Paula Light is the lovely hostess for The Monday Peeve, where I get to do the thing I cannot do in real life – air my inner most complaints.

Peeve #1

Has this ever happen to you?

Someone calls you on the phone – a friend, relative, etc. – you answer the phone and all you could hear was the sound of person chewing on the other end of the line? As if he/she pick meal time to call you? How annoying is that?

My aunt does this to me all the time. I would pick up and all I would hear was the sound of her chewing while talking. It makes me want to vomit. What the hell is wrong with these people? Were they raised by wolves or something? Nobody wants to answer your call and get an ASMR of you chewing your food.

Mom did the same thing over the weekend. She thought I was asleep upstairs but I could hear her clear as day spooning her breakfast into her mouth while shouting at her sister on the phone. Oh my gosh, how dare these people call my mannerism poor?

Peeve #2

I hate that people would tell me this is a sign of menopause. I feel like this is more like undiagnosed IED (Intermittent Explosive Disorder).

I bought an antique digital piano from my former boss almost 10 years ago. I haven’t played in approximately 5 years because who has time to play the piano when you’re working my job and has to deal with a family of 8 adults? That and mom is always occupying the chair I’ve dedicated as my piano chair and unless I’m as good as those rock n’ roll musician who can play standing up, I need to sit down to play.

Since mom is always there and I can’t play standing up, I asked for her assistance to help me carry the thing downstairs to the basement so I could put a table in its place to manage my seedlings since I can bend down nowadays.

Mom blew up at me. All I wanted was a little help carrying the darn thing downstairs. I don’t know why she insisted I keep the piano in that spot anyway if I don’t ever get to play it. It doesn’t make sense and I’m always bumping into it when watering my seedlings.

My uncle showed up, needing me to go to the phone store to add an additional line to his plan so he could keep his son’s number while he served his time in Chinese prison (don’t know why either). Eventually, the piano was moved to the basement, I didn’t get the table moved upstairs, maybe I’ll need to head to Walmart and get one on my errand day.

I went with my uncle to get his phone added. No can do, the transfer pin expired. When I got home almost 2 hours later, mom acted like she didn’t throw a tantrum 2 hours earlier because she didn’t want me to move my piano downstairs.

Mom’s brother-in-law (BIL) is the same way. He blew up at my mom in the car yesterday as we were heading home from shopping because my mom mentioned he’ll need someone to take care of his lawn while he’s away in China as grasses and weeds tend to grow rapidly during warmer months.

I could feel the car shaking and swaying as the two shouted at the top of their lungs. At one time, I even wanted to scream “Shut the F*** Up!” before there’s an accident as I’ve seen too many movies and TV shows when a driver and passenger are in an argument while the car was going 80-miles-an-hour.

Unfortunately, I held my tongue and just turned the music up loud in my ears.

I still wonder how I survived those 3-and-half years in China living with this a$$hole of an uncle, taking his wrath day-after-day as a 7, 8, 9, and 10-year-old. I’ve warned my mom so many times about him after he arrived in the U.S. in 2020, but she, as well as everyone else, ignored me. I guess she got a taste of that yesterday.

*Sigh*