Yesterday I caught the bus home with K. This is an occasional pleasure, as usually we travel at different times and he often rides his bike anyway. I enjoyed the time together....and I was also suprised at my level of annoyance at having my bus rituals disturbed.
Firstly, I never join the queue that forms when the bus pulls up at the interchange.
I accept that it wouldn't work if everyone milled about, waiting for everyone else to get on the bus. Like that would ever happen. Everyone is keen to get on, and I really think I just do this to be contrary. I usually sit and read my book with one eye on the queue, and only stand up when there are only a couple of people left. At the times I go home, the bus is (almost) never packed so I can generally still get a seat. Oh, I did go through a phase of standing with my book right near where the bus will pull up, so I can get on first then sit down and bury myself in my book. That works too, and is more relaxing. It's just the unnecessary standing in the queue that bothers me.
I'm actually generally very patient with queues, especially if other people in the line are whinging a lot and I am feeling very contrary. Then I am the picture of calm. However, I especially dislike lining up for movies, particularly when everyone in the line is there for one stupid blockbuster (and me too). Then I feel like an idiotic sheep. Exceptions were made for cool blockbusters like the Lord of the Rings movies each Boxing Day when they opened.
Anyway, K made me join the bus queue and I got annoyed. Even while realising how obnoxious I was being. And I quickly surmised that even if the bus isn't completely full, it's not sensible to wait 'til last if you want to get two seats together.
At the other end, I like to get up as soon as I ring the bell so I can be first off the bus. This saves having to overtake people going in my direction from the bus stop, when I want to get home fast. Even worse is the awkwardness when your pace is much the same as someone else and you end up side-by-side or stalking them closely trying to overtake. Of course, it turns out that none of this is of the slightest importance when I am with someone else.
There you go. More, I'm sure, than you could ever have wanted to know about my anti-social bus habits.
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3 comments:
This, I love.....
"Even worse is the awkwardness when your pace is much the same as someone else and you end up side-by-side or stalking them closely trying to overtake. Of course, it turns out that none of this is of the slightest importance when I am with someone else."
I ALSO hate this phenomenon, when you and a stranger are both going the same place but neither of you acknowledge it (because, hell, what would you say?). I'm so glad you wrote about this because I had an acute experience of this just last week - it had registered to me at the time that I was annoyed, but only your entry reminded me about it. It was last Wednesday - due to bathroom reno I was staying with my parentals and went for an early morning walk through Isaacs. Evidently this a suburb with lots of early morning walkers - most of whom have the same idea - which is to head up to and along Isaacs Ridge. Some dude and mine's routes merged quite low down in Isaacs. From where we were there is only really one route up to the ridge. So 'together' we walked - exactly the same pace, the same distance apart (he was ahead of me) all the way from the bottom of Isaacs to the Ridge. It was strangely really quite unpleasant - uncomfortable, almost. I started to over-think it even at the time because I had my ipod on (he wasn't listening to music). Listening to music I find kind of blurs the actuality of the moment - but in between the sound of our unintentional unison march was really obvious. Once at the Ridge he turned left - where I had been intending to go - but, of course, I turned right instead. I felt quite a palpable relief.
Oooooh, so painful!!!! Yes DZ, you get it! I find listening to the ipod does make it easier because I am in my own world then, but then worse when I realise the akwardness is still there despite the music making it easier... FOR ME AND NOT FOR THE OTHER PERSON!! Then I feel 10X awkward.
I gave up plane boarding ques many years ago (except for Ezy Jet when traveling with someone, in which case I'm as good an elbower as anyone else). These days, with a little one I would board first if there were such a thing as priority for kids, but since there isn't there is no way I'm going to stand in thick crowds with a scared baby. I wait until there are no more people in the bridge to the plane before even considering boarding. Those passengers who have a problem with the time it takes with me getting on last and settling in with a child - tell the airline, your snide remarks are like water of a duck's proverbial.
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