It’s funny how little things can ruin your day, no matter how hard you try to keep on the sunny side of life. I’m not talking about car accidents or hospitalizations or being left at the altar…I’m thinking more about the little things that we really should be able to rise above and somehow drag us down just the same. And because I am a type A personality who loves lists, here is my list of the top five irritating things that really mess with my mood.

 

5. The common cold. No, it’s not leprosy or ebola, but you know what? It still sucks. There’s no dignity in a cold. You’re sloppy, you’re uncomfortable, but (at least here in New England, where souls are starchy) you’re really not sick. You really should just buck up. No matter how crappy you feel. It’s just a cold. Excuse me while I dash for the tissues.

 

4. Computer woes. A full-fledged crash is like breaking your arm, especially if you’re dependent on your computer for work, as are we all here on this blog. But even the smaller things just drive me crazy. I remember having to reset my internet access. It took two hours on the phone with someone in India. The new password didn’t work. I had to call back. Hours of my life, gone through some bit of capricious fluke in programming that no one really could pin down.

 

3. Bad hair. This doesn’t bother me on a normal day — my hair is whimsical, to put it nicely —  but you know how it is…the day you have to make The Big Presentation, your hair is frizzy on one side, flat on the other, you look like you fell asleep in a puddle of drool the subway, and no amount of miracle product is going to help. You keep trying to fluff your hair during the presentation, knowing you look vaguely unhinged, which distracts you from the actual presentation, which is tremendously important to your career. And then afterward, just when you think it’s safe, you run into your old boyfriend. And speaking of old boyfriends…

 

2. Running into an old boyfriend. I’ll be honest…I’m not sure I would recognize any of my old boyfriends (been married a while), but being caught off guard by some guy you used to love, someone who maybe broke your heart…it sucks. Sure, sure, you’ve imagined it a hundred times: in your imagination, he’s never forgiven himself for Letting You Go…in reality, he’s got a gorgeous wife, drives a Mercedes and just had dinner with Michelle and Barack. And you have bad hair. And a cold.

 

1. Those comfy jeans…aren’t. Ah, winter. Ah, Ben & Jerry. Ah, heck, what happened here? These jeans used to be the ones I could pull off without unbuttoning…ergh. Personally, I don’t use a scale; I use the jeans-o-meter. And when this method tells me it’s time for Ben, Jerry and me to have a little distance and reassess our relationship …well, it’s always a bit of a downer. I know, I know, eat healthy, everything in moderation…but I do love Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

 

I could go on about those little things in life, but I think I’ve probably indulged enough for one day. How about you? What are some of the little things that can tank your day, even when you’re supposed to rise above them?