Dragon's Lair

Pre-Intro:

First, forgive the novel... I kinda tend to rabble so please bare with me :) Now then...

 

To see pictures of me, take this Portkey  :P   To read about my Coming Out as a Gay man, Apparate here

 

Notice of terminology:

Father refers to my biological father, Lewis D. Gonzalez (Sr.) [better known by Danny]

Mother refers to my biological mother, Patricia J. (Bock) Banks

Mom refers to my adoptive mother, Sandra K. (Heffelfinger) Gonzalez

Dad refers to my adoptive father, Antonio Gonzalez, Jr.

Parents refer to my adoptive parents

Brothers refer to my adoptive brothers / biological cousins, Nicholas C. and Phillip D. Gonzalez

 

What makes a Dragon?:

Where to begin?  Well, baby Dragon sounds like a good place to start.  Just follow me over here to my Delorean.. ok *sets clock to Tuesday, January 25, 1983 at 8:20am Eastern Standard Time* *gets up to 88 miles per hour* {OK, cheesy Back to the Future reference aside…}  

 

I was born on January 25, 1983 at approximately 8:20 AM.  I say "approximately" because even though that is what my birth certificate says, I was born shortly beforehand.  See, I was born in the back seat of my grandmother's car.  It was a 1979 Ford LTD, goldish in color (if I recall correctly).  In all honesty, from what I’ve been told, I’m rather lucky.  Ok, ADD moment, but, my late-grandfather was telling my mother & father that it was time to go – my mother didn’t believe him at first.  Afterall, it was about two months before I was due to come out. (no pun intended :P )  So, anyway, she thought she had really bad cramps/gas/’had to shit’/whathaveyou, so she had spent god knows how long in the bathroom.  That’s right kiddos.  Dragon here was almost a toilet baby.  {Anyway, on the way to the hospital, right.}  About a mile or so from the hospital, at the corner of County Road 35 and County Road 40-A outside Auburn, Indiana (DeKalb County), I couldn’t wait any longer so, out I came :P while my father was driving my mother to the hospital, going about 80 miles per hour (in a 45/30 zone btw) … in one of our infamous Indiana snowstorms.   We arrived at the local hospital, DeKalb Memorial – now known as “DeKalb Health”, and due to my premature birth, I was transferred to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  I stayed there in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for about a month, before getting to go home to my mother, father, and paternal grandparents in the little town of Butler, Indiana.  I weighed 3 pounds, 8 ½ ounces and was about 19 inches long (estimate on length .. I can't recall). Yep. I was a tiny little shit (again, no pun intended).

 

Then, at the age of three, my grandmother (ADD sidenote: who just celebrated her 80th birthday on October 11, 2013) had to go to the hospital for heart bypass surgery, and as she was my primary caregiver (I guess the courts found both of my biological parents unfit due to personal/financial circumstances), I went to live with my to-be adoptive parents around June of 1986. (biologically, they’re my aunt and uncle – my father and dad are brothers).  Then about six months later, mom gave birth to the first of two brothers, Nicholas Christopher (my other brother, Phillip Darrell, was born in May of 1992).  On January 6, 1989, just before my sixth birthday, mom and dad adopted me and legally changed my name.  See, when I was born, I was named after my father, thus was Lewis Daniel Gonzalez, Junior.  When I got adopted, my name was just flipped to what it is today, Daniel Lewis Gonzalez – though I must say I like the sound of “Daniel Jacob” better :P lol sorry, ADD moment.

 

Growing up in the country outside Corunna, Indiana wasn’t that bad. :)  My parents have (as they still live in the same house) 2 acres of land, which was fun to play around on – not so much mowing though :P, a few trees that I liked to climb (god I miss doing that), and whatnot.  Wasn’t too much else to it – (click here for aerial shot  – Image © 2013 Google Maps)  Anyway, after Phillip was born, I was living with both my parents & the two brothers, as well as a total of three dogs [over the span of my life there – there was “Troubles”, who was … some breed (I can’t remember, hell I can’t even remember if Troubles was male or female :( … Black, rust, and white I think, about the size of a Lab, kinda shaggy though.)  Troubles had passed when I was 8 (I think), because he {ok I think Troubles was male… anyway} had drank some of the antifreeze that had leaked out while dad was working on a car.  After Troubles, we then got a Chocolate Lab, named “Moxy” (got him from a friend/coworker of my adoptive-maternal grandma) who passed in 2002 [got hit by a car on US 6 – which borders our property to the south; and I had to help dad bury him before going to drill (I believe I was late because of that too)], and then also a Yellow Lab named “Cheyenne” [she passed, I think, in 2010 – I wasn’t living at my parent’s when she passed]…I do miss having a dog though.. anyway, forgive my rambling/poor sentence structures – this happens a lot… damn ADOSS :P {I’ll explain that term later} I have about 25-30 aunts/uncles [mom has 10 siblings, dad 7-9, all but my father are married/dating], no clue how many cousins, my (adoptive) maternal grandparents, and my paternal grandma [grandpa, Tony Gonzalez, Senior, passed away in August 18, 2006] … Kinda along the ‘death’ lines… Grandpa was not the first time I had to deal with death in the family.. When I was six, I had actually witnessed the death of my cousin, Jeremy, first-hand. It was Labor Day weekend, 1989, and the extended family (mom’s side) were at our annual family gathering [one of many btw – see, mom’s side gets together for most every major holiday {New Years, Mother’s/Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day}].  Anyway, this was at my grandparent’s house [their main house, I guess; the house that all my aunts/uncles on that side grew up in – my grandparents had then since moved to a trailer just down the old dirt road from that house, and then to their current home in Auburn]  Anyway, I forget why I had gone out to the pool area (probably forgot something in the changing room/chemical storage shack) but anyway, I went out there and saw Jeremy splashing in the pool – alone.  Physically, I think Jeremy was a year or two – maybe three – older than me, however, mentally (and physical capability wise) he was only about 4-ish …. He was mentally disabled and didn’t know how to swim.  So as soon as I saw this, I started running – then quickly stopped and just walked fast [“no running around the pool area”] back into the house (I did run as soon as I got inside) making my way to the living room where all the adults were to let them know.  They, at first, looked at me in disbelief … as if it was some sick joke. (And mom had mentioned to me several years later that that is exactly what they thought – “We didn’t believe you, at first”)  After repeating myself though, they ran out to the pool, and I follow [walking though], and see my aunts/uncles/older cousins all diving into the pool, looking for him.  But it was too late.  I didn’t see much else after that, as I had made my way out the gate to the side of the hill by the dirt road and started throwing pinecones into the road.  Mom comes out shortly thereafter, sits next to me, and we talk & cry a little bit.  I remember feeling so helpless about it – and frankly, also just wanted to tell mom to leave me alone, because I just remember feeling that I wanted to be by myself.  Not sure why or what else I was feeling at that moment, but anyway, after we watch the ambulance drive by with sirens wailing – wait…when did they even show up?? – she goes back inside.  I stay outside on the hill, throw a few more cones, and just sit for a while longer.  The rest of the day is a total blur {ADOSS moment again (and I’ll get to that term soon enough just bare with me) – back in 2004-ish, I had read a fanfic someone had wrote called “Falling”, which had reminded me of that day, so I had created an extended version, which I tell about that day to Chester (of Linkin Park – yes it’s an LP fanfic).  Once I find both versions again, you can read them here {link to original} and here {link to my extended} respectively …. Now, focus ADD boy…}

 

While living with my parents in Corunna, Indiana, I went to pre-school at Zion Lutheran Church, kindergarten at Ashley Elementary School, Reading Readiness (which is pretty much for those that are ready to leave Kindergarten, but not quite ready for First Grade) at Waterloo Elementary School {ADD sidenote: the school administration were reluctant to have me do Reading Readiness as they felt I was ready for first grade, but my parents insisted so, I went to Reading Readiness}, elementary school at Fairfield Elementary School {very small school out in BFE country :P one classroom per grade, about 20-30 kids}, middle school (aka: Jr. High) at DeKalb Middle School, and high school at DeKalb High School {average student population of 1000 - 1200}, where I graduated in the Class of 2002.  If I remember right, I wasn’t really the ‘best’ at school grade-wise, but that was mostly due to me just slacking on my homework…at times hard-core.  Hell, I failed sixth grade health because of it … and also because of that mom had held me from actually going to classes in seventh grade as she debated on sending me to Lakewood Park (Baptist) Christian School and repeat sixth grade. Anyway, I had graduated with a 6.7 GPA (I think – the high school used a 12 point scale).

 

I also attended church most every Sunday.  We went to Hicksville United Methodist Church, in Hicksville, Ohio, til about age 6.  Then, I convinced my parents to start attending the Waterloo United Methodist Church, where I attended an after-school program while in Reading Readiness.  We continued going there until I was about age 13. After that, we started going to New Hope Christian Center, in Waterloo – which was known as Calvary Chapel at it's previous location in town.  I continued going there until mid-way through my senior year in high school, at which point, mom said that I could continue to go if I so chose, but would no longer be forced to go.  See, earlier that same year, she had stated that it would a household rule that if we (the children) lived there, that we would attend church [I think because Nick had started arguing with her again about not wanting to go]. I had lost my belief in Christianity back in the sixth grade (the same year we started attending New Hope) … however, I didn't fight with her about going to church because – frankly – it just wasn't worth it.

 

Anyway (yes, I suck at writing this shit) after high school, I had moved out, and shortly thereafter (October 17, 2002), enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard (ARNG), joining the ranks of Detachment 1, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Regiment (DET 1 A, 1/293 INF).  I went to Basic Training (actually, Infantry Training was called OSUT, or One Station Unit Training, because I would be doing my Basic and AIT – Advanced Infantry (or Individual – for non-Infantry) Training – in the same location – and for 14 weeks) .. anyway, Basic was at Fort Benning, Georgia, where I went from May 21, 2003 to December 16, 2003.  Now, if you're good at math, you'll notice that this is way more than 14 weeks.  That is because from August 19, 2003 – the date I was suppose to graduate – through October 31, 2003, I was held over in the Fitness Training Unit (FTU) for remedial physical training.  I wasn't able to pass the APFT – Army Physical Fitness Test.  I passed the push-ups just fine.  It was the sit-ups and two-mile run that got me. [50 push up, 39 sit up, 17:20 2-mile run were my bests; 42/52/15:54 were what I needed to pass]  Then, from October 31 through December 16, 2003, I was at RHU – Replacement Holding Unit – while I completed my out-processing.  I officially was discharged from the Army and from the National Guard on December 26, 2003 (I was on Active Duty status for training, so I had to be discharged from both the active Army and the Guard. Downside though, since my Active Duty status was only for training, and I have no other Active Duty service, I do not qualify for any VA benefits or my GI Bill [gov’t grant for college basically]) {Funny ADOSS moment though: one of my best memories was actually kind of a ‘bad’ thing at the time… see one of the things we had to do in Basic was go through the CS (orto-chlorobenzylidene-malononitrile) gas chamber [basically, tear gas].  Our whole platoon went in the chamber, and then the drill sergeants/other cadre told us to take off our masks – like we were warned would happen before entering. Well they ‘forgot’ to mention that it was only the first rank that was suppose to take off the masks, so naturally without this ‘minor’ detail, the WHOLE platoon took off there masks (myself included).  The cadre then rushed to help everyone else reseal the masks after that, but well, in a panic of the effects of the gas, I kept forgetting to ‘breathe out FIRST, then in’ to clear & seal the mask.  Thus I got a shit ton of gas in my system :P I was freaking out, which caused my battle-buddy Justin [Lackey, whom I’m still friends with to this day; mentioning last name if you’ve seen me share some his posts on Facebook :P but anyway] to freak out and well yeah.  I finally get the mask resealed though – after making my way from the very back of the chamber to about the second or third rank from the front..so needless to say, I just had to take it right back off shortly thereafter, by that time though, I was fine and couldn’t really tell the gas was still active.  And ever since then, up to about 2012/2013, my sense of smell when it came to bleach/chlorine was pretty much non-existent.  I don’t know how many times while cleaning at Cracker Barrel, I’d go way overboard with the bleach/sanitizer and everyone else would be like ‘Are you trying to fucking kill us??’ and I was like ‘What? I don’t smell anything’. Anyway, tangent over}  If I can get my PT up though, I wouldn’t mind re-enlisting, though I think I may got for the Air Force if I do – time’s running out though, I think the cut off age is 34, 40 tops.

 

Alright, so, what all happened after Fort Benning?  Well I finished the main part of my ‘coming out’ journey for starters.  The details can be found in the “Coming Out” section, but in short, I finally fully accepted I was gay. At that time though, being fully ‘ok’ with it was still a work in progress.  On that note, I met my first boyfriend, Chris, through Myspace – lol yeah that long ago :P – and met after I got off work at Cracker Barrel.  We ended up dating for a few years, then … on our second anniversary, I had decided to propose to him.  To be honest though, looking back (now six years later) I have no idea what I was thinking, and actually, do regret having done so. (But eh, lesson learned)  Looking back, I realize I wasn’t ready yet for that commitment, and frankly, shortly after proposing, realized that he wasn’t who I had thought he was and that I actually may not want to spend the rest of my life with him.  {ADOSS sidenote: I do feel I am ready now though, and would be honored…though, again, timing Draco…get to know him a little better first then, judge if you should or let him later – and no not Chris, but you’ll figure out whom later – ok, what was I saying? Oh, right}  All in all though, through the multiple times he broke up with me (only to then within a few days to a week thereafter beg for me to come back – which progressed to just saying we were back together without even consulting me) we were together for three years [four almost five if you ask him though; the last year, he had said that ‘he didn’t see us in a relationship anymore’, but then a few weeks/months later, had stated that we were ‘working shit out’ even though he hadn’t consulted me nor did he even try to bring up the issues so we could work on them]. Anyway… I’ve been homeless, not once but twice.  First time was in 2004 because I just didn’t manage my money that well and fell into the ‘I can’t pay rent all at once, or afford to save enough to pay, and am so far behind so fuck it’ trap and thus yup – out I went. {I ended up living in the back of the Taco Bell shed … well more just sleeping in there as it was summer time thus too damn hot to stay for too long, until my coworker had let me move in with her}  The second time, which was just last summer (2013), it was because of drama with Chris’s dad/family.  In short it was a ‘either he [I] leaves or I [Chris’s dad] will’ scenario and Chris’s mom, protecting her family, regretfully said I had to go. [and again, I could barely keep up with my bills, and had not been able to save anything, so I had no where else to go.  And my parents ‘didn’t have room’ at the house to help me out and ‘were in (their) own financial bind’ – yet Phil was still living there, my nephew (love him to death though) had his own room there, and the room I had stayed in before was now taken up by Phil’s dog? Anyway, that’s another rant for later – so anyway, I had lived in my car for about a week before staying with my uncle.  I’ve also started working on my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Web Design and Interactive Media, through the Art Institutes.  First started the school journey in the summer of 2011 at the Indianapolis, Indiana campus (online version though – didn’t have the money to move), and then, because of stress from trying to keep up on schoolwork/mom’s nagging-borderline-controlling, I dropped after finishing almost three quarters [online is 5.5 weeks long, versus the 11 weeks on-ground].  I’m currently attending now through the Minneapolis campus (since April 2014) and am expecting to graduate in late 2016.

 

[OK Dragon, we’ve heard about your first love…any others?  LOL…let my ADOSS brain get there, geesh :P ]

Yes, actually … a few years ago, in July 2011, I started dating this guy named Tom.  We chatted for a few months prior, and just hit it off pretty well.  Time went on and things kept going well so we had decided to have me move up to Cambridge, Minnesota, to live with him.  Which I did on December 28, 2011 – yes, without actually meeting him in real life first. (Met him on a social site called MyYearbook – now called MeetMe… it’s a lot like Facebook… anyway)  The first month living with Tom was great! But, naturally, life had a few curveballs up her sleeve [evil cuntress].  I had yet to be able to find a job, thus adding to his already strained finances… which added to his stress level which was getting pretty high as was with all the other bullshit he was dealin with, so… sadly, he had to break up with me.  (Valentine’s Day at that, but meh.)  He did say that I was still a great guy and that we would still be the best of friends, but again, the evil cuntress known as life had a few more curveballs… We ended up drifting out of shear lack of communication (his phone had gotten shut off, then he had to get a new number so, yeah… and my number’s changed too since, so we haven’t really been able to speak to each other since April of 2012…. Which I can hopefully find a way to get a hold of him because he’s still got ninety-five percent of my shit… and is now living in Ely, Minnesota which is about four hours (400 miles) northeast of Minneapolis [Cambridge is only 50 miles due north] But anyway, also due to financial hardships that his mom was dealing with (whom we were living with) she had stated… if you guessed “I hate to have to do this, but you’re gonna have to move back to Indiana, Dan”..bingo.  So back to my parents’ again I go.  This time though was the hardest.  Between dealing with the breakup/move [I had loved Tom so much, so I was really depressed – like…constant for about a year straight, cried practically every night {and even most smoke breaks}, couldn’t have any fun what-so-ever because all I thought about was Tom …… Yeah, I was that bad.  I will be honest, suicide did cross my mind a couple times too – didn’t attempt, but still, the thought was there], dealing with my parents still treating me like I was 12 years old – like still trying to tell me what I need to do (look for a job, and whatnot, and how to go about looking for said job) and I guess still having the ‘disownership’ (I guess would be best on how to describe it) mentality about my homosexuality [details in Coming Out section], making “getting a car” one of the conditions of me even being able to stay, and the kicker – ‘If we had known you were planning to move right back to Minnesota we wouldn’t have even let you come home’ … yeah, they (namely dad) actually said that … anyway, with all that on my plate, yeah I’m surprised I made it through. (This is also why I had ended up moving in with Chris, yet again – which eventually I got booted there but I already mentioned all of that :P )  Thank the gods I did get through all that though :)

 

[OK ADD-boy, and now? Damn guys…who’s bio is this anyway? :P ]

Well, as 2013 is winding down…Dragon’s in love again =} [Who, who? Bitches chill :P Let me get there :P ]  Ok, well, the amazingly sweet guy’s name is Patrick :) (Note: do NOT call him Pat, if you value your life at all ;) )  Not only is he a total sweetheart, he’s about five-foot-eight (which is perfect for my short ass), has gorgeous hazel / green eyes, light brown hair .. and is a total fraking genius! [‘Fraking’? What the fuck Dragon?  Oh yeah, read his book – A Chance for Humanity: The Beginning of the End – and you’ll figure it out :P Or I could tell you, basically ‘fraking’ = ‘fucking’.]  He is also such a dork/nerd, which I absolutely adore, also deals with ADD/ADHD (or, as he calls it – and I hijacked the phrase – ADOSS. Yes you’re finally finding out what that means.  It stands for “Attention Deficit Oooo Something Shiny”).  He also works on some renovation projects on the side, which is pretty cool {I still wanna see that Harry Potter chest, Patrick ;) } – and actually something else I do from time to time.  He too grew up with a relatively big – and religious – family, so yeah…. Just so many things we share in common, it’s just… yeah :P [Earth to Dragon, come in Dragon.  You’re rambling again.  I know I know, I tend to do that if you haven’t noticed :P ]

 

As for my plans for 2014 – lol, now that it’s a little over half done – like I said, I’ve come up to Minneapolis to finish my schooling, moved here on April 1st – yes, ‘April Fool’s Day’ :P – and, well…as for future plans?  My goal is to try to manage to save up some money so I can get an apartment of my own, get a new car (my 98 Lumina got hijacked back in mid-May :( – thinkin of trying to get either a Chevy Avalanche or Hyundai Santa Fe…something along those lines), finish getting fully situated here in Minnesota, and hopefully, be able to take a road trip (ideally around December 20th, and ideally somewhere out West ;) )  And 2015? Well, given how life likes to change so much, we’ll just see what the cards hold – plus, I don’t wanna fuck shit up by getting ahead of myself here. *steps out of the Delorean*

 

About Dragon:

Favorites:

Foods: Italian, Mexican, Oriental (some), Shrimp, Mushrooms, Cheese [especially Swiss, Provolone, Mozzarella], Pizza [and I can get kinda crazy with toppings :P ie: Hawaiian pizza with shrimp J], Chocolate

Beverages: Coffee, Mt. Dew, Moscato, Long Island Iced Tea, most fruity/sweet alcoholic beverages (prefer wine/mixed drinks, but do do beer too)[alcohol in general – on occasion], Bud Light/Bud Light Platinum… but mostly options 1 & 2 [coffee/Dew]

Color: Orange [dark/burnt variety], Blue (especially clothing, guess blue’s my color there), Tan/’Earth-tones’ (again, largely on clothing)

Books: the ‘Harry Potter’ series, the ‘Boxcar Children’ series, the ‘A Chance for Humanity’ series; most mystery/fantasy/sci-fi related books, but they have to catch my interest within the first few chapters or I give up L

Band/Musician: Linkin Park, 3 Doors Down, 311, Christina Aguilera, Lindsey Stirling [especially on her cover with Pentatonix of “Radioactive”], Imagine Dragons, Bruno Mars…….

Video Games: I don’t really have any ‘modern’ favorites as I barely play L - no console/no time/no money/no one to play with …. But, if we go old school… Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man, Tetris.  Games I would like to try though: Call of Duty (pick one/all), Halo (again, pick one/all), God of War (1 & 2)…I know I’m missing some here L A little help Patrick :P

Video Game Genre: Shooter, Racing, Military [ie: Call of Duty], arcade [what, I’m old :P ]

Music Genre: Primarily 90s Alternative and 90s R&B; but also a little pop, oldies (60s/70s), 80s, and select rap/hip-hop.

Movies: ‘Air Force One’, ‘Harry Potter’ series, (shoot me later) ‘Twilight’ series (yes I know vampires don’t sparkle, but speaking of vampires), ‘Underworld’ series, ‘LOTR’ series, ‘Bridegroom’, ‘Safe Haven’, ‘Black Hawk Down’, ‘Borne’ series, modern (Pierce Brosnan/Daniel Craig) ‘007’, ‘Avatar’, (JJ Abrams) ‘Star Trek’ series [I’m sure there will be more than just the current 2, hence “series”], ‘Die Hard’ series, ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy (with Tobey Maguire, have yet to see the new ones yet),  (want to watch so bad) ‘Shelter’ [another LGBT related film]

TV shows: (not that I watch much TV anymore L ) NCIS, CSI, Star Trek: TNG, Teen Wolf, Big Brother, Amazing Race, Stargate-SG1, Wheel of Fortune/Jeopardy, Wipeout

Movie Genre: Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, some ‘mushy’ romantically stuffs

Actor/Actress: {come back to me on this one L I need to think a little about it as well, a good number currently, are just because they’re hot :P }

Comedians: Robin Williams (RIP L ), Lisa Lampanelli ^_^, Patrick Rupert [yes you too J]

Vehicle: Saturn Vue, Chevy Avalanche, Hyundai Santa Fe [mostly, if you go by what I realistically want]; Mitsubishi Eclipse, Hyundai Tiburon if you go by old dream cars :P

Quotes: “We are who we choose to be, Now choose!”, “With great power comes great responsibility.” … and my most recent favorite… because it’s just so unexpected given the source & just shows the author’s personality so well :P “…so get off your high horse you egotistical bastard” (and yes, I've used it in other spots here too :P )

Magazine: Instinct ….. don’t really have too many magazines I even look at outside that one

 

Pet Peeves:

• Talking/Texting during a movie

• Cutting in line

• Slow drivers (especially in the “fast” lane)

• Taking up two parking spaces

• Chewing with your mouth open / Talking with your mouth full

• Loud conversations in public (cellphone or face-to-face)

• Saggy pants (about 1” is tolerable but any more – no one wants to see your ass)

• Misuse of You’re/Your/Their/They’re/There

• All Caps

• People who don’t take responsibility for their own actions

• People who don’t cover their mouth when coughing/sneezing

• Those damn electronic packages that require scissors and getting your fingers sliced in order to open them

• Films that are shown on television (um, if you can’t show it in the full theatrical length – without censoring, then keep it on the DVD/VHS)

• Impatient people

• Never being able to find clothing in my size [always either too big, too small, or too long – I hate being a skinny midget :P ]

• Lazy people [especially when it comes to shopping carts being left in the lot instead of taking them to the corral – ugh!]

• People driving the wrong way in a parking lot

• Ignorant People

• People who have obviously private conversions on their phone in public

• “Campers” [people who sit for hours on end at a table, well after receiving their check, paying for their meal, and most especially – when the restaurant in question is in the middle of their rush period]

• No toilet paper/paper towels in a public restroom

• People not clearing/resetting the microwave when finished

• People asking for advice, then do the exact opposite of what I suggested [especially if it’s what I suggested they not do – why bother asking for advice if you’re going to do your own thing anyway]

• People who do not control their children in public – especially in restaurants

• People treating their server as their personal maid/slave

• People with poor personal hygiene – it’s called deodorant, or even a shower…you should try it sometime

• Men who ogle/whistle at women [or gay men to other men]

• Complete strangers calling you ‘hun’, ‘babe’, sweetie’ – unless they’re an older lady at a diner, then that’s just customary :P

• People who blast their stereos/TVs/video games  (whether at home or in the car) [with no consideration for others in the building/apartment/neighborhood]

• Keeping your Christmas lights up until spring – or year-round [especially, up and ON]

• Toilet paper put in the wrong position [over not under!]

• Websites with horizontal scrolling

• Using ‘text-speak’ / ‘e-speak’ in regular conversation/letters/reports/Facebook posts – the whole reason for those abbreviations is because back in the day, we were limited to 140 characters, now that we’re not, SPELL IT OUT!

• People who insist on using the self-checkout, but yet have no clue how to use it

• PeOpLe WhO TyPe LiKe ThIs -- 0r w0r53, l1k3 7h15

• People trying to enter the elevator/transit before the ones already on can exit

• Hypocritical people

• People who call but do not leave a message – Must not be that important if you can’t tell me why you’re calling me

-- I’m sure there’s more but I think this list is long enough :P