Saturday, October 9, 2010

Stop ringing that bell, I can't concentrate

There is something about the commute from NYC to the outer boroughs on a Friday night which puts it all in perspective. The subway car is busy filled with professionals going home to their families after a long week. Most people on the train are 35 and older and there is a common level of decency and quiet which fills the cars. I always figure that on a Friday Night at 6pm most people with energy left stay in the city to hit the bars so the crowd on the train is typically subdued probably cause they are tired from another long week.. 99% of my fellow commuters are considerate and it's actually surprising how quiet these subway cars can get, the only sound being the humming of the car as it rumbles through the tunnels.

With that said there is that 1% who make another wise unwinding commute painful and I can't understand how some people feel the need to break up the sanctuary which the afternoon commute with music blasted through headphones so loud that you can hear it over the noise of the subway standing 10 feet away. I don't understand why people must converse at a decibel level three times their normal while they are squeezed like sardines in a tin-can. But it's better than a bell.
I'm sitting on a subway Friday Night trying to unwind but every 10 seconds I hear this electronic bell. I can't seem to figure out what it is but I know it's immensely distracting.. It is as if I'm standing inside a video poker machine. I finally see the culprit: some mental patient playing word-search and everytime she finds one there is a congratulatory bell that rings. I get that people need these time-waster games after a long week at work and I don't begrudge anybody from finding their outlet but do you need the reinforcement when you are conquering a game designed for a 3rd grader??

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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