Miss Manners: My helpful nature is being taken advantage of

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Two of the most important people in my life -- my beloved husband, and my closest partner at work -- share a most annoying habit. The habit is this: When they need something, they suddenly shout out a question before thinking. In these situations, I am usually the only other person in the room.

Examples: At home, my husband will call out, “Where is the olive oil?” (On the counter beside the pepper grinder, where it always is.) At work, my partner will call out, “What’s the keyboard command for printing?” (Control-P, as always.)

This is probably my fault, as I am a helpful and accommodating person by nature, and consciously consider how to be of service to those around me by force of habit. However, I find these inquiries very distracting and annoying, as they disrupt