Everyday iPod Awkwardness
I use my little pink iPod far more now that we’re back in the city. Mainly for long walks and subway travels. But there have been a couple instances where those tiny earbuds are not quite embarrassing…but still, they bring a certain awkwardness to an otherwise commonplace situation. I’m sure there are more circumstances I’ll stumble upon where the same weirdness crops up…but for now, these are my top two.
Elevators: big, big no-no. especially when there are people in there…even more so when said people are having a conversation. Somehow, having something to occupy yourself with makes you the big giant elephant in the room…they can’t help but look at you like, “Is your volume really loud enough that you can’t hear us? Or are you secretly listening to every word we say? We can’t tell - and it’s making us uncomfortable.” Not fun. Not fun at all.
Taxis: Okay, I kind of figured this one was going to feel wrong. But I had to give it a try anyway. Yep - this one is also not okay and forbidden. Usually I’m not a big cab driver conversationalist…but somehow putting up that barrier and transmitting all sorts of “DON’T TALK TO ME” signals feels rude and unnecessary. Fine, I’ll be a good person, listen to him talk on his radio and stare out the window. There’s still no conversation happening…but there’s at least the option for one.
Awkwardness knows where to find me - I’ll continue to investigate.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
I know what you mean… I have to pause mine whenever I get on the bus - I never know if the driver is going to say something to me!
March 27th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
It’s funny isn’t it? Yeah, I could see the bus being the same way…especially during the day. Maybe at night (in a half empty bus) you could get away with it.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Oh I totally thought this was going to tangent off into embarassing moments like mine which are:
1) Constantly catching my ipod headphones in someone else things and them having them pull out of my ears while I yell “arrghh!!!”
2) That time someone caught my headphones cable and pulled it so hard my ipod snapped out of my hand and fell so it was straddling that gap in between the subway and the subway path thing. I yelled really loudly “NOOO!! MY IPOD!!” and while everyone was watching my retarded self yell with headphones dangling uselessly from my ears they all looked down and were like …yessss…? just pick it up you loon, it’s fine.
The thing that I hate most though is when people don’t think that you having headphones in means you don’t want to speak to other people. I don’t think that’s rude on your behalf, it’s more like they are rude and clearly ignoring the universal I HAVE HEADPHONES IN SO THEREFORE AM INVISIBLE rule.
I also like how I just turned this comment into a novel.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:46 am
I use mine at the office. I have a REALLY loud cube neighbor and earbuds are the only thing that keep me from strangling her. She acts angry that I have them in, it’s as if she’s upset that she doesn’t have a captive audience for her little outbursts anymore.
March 28th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Sarah - could you please write a novel. I mean seriously now - please? The only hazard would be I’m pretty sure I would carry your novel around and quote it to random people in the street with this really poor attempt at an Aussie accent and people would think I was all creepy and weird and in the end what started as me trying to spread the hilarity that is your prose will have turned into me moaning “Sarah COME BAAAAACK” thus alienating the last person who even considered entertaining me.
So, please?
Mahala - the office is such an amazing place for earbud politics, eh? People either understand or 100% take it personally and give you the stinkeye for not being ready and available to hear their every need. When I wasn’t working out of my apartment (where the kittens rarely get offended when I choose to listen to Vampire Weekend instead of their mewing) I was lucky enough that most people “got it”…earbuds = I’m in the zone…don’t bug me - unless it’s important.
March 31st, 2008 at 4:25 am
Okay, so evidently the older dude who’s seen me at the bus stop a couple of early mornings in a row suddenly feels like we’re buddies. Friday morning I have my earphones in and playing decently and he starts making generic comments about how the mornings have been cold lately, how he hopes it gets better sooner than later.
I mean, really, it was the non-morning-person-ness in me that wanted to do unspeakable things to him for the transgression (I’m a terrible waker, and useless for the first couple of hours wen I have to wake early… like this very moment), but seriously.
I don’t like to be unapproachable, I will pull the earphone out for anyone that comes along with a need to speak. But chuckling and making some comment about how I must love my music a lot cos I’m just staring at you instead of joking and laughing before the sun’s come up is a great way to get punched in your ugly mustachioed face.
Yeah, I said it.
(Oh, also I’ve noticed when I go through the magnetic scanners at the library I get an ear-splitting high pitched shriek go through my brain, my ears the respective ground/sky connection needed for the creation of a metaphoric lightning bolt between my ears. You should take them out then, just in case.)
March 31st, 2008 at 4:36 am
Wups, meant to link this up… read this some time ago, and agree with a lot of it.
http://www.matthewgood.org/2008/01/generation-ipod/