Your annoying habits

[VNwalking]

So we all know what bugs us about OTHER pilgrims. But while replying to a post on another thread just now I found myself wondering...what do I do that most annoys other pilgrims and fellow albergue residents??
Why it hadn't occurred to me to think about this is easy--I'm the perfect pilgrim, right?
Uhhhh...NOT. Obviously that's a perfectly deluded thought.
So there's got to be something.
But I don't know which of many possibilities it'd be.
While I ponder about this--I'll come clean here and in public, I promise--does anyone else have a (perhaps amusing) pet flaw? (Gerard, you don't count--your stories are treasure troves of self-deprecatory humor already.)

 

[Al the optimist]

Being perpetually cheerful? Carrying such a small bag? Being able to use cheap European flights regularly because I am retired? Being lucky enough that so many people of other nationalities speak English? Being a member of this forum? Not having any significant physical or mental problems to make my Caminos more arduous? Having one of these permanently etched on my face? All of the above?

 

[Icacos]

On the grassy expanse of one albergue, I bared my unblistered feet. I thought that might have been very annoying.

 

[VNwalking]

Hee hee heee....thanks, Al!
this could definitely be annoying under duress. Meeting it halfway up some godforsken hill in the sleet would probably make my face do this:

 

[VNwalking]

On the grassy expanse of one albergue, I bared my unblistered feet. I thought that might have been very annoying.

Yeah, smug "Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah..." definitely counts.

 

[Al the optimist]

Hee hee heee....thanks, Al!
this could definitely be annoying under duress. Meeting it halfway up some godforsken hill in the sleet would probably make my face do this:

Actually that is probably when I am really really really annoying! I have a habit of walking out of the albergue in the morning and signing the old Fred Astaire classic or doing the same as I pass someone huddling along in the rain.

 

[VNwalking]

I have a habit of walking out of the albergue in the morning and signing the old Fred Astaire classic or doing the same as I pass someone huddling along in the rain.

Chuckling out loud at the thought of the reception that could receive..............
If we ever cross paths out there, Al, please remind me to avoid you in the rain.

 

[Icacos]

There's an annoying habit some early morning risers have, of setting off to log a few kilometres in the pre-dawn darkness before stopping for desayuno. I have that habit. Maybe next time I will temper that habit.........but, maybe not.

 

[SYates]

Annoying? Blush! Offering to sort through other pilgrims backpacks because they have packed too much and telling them what to send home/ahead? Oh, and the next one would be my usual 'you should only put threads through blisters if you want to have a really nasty infection'. I guess I can be too often an insufferable knowing-all... Hangs head in shame, SY

 

[MTtoCamino]

Yes the thread thru a blister what brain thought that up? Or using duct tape over blisters?
Crazy talk! Then the poor buggers get infected.

Yep I am nuts about clean feet when dealing with blisters.
The one I really have to apologize for, walk the entire way! That is a personal choice.

 

[VNwalking]

And I thought I had the know-it-all corner to myself. At least I'm in good company. (Have given up on trying to save people from their own karma if they insist on running strings through their blisters....)
Does being a 'goodie 2 shoes' count as annoying? Probably. I can be insufferably high minded at times, when people just want to have a good time...
And I noticed half-way through my second Camino that not everyone wore their big pack into a crowded bar after I came close to knocking over a tiny local lady. Some of us are slow

 

[HeidiL]

I tend to go around smiling at strangers, especially the locals. I often make a little jump to get my backpack adjusted "just so", which my friend told me was horribly annoying, since you're not supposed to be able to jump after 15/20/25 km. When I walk with people who speak less Spanish than me, I tend to take over the talking. And I actually LIKE the regular tuna salads...

Yes, I'm annoying.

 

[Al the optimist]

Oh and I do have an awfully strange habit of occasionally running down hills which must be quite depressing for some.

 

[Phillypilgrim]

My annoying bit was continuously talking about "when I walked last year, blah, blah blah..."
It's awful and I kept falling into it. I apologize to all.

 

[jimabfalter]

My annoying bit was continuously talking about "when I walked last year, blah, blah blah..."
It's awful and I kept falling into it. I apologize to all.

Thank you Phillypilgrim for an honest answer! I was complaining on line during our walk about insufferable bores who speak only of themselves and brag incessantly about their lives and abilities and one of my friends at home suggested since it was a pilgrimage I should think about accepting those people and understanding them. It was the best advice I received, not because it made their blather any more less about themselves, but it made me understand that I needed to mellow out.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

What a great subject! We can finally complain all we like - about ourselves or will the Mods need to censor or save us

Pretty much guilty of most of the above but my particularly annoying habit is that I LOVE hills! Sorry folks, don't even puff or sweat going up (mountaineer's rest step, secret Sherpa trick)

Oh, and I thought punctuating my response with smilies would be bound to annoy someone

 

[VNwalking]

Hee hee...can I dislike some of these posts? Just the thought of the tuna on what would otherwise be a perfectly good ensalata mixta causes a gag reflex.

Oh, and I thought punctuating my response with smilies would be bound to annoy someone

Yeah. Thanks Meri.
But I have to say your thing about hills is not annoying. Not at all. But I am deeply envious.
And if the mods step in...gerard, can we borrow your foam hammer?? This puts the spotlight just where it needs to go.
I just had a couple of nice little epiphanies...nudged by these great posts. Hmm. Chilling out needed. Tick. Too much reminding others of my last Camino. Tick. Passing people a bit too cheerfully. Tick. Living in my own little bubble. Tick. Thanks everyone...keep 'em coming! (But. I can safely say I don't run down hills. Though if I could maybe I would...)

 

[Icacos]

My annoying bit was continuously talking about "when I walked last year, blah, blah blah..."......

........Too much reminding others of my last Camino.

I have this annoying habit and it's been two and a half years since I walked my Camino. Honestly, I keep wanting to give myself a clout upside the head.

 

[VNwalking]

Maybe you need to walk another time? At least then the stories will be current.

 

[VNwalking]

Thank you for sharing Kanga.
(An aside to mods and Ivar...there's not an emoji here for disgust. Or for averted eyes.....)

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

Let's see, my annoying habits..... Sitting on the curb of small villages to eat my newly purchased bread and cheese while drinking a Fanta; asking pilgrims who complain about not finding accomodation at all or finding it not to their liking why they are in northern Spain walking; playing my ukulele at the cafes in the afternoon or the one that really annoys people is talking to them while they are engrossed in their smart phones in cafes and bars.
I'm sure I have any number of habits that annoy the crap out of folks.

 

[VNwalking]

talking to them while they are engrossed in their smart phones in cafes and bars.

I love this one. That's not annoying, it's subversive!

 

[Icacos]

........the one that really annoys people is talking to them while they are engrossed in their smart phones in cafes and bars.

..........That's not annoying, it's subversive!

I'd love to see you in action, @obinjatoo@yahoo.com. But I'd be hard-pressed to keep a straight face.

 

[Kiwi-d]

Blatting at a rate of knots past a slow walker, only to have them overtake me 5 minutes later when I've stopped for a coffee, blatting past them again, only to have them overtake me 5 minutes later when I've stopped to do up a shoelace, blatting past again..... I'm surprised someone didn't push me over a bank.

 

[VNwalking]

Who knows Kiwi-d? Maybe people actually liked this (assuming you at least said 'g'day' or 'Buen Camino')??

 

[Kiwi-d]

Who knows Kiwi-d? Maybe people actually liked this (assuming you at least said 'g'day' or 'Buen Camino')??

Oh yes, Viranani, I was always polite, but I bet some of them were thinking 'Just get ahead if you really must, but damn well stay there!'

Unfortunately I'm so competitive I just can't bear to not overtake anyone ahead of me. It's a challenge! Fortunately it's only when I'm out walking, driving I'm fine.

 

[Icacos]

Blatting at a rate of knots past a slow walker, only to have them overtake me 5 minutes later when I've stopped for a coffee, blatting past them again, only to have them overtake me 5 minutes later when I've stopped to do up a shoelace, blatting past again..... I'm surprised someone didn't push me over a bank.

Urban Dictionary
"Verb: To blat
Travelling in a reckless and eratic [sic] manner, often at excessive speeds with little care for your own health or safety, due to extreme levels of eccentricity and genius. [emphasis mine]
Either by car, bike or foot."

One of the things that I like about this Forum is the exposure we get to expressions of other English-speaking peoples. In the definition above, I particularly like the mention of 'genius.' 'Eccentricity' is okay too ! @Kiwi-d, if I were you, I would worry not.

 

[VNwalking]

Genius and eccentricity together...nice. Is this you Kiwi-d?
But...just so that in a car you're not one of those people who should pass but for some reason won't--that is annoying.

And just remembering how sometimes this last spring I found myself hanging back behind other pilgrims, not wanting to do this same pass and re-pass dance--and the sound of my sticks perhaps caused them immense annoyance. Taktaktaktak........
Sorreeeeeeyyyyyy!
Honest, I got little rubber shoes for them, but they wore through and I didn't know that until too late.

 

[Kiwi-d]

Ooh, I do like genius! But I must admit reckless, eccentric and erratic strike a little closer to the bone, alas, with the distinct ring of truth!

 

[Icacos]

It's all good. Take it and run!

 

[VNwalking]

But wait, wait...nothing wrong with that! Eccentricity is essential. How else to move forward, except out of the communal rut? (OK, so who wants to be a tall poppy, I know, but it's an act of courage and authenticity.......)
Erratic on the other hand, well...annoying.

 

[susanawee]

Annoying? Blush! Offering to sort through other pilgrims backpacks because they have packed too much and telling them what to send home/ahead? Oh, and the next one would be my usual 'you should only put threads through blisters if you want to have a really nasty infection'. I guess I can be too often an insufferable knowing-all... Hangs head in shame, SY

I think that each and every one of us has annoying habits.....We are, none of us perfect, though so often we like to think that we are and we have to step back and 'think before we speak''.....that last little bit is one of MY most annoying habits and, like you Syl, I also hang my head in shame.

 

[Al the optimist]

Is it annoying if someone doesn't have annoying habits?

 

[SYates]

Is it annoying if someone doesn't have annoying habits?

Extremely! SY

 

[VNwalking]

Is it annoying if someone doesn't have annoying habits?

Ha ha...well, perhaps...But is this possible??

 

[Al the optimist]

If one professed to not have any annoying habits one's smugness would annoy people if it were true and annoy them if it was not true as you were so conceitedly self delusional?

 

[VNwalking]

Yes to both because to be so smug as to profess not to have annoying habits IS an annoying habit. So the latter always applies in this case.
No worries, Al--you've already owned up to your annoying habits.

 

[Icacos]

Ha ha...well, perhaps...But is this possible??

Unfortunately, yes. But top marks to you for being able just to ask that question. I would take that and run!!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

What a great subject! We can finally complain all we like - about ourselves or will the Mods need to censor or save us

Pretty much guilty of most of the above but my particularly annoying habit is that I LOVE hills! Sorry folks, don't even puff or sweat going up (mountaineer's rest step, secret Sherpa trick)

Oh, and I thought punctuating my response with smilies would be bound to annoy someone

I want to learn this Sherpa trick, please... Pretty please

 

[Al the optimist]

One of my not annoying habits is to rest on hills and let others feel energised as the waltz on up past me?

 

[Anniesantiago]

Well ,seriously, I do have a habit that can be very annoying to other people in a tight space.
It's not really a habit, it's a physical "thing."
Due to my MCS, I often have a reaction to certain foods.
The reaction, because of my overactive immune system, won't turn off.
So I find myself coughing, even hacking, for hours, trying to clear my throat.
I can see how it might keep others awake and even drive them batty.
It's one reason I stay in private lodgings more often, when I can afford it.

 

[VNwalking]

One of my not annoying habits is to rest on hills and let others feel energised as the waltz on up past me?

Yeah, Al, I think we can grant you that!

It's not really a habit, it's a physical "thing."

Annie, I think that wouldn't count as annoying so much as I would be concerned. You can't help it, after all--and it's not like you enjoy coughing, right? (Along the same lines, a friend was telling me about her response to the guy in the bunk next to her, who was a BIG snorer--but every once in a while there'd be a long gap between breaths. It kept her awake not because of the noise so much but because she was wondering if and when he'd take the next breath.)
Sorry you'll have to did a bit deeper to find that annoying habit....

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

I want to learn this Sherpa trick, please... Pretty please

Need to find yourself a mountaineer

The technique goes by many names but I know it as the Rest Step or Mountaineer's Rest Step. If you Google it, there should be lots of descriptions, videos and images. Designed for high altitude mountains, it is slow and rhythmic. Basically, you step forward and lock the downhill knee with all your weight on that leg. This transfers your weight onto your skeletal system and gives your muscles a rest. The forward leg is merely resting against the ground, it carries no weight at all. It's a micro-rest within each step. Then you merely take up your weight on the forward leg, unlock the downward leg and let momentum swing it through.

The secret is to get this technique to flow and, if you can, synchronise your breathing to it. When you do, you can walk uphill forever.

Learning the rest step technique is fairly easy. It just initially feels weird and looks dorky. The next phase is to find the ideal micro rest time and this varies depending on the terrain, your fitness, how tired you are etc etc. Once you have this, you find a rhythm and it's beautiful. My hubby says that it reminds him of my old clydesdale. Think that's where I learnt it before I ever saw a mountain.

The Sherpas (an ethnic group, NOT a job description) also taught me how to walk downhill. I had previously been walking about for years but what did I know? The main change was that they showed me how to spread my toes out and not curl them under on the descent, keep the heel down and foremost and the body posture upright. Then they ran down these unbelievable snow and ice covered slopes in their thongs/flip-flops.

 

[VNwalking]

Meri, I was just in Ladakh this summer and so wish I had known about this. Thank you very much.
I actually thought you were joking!
The syncronization with breath and steps comes naturally for me, but the rest step is an extra energetic bonus.

 

[SYates]

Found a good video demonstrating that step. SY

 

[VNwalking]

Nice, SY!

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Meri, I was just in Ladakh this summer and so wish I had known about this. Thank you very much.
I actually thought you were joking!
The syncronization with breath and steps comes naturally for me, but the rest step is an extra energetic bonus.

Ha! Ha! I thought that the Sherpas were joking too as they have such a wonderful sense of humour. Our first time in the Himalayas was a 35 day trek more than 10 years ago, just hubby and me and a cast of thousands and our own yaks. I felt like the Queen of Sheba. It was a difficult and dangerous time in the mountains but we were kept safe. We came to know and love these people and their families and are in contact with them still.

I also learnt something called a 'Sherpa Rest Day'. This means that the whole crew takes a well earned rest while we two would be taken up something big and breathless to aid our acclimitasation... and you really don't want to know what a 'Sherpa Short Cut' or a 'Go Quickly!' section is.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Found a good video demonstrating that step. SY

Yes, that's a good example just add a couple of walking poles into the mix and it gets even better. The slight lift as he locks the downward leg is the momentum that you can use to aid your next step upwards.

 

[VNwalking]

you really don't want to know what a 'Sherpa Short Cut' or a 'Go Quickly!' section is

From bare-bones remote trekking in Ladakh, I can well imagine. The kind of thing that in retrospect seems absurdly insane to have even considered.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

From bare-bones remote trekking in Ladakh, I can well imagine. The kind of thing that in retrospect seems absurdly insane to have even considered.

Mods I will cease and desist after this post as we are veering off topic - a very annoying habit.

You're spot on. The 'Go Quickly' section is a short cut through avalanche prone terrain. The 'Sherpa Short Cut' is a way up or down suitable only for Snow Leopards.

And if you want totally insane, this is a Sherpa Cable Car (our Sirdar's description). Yes, folks you get to sit on a wooden crate while your crew hauls you over a gorge full of large rocks. Beats a tame rollercoaster ride any day.

 

[VNwalking]

Me too, Mods. last post off topic. Promise--and my fingers aren't crossed behind my back.
Yeah, these are in Ladakh too. Beats the 3-day detour to a place where there's a bridge over the big wide river....

The Kashmiri version of 'go quickly' is going through a remote area controlled by rebels posing as herdsmen--who clearly didn't like or want our Western presence there. Quick-stepping at dawn out of their encampment...our Kashmiri friend and guide clearly quite frightened.
(Meri, I guess we are both being annoying, hijacking a perfectly good thread and turning it into a way of sharing our Himalaya stories with folks who couldn't care less and who just want to talk about the Camino! Very sorry, everyone. OK. Finished.)

@Phillypilgrim...see, you're not the only one who falls into this. I just did too. Quite humbling and worth not erasing as a cautionary example to one and all: how quickly our habits snare us!

My annoying bit was continuously talking about "when I walked last year, blah, blah blah..."
It's awful and I kept falling into it. I apologize to all.

What Phillypilgrim said, especially the last line.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

If yer walking alone while practicing annoying habits and noone is there to be annoyed, is it still annoying?

 

[jeffnd]

When being greeted by a local with a "Buen Camino!" I would Buen Camino them back. Apparently this irritated a few of my fellow walkers because those people were "not on the Camino." I said that EVERYONE is on a pilgrimage, whether they know it or not!

 

[Icacos]

When being greeted by a local with a "Buen Camino!" I would Buen Camino them back.

That's not annoying. That's just weird.
But then......maybe it's eccentric, and that would be okay.

 

[VNwalking]

(Shhh...Don't tell anyone....
But we're probably all a bit eccentric.
I mean, how many people do you know (in your non-camino circles--not here, of course) who walks even 100km, let alone 800 or 1000?)

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

(Shhh...Don't tell anyone....
But we're probably all a bit eccentric.
I mean, how many people do you know (in your non-camino circles--not here, of course) who walks even 100km, let alone 800 or 1000?)

A rheumatologist told me recently after asking how I broke my foot: trust me, women of your age do not walk 800kms in some foreign country.

 

[VNwalking]

A rheumatologist told me recently after asking how I broke my foot: trust me, women of your age do not walk 800kms in some foreign country.

We don't? Oh. Now I'm confused. What we doing then?

 

[Kanga]

@Wokabaut_Meri I love it! How did you respond?

 

[VNwalking]

A rheumatologist told me recently after asking how I broke my foot: trust me, women of your age do not walk 800kms in some foreign country.

@Wokabaut_Meri I love it! How did you respond?

Me too! And I have to admit that I've been waiting for the rest of the story...Meri?

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Well, his clientele are mostly refined and genteel elderly ladies from the top end of town while I fall more into the bucolic and, in his mind, eccentric category.

In response to his comment I suggested that when he next found himself on the continent he should book himself into the Parador in Santiago de Compostela, sit out on the Terrace with a glass of vino tinto and watch all the elderly ladies - both genteel and bucolic - walk into the Obradoiro Square at the end of their Caminos. A few hundred kilometres works wonders for ones arthritis

 

[Deleted member 12253]

So we all know what bugs us about OTHER pilgrims. But while replying to a post on another thread just now I found myself wondering...what do I do that most annoys other pilgrims and fellow albergue residents??
Why it hadn't occurred to me to think about this is easy--I'm the perfect pilgrim, right?
Uhhhh...NOT. Obviously that's a perfectly deluded thought.
So there's got to be something.
But I don't know which of many possibilities it'd be.
While I ponder about this--I'll come clean here and in public, I promise--does anyone else have a (perhaps amusing) pet flaw? (Gerard, you don't count--your stories are treasure troves of self-deprecatory humor already.)

On arriving at albergue a lady I never saw asked me ' how far did you walk, how long did it take you. To humour her I told her, naming the town I left the day before. I thought she might get a heart attack. Never saw her again.

 

[Annette london]

(Shhh...Don't tell anyone....
But we're probably all a bit eccentric.
I mean, how many people do you know (in your non-camino circles--not here, of course) who walks even 100km, let alone 800 or 1000?)

Well said! But what is normal?? I don't really want to be " normal" in the conventional sense of the word. Of course those of us who walk the Caminos over and over again ARE essentric. The way we dress, where we sleep, the pounding of paths day after day,the way we interact with fellow pilgrims, the list goes on! And of course" normal" people think we are crazy. A few reactions like " you must be mad"!! When we tell people about the Camino. Then there are those who respond with great and genuine interest and this is where my annoying habit comes in. I can talk until the cows come home about the Camino -- to anyone,anywhere,so I may be quiet boring re this subject. It's nice being a bit essentric though isn't it ??

 

[VNwalking]

Annette, you're probably not the only one. I'm guessing there are 'a few' people here who can get motor-mouth when it comes to the camino. The accelerator is stuck and there are no brakes.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Let's see, my annoying habits..... Sitting on the curb of small villages to eat my newly purchased bread and cheese while drinking a Fanta; asking pilgrims who complain about not finding accomodation at all or finding it not to their liking why they are in northern Spain walking; playing my ukulele at the cafes in the afternoon or the one that really annoys people is talking to them while they are engrossed in their smart phones in cafes and bars.
I'm sure I have any number of habits that annoy the crap out of folks.

Playing of the ukulele is NEVER annoying - keep on plucking brother but try wean yourself off the Fanta and try KAZ instead )

 

[zzotte]

I'm not sure it's a habit but I'm an American and that's annoyes the hell out folks specially the Spanish neighbors

Zzotte

 

[VNwalking]

Playing of the ukulele is NEVER annoying - keep on plucking brother but try wean yourself off the Fanta and try KAZ instead )

It would definitely be annoying if I tried to do that.
And second the advice on the KAZ. It's much better.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

Maybe it was Kaz..... Hmmm, I think you're right, it was Kaz. When the wait staff would ask me, "Para tomar"?
Yo dije, "Kaz Naranja porfavor". Yes, it was Kaz. Thanks. I had forgotten.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

That'd be "Sister. Keep playing sister". And yes, I think I will. Thank you.

 

[VNwalking]

Try the Kaz limon...even better.
Sometimes I think that's what got me to Santiago. I rate the difficulty of the day by how many Kaz it takes to get me from point A to point B. A 3-Kaz day is definitely a bear.
Long may you play, @obinkatoo!

 

[woodswoman]

On the grassy expanse of one albergue, I bared my unblistered feet. I thought that might have been very annoying.

That would be me as well. I didn't have any blisters on EITHER Camino I walked. But I did have lots of other issues.

 

[GettingThere]

Try the Kaz limon...even better.
Sometimes I think that's what got me to Santiago. I rate the difficulty of the day by how many Kaz it takes to get me from point A to point B. A 3-Kaz day is definitely a bear.
Long may you play, @obinkatoo!

Ahhh, Kaz Limón! Saved many a day on my Camino! Nothing quite like that sharp fizz on a hot dry day. Much better than Fanta!

 

[Kanga]

No, no, Cerveza Limón!

 

[VNwalking]

Well, yes, Kanga, quite right. If you can get it, that is, which is not all the time.....

 

[Victoria_Peregrina]

I was treating my first Camino with utter reverence and tried to be considerate of everyone and everything. But on one occasion I failed to do so. After getting starved for reading, I bought a book in Leon and was reading it at every occasion until I finished it. In one of the albergues, people wanted to turn off the ceiling light but I insisted that it should be on until 10pm. I had a headlamp but did not want to waste its power during the time when I thought the general light could be kept on.

I don't know if I was completely wrong or partly right, but the next day I decided not to argue if I encountered similar circumstances and just use my headlight whenever I needed it.

Victoria

 

[Kanga]

Victoria, one of the reasons I use the Kindle app on my iPhone.

 

[VNwalking]

Oooo, Victoria. Now you're treading on thinner ice.
This can be a real annoyance because no matter how careful we are, it shines in people's eyes. You can seriously piss people off (I only did that once..........)
Next time maybe take a book light (or as Kanga suggests, a Kindle app)?

 

[Victoria_Peregrina]

Oooo, Victoria. Now you're treading on thinner ice.
This can be a real annoyance because no matter how careful we are, it shines in people's eyes. You can seriously piss people off (I only did that once..........)
Next time maybe take a book light (or as Kanga suggests, a Kindle app)?

Good point. To my defense: I wanted to read until 10pm, i.e., not through the night, and I thought that it was consistent with albergue rules. Some albergues had an even later lights-off time at 11pm.

As for iPhone, Kindle and alike, I did not want to carry electronics not only because of their weight, but also because I didn't want to deal with charging and guarding them. On my second Camino I will make an exception for a stand-alone camera. But I will still do without phones and computers. If I won't be able to read at 9pm, so be it.

Victoria

 

[VNwalking]

I wanted to read until 10pm, i.e., not through the night, and I thought that it was consistent with albergue rules.

You are absolved!
I relate to not reading on devices, preferring an old-fashioned book.
And on the Camino I try not to read much anyway. It's not about the weight, but because much as I love to read, abstaining from that is a form of silence that I treasure. Not for everyone, I know.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

So 24/25 people who wanted to sleep had to stay up because you didn't want to use your battery, because the albergue does not enforce bedtime before that?! Guess you are not one of those people putting up ego- cairns along the way eithe

 

[dougfitz]

So 24/25 people who wanted to sleep had to stay up because you didn't want to use your battery, because the albergue does not enforce bedtime before that?! Guess you are not one of those people putting up ego- cairns along the way eithe

I think this is just a little harsh. No-one was being forced to stay up, and if they were sufficiently tired, it would have made little difference if the light was on or not.

 

[95033trek]

I'm with Anemone on this.

Perhaps Victoria Peregrina could have been considerate and read her book in another room instead of insisting on her right to keep the lights on. We have the right to do many things but that doesn't always make them right. Just saying...

 

[dougfitz]

I'm with Anemone on this.

Perhaps Victoria Peregrina could have been considerate and read her book in another room instead of insisting on her right to keep the lights on. We have the right to do many things but that doesn't always make them right. Just saying...

You are right, there are many alternatives to what she did, all of which involve much the same level of speculation about the situation at the time as @Anemone del Camino's criticism. One of the strengths of this forum is that it allows us to test our thinking about circumstances such as these, and @Victoria_Peregrina has admitted she would take a different approach in future. It might have been more productive to discuss that.

 

[Icacos]

I was treating my first Camino with utter reverence and tried to be considerate of everyone and everything. But on one occasion I failed to do so. After getting starved for reading, I bought a book in Leon and was reading it at every occasion until I finished it. In one of the albergues, people wanted to turn off the ceiling light but I insisted that it should be on until 10pm. I had a headlamp but did not want to waste its power during the time when I thought the general light could be kept on.

I don't know if I was completely wrong or partly right, but the next day I decided not to argue if I encountered similar circumstances and just use my headlight whenever I needed it.

Victoria

I'm not sure I understand the reason for the discussion that follows this post, as to whether @Victoria_Peregrina is right or wrong. Isn't the title to this thread "Your annoying habits"?

 

[VNwalking]

One of the strengths of this forum is that it allows us to test our thinking about circumstances such as these, and @Victoria_Peregrina has admitted she would take a different approach in future. It might have been more productive to discuss that.

Quite right Doug and Icaros, thank you.
The OP was about reflecting on one's own behavior in a light-hearted way--with the intention of learning more about what we may be doing unconsciously to create problems for others. Victoria_Peregrina answered in exactly this spirit.
Those who are inclined to argue about right and wrong are missing the point entirely--and perhaps also the opportunity to explore their own foibles. (There is an old expression that when you point the finger at someone, there are always 3 fingers pointing back in your direction...something to think about...)
If you want to argue about the merits of what others may or may not have done, that's your choice, but I'd respectfully ask that you please consider taking that discussion elsewhere. It's not what this thread is about.

 

[Kanga]

Thank you for that Vivranani. You are quite right, there is no need for aggression and this is supposed to be a light-hearted thread.

 

[Annette london]

Quite right Doug and Icaros, thank you.
The OP was about reflecting on one's own behavior in a light-hearted way--with the intention of learning more about what we may be doing unconsciously to create problems for others. Victoria_Peregrina answered in exactly this spirit.
Those who are inclined to argue about right and wrong are missing the point entirely--and perhaps also the opportunity to explore their own foibles. (There is an old expression that when you point the finger at someone, there are always 3 fingers pointing back in your direction...something to think about...)
If you want to argue about the merits of what others may or may not have done, that's your choice, but I'd respectfully ask that you please consider taking that discussion elsewhere. It's not what this thread is about.

I like that quote about the fingers viranini

 

[Sheffield James]

Found a good video demonstrating that step. SY

Many thanks for this, SY (and Meri, too). Do you think it would be possible to include this is another more general thread - eg., the resources section - which will read by lots of people who are preparing for their caminos? Not everyone will read this particular thread and so may miss out on such a great bit of helpful advice.

 

[VNwalking]

I like that quote about the fingers viranani

I went looking for the source and it is apparently from Louis Nizer, a british-born US trial lawer; here's the correct quote:
"When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself."
He may have gotten it from elsewhere; I had been told it's a First Nations saying, but don't know from which tribe.

 

[Annette london]

I went looking for the source and it is apparently from Louis Nizer, a british-born US trial lawer; here's the correct quote:
"When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself."
He may have gotten it from elsewhere; I had been told it's a First Nations saying, but don't know from which tribe.

Just demonstrated this on the husband! Definitely 3 fingers , not sure about the thumb though! A great quote however. I suppose it's a variation on judge not and you shall not be judged. I will remember this one the next time I am scolding the cat!! Thank you and best wishes annette

 

[VNwalking]

I would guess that Mr. Nizer was in the habit of pointing in the such a way that the hand is imitating a pistol.
(Sorry mods, totally off topic for the third time (at least) in this thread. Are you annoyed yet?)

 

[wayfarer]

(Sorry mods, totally off topic for the third time (at least) in this thread. Are you annoyed yet?)

We forgive you @Viranani .

 

[VNwalking]

The capacity of the human heart is amazing. Thank you wayfarer.
I will try to contain myself.

Many thanks for this, SY (and Meri, too). Do you think it would be possible to include this is another more general thread - eg., the resources section - which will read by lots of people who are preparing for their caminos? Not everyone will read this particular thread and so may miss out on such a great bit of helpful advice.

Just done, Sheffield James...thanks for the good suggestion!