(no subject)
Apr. 23rd, 2004 01:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vicarzPeople are idiots sure, but they just make me giggle. I seem immune to whatever bothers them.
Traffic.
So as part of my concentrated exam program of goofing off in solitary confinement the day of my exam, 4 hours to exam and counting, I went to Armand's and Trader Joes. I went running this AM, so I feel I earned the indulgence. Why am I posting about errands? Well, I just looked at people and laughed the whole way. Schadenfreudre? So much time alone makes my every thought seem interesting despite the obvious fact that my observations are not only not interesting to anyone but me, but often when exposed to others are quickly countered as inaccurate representations of reality (observations I often appreciate)...
It's gorgeous outside, and everyone is mad. I passed mountains of SUVs with their windows up, AC blasting inside I guess. Way to enjoy the wonderful weather, the smell of the trees - I mean if it's going to coat your car yellow you might as well smell it, right? I was in no rush, but good god...everyone is flooring it from one red light to the next. I coast along at 30-45 on these little Arlington roads, and mostly catch green...and I keep riding up on the same people, gunning the engine in their cars, rushing to make sure they are the first one at the next red light - I mean the damn light is in sight! Funny.
Do you take the good or the bad from this situation? Stopped at a light, a long funeral procession passed in front of us while they had the light. Each car had an orange sign in the front indicating funeral procession. The light turned, and a bunch of us sort of moved forward, part out of habit part not knowing where the end of the train was. A young guy in a new BMW in the left-turn lane, windows up, edges up closer and closer, then starts blaring his horn. He's blasting his horn...at a funeral procession. Now, do you appreciate the fact that most everyone was patiently waiting for the obvious funeral procession...or lament the jerk in the BMW?
So everyone seems to be rushing, while I'm traveling not so much at a leisurely pace, but in a leisurely way. I'm not rushing to accelerate quickly, while people in old mini-vans and new SUVs are blasting their cars to race ahead...to nothing. I mean, if you enjoy driving, first of all you have to get a car with a real transmission. Hitting the pedal isn't driving, and even if you want to compete try getting out of the living room on wheels. What is that speeding up quickly urge - some leftover desire to compete? Where is the competition in hitting ONE of TWO pedals? "Ha! I hit my right pedal harder than you did, in my more expensive car! I win, biatch!" Each one of these people looked so serious, from hurried to downright angry.
What's funny is taking the time to look at these people. They look back, seemingly very comfortable in their car as though it was some sort of embodiment of themselves. Stare at them, meet their 'challenge' and they turn away...the minute they realize that their nasty glare will be met OUTSIDE THE CAR. I mean if you're going to compete, skip the pedal-war of who spent the most on their auto-transport, and try engaging in the mesh of genetic predisposition and training we call combat. That's silly too, and much more dangerous, but isn't the car war some sort of ritualized competition with similar mental goals?
I've been really happy lately, weird health and injuries aside, and enjoying the competition dance. I walk past a lot of poor Hispanics on my way to and from the Metro each day. The boys from about 14-35 glare - looking angry all the time. I do it too, I'm trying to learn not to, but I'm not sure why I look angry. I do tend to be a bit guarded. The people I pass though, tend to do the 'who can hold eye contact the longest before we come to blows' dance. I tend to win through the amazing feats of apathy, as I'm not interested in impressing strangers with my abilities. My personal favorite trick is to smile - not at the person, but just be smiling in general. Look happy or content - it throws them for a loop. Nod your head and it totally breaks their machismo-shield. It sure is a lot of work being male all the time! Grr! Go you, you male you!
Perhaps everyone is just miserable and in a rush, torn between too many obligations and pressuring themselves to...to do something. Who knows. Either way it just seems that everyone is highly inconsiderate. No one merges ahead of their turn, few let people merge, people often pull forward into an intersection they can't clear...lots of selfish behavior. Is it competition, idiocy, lack of forecasting anything more than 2 seconds in the future, or just a lack of concern about how your behavior impacts others? I'm probably just a freak because I kind of enjoy 'working together with strangers,' letting people merge, merging early myself, waiting for a fucking funeral procession...
My god this is one anal post.
Loud music = driving to be seen. It's a thing you understand teens doing, not adults. Notice how rare it is to pass someone play loud music with the windows up, or on the highway? It's not loud for the driver, it's to show off to other drivers and pedestrians. Message: "Look at me, associate me with this song/music style."
You know what's sad? Music. Listened to the radio lately? I listen to oldies, and they tend to be generally happy. Listen to anything on the radio, and good god it's all angst, anger, threats, bragging, aggression and lamenting away...while I certainly understand the attraction of angry music, it's appeal dies when you're not running around miserable looking for some music to make you feel as though your mood matters (assumption noted). Happy music seems to last longer in the general scheme of things, and transverse more diverse populations. Strangest thing I encountered lately was a native INDIAn chauffering us around for a case in Philly. He was driving just as aggressively and rudely as everyone around us, but while playing this really cool mystical INDIAn music. If I weren't horribly embarrassed about his driving behavior, and scared for my life (not only was he driving aggressively, he was quite notably poor at doing so) I would be tempted to lean back and nap to nirvana w/o curry.
Yes, my perspective is 100% on the outside right now. Your feelings and thoughts are only inferred - I lack a frame of reference. I think I'm glad.
Traffic.
So as part of my concentrated exam program of goofing off in solitary confinement the day of my exam, 4 hours to exam and counting, I went to Armand's and Trader Joes. I went running this AM, so I feel I earned the indulgence. Why am I posting about errands? Well, I just looked at people and laughed the whole way. Schadenfreudre? So much time alone makes my every thought seem interesting despite the obvious fact that my observations are not only not interesting to anyone but me, but often when exposed to others are quickly countered as inaccurate representations of reality (observations I often appreciate)...
It's gorgeous outside, and everyone is mad. I passed mountains of SUVs with their windows up, AC blasting inside I guess. Way to enjoy the wonderful weather, the smell of the trees - I mean if it's going to coat your car yellow you might as well smell it, right? I was in no rush, but good god...everyone is flooring it from one red light to the next. I coast along at 30-45 on these little Arlington roads, and mostly catch green...and I keep riding up on the same people, gunning the engine in their cars, rushing to make sure they are the first one at the next red light - I mean the damn light is in sight! Funny.
Do you take the good or the bad from this situation? Stopped at a light, a long funeral procession passed in front of us while they had the light. Each car had an orange sign in the front indicating funeral procession. The light turned, and a bunch of us sort of moved forward, part out of habit part not knowing where the end of the train was. A young guy in a new BMW in the left-turn lane, windows up, edges up closer and closer, then starts blaring his horn. He's blasting his horn...at a funeral procession. Now, do you appreciate the fact that most everyone was patiently waiting for the obvious funeral procession...or lament the jerk in the BMW?
So everyone seems to be rushing, while I'm traveling not so much at a leisurely pace, but in a leisurely way. I'm not rushing to accelerate quickly, while people in old mini-vans and new SUVs are blasting their cars to race ahead...to nothing. I mean, if you enjoy driving, first of all you have to get a car with a real transmission. Hitting the pedal isn't driving, and even if you want to compete try getting out of the living room on wheels. What is that speeding up quickly urge - some leftover desire to compete? Where is the competition in hitting ONE of TWO pedals? "Ha! I hit my right pedal harder than you did, in my more expensive car! I win, biatch!" Each one of these people looked so serious, from hurried to downright angry.
What's funny is taking the time to look at these people. They look back, seemingly very comfortable in their car as though it was some sort of embodiment of themselves. Stare at them, meet their 'challenge' and they turn away...the minute they realize that their nasty glare will be met OUTSIDE THE CAR. I mean if you're going to compete, skip the pedal-war of who spent the most on their auto-transport, and try engaging in the mesh of genetic predisposition and training we call combat. That's silly too, and much more dangerous, but isn't the car war some sort of ritualized competition with similar mental goals?
I've been really happy lately, weird health and injuries aside, and enjoying the competition dance. I walk past a lot of poor Hispanics on my way to and from the Metro each day. The boys from about 14-35 glare - looking angry all the time. I do it too, I'm trying to learn not to, but I'm not sure why I look angry. I do tend to be a bit guarded. The people I pass though, tend to do the 'who can hold eye contact the longest before we come to blows' dance. I tend to win through the amazing feats of apathy, as I'm not interested in impressing strangers with my abilities. My personal favorite trick is to smile - not at the person, but just be smiling in general. Look happy or content - it throws them for a loop. Nod your head and it totally breaks their machismo-shield. It sure is a lot of work being male all the time! Grr! Go you, you male you!
Perhaps everyone is just miserable and in a rush, torn between too many obligations and pressuring themselves to...to do something. Who knows. Either way it just seems that everyone is highly inconsiderate. No one merges ahead of their turn, few let people merge, people often pull forward into an intersection they can't clear...lots of selfish behavior. Is it competition, idiocy, lack of forecasting anything more than 2 seconds in the future, or just a lack of concern about how your behavior impacts others? I'm probably just a freak because I kind of enjoy 'working together with strangers,' letting people merge, merging early myself, waiting for a fucking funeral procession...
My god this is one anal post.
Loud music = driving to be seen. It's a thing you understand teens doing, not adults. Notice how rare it is to pass someone play loud music with the windows up, or on the highway? It's not loud for the driver, it's to show off to other drivers and pedestrians. Message: "Look at me, associate me with this song/music style."
You know what's sad? Music. Listened to the radio lately? I listen to oldies, and they tend to be generally happy. Listen to anything on the radio, and good god it's all angst, anger, threats, bragging, aggression and lamenting away...while I certainly understand the attraction of angry music, it's appeal dies when you're not running around miserable looking for some music to make you feel as though your mood matters (assumption noted). Happy music seems to last longer in the general scheme of things, and transverse more diverse populations. Strangest thing I encountered lately was a native INDIAn chauffering us around for a case in Philly. He was driving just as aggressively and rudely as everyone around us, but while playing this really cool mystical INDIAn music. If I weren't horribly embarrassed about his driving behavior, and scared for my life (not only was he driving aggressively, he was quite notably poor at doing so) I would be tempted to lean back and nap to nirvana w/o curry.
Yes, my perspective is 100% on the outside right now. Your feelings and thoughts are only inferred - I lack a frame of reference. I think I'm glad.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-04-23 11:39 am (UTC)I only turn the music up loud in my SUV with the windows up and usually on the highway. Then I pretend I can sing since no one can hear me and clue me into reality.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-23 12:50 pm (UTC)Although I do tend to turn it down and not sing when stopped at intersections with the windows down. Because I'm shy.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-23 01:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-23 11:52 am (UTC)