Tag: pet peeve

12/15/10

Pet Peeve #6

Another story about MUNI and the lack of common decency displayed by its riders.

This morning I found a nice place to stand in front of the single seats. These are coveted spots since standing there does not obstruct other riders from walking by. Also, when the seated passenger leaves, you get a single seat to yourself.

I am standing there minding my own business when the bus stops to pick up the last batch of passengers before hitting the freeway. I am holding the overhead bar between two vertical bars. A fellow passenger holds the vertical bar to my right with her left hand. Another passenger further down is holding the bar to the right of her. The second passenger down recognizes the occupant of the seat I am standing by.
____________
| me | 1 | 2 |
The second passenger and seated passenger exchange exuberant greetings. The second passenger proceeds to change her hand hold from the first passenger’s right-hand bar to the same vertical bar the first passenger is using. This directly puts the second passenger in the first passenger’s standing space.
__________
| me | 1 2 |
The conversation between the two continue unabated by the obvious discomfort of the first passenger. A few minutes pass and the first passenger moves to squeeze between other passengers on the opposite side of the walkway. The second passenger doesn’t even apologize and steps into the vacant space. We are now in a situation where I am standing side by side with this person.
_________
| me | 2 |
She continues her conversation with the seated person. I’m thinking to myself that she’s probably going to stay where she is, right? She doesn’t need to get any closer. She is in perfect conversation distance from her friend, which is an arm’s length by the way.

My assumption was full of fail. She leans down towards her friend and speaks in a louder conversational voice. Conveniently for her, the backpack she is wearing pushes me out of the space which leaves me standing in the middle of the walkway with no handholds.
____
| 2 |
me

This recounting has been brought to you by the letter D.

04/2/08

Pet Peeve #5

I was standing in a crowded bus this morning in front of the outward facing seats. The person sitting down got up to leave at her stop. In this type of situation, I let anyone sit down out of courtesy. Although grateful, some people are not considerate in return.

They take the seat but sit on the very edge. Doing so, their legs stick out into the path, right where I am standing. Need I remind everyone, the bus was packed as it is every morning. Standing room is scarce and a little bit of balance is lost when the handholds required further stretching to reach.

I noticed that mostly asians do this, usually old ones but the younger ones seem to copying them more often now. They would sit down on the very edge of the seat for five minutes, then slide back until they fully fill out the seat.

The question though is why? Are they worried that the ass heat from the previous occupant would affect them in a negative manner? Is it a healthier way to sit? Is a paganistic ritual designed to ward off evil spirits?!

03/25/08

Pet Peeve #4

I am not sure what triggered my peeve-ness this past week; but, I seem to be getting unusually frustrated during the day especially when using public transportation is involved.

Today I was in line to take the escalator from BART to the street. There is an unwritten rule when using an escalator. The right-hand side of the escalator is for those who want a stationary climb. The left-hand side are for those who want to walk up to expedite the process.
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03/24/08

Pet Peeve #3

People who exit the train and stand in front of the door deciding which way to turn.

Not only should they have already figured it out beforehand; the least they could of done was move further into the middle of the platform instead of blocking the exit way.

There are signs all around the subway station imploring passengers to “keep a look out” and “be aware of your surroundings”. Yet, there are still a stubborn few who believe the world revolves around them.

This problem isn’t localized to just the subway. This phenomenon  occurs at department stores, elevators, escalators, restrooms, airports, etc.  Wherever there is a chance to annoy others, these people will be there.

03/19/08

Pet Peeve #2

I am not sure if this is just something done in San Francisco, but is there a point in putting sparkling dust into the concrete on the sidewalks?

In the mornings when I am heading towards my workplace, the sidewalk reflects the rising sun’s light right into my eyes forcing me to squint as I walk.

Walking in San Francisco in the morning is like snowboarding without goggles.

03/18/08

Pet Peeve #1

People who sit in the single seats on MUNI that have the audacity to cross their leg so that it sticks out into the walkway path.

I am totally fine if the leg is partially in the walkway since some people may have long legs and have trouble fitting into the space provided.

But, no way should the leg be so far out there that I need to swerve to the edge and walk sideways to get pass.

And when you bump or trip over their leg, they get pissed. Well, duh. The leg is so freaking far out there, it would be impossible to avoid.