Eighth

I can be quite grumpy on occasion. Random things irritate me much more than you would expect them to. I wonder if this is just a personality trait of mine, if I'm the type of person who irritates easily - will I turn into that grumpy old guy who snarls at 'the youngsters' when I'm old and lonely?

At other times I worry that it's more complex than that - that I'm just chock full of suppressed rage and anger at life’s' injustice and the poor hand that I've been dealt by fate, and that all I'll need is one more slow-assed housewife to park her trolley so it blocks the whole aisle before I metaphorically explode and start beating people to death with a keyboard.

Anyway, my point is that thermos mugs annoy me. I'm not 100% sure why; I think because they smack of pretension. Like many of you, I've spent more than my fair share of time on commuter trains, sharing space with people with a broadsheet paper spread across an entire table (if there is one, obviously), and their branded thermos mug placed none-too-discreetly where everyone will see it.
I understand the appeal of a thermos mug, believe me when I say that sometimes I feel the need for one on an instinctual level, but their image has been tainted in my mind by their adoption by the commuter crowd as badges of honour, "Look at me, I'm so busy and so important, I have to drink my coffee on the go! I need to make sure it stays fresh and piping hot, because nothing but the best will do for me!"

*deep breath*

Okay, I think I let that one get away from me a little bit. I only mention it because I had to use one to bring some milk in to work today, and the only thing I had suitable (as it's a scorcher outside again) was a thermos mug I got as a welcome-to-your-new-job gift a while back.
If that's not the universe having a laugh at my expense, then I don't know what is.