Wednesday 19 March 2008

Another Question Is...



Is there anything more annoying than the sound of finger nails scratching dry skin?

My colleague seems to have some kind of craw-craw...sorry, i mean rash or eczema on her wrist. She also has extremely long natural nails and every now and then she scratches it and it makes a horrible grating sound.

I came across this explanation for why the sound of nails on a black board is so irritating:

It has been noted that nails across a blackboard hits exactly the same frequency range as the screeches that many species of primates use to signal "Danger! Predator!" We could be tapping into a very deepseated instinctive response to this range of sound, to jump up and look around for danger.

Nails on blackboard, nails on skin...it's all the same to me - irritating! So much so that i want to scream at the top of my voice for her to stop.

I'm reminded of one of those Walt Disney or Hanna Barbera cartoons i used to watch as as child. The cartoon character (i think it might have been Bugs Bunny)was in a house at the foot of a hill. In the house with him was another person who was either ill or trying to sleep. Bugs Bunny kept crashing into things and yelling out in pain, making lots of noise. He kept getting told off or probably bashed on the head (those cartoons were so violent!), so finally, the next time something falls on him/burns him etc, he claps his hand over his mouth, runs out of the house, up the hill and when he gets to the top of the hill, he lets out the biggest shout. Of course things keep happening and he keeps having to run out to the top of the hill and yell...therein lies the humour, see?

I have no idea why this particular sketch has stayed with me, but my, oh my, i really wish i had a hill to run up each time she starts scratching so i can let out a scream and then return to my desk! Maybe i should just run down the corridor screaming 'yey, yey egbami o! (somebody save me o!)'! Lol! (Oh, i do crack myself up sometimes! What is it they say about laughing at your own jokes? Never mind. I don't care).

I am a very tolerant person, but i'm not sure how much of this i can bear.Aaaaaaaaaaargh!!!


Update
I felt a bit guilty about posting this so i sat on it for a while. Today, however, i realised the scratching had stopped, therefore, it's not some kind of affliction the poor woman has to bear, and i feel better :) (there is some logic in there somewhere)


Have a lovely Easter weekend, folks!!!

26 comments:

darkelcee said...

am i 1st?

darkelcee said...

ok yes i am

i dont know if its a blessing or somin but i can hardly keep quiet in such instances. na craw-craw bigtime. why is she scratching like that? abi she get scales instead of skin? lol

enjoy your easter

Ms Sula said...

You are a trip!! That was hilarious,lol!... and I thought I was the only one remembering cartoon sketches...

Reminds me of a coworker sitting on the other side of my (fabric panelled) cubicle who chewed his food with his mouth wide open... going clap-clap-clap all the time... Arghhh! I was going insane and almost bought a Moet when he gave his resignation letter. Ha! :)

Have a lovely week-end, dahling!

Jennifer A. said...

Euuueeeeewwww...I for one cannot stand the screeching sounds of fingernails against a blackboard (I used to dread it when the boys in my primary school played "soccer" with the tops of coke bottles...ouch). I almost used to cry.

I've heard the sounds of fingernails against skin or scalp. I do not like them! Infact I was hearing these sounds in my head as I read this post...

guerreiranigeriana said...

lol...i agree o!!!...that is an awful sound...nails on dry skin...*shudders*...i literally die when someone runs their wretched nails across the board...i cringe to even think about it...*cringes*...happy weekend love...

Naapali said...

Yes. Men chewing gum?

Thirty + said...

Lmao, so if you run down corridor and say egbami nko. You hoping someone will come and whisk you away to a "nail on skin free" resort -

Unknown said...

Lol at disgusting habits...I know someone that wipes snot off his nose with his hand all the time, I find that simply disgusting. Needless to say, I always seem to be carrying something I can't put down whenever he makes out like he wants to shake or hug me.

UndaCovaSista said...

@darkelcee - Unfortunately,you cant be so blunt in the workplace i dont think... Lol@scales. It did kind of sound like a knife on fish scales...

@ms sula - Lol @ your ex-colleague! That's another one that irritates me no end...

@Jaycee - Sorry to contribute to your trauma! Hope the sounds have stopped now :)

@Guerreira - Those are my exact reactions too - shuddering and cringing!!

@Naapali - Nooo. That was last week...!

@30+ - They'd probably whisk me away to the nearest hospital!

@Miss Kiki - Eueeww! That's just shocking and disgusting!!!

SOLOMONSYDELLE said...

lol! when I read craw craw, I just burst out laughing. Never knew that was why Humans can't stand that nails on the board sound. Thanks for the heads up on that one.

lol @ Darkelcee, you just dey claim Number one spot everywhere mehnnnn....


NIGERIAN CURIOSITY
IT WAS SO MUCH EASIER WHEN I ONLY HAD ONE...

Zayzee said...

sounds gross. can u like, drug her water? when she sleeps off, chop off her nails.

if it makes sounds while she scratches,she must really have a very dry skin.

Arewa said...

lol @ 'yey, yey egbami o! - please no scraming ooh.. before they start thinking that u are performing some sort of ritual or that u don colo......I have someone simillar in my office what kills is that he heeps scratching is head and the has serriioouus dandruff issues....eiw eiw eiw

Queen of My Castle said...

LMAO! I hate the sound of someone scratching fabric. Doesn't matter what or what kind...bed sheets, jeans, etc. It drives me NUTS and I want to scream for them to stop it immediately. So yeah, I fully understand your dilemma, and I LOVED bugs bunny as a child. Still do from time to time as an adult. LOL

Flourishing Florida said...

hi girl, longest time! haven't really read this post. let me do so now, but d scratching thing, am sure, would be very annoying

UndaCovaSista said...

@Solomonsydelle - Lol! I just needed to paint an accurate picture...

@uzezi - Ok, girl you are hardcore!... would chloroform do the trick, you think? Lol..

@Arewa - So far so good i've managed to remain seated and take it like a man (woman)...:)

@Queen - what makes it more annoying is she starts in the middle of a conversation and keeps talking and scratching at the same time and i have to keep a straight face (or at least try to). Not easy!!!

@Florida - Wassup babe? Yes o! Very annoying...

soupasexy said...

wow LMAO."craw craw"haven't heard thta wird in like forever.

u cracked me up big time:0)

Waffarian said...

Yeah, I know something worse: paper on blackboard! damn.....its the most disgusting sound on earth. That is why I always made sure there was water and sponge every single day in my classroom(secondary school) cos I just could not stand it when they used dry paper...grrrrrr...thinking about it now leaves me in shudders...grrrrrr

Afrobabe said...

Hey, where is my comment??? I know I left one...

If you like delete it again...I will retype and retype...

Somthing worse than nails on dry skin???

Nails on dry flaking skin!!!

Hephzibah said...

so true at naija men frowning/boning up esply in london weddings...me sef i just bone when my eye catches theirs oh! haha, what nonsense when i be proper naija chic, i fit front on top sumthing and i have dat signature naija attitude at will, i can switch it on.....

heard of Neyo, will av to check her out properly....ur hard oh, moi always go to soho accompained!

guerreiranigeriana said...

uh...you can't get us in the habit of expecting something fairly regularly and then leave us high and dry...oya, come and update, sharp, sharp o!...

Unknown said...

"It has been noted that nails across a blackboard hits exactly the same frequency range as the screeches that many species of primates use to signal "Danger! Predator!" We could be tapping into a very deepseated instinctive response to this range of sound, to jump up and look around for danger. "



Hehehehehehe hang in there sistah

Elmo does rock!

Carlang said...

could have sworn i left a comment here..

ablackjamesbond said...

Buy her a nail cutter if she continues. But make sure its in a manicure set[ to disguise ur real intentions].

UndaCovaSista said...

@soupasexy - Lol! Had to go back to the basics for this one..

@waffarian - I know! It cuts right through you....

@Afrobabe - Which yeye comment did you leave here?

@Naijachic - Yes i AM hard! People tell me that's why i'm single...!

@Guerreira - you can't hurry the artistic process, my dear :)

@Olamild - I'm hanging, babe. I'm hanging!!!

@Carlang - Is this part of some brainwashing ritual you and Afrobabe have concocted?! I said to her and i'm saying it to you 'YOU DID NOT LEAVE ANY COMMENT'!!!!!!

@ablackjamesbond - Good thinking! Her birthday is actually coming up soon. Hmmm :)

Afrobabe said...

Ok, you are right...found the comment in my inbox...apparently typed and never pasted...

Thx for the birthday wishes love...it really is my birthday...I suddenly feel old and tired...

Anya Posh said...

That scratching dry skin thing really gets to me too! Especially when people scratch their scalp!!! OMG, I feel like there's dandruff & chunks of lice being released into the air & I might inhale some of it...