i've been awake for way too long. i was super stressed out last night, some recent events have turned me upside-down, and i just wasnt able to fall asleep. by some weird mechanism, i am still awake and coherent. dont ask me how. i figured i might as well write what was on my mind while i'm up.
i take a mass transit bus between new jersey and nyc to get to work, and on sunday evenings, going home, the line is usually RIDICULOUSLY long. and its sickening. that particular gate has been "under construction" for about 10 years now. there's still no air conditioning in there, and with all those people it gets super stuffy. and you know, when you're standing in a crowd like that, the last thing you want to do is try to shuffle your jacket off, so instead you just stand there, sweat bullets and curse the mass transit system. and by some strange coincidental karma, these are always the nights that i've had no sleep, i have no patience and i just want to go home, NOW.
today was one of those nights. going on 40+ hours without sleep, wearing an insulated jacket (its freezing outside!) and carrying my large purse on one shoulder, i tried to keep myself occupied and keep my mind off the goddforsaken heat and lack of transportation by playing games on my blackberry and listening to music. i was lucky enough to be ahead of the flock tonight, and when i got to the gate there were only about 20 or so people in line, as a bus was just pulling out from the gate. in quite short order (i'm talking like 3 minutes here!) the line grew until it was coiled around within the limited space of the standing area, and spilling out through the back door. if i had to guess, i'd say there were at least 70 to 80 people there waiting for a bus. i felt like shooting someone. and to top it all off, i was tired and very cranky, my feet and back were protesting in pain. i played a few rounds of stockwars (a spin off of the old drugwars game) and quickly got bored. craning my neck around the masses of people to see if a bus was coming every few minutes, i really began to lose my patience after having been there already a half hour.
finally, a bus arrives. the line ahead splits into the people getting on this particular bus or waiting for the next one (multiple bus lines pick up at the same gate, as they all begin their journey on the same route, splitting off later). it doesn't matter to me which bus i take, my stop is early enough in the ride that i can catch any one of them. as i'm passing some of the people, i hear a women complaining very loudly. she's standing in the line waiting for the next bus, and she's yelling at the people getting on the bus that's currently there. "the ride should be on the house, at least!" she shouts out. i felt like stopping, putting my face up to hers and going "what house, numbskull?? this is a city owned establishment, you think they're gonna give you a free ride because there's traffic!?!? because the bus that came isn't the one you wanted to take??!?" yeah i'm just as pissed off as she is that i waited that long for a bus, but am i going to complain about it to people who dont give a shit? NO.
her entire tone of voice just grated on me, it reminded me of my days as a waitress, and having to smile at people who would complain about a meal after they licked the plates clean just so they wouldn't have to pay for it. cheap, ungrateful, assholes. all the rage of the previous ten years, bottled up inside from nasty customers, bad tippers and idiot bosses bubbled up within me. and not a single person acknowledged her statement, because it was moronic, so what did she do? she repeated herself. the same phrase, 3 or 4 times. if the line hadn't moved onto the bus so quickly i would have decked her.
i wonder sometimes if common courtesy is a completely dead concept in todays day and age. back when i was living in the bronx, and taking the subway in and out of manhattan, i would see grown men sitting down while pregnant women and senior citizens struggled to stay on their feet through an hour long commute. it was just unbelievable. maybe my head is in the wrong place, but i think people ought to be a bit more courteous in their day to day lives. i mean, would it really kill you to give up your seat for 5 stops so a tired old lady can sit down? i dont think so.
which brings up another question for me, when did chivalry die out? i open doors for people. men, women, children, old and young, it doesn't matter to me. if i'm not in a rush, then what could it hurt to be nice? and yet time and time again i witness people shoved aside so some prick can jam himself through a door for his very important, very entitled life. and what about picking up the check on a date? the way i see it is, whoever asked who out for the first date, should expect to pick up the check unless a prior agreement was a made. when i'm out with someone, no matter who asked who, or what the unspoken understanding may be, i always offer, and i always make sure i have money with me when i go out, just in case.
i mean honestly, what do you think? what's proper? is chivalry and common courtesy dead and gone?
- noreen
i take a mass transit bus between new jersey and nyc to get to work, and on sunday evenings, going home, the line is usually RIDICULOUSLY long. and its sickening. that particular gate has been "under construction" for about 10 years now. there's still no air conditioning in there, and with all those people it gets super stuffy. and you know, when you're standing in a crowd like that, the last thing you want to do is try to shuffle your jacket off, so instead you just stand there, sweat bullets and curse the mass transit system. and by some strange coincidental karma, these are always the nights that i've had no sleep, i have no patience and i just want to go home, NOW.
today was one of those nights. going on 40+ hours without sleep, wearing an insulated jacket (its freezing outside!) and carrying my large purse on one shoulder, i tried to keep myself occupied and keep my mind off the goddforsaken heat and lack of transportation by playing games on my blackberry and listening to music. i was lucky enough to be ahead of the flock tonight, and when i got to the gate there were only about 20 or so people in line, as a bus was just pulling out from the gate. in quite short order (i'm talking like 3 minutes here!) the line grew until it was coiled around within the limited space of the standing area, and spilling out through the back door. if i had to guess, i'd say there were at least 70 to 80 people there waiting for a bus. i felt like shooting someone. and to top it all off, i was tired and very cranky, my feet and back were protesting in pain. i played a few rounds of stockwars (a spin off of the old drugwars game) and quickly got bored. craning my neck around the masses of people to see if a bus was coming every few minutes, i really began to lose my patience after having been there already a half hour.
finally, a bus arrives. the line ahead splits into the people getting on this particular bus or waiting for the next one (multiple bus lines pick up at the same gate, as they all begin their journey on the same route, splitting off later). it doesn't matter to me which bus i take, my stop is early enough in the ride that i can catch any one of them. as i'm passing some of the people, i hear a women complaining very loudly. she's standing in the line waiting for the next bus, and she's yelling at the people getting on the bus that's currently there. "the ride should be on the house, at least!" she shouts out. i felt like stopping, putting my face up to hers and going "what house, numbskull?? this is a city owned establishment, you think they're gonna give you a free ride because there's traffic!?!? because the bus that came isn't the one you wanted to take??!?" yeah i'm just as pissed off as she is that i waited that long for a bus, but am i going to complain about it to people who dont give a shit? NO.
her entire tone of voice just grated on me, it reminded me of my days as a waitress, and having to smile at people who would complain about a meal after they licked the plates clean just so they wouldn't have to pay for it. cheap, ungrateful, assholes. all the rage of the previous ten years, bottled up inside from nasty customers, bad tippers and idiot bosses bubbled up within me. and not a single person acknowledged her statement, because it was moronic, so what did she do? she repeated herself. the same phrase, 3 or 4 times. if the line hadn't moved onto the bus so quickly i would have decked her.
i wonder sometimes if common courtesy is a completely dead concept in todays day and age. back when i was living in the bronx, and taking the subway in and out of manhattan, i would see grown men sitting down while pregnant women and senior citizens struggled to stay on their feet through an hour long commute. it was just unbelievable. maybe my head is in the wrong place, but i think people ought to be a bit more courteous in their day to day lives. i mean, would it really kill you to give up your seat for 5 stops so a tired old lady can sit down? i dont think so.
which brings up another question for me, when did chivalry die out? i open doors for people. men, women, children, old and young, it doesn't matter to me. if i'm not in a rush, then what could it hurt to be nice? and yet time and time again i witness people shoved aside so some prick can jam himself through a door for his very important, very entitled life. and what about picking up the check on a date? the way i see it is, whoever asked who out for the first date, should expect to pick up the check unless a prior agreement was a made. when i'm out with someone, no matter who asked who, or what the unspoken understanding may be, i always offer, and i always make sure i have money with me when i go out, just in case.
i mean honestly, what do you think? what's proper? is chivalry and common courtesy dead and gone?
- noreen
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