20 Things That Bug Me

1. Whenever I get hot coffee to go, the coffee always leaks out of the seam in side of the disposable paper cup, ensuring that I get coffee stains on my clothes.

   Why it Exists: Liquid, as a principle, is good at wicking and wants to escape through the little crack. Plus, the glue adhesive probably isn't water proof so the liquid in the cup will waste it away.

2. Anytime I try to order sushi for dinner at the Bento on Archer, the wait is always at least 30 minutes.

   Why it Exists: There is a high demand for Bento sushi in Gainesville as most people would agree that it's very good. Also, there is a high population of people in Gainesville during the school year and there's only two Bento locations.

3. Last year, I would call a SNAP to come pick me up from the parking garage on Gail Lemerand and take me back to my dorm, but the SNAP would take so long that I would just end up walking home anyways.

   Why it Exists: There is a finite number of SNAPs and a high demand for them. They have set routes that they must follow and it takes time to make all the stops and pick ups.

4. Every iPhone charger I've ever has gotten to that point where the cord breaks right where it meets the plug and then I can only charge my phone by holding it in a certain position.

   Why it Exists: So I googled this and apparently it could easily be solved if Apple wanted to put something called a strain relief on the plug, but the design department doesn't like how the strain relief looks atheistically. So, the plug is bent at weird angles, gets strained, and eventually breaks.

5. When I wear sandals or heels that tie up around my ankles, I have to basically cut off the blood circulation in my legs to make sure that they stay up.

   Why it Exists: Ok, so I googled this as well, and apparently there's a "correct" way to tie them to keep them from falling? So maybe this is more of a user error than a design fall. Honestly, they probably fall because of gravity and the fact that I don't tie them correctly.

6. When I order a vanilla milkshake at Chick-fil-a theres always a little hint of strawberry in it.

   Why it Exists: The person who ordered a milkshake before me ordered a strawberry milkshake and the employees didn't clean the machine in-between orders.

7. The t-shirts I buy from Forever 21 end up with little holes in them after just one trip in the wash.

   Why it Exists: Forever 21 clothes are really cheap for a reason; they're cheaply made. The humble quality of the material cannot handle the intense washing that my machine enforces upon it.

8. The washing machines at my apartment complex don't always register when I put a quarter in and so then I have to eject all the quarters and try again.

   Why it Exists: The machines are old and the quarters don't always hit the little sensor or whatever it's called.

9. During lunch/dinner time, the Chick-fil-a drive-thru at almost any Chick-fil-a I've ever been to is so busy that you can't ever pull your car into the parking lot.

   Why it Exists: Chick-fil-a is in high demand in many areas and dinner/lunch time is generally when most people want a cheap and yummy meal. Also, people love the fact that they don't have to get out of their cars in order to get food. Therefore, the Chick-fil-a drive-thru gets crowded.

10. Some Starbucks stores don't except payment via the app.

   Why it Exists: Normally, the locations that don't participate in the app rewards and payments are located inside of grocery stores, bookstores, or are kiosks at malls. These stores probably have to give a portion of their revenue back to whatever organization their located under. It might be hard for them to keep track of it all when using the app.

11. Last year, when Library West was 24/7 (RIP), it would always get so crowded during finals week.

   Why it Exists: The demand for a quiet study place rises before exam week. So Lib West, being UF's 24/7 library, would become packed with student who are cramming all night for their exams.

12. Listening to Spotify/Soundcloud in the shower or working out and then an ad comes on and ruins the vibe.

   Why it Exists: Without a paid membership, free music platforms like Soundcloud and Spotify generate revenue by selling ad space. So, even though ads are annoying, we have to deal with them if we want to continue to use a free service to listen to music.

13. When I try to use the machines at Student Rec. but they're overcrowded with super beefy frat bros.

   Why it Exists: A lot of students work out at Student Rec. because it's easy to walk to. The weight machines are a finite resource as well and so when a lot of people want to use them, they fill up quickly. Frat bros in particular want to use the weight machines to show off their 🤙🏽sick🤙🏽 lifting abilities.

14. Trying to go to Fat's on a Tuesday night for the $2 drinks but having to deal with the huge mass of people who are also trying to drink for the low.

   Why it Exists: We're all broke college students who want to drink for cheap. Therefore, when Fat's offers a deal on drinks, everyone heads to their favorite place in mid to get trashy in the middle of the week.

((shoutout swampy uf memes))

15. Actually needing to take a class in order to stay on track for my major but, when my time to enroll comes up, the class is full.

   Why it Exists: Many of the larger classes are critical tracking courses and so the majority of students need them at the same time in order to stay on their tracking. There's a large demand to get into a course but a set number of seats in it.

16. Trying to park my car in city parking during the week but there literally no parking anywhere.

   Why it Exists: There are a lot of students at the University of Florida who have cars and park in city parking. There is only so much space available to designate for parking.

17. When all of my roommates and I are each trying to watch the new GOT on our separate laptops and the wifi is slow and causes lagging.

   Why it Exists: We don't have a great wifi connection and when we are all using it at once it is slower than it would be if just one of us was trying to stream GOT.

18. iPhone battery getting worse as time goes on.

   Why it Exists: Googled it. Apparently lithium-ion batteries deteriorate after every "cycle." So every time the phone completes a battery cycle it gets a little bit worse.

19. Uber surcharges.

   Why it Exists: Because the Uber people know that more people will be wanting to take an Uber during peak times, like during holidays or long weekends. They can get away with charging more because people will be more willing to pay because they have plans and places to be.

20. Right before a hurricane is supposed to hit, gas stations run out of gas and stores run out of things like bottled water and other survival supplies.

   Why it Exists: People want to stock up on supplies because once the storm comes all the stores will be closed. They want to make sure they're prepared for the worst.

REFLECTION: It started to become kind of hard to come up with things for this list after number 5, mostly because they are all minor inconveniences that bother me, but not to the point where it drastically effects my everyday life. The fact that the disposable cups at Starbucks leak doesn't mean that I'm going to stop drinking Starbucks coffee. A broken phone charger isn't going to stop me from buying a new iPhone.