I’d like to think I’m pretty easy going for the most part, and willing to put up with things that annoy me for the sake of maintaining peace and order. However, when people sit in a quiet area (UQ Library, or my office at this very moment) and smack food around with their mouths wide open, it R.E.A.L.L.Y gets to me. I try and put up with it and desist from making loud (and overt) smacking noises to make them aware of the disgusting and persistent sounds they make, but sometimes I’m simply unable to let it slide…

One particular case that I still remember 2 years after the event (highlighting the extent to which it hammered itself into my psyche) occured during exam period one semester as I attempted to do some final study in the library. The library being exceedingly full of students (and miscellaneous flu pathogens) meant that one had to sit in the same cubicle for the greater part of the day, lest they lose their spot to one of the quasimodic cubicle scavengers constantly on the prowl. On this particular day, a former tutor of mine sat in the cubicle in front and commenced smacking toffee around his mouth (which was opened such a way as if to amplify the noise in all directions) for the better part of the day. Not even my reflective smacking worked to raise the issue in his mind, and unblessed with good headphones, I have been damaged goods ever since.

Please, eat with your mouth shut in quiet places…you have no idea how much damage you might be doing to those around you…ah it smacks!