General Taos Chicken, sour cream, olives, cottage cheese, snapping/chewing gum – chewing anything crunchy (apples/carrots) – chewing with mouth open
Habits/Humanity
Loud cell phone talkers / loud car stereo systems / crying babies, Red Sox and Flyers fans (we got two votes for the Red Sox), picking/biting/cutting nails in public, Med students’ stories, when people wear black and brown, when people don’t know how to properly hold their fork and knife, slow walkers/people take up the entire sidewalk, when people confuse it’s with its, baby hands (to clarify: not baby’s hands, but small adult hands), people who pee on toilet seats, short people who can’t hold umbrellas at a decent height, people who use personal checks at the grocery store, grocery baggers who put soft things at the bottom and hard things on the top, people who clog the Facebook News Feed with application (Farmville) updates, extra exclamation points in emails (!!!!!!), when people say “like” every third word, people that insist on walking up escalators when there are stairs right next to it – people who don’t walk down escalators or walk on moving walkways
Things
Waiting in traffic, when dust and dirt get stuck to your feet, when people in TV shows and movies don’t say goodbye as they’re hanging up the phone, slimy subway poles, the smell of lilies, driving over bridges, when people stand in front of the doorway on the subway and then don’t get off at the next stop, eels, dentistry/talking about teeth, beverage condensation on a clean table, cotton balls, cluttered spaces
Danny
