I think this is the first time either of us have actually been tagged in a meme - chalk it down, the momentous date!

Anyway, we’ve been tagged by Darragh to participate in the Getting Your Goat meme, which has the following rules:

1. List two things that irritate you for a reason, and list the reason, and two things that irritate you for no apparent reason whatsoever
2. Give credit to the person who tagged you
3. Link your answers to the original blog, Skillett.com
4. Tag four new people to participate

I guess we’ll both be doing our different entries and that Ciara will be getting hers up soon enough, but for now, it’s Getting Gav’s Goat.

So - Things that irritate me for a reason:

Misplaced Arrogance
Something that Ciara’s last post brought forefront to my mind was how much in the last year, slugging away for the Students’ Union, we were exposed to a certain few people who, despite any inner fear about their failings or adequacy at particular tasks, went out of their way to find some way of inflating themselves, mostly by actively deflating the other people around them.

I know that in an arena as vicious, vacuous - and often so spiteful - as student politics that there’s an innate need to cover up any failings but when those failings are obviously well known to those around - and when those in question known that those surrounding them would only be willing to help, then puncturing the people in their stead is just a stupid, stupid thing.

Unfortunately, at this point in time, while I don’t regret doing the year with the SU, I’m leaving with far more sour memories than fond ones. You know who you are.

The Sunday Independent
And what’s worse, I can’t help but continue to buy the fucking thing. Curse you, Aonghus Fanning, curse you and your nepostic, pretentious shambles of a publication.

Example a prime, as they’d say themselves, from last week’s issue:

Life on the Celtic Costa goes on despite the gloom at home, writes Barry Egan in Marbella”.

Oh, God love them, isn’t it lucky for them that they can get on with their lives despite all the hassle they have? Poor Barry Egan too, having to head all that way, just to file 973 measly words about how you can see Africa on a fine day. God love him, making a 5,814km round trip just to do it. One word for every 6km travelled? The craythur.

Well, you know what? Fuck off, Sindo. Of the 973 words you published in that piece, a grand total of 0 were necessary for the stable continuation of the world’s self-propulsion. And what’s more, you’ll be the first ones complaining about how the Government isn’t really committing to climate change, while you send your ginger prat journalists off on 3,600-mile tours to file sub-1,000 word pieces on fuck all.

[exhales slowly]

Now then - things that irritate me for no good reason.

The Hills on MTV
I know there’s absolutely no difference between it, and the soap operas that I won’t admit to liking, but will admit to watching anyway (on the grounds that it’s of significant social importance). But. Arrrrrrrgh. I don’t care if Lo is being a bitch to Audrina, and neither should anyone else.

The fact that although I know many things irritate me on a daily basis, that I can’t remember these causes on command
I rest my case. :) I swear, I spent twenty minutes trying to come up with stuff and The Hills was as good as I could do. Epic fail.

Credit to the person who tagged us:
Darragh’s blog is one of those rare nuggets of sheer honestly, without any sense of inflation or pretense, that come along far too rarely. His writing is open, honest, and bare, and his blog is well worth a subscription. :)

Tag four people to take part:
Alexia - Purely out of curiosity in what annoys her for no reason!
Dani - come on, Dan, get out of your blogging shell and express yourself more!
Masquerade - one of the more eloquent ranters I know!
Sinead K - I know Darragh tagged you already, but he did thirteen people, so I figure I’m allowed some overlap…