Water usage is probably my biggest. Living in a high desert, my wife and MIL see no problem with filling one side of the sink with hot soapy water to wash a few dishes because “that’s just how I’ve always done it”, to watering the grass and plants for hours. All of this makes me mental.
As someone who used to work retail, I feel this. I have trouble socially and just want one phrase to mindlessly close out every interaction. I started with “have a good day,” but as the day progressed, I would get more funny looks or comments like “…what’s left of it.” I’m sorry, is after 6pm no longer today? Today is a day, right? I ended up using “have a good one.” While less formal, the funny looks and comments stopped.
People are funny. They think it’s strange that I say have a good day as it’s starting to get dark, but don’t bat an eye at the fact that I’m only wishing them a good day. What about tomorrow? “I hope today goes well for you, but fuck tomorrow.” Is the idea that they expect to see me every day? I deserve days off, too. I’m not going to be here tomorrow to wish you a good day, so maybe I should tailor it to my schedule to make sure you’re covered until I see you again. “I have tomorrow off, so have a good couple days!” No, I’d have to change that every day… maybe “Have a good time until I see you again!” is better. What happens when I change jobs? I don’t think I’ll see them again, so I need to make sure their days are good from here on out? “Have a nice life!” That’s worse somehow.
This reminds me of the end of sophomore year in high school. We were signing yearbooks, “Have a nice summer, hope you don’t drown!” Thanks for the positive wishes, but now I’m going to worry about drowning every time I go swimming!