Dispiriting things – A dog howling in the middle of the day. The sight in spring of a trap for catching winter fish. Robes in the plum-pink combination, when it’s now the third or fourth month. An ox keeper whose ox has died.
—The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, translated by Meredith McKinney1
the seemingly universal deference to “old” money
the phrase “an instant classic”
my pancreas
middlebrow writers who fear and loathe being “middlebrow”
the term “overrated”
two proper names crossing in an otherwise solved crossword
losing one’s “streak” in a game not through honorable defeat but forgetfulness
myself
others
the phrase “a poor person’s idea of a rich person”
& all variants thereof
a headache at three in the afternoon
people who like things one likes, but incorrectly
people who dislike things one dislikes, but incorrectly
these words that begin “gl”—“glee” “gloat” “glib” “glug” “glop”—all vexatious
“slop”—not fond of that one either
disagreement
agreement
acrylic sweaters
secondhand clothes listed without measurements
disliking the work of somebody who turns out to be a bad person—my hate has been sullied—it can never be pure again
being corrected when you are not wrong
being offered advice when you did not ask
the discovery of mouse destruction, long after the fact
high-waisted skirts without waistbands
elastic waistbands that are both ugly and uncomfortable
I actually haven’t read The Pillow Book. I mean I have read parts, but not the whole. I was going to sit on this until I actually read it but then I felt successfully baited by
’s post here. I am prob going to be less active in the comments than I generally am because I am going to the LIBRARY but I look forward to returning and seeing other people’s vexatious things.
"people who dislike things one dislikes, but incorrectly"
!!!
when the coffee lid doesn't fully seal and a single drop of coffee gets on your shirt every time you take a sip.