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2005-02-02 - 3:22 p.m.
So, a three-month turnaround from hating online blogs/diaries desperately to starting my own. I think that�s a new record for me. I�m extremely slow about change � especially about changing how I feel about things/people/whatever. People who've made me angry (and that�s really angry, not jokey-angry), probably know that I�m either no longer friends with them or we had a VERY long cool period. Years, not months. This makes me need to write at least a little something justifying myself, especially since I can�t read a book without justifying why it�s better to be reading this book than the other. (it doesn�t even have to be rational � I could be justifying reading Shakespeare over Michael Crichton and I would end up judging myself) Anyway, back to the subject (there was one? Yes). I think I just changed my attitude. It was a �people who have blogs/online diaries are self-absorbed� and became a �who cares if people are self absorbed, some of these are well-written and entertaining� and this led to �this would be easier than carrying around my big-ass journal � I could get a little notebook for ideas and be an up-to-date woman� and finally morphed into a �hey, if anyone wants to read it they can � why not take that big old step towards becoming an extrovert.� So that�s my journey. Boring, but the stuff rattling around in head my needs to get out somehow. And as I often bang it (the head, not the stuff) against walls and corners inadvertently, I've discovered that it doesn't come out that way. And on to more interesting matters. El/public-transit-in-general etiquette:
Let me preface this by saying that the amusing things that happen on trains/busses would be eliminated if everyone followed my suggestions. This is unacceptable, so I need to figure out some way to keep the funny or interesting things going while abolishing the annoying or dangerous things. Some behaviors that must be eliminated:
-Sitting in the outside seat for long (more than 3 stops) stretches � preventing anyone who gets on for a shorter ride from sitting down. This is especially a problem on the Orange Line or others that have a fairly long and bouncy time between stops. I think extra-mean thoughts at people who are sitting in their seats still when I�m getting off.
-Standing in front of the doors that open and not letting people off. This is compounded when dirty looks are given to the person who pushes past to exit the train.
-Incense burning. The grossest smell ever, and it makes me cough like crazy. The space is ENCLOSED and PUBLIC. There are major respect issues at work here. (this rule also includes cigarette smoking, but for some reason incense burning is much more common � perhaps this is a good sociological study!)
-Talking LOUDLY on cell phones. No explanation should be necessary here.
-People who walk through the train from car to car selling things or begging for money. I�ve already covered how much I hate people who try to sell me things, and I don�t need pirated DVDs or 10 socks for $3. I also have an overactive imagination for disasters which means that every time someone crosses from car to car I�m sure they�re going to be vaulted over the chains and plunge to their death. Some behaviors that must remain:
-Preaching. Not the loud preaching that makes my ears hurt (and my voice ends up sympathy-hurting!), but normal talking level preaching about how Satan is coming. I�m willing to put up with the boring, run-of-the-mill preaching for the really cool ones that come along sometimes. Especially if they include aliens.
-Talking loudly about others in the car (or bus). While this is fairly uncomfortable when it�s about me, I�m willing to put up with that for the entertainment value of hearing myself and others critiqued by a crazy person.
-Anything that involves two people having a discussion that centers on private business. Things no-one but those involved should ever hear. These are often disturbing, but just as often funny and fascinating.
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