Who Are Pesky People?

Pesky means annoying, troublesome, bothersome, or tiresome. So if someone calls your behavior pesky it's time for you to back off and lay low, assess yourself and change.

Here are a few pesky people that are really not so easy to handle.

1. A person who doesn't inform before coming for a visit. Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! You might like surprises but don't think that everyone does. Science has made it possible for almost everyone of us to have a more convenient, easy and quick access to things which were not available decades ago. So there are really no excuses from not informing the person whom you want to visit . Whether you are a friend, a family or a relative, don't assume that everyone likes surprises. Call, send a message, text, or send an e-mail ahead of time. By informing you might even save your time and money. Who knows if the person you want to see is free or even there, right? Inform! It's the best you can do. It is courteous and proper.

2. A person who makes you her/his pastime. I myself had become a perfect example for a few days. We have a neighbor around here who is a mother with 3 kids. Two older kids go to tuition (tutorial session) for an hour every afternoon. The youngest stay with her. And since they live quite far from the tuition center, she and her kid stay and roam around the campus to wait for the tuition to be over instead of going back home. A week ago she saw me outside our house, in our garden, playing with our cats so she came to meet me. It was fine. First meeting, they stayed until the tuition session was over, which was around an hour. The problem started when the next day they appeared again and the next and the next. A plus problem is that I cannot converse with her considering I only know few Hindi words. I really got irritated (without showing it to her, of course) because she seemed not bothered that I couldn't communicate with her or whether I have something else to do other than entertain them. So on the third day I spent around 10 minutes with them and then I excused myself saying I have some work to finish. I thought she would stop coming after that. But still she did it again and again. And again, I used the same excuse. Sixth day today and she didn't come. What a relief! But in case she'll come again tomorrow or the next day, how to tell her that I'd rather spend my hours alone in front of the computer doing one thing or another than spend hours with her and her kid?

3. A person who doesn't reply to a message you sent. Whether it's email, Facebook or any other form of communication, it is impolite not to even acknowledge any messages you received. E-mailing gives a 100% surety that a message is sent to the recipient so if a message requires a reply one should expect a response soon unless the person whom the message was sent to is not bothered to check his or her mails for weeks, which is unlikely. Also, think of it as if you were the one who sent the message and ask yourself whether you want your message to be ignored. Certainly not, no matter how trivial or important the message is. Once a message is sent, it means a reply or an acknowledgment is required. It is a simple act. It is mannerly but not just everyone is careful on this.

4. A person who doesn't pay attention to details. Not replying to a message is annoying but replying with incomplete details is even more exasperating. Suppose you are asking some information or some details that are important to you and you don't get them, how would you feel? Terrible, right? So pay attention to the message carefully. If there's something that is asked that you don't know, say it. If you do, it's always better to reply in complete details. How you reply or what response you give eventually reflects your personality. And definitely, replying with incomplete details won't add points to it.

5. A person who talks so much on the phone. For some people talking on the phone is not convenient at all. It hurts their ears especially when the talking takes around an hour or more. It would be a little interesting if it's about both of you - an exchange of ideas and thoughts or plans. But it becomes irksome when a person talks a lot about himself, his achievements and plans without even a bother to hear anything old or new from you. Try to lessen the minutes of talking and if the topic is too long to discuss over the phone, set a meeting or perhaps call again the next day. And don't forget to ask if the other person is free to talk at that time. Otherwise, set a day and time to have this conversation. If meeting is impossible because of distance you can use the chat room or emai.

There are also times when we feel irritated at someone, stranger or a mere acquaintance, and we don't know why. These people didn't do anything bad to you but still you have that annoyance towards them...a feeling that makes you want to stay away from them. This situation is much easier to handle. Avoidance is the key. Let the feeling go, after all they are the people who don't matter to your life directly.

The five examples above are somewhat difficult to handle. I myself haven't found the best ways on how to deal them yet. If you know some ideas on how to do it, please do share them here.