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September 26, 2005
Another case of the Mondays
The worst feeling in the world is when you are late for where you are going, and you arrive at the elevated train station as you hear your train clanking into the station. When this happens, most people instantly dash up the stairs, and try to get to the top as soon as possible. Maybe, just maybe, the doors on the train will still be open when you get to the top.
Today, this happened to me. I could hear the train easing onto the platform, and the sound of feet stomping on the floor. I turned it into overdrive to get to the top, but I was foiled. The man in front of me on the stairs was heavily laden with a bag and a laptop. He was inching up the stairs at a snail-like (or, if you will, a government-like) pace. Did he not know the train was there? Did he not care?
But he ambled on his merry way, oblivious to the people behind him who were trying to get to the top. Just as I got to the top, the train pulled away, and I was late for school. Sure, I could've left the house a few minutes earlier, but that is not the point. That guy dicked me over!
I remember last year or so I wrote down my list of my top ten most annoying Chicago driver pet peeves, and I think I may have to extend that to CTA rider pet peeves. Not surprisingly, many of them are analagous to driving. (These are not in any particular order.)
1 - Walking too slow up the steps/blocking the entire stairs so nobody can pass you.
2 - Not being able to figure out how to work the turnstile.
3 - Putting your bag on the seat when the train is crowded. Putting your feet on another seat.
4 - Taking seats on a crowded train when an old lady should get the seat.
5 - Talking loudly on the phone.
6 - Complaining loudly about delays.
Now, later, as I was standing in a daze at the Chicago Ave. station, I noticed a flurry of billboards proclaiming, "This fall, a woman will be president." It's for the new ABC show, Commander in Chief, which as you may have guessed is about a woman who is president. I am sick of these billboards. They have been trolling around the city for god knows how long, and I've had enough.
I would like to think that maybe ABC could switch it up a little bit. The shock value of a woman president has, honestly, worn off for me. I'm not going to watch simply because it has a woman president. Instead of continuing along this "a woman will be president" line, they could maybe put in the interesting problems that a woman president might face. As in, what the heck does the president do when she breaks a nail right before a big state dinner? Or what about if the chancellor of Germany gets drunk and hits on the president at said state dinner? These are all interesting propositions, and I think, much more interesting than "a woman will be president."
Not that it all matters. There have been plenty of woman presidents/prime ministers, and even CEO's, and they are all doing fine. Nevertheless, President of the United States is a pretty big step, and it'd be cool to see that happen some day - but not simply for the sake of making a woman president.
Posted by oz115 at September 26, 2005 10:47 AM