Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Assholic behaviour I have encountered recently

1. A two-lane side street. I'm waiting patiently to jaywalk mid-block. The car coming from my left stops and waves me past. I look right, and there aren't any cars coming from my right. So I start across. Then the car BEHIND the one that stopped to wave me by decides to pass the stopped car by driving on the wrong side of the road, nearly hitting me in the process. The weird thing is he wasn't even stopped that long - definitely under 10 seconds, maybe even as little as 5 - before the guy behind him decides to come roaring past on the other side of the road.

2. A rainy day. The lady walking in front of me down the street is carrying a golf umbrella. I always think this is inconsiderate because it makes it impossible for someone else to pass you on a narrow or crowded sidewalk while also carrying an umbrella, but she's walking fast enough that I don't need to pass her so she isn't my problem. Turns out she lives in my building. She walks up to the front door of the building, gets under the overhang, then starts to shake her umbrella out by opening and closing it repeatedly, taking twice as long as people normally take to do this. The problem with this is, between the diameter of the umbrella and the range of the water being shaken off it, there's no room for anyone else to get into the front doors or even under the overhang. Anyone else who might want to get in (i.e. me) is stuck outside in the rain until she finishes shaking out her umbrella.

And one I might have done myself...

3. There's a guy on the subway who looks rather like my cousin's husband. But it can't possibly be him - what on earth would he be doing in Toronto? Besides, I know my cousin's husband broke his leg recently, and this guy isn't on crutches or anything. Then he gets off the train...and he's wearing a walking cast! Ooops...

4 comments:

laura k said...

Wait, it was your cousin's husband? (I call that my cousin. You don't?)

impudent strumpet said...

I still have no idea if it was him! I'll have to wait until I see him at xmas to find out!

(In the case of this blog post, differentiating between a cousin and a cousin's spouse is relevant because I've known my actual cousins since they were born, whereas I've only met this guy maybe half a dozen times. I'd look like even more of an asshole if I didn't recognize a cousin.)

laura k said...

Ha! Very true.

impudent strumpet said...

Update: It wasn't my cousin's husband I saw on the subway. However, he now does have a walking cast, and it's on the same foot as Subway Guy's.