I should have been an English teacher

We all have pet peeves, and some of us are more easily annoyed by them than others.  I googled (I love that "google" is now considered a verb) "pet peeve" and learned the following:

Pet peeve is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to him or her, to a greater degree than others may find it. (A key aspect of a pet peeve is that it may well seem acceptable to others.)   First usage was around 1919 and derived from the 14th-century word 'peevish,' meaning ornery or ill-tempered. 

According to multiple sources, the five most common pet peeves are:

• Bad drivers
• Stereotyping
• People who talk during movies
• Not replacing the toilet paper roll
• Rudeness

I won't lie, all of these things annoy me - to an extent.  The pet peeve of mine that tops all others, though, is poor grammar.  This used to be limited to emails, text messages and the occasional poor conversationalist.  However, now thanks to Facebook, Myspace and the wonderful blogging world, grammatical errors seem to be in my face 24/7.

We're all used to the most common mistakes:  confusing you're and your or they're, there and their.    I can generally overlook these, although it takes a bit of effort.  Other mistakes drive me up the wall - the way nails on a chalkboard does most people. 

The biggest annoyances? 

• Text-talk  (Ex: ur, wtf, omg, idk, lmao, stfu, gtg, brb, ily)
• Using numbers in the place of words/letters, intentionally mispelling words and/or using a single letter in the place of a word (Ex:  It was gr8 2 c u last nite!)
• Should of or could of;  the proper grammar would be should have or could have (also commonly mistaken in this manner are would, may, must and might).
• Good instead of well  (Ex:  He played good.)
• Seen when saw should be used  (Ex:  I seen Mike at the mall.)
• Alot - should be two separate words:  a lot.  What bothers me about this phrase is that 'a lot' is a piece of property, although it's generally accepted as a synonym for "much" or "a great amount."
• Are instead of our  (Ex:  We need to bring are chairs to the park.) 
• "I could care less."  What they mean to say is, "I could not care less."
• Using then and than incorrectly (Ex:  I have more money then you.  Wrong!)
• Using to instead of too or two (Ex:  It's way to cold outside.)
• Confusing its and it's (similar to the they're/their/there and you're/your fiasco) -  its is possessive; it's means "it is."
• Confusing affect and effect (Ex:  A cold can affect the sound of your voice, while an effect of cold medicine might be sleepiness.)

I could go on for hours, but I'm quite sure I've droned on long enough.  

I feel much better now.