It has been brought to my attention recently that I am *ahem* occasionally less than patient. I don't see it, myself. I have plenty of patience. I'm an artist - I can work for hours in the clay studio without a break. If I'm building/fixing/making something, not much can break my concentration.

I have infinite patience with little children and animals, in fact I once taught a Jersey calf how to play tag. Disclaimer: Never attempt this. Sure, it's cute when she weighs a hundred pounds or so, but when she's pushing half a ton, still has horns and decides that she have to have a game before milking time, you'll regret it bitterly.

So here's my conclusion: It's adults that make me crazy. Not all adults, either. Not even most. Just the ones that try and tell me what to do. People who whine about something while refusing to act on it inspire me to want to hurl hard and heavy objects at them. After all, if they aren't willing to do something about a situation, then don't bother everyone with it!

Poll questions:

1. What are you impatient with?

You know, those things that make you nuts - for The Boy, it's driving, but you'll never get him to admit it. It could be a job, a chore, (I hate shopping, myself, and house cleaning) anything that makes you just want to yell something inarticulate (AAAAArrrrgh!), go home and lock the door.

2. What are you patient with?

Can you spend hours with your stamp collection? A group of toddlers? In the garden? Is there anything you can be doing (yes, that includes sex, but we'll take that as given) that will make you ignore the phone and curse the doorbell? I guess it comes down to whatever it is that can transport you to a place where, even if things go wrong, it's no big deal.

impatient with?

injustice

stupidity, if it's driven by ego in spite of itself. just dumb, is fun, though.

inconsequential detail, like spelling. hate, hate, hate, people who substitute good spelling for substance. or use obscure words from Webster's to dress up some proletarian line of thought. that's the height of unethical behavior for me. no faster way to lose credibility. get to the damn point, and stop there. can't tolerate masturbators at my expense.

patience for?

animals

knowledge

1. Funny, Mr. Nomist is an impatient (to put it kindly) driver too. For me it's housework, tardiness (I include doctors who make me wait more than 15 minutes during a lunch appt.), and tourists who block the entire sidewalk and either don't move at all, or walk reeeaaaallleeeeee slooowwwwly. People who refuse to learn anything. Here I include parents who never read parenting books or seek advice when they're having problems with their kids, people with life problems who don't get counseling or ask themselves "why is this happening and how can I fix it?" People who don't consider their own contribution to bad situations. Worst: people who ask me for advice and then ignore it. Then come whining to me when things fall to shit. Copywriters who don't know the science they're writing about, or grammar, or spelling. Or how to style a manuscript. Knitting. Crochet. Morons who don't deserve to drive in this town. Come to think of it, a lot of things make me impatient. I even get impatient about eating. It takes so long!

2. Kids, especially mine. I gladly turn off the tv and turn down the music when my son wants to have a chat, and I've always made a practice to listen to whatever he has to say, no matter how long it goes on or what the subject matter. That pays off when they hit their teens, big time, but to be honest, I love listening of itself to what's on their minds.
My students. People who are willing to learn, and willing to share information. Old folks, for any reason. Long drives. Service staff, whether it's my housekeeper, a receptionist, a waiter, or a hospital orderly. The Internet. Unavoidable waiting, like long lines, train delays, restaurant service, etc. I just read my magazine. As for cursing the doorbell and ignoring the phone, that'd be sex, a really good fight (we don't have many of those), Mr. Nomist's flourless chocolate cake, The Wire, The Sopranos, Deadwood, and In the Papers (Our local news station has this hilariously wry anchor who gives highlights of the local papers with his own special spin). And considering we have DVR, that's some serious attention.

..are not many, but you mentioned the people that just stand there in front of the flow of traffic, impervious to the surroundings. i swear on some days, some people just walk diagonally across my path to make me stop or walk around. then there are the folks who just have to chat in front of the coffee machine in the caf. never happens on a slow day.

I get impatient with people who dislike their lives. jobs, relationship, etc. but refuse to do anything to make it better. I'm very impatient when it comes to ignorance, especially willful ignorance.

I have the greatest patience for solving problems ... maybe too much. I sometimes realize that I haven't eaten anything all day! I also have a lot of patience when it comes to young kids. They're quite a bit of fun!

I do admit, people who ride on an escalator, get to the top and then stop trying to figure out where to go frusturate me.

1. I am impatient with dismissive people. I'm especially impatient with slow-moving pedestrian traffic in close spaces (a parent letting all three kids take their time walking down the subway steps while a line accumulates behind them, instead of just picking them up and carrying them down, for example.) I'm impatient with riddles and excessive wordplay. I'm impatient with trite sentiment being portrayed as deep philosophy or personal revelation. I'm impatient with superficial discussions about the nature of God.

2. I'm patient with children (when there's space, and when I can interact). I'm patient with the elderly. I'm patient with young employees who are still training. I'm patient with food and severely impatient with waitstaff (especially waiters who are curt, rude, or ignorant.)

The Boy has been trying to get me to "own my space". He gets annoyed when we're walking down the sidewalk and I'm suddenly behind him because I'm dodging people. Sometimes, I just deke behind him when it's really crowded because he's bigger than me - I let him break trail.

One flaw that women have, though, is deferring to the dolts that have to walk three and four abreast on the sidewalk and refuse to move over.

So I'm practising. The strategy is to stand up straight, don't make eye contact with the people coming toward you, and keep moving without slowing down. That's it. Don't stop, don't look tentative and don't let anyone intimidate you off the curb (or into a doorway, etc.),

It works! People actually shift sideways. I think the key is no eye contact - sunglasses help with this initially.

When you're coming up on some slow-moving barges, as it were, a brusque "Excuse me" works wonders. Don't slow down there, either. I've observed that if I overtake and do this, then the people behind me do, too. Interesting, no?

1. What are you impatient with?

Incompetence.
Inefficiency.
Blatant rudeness, particularly when driving or when directed at those who I believe deserve patience.
People asking the same thing over and over and over and over and over again.
People who insist upon doing something they are no longer capable of doing safely, like driving.

2. What are you patient with?

Children not being able to do something age-inappropriate to be expected to do, like 3 year olds who can't tie their shoes.
Elderly taking their time because of physical limitations.
Handicapped people not being able to do something (physical, mental, whatever their handicap is).
Those who do not have authority to deal with my problem, unless they refuse to let me speak to their supervisor.
Those who have been put in a position to do something for which they have not been trained.

Of course, this last category means I am impatient with the incompetent twits who hired these people to begin with, either for not training them or for not hiring someone competent enough to do the task

I mentioned being deathly ill last week or so. When hubby was very ill, I waited on him hand and foot. When it came my turn? Well, he (darn him!) was sick, too! I didn't know it at the time, and so got furious with him for not bringing me soup, sports drink, etc. to get well. Then I found out his blood pressure and iron levels had dropped dangerously low.

Dontcha just hate it when you're sick, and someone else gets all the sympathy?

Our kitchen at work is so tiny only one or two people can even fit into it at a time. I hate it when they stand in there chatting while a line forms to get to the coffee/sink/fridge.

My patience is really only tested by two things, Ignorance and Voice activated telephone menu systems.

IncogNeato:

Dontcha just hate it when you're sick, and someone else gets all the sympathy?

Personally... no!

When I'm sick, symapthy is the last thing I want. What I want is enough NyQuil to make me forget how miserable I feel and to be left the hell alone until I don't feel miserable any more. Somebody fetching me soup and feeling my damn forehead for fever just reminds me how miserable I feel and, dammittohell, I just finally managed to get zoned out enough to forget about that. grumblegrumblegrumble...

Of course, now that I think about it, I don't much like symapthy even when I'm not sick. If there's something going on in my life that would inspire sympathy in somebody else, I'd much rather have their suggestions on how to fix the problem than their reminders that I've got a problem. I already know I've got a problem. What I need is a solution, not salt rubbed in the wound.

I realize, of course, how misanthropic that sounds but honestly, it's not. I genuinely like most people and I'm even reasonably fond of the species in general. I'm just too much a pragmatist to be bothered with social niceties that, in the end, serve no actual useful purpose. By all means give me some of that Thanksgiving Turkey or Christmas Goose, but spare me the Easter Bunny.

Polls are a Dear Prudence institution, even though nobody does them anymore.

What am I impatient with? In the office, one is definitely waiting for evelvators. As a side rant, I can't stand people who start walking into an elevator before you start walking out. I mean, there are probably 15,000 people that work in my building, and you don't think that maybe one of them might get off on your floor??

What am I patient with? I'd say my life. Maybe a little cheesy-- and maybe because I'm impatient with so many things within my life! When I was about 25, a friend asked said to me, "Don't you want to be a millionare and retire by 30?" I said, "Yeah, I'll be a millionaire. But when it happens, it happens." And God knows I've been patient with my art, music, or as I like to call it My Wicked Tormentress ;)

Maybe sympathy isn't the right word. But darn it, I was SICK, and needed liquids and to stay in bed, and it turns out he was too sick to help. I really just wish people could somehow wait their turn to be sick. It was my turn. I needed the attention and/or help, but he wasn't able to provide it.

I'm with you on the whole sympathy thing, especially when I'm sick. Those are the times when I'm deeply grateful that The Boy is out of town during the week. Then I can sniffle and sneeze and feel sorry for myself about being sick. I don't need help for that.

That whole business about wanting a solution for your problem rather than someone to commiserate is very much a guy thing, though. It drives women bananas, because sometimes all we want to do is vent, and the men in our lives are making suggestions all over the place.

Some men have difficulty distiguishing knowing the answer to everything and having an answer for everything.