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Commuting in my area is a real pain. Frequent strikes, delayed trains without explanation and, of course, the other passengers. My commuting includes an about an hour train ride, so when I get in my train, I just sit in a corner and generally try to catch some more Z. I don't have to worry about missing my station, since I get off on the terminal.
About two weeks ago, I was awoken by a bunch of very loud passengers. I thought nothing of it but I was not in a good mood. Rather than sticking together, they literally scattered across the car while continuing their conversation. That annoyed me to no end. This group of passengers seemed to be at least three generations of the same family. There was a little girl, looking about four, running around and about the car, shouting like any happy kid would if they weren't in a public place.
The car was a two-level unit. We were in the bottom level, and the little girl went up and down the stairs to the upper level, which means she was out of sight of any member of her family, a few times before anybody reacted. One of the girls / young women, who could have been her sister, aunt or mother, finally went and grabbed her, taking her in her arms. I thought : "Good. She'll calm down, now." I smiled to the older girl. I shouldn't have. Not two minutes later, she came to me, the little girl still in her arms, and asked me for money, in a very broken French, with a very heavy accent.
Nope, young lady, not happening. It's not because you're from a foreign country, not because you're not speaking French very well, it's because I don't feel comfortable with the idea of supporting bad parenting when it's been displayed right in front of me. And by the looks of you and your family / friends, you don't really need my contribution. I can't afford the shoes you're wearing and I have a job.
This made me quite cranky for the rest of the day. I deeply despise that particular kind of beggars, who use their kids for the cute factor and to get sympathy, when they have blatantly expensive items.
--
Now that was two weeks ago. Since then, I've had a few commuting woes, the worst of which was last week.
I take the same train every day, unless I'm late. Both this train and the one I take when I'm late take off from the same platform, platform 14. Every day. But I still check the information screen displays and signs, just in case. That day, I was late, and missed my first train. I still walked over to platform 14. The info screen stated "This train doesn't take any passengers". Weird. Usually, this particular message is not displayed until the train is actually there, and it was a good 20 minutes before it got there. I checked the other screens, to see from which platform my train would take off : platform 12. I got back to platform 12 and checked the info screens there. It stated was indeed coming here, at the usual scheduled time. No biggie. They even said it over the public announcement system.
So I waited. And I waited. And I was not the only one who waited. And ten minutes after scheduled time, still no train on platform 12. So I went to the ticket booth, inquiring about train for Paris <station> at <scheduled time> and I was told it left at <scheduled time> from platform 14. I managed to keep my temper but, deep inside, I was boiling furious. "Excuse me, I just wanted make sure you were aware that every display in the station announced it would take off from platform 12 and that there even was a public announcement stating the same thing." The lady began to tell me that was her co-worker who did the announcement that she was pretty sure she said "platform 14" and began to call her co-worker who was in another room. I wasn't listening any more at that point, I repeated : "I just wanted to let you know." and left.
Because either the person who did the public announcement made a mistake, or the twenty or so people, looking very annoyed, who stood on platform 12 and I misheard said announcement, and there was no point in arguing about that. Next train was also announced platform 12 on the displays, but the public announcement was right this time and it was indeed on platform 14. I ended being 1 hour late, rather than half an hour. Fortunately, I'm not on a fixed schedule. As long as I show up and do my hours and, more importantly, my allotted task, I'm fine. I could even show up at noon and leave at 8pm and still be fine (could lose a half day worth of salary by doing so, though).
--
Now, what motivated this post. Remember the group of people in the first story ? I met them again this morning. I was late, but so was my train, so I ended not being as late as I thought I would be (15 minutes rather than half an hour). Lucky, but not enough to put me in a good mood. So, I take my usual seat (yes, I even have a usual seat on this train), take off my glasses and put them in my shirt pocket, pull my cap down over my eyes and try to sleep the bad vibes off.
In my half sleep mode, I hear some loud chatter, but try to ignore it. But there's something else. A really annoying noise. Something... jingling ? And rushed footsteps, both on the upper level and the bottom one. I don't know how long I was asleep, I don't know how long I tried to ignore the noise and keep on sleeping, but at one point I woke up. I didn't have to look to know who was making that noise. While I don't understand their language, I can recognize it. It's them again. I still look, just to make sure I'm not making assumptions. While they might not be the exact same group of people, they displayed the exact same behavior : scattered across the car, talking to each other loudly and kids running around unsupervised.
The rushed footsteps were those of the kids, obviously. There were four of them, the youngest looking 4 years old and the oldest looking about 12. One of them, a little girl looking 6 years old, had a skirt covered with little metal discs, jingling and rattling against each other whenever she moved. While it looked good and cute, it was annoying as hell. More than the other kids' enthusiastic shouts. Or so I thought, until the youngest kid starting to yell. I then covered my ears, and I began to have a headache. I was beyond annoyed, but not pissed off. Yet.
Another kid came up to me and asked me something. I honestly don't know what he asked me. I don't know if it was because his accent was too thick, or because I wasn't quite as awake as I thought, or because he didn't speak in French at all, or because of any combination of the previous reasons, but I didn't understand a single word of what he said. No, actually, I understood ONE single word of what he said, and that word was "Monsieur". He asked his question three times and each time, I understood him less than the previous.
First time, I thought I misheard because I was sleepy, so I looked confused and said "Pardon me ?" He repeated his question and didn't catch anything resembling a French word, so I was even more confused and I'm sure I had the "rabbit caught in the headlights of an 18-wheeler" look on my face. He asked me his question again, but it still didn't copy in my brain, so I shook my head and shrugged, with still that doomed rabbit look on my face. He had a quite unpleasant reaction. While I didn't understand what he said next, his gesture, attitude and intonation makes me think he said something along the lines of "Come on ! Are you an idiot, or what ?"
From what I overheard from their following conversation, I think he asked me where the train was headed or if it was going to a particular station. But since they spoke in a language I don't understand at all (I'm not even sure what language it was), I'm not sure.
Sorry for the long post, but I needed to vent just a little. But, at least, I didn't see any of my Public Transportations Arch-Nemeses in quite a while : people who listen to music on their cellphones without headphones.
About two weeks ago, I was awoken by a bunch of very loud passengers. I thought nothing of it but I was not in a good mood. Rather than sticking together, they literally scattered across the car while continuing their conversation. That annoyed me to no end. This group of passengers seemed to be at least three generations of the same family. There was a little girl, looking about four, running around and about the car, shouting like any happy kid would if they weren't in a public place.
The car was a two-level unit. We were in the bottom level, and the little girl went up and down the stairs to the upper level, which means she was out of sight of any member of her family, a few times before anybody reacted. One of the girls / young women, who could have been her sister, aunt or mother, finally went and grabbed her, taking her in her arms. I thought : "Good. She'll calm down, now." I smiled to the older girl. I shouldn't have. Not two minutes later, she came to me, the little girl still in her arms, and asked me for money, in a very broken French, with a very heavy accent.
Nope, young lady, not happening. It's not because you're from a foreign country, not because you're not speaking French very well, it's because I don't feel comfortable with the idea of supporting bad parenting when it's been displayed right in front of me. And by the looks of you and your family / friends, you don't really need my contribution. I can't afford the shoes you're wearing and I have a job.
This made me quite cranky for the rest of the day. I deeply despise that particular kind of beggars, who use their kids for the cute factor and to get sympathy, when they have blatantly expensive items.
--
Now that was two weeks ago. Since then, I've had a few commuting woes, the worst of which was last week.
I take the same train every day, unless I'm late. Both this train and the one I take when I'm late take off from the same platform, platform 14. Every day. But I still check the information screen displays and signs, just in case. That day, I was late, and missed my first train. I still walked over to platform 14. The info screen stated "This train doesn't take any passengers". Weird. Usually, this particular message is not displayed until the train is actually there, and it was a good 20 minutes before it got there. I checked the other screens, to see from which platform my train would take off : platform 12. I got back to platform 12 and checked the info screens there. It stated was indeed coming here, at the usual scheduled time. No biggie. They even said it over the public announcement system.
So I waited. And I waited. And I was not the only one who waited. And ten minutes after scheduled time, still no train on platform 12. So I went to the ticket booth, inquiring about train for Paris <station> at <scheduled time> and I was told it left at <scheduled time> from platform 14. I managed to keep my temper but, deep inside, I was boiling furious. "Excuse me, I just wanted make sure you were aware that every display in the station announced it would take off from platform 12 and that there even was a public announcement stating the same thing." The lady began to tell me that was her co-worker who did the announcement that she was pretty sure she said "platform 14" and began to call her co-worker who was in another room. I wasn't listening any more at that point, I repeated : "I just wanted to let you know." and left.
Because either the person who did the public announcement made a mistake, or the twenty or so people, looking very annoyed, who stood on platform 12 and I misheard said announcement, and there was no point in arguing about that. Next train was also announced platform 12 on the displays, but the public announcement was right this time and it was indeed on platform 14. I ended being 1 hour late, rather than half an hour. Fortunately, I'm not on a fixed schedule. As long as I show up and do my hours and, more importantly, my allotted task, I'm fine. I could even show up at noon and leave at 8pm and still be fine (could lose a half day worth of salary by doing so, though).
--
Now, what motivated this post. Remember the group of people in the first story ? I met them again this morning. I was late, but so was my train, so I ended not being as late as I thought I would be (15 minutes rather than half an hour). Lucky, but not enough to put me in a good mood. So, I take my usual seat (yes, I even have a usual seat on this train), take off my glasses and put them in my shirt pocket, pull my cap down over my eyes and try to sleep the bad vibes off.
In my half sleep mode, I hear some loud chatter, but try to ignore it. But there's something else. A really annoying noise. Something... jingling ? And rushed footsteps, both on the upper level and the bottom one. I don't know how long I was asleep, I don't know how long I tried to ignore the noise and keep on sleeping, but at one point I woke up. I didn't have to look to know who was making that noise. While I don't understand their language, I can recognize it. It's them again. I still look, just to make sure I'm not making assumptions. While they might not be the exact same group of people, they displayed the exact same behavior : scattered across the car, talking to each other loudly and kids running around unsupervised.
The rushed footsteps were those of the kids, obviously. There were four of them, the youngest looking 4 years old and the oldest looking about 12. One of them, a little girl looking 6 years old, had a skirt covered with little metal discs, jingling and rattling against each other whenever she moved. While it looked good and cute, it was annoying as hell. More than the other kids' enthusiastic shouts. Or so I thought, until the youngest kid starting to yell. I then covered my ears, and I began to have a headache. I was beyond annoyed, but not pissed off. Yet.
Another kid came up to me and asked me something. I honestly don't know what he asked me. I don't know if it was because his accent was too thick, or because I wasn't quite as awake as I thought, or because he didn't speak in French at all, or because of any combination of the previous reasons, but I didn't understand a single word of what he said. No, actually, I understood ONE single word of what he said, and that word was "Monsieur". He asked his question three times and each time, I understood him less than the previous.
First time, I thought I misheard because I was sleepy, so I looked confused and said "Pardon me ?" He repeated his question and didn't catch anything resembling a French word, so I was even more confused and I'm sure I had the "rabbit caught in the headlights of an 18-wheeler" look on my face. He asked me his question again, but it still didn't copy in my brain, so I shook my head and shrugged, with still that doomed rabbit look on my face. He had a quite unpleasant reaction. While I didn't understand what he said next, his gesture, attitude and intonation makes me think he said something along the lines of "Come on ! Are you an idiot, or what ?"
From what I overheard from their following conversation, I think he asked me where the train was headed or if it was going to a particular station. But since they spoke in a language I don't understand at all (I'm not even sure what language it was), I'm not sure.
Sorry for the long post, but I needed to vent just a little. But, at least, I didn't see any of my Public Transportations Arch-Nemeses in quite a while : people who listen to music on their cellphones without headphones.
) way. After looking it up, I appear to have mistaken "to lie" and "to lay", but both seem to be suitable to the situation, since Wiktionary states that one (it's even the first in the list) of the meaning of "to lay" is "To place something down in a position of rest", which was what I meant.
"
I began learning English when I was in elementary school (two years before entering Junior High, I'm not quite sure what class that would be by your standards) and I almost always had great teachers. It just stuck to my mind, you know. It was almost natural. One of my teacher even commented "You're a natural !" on one of my test sheets.
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