Amusing Yourself

You could say that I amuse myself catching the train by thinking about catching the train & how people amuse themselves. That's not quite true, because I can multi-task. I might listen to a recorded lecture, or else read, or do puzzles, or play my musical instrument (!)

This means that I have a bag full of stuff that I can resort to. For all that, no single item is particularly bulky, & only the instrument requires space to wield, so I only do it when the train is mostly empty.

Some people don't take that attitude, though - they have one thing to do, & they're going to do it no matter what. Everyone's familiar with the person who opens up their briefcase & works on their laptop as if they have the whole seat to themselves. I also have a regular chap play games - not just simple board games, this guy has a joystick & plays football, for example. He has headphones on, & goes for the whole experience. He does this on a crowded train, & he sits on the aisle & has to get up to let someone sit in the middle of the three-seat.

Then you look at the attitude of these people - some quite happily shrug as if to say "I know I'm taking up more than my share of the public transport, but what can you do?", others turn embarrassed to the window & "hide" their amusement furtively - those watching DVDs, for example.

With the proliferation of smart phones & the like, people are more used to wrapping their world around their eyes & ears & ignoring the rest of the world - or worse, hoping that the world will ignore them. This is very sad. We're no longer catching public transport together, we're just moving in the same general direction at the same time.

It's Who You Know

If you catch the same train for long enough - & it really doesn't take long - you recognise the regulars, & their little groups. You also notice the loners. You're one of them, otherwise you'd be talking to a friend rather than staring at everyone else.

You can easily (without being self-conscious) catch snatches of conversation, or notice things about these people - the sort of things that you can verify with the next opportunity. You find out people's names, their habits, their occupation, even where they work. I've changed trains with a group of people for months at a time - even travelling to the same building via two trains - without doing any more than meet the eyes of these compatriots, these co-travellers, these (sometimes) unnamed friends.

Once you find out a name, though, yo have to be very careful not to use it - unless you want to make an impact. For example, one chap sits & does his emails & spreadsheets every morning on the way in. He sat next to me just the once, so I found out his name when I glanced at his screen & email signature. I kept meaning to ask why he never sat next to me again. Admittedly, he'd get more elbow room sitting next to a young lady, but it hurts that he saw me as a one-off stand-by travelling companion.

I'm not suggesting that you find out about people & then freak them out later by talking to them as if you actually did know their life story, but it's nice to know that you could. It gives you a certain amount of comfort knowing that you're actually travelling with friends - even if they don't realise how close you consider them to be.

The Little Things

It's not the big things that always fill the mind when travelling the long distance from the outer suburbs. These days, I don't read on my way in, but rather listen to taped lectures. If I watch videos, it's while I'm half-distracted with the world around me - inside or outside the train.

It is in this way that I notice the gradual change from creeks & open channels that were probably once streams in their own right, into marshlands, canals & suburban storm-water systems of increasing complexity.  It is fascinating to work out what flows are going to where, & why.

This morning, I was struck by the weirs & crossings that have been built in concrete in open areas. There may be more concrete nearby - bridges, etc - but the base of the water course is rock (I think). As we travelled along our steel rail, a half dozen common ducks splashed about in the shallows of the water trickling over the weir.
That made my day.

Courtesy between Comrades

I often read about how discourteous people on public transport are - actually, I think the general expression is "rude". There's also some discourtesy -

• people who won't nurse their baggage
• children who use up seats on packed trains
• people who sit in aged/invalid seats & won't get up
• men who won't stand for a pregnant lady
• etc

Such social niceties - & some of these really are no more than that - seem to be made worse when you pack people tightly into a great leveller like public transport. Yes, I realise that some of these are conditions of travel, but being crippled means you take up more space, so you automatically lose human rights.

Then, this morning, I was watching a group that always sit together. They get on at various stops, the last member almost never getting the chance to join them - often having to sit a long way off. Today, she had to stand. I don't want to assume that her bulk is anything but pregnancy, so it was at least chivalrous for one of her male friends to give up his seat.

It got me thinking - would he have done so for a random person? Or would he have continued to sit chatting to his friends? The group is mixed, but mature, & it totals more than the six that would fit together if they were all there every day. How does the way we treat people socially change dependent on how well we know them - or how much we think we can get out of being courteous?
He got lots of kudos from his friends. Most people would have gained what has been described as like urinating in dark pants - a warm feeling that no-one notices.

Sleepers on the rails

I'm sure it's a well-worn allusion. "The Rail" is the railway network, & travelling by rail is being transported on a train. The physical rails are suspended above the ground by means of sleepers. The train carriage is filled with people, most of whom tune out sufficiently to fall asleep. I've now done that so to death that I have to bring you back to an interesting bit.

There are two opportunities to sleep on the train - all the way in to work, & all the way home. Some people can take advantage of both of these, but you generally only see those catching up on missed sleep, or else those dozing after a hard day's work. It is my conjecture that these two types of sleep are distinct.

Morning sleepers sleep deeper. They settle in, lean against a window & just drop off. Simple. They do it every day.
Afternoon sleepers are fitful sleepers. They don't want to miss their stop (home). They tend to drop off unexpectedly, drifting off, waking, repeatedly, trying to stay awake, but not succeeding. These people are funnier. I believe that they are also more likely to snore.

The reason I believe that the snorers are the afternoon snoozers is that they don't make themselves comfortable. They tend to exhaustion, unpreparedness, & are more often cramped in their seat - because people who work hard at work tend to rush home all at the same time. If you don't have control over your working hours, then the tendency is that someone is setting your work procedures & priorities as well.

Most morning sleepers are relaxed. I will lump them together as deep sleepers.

Afternoon sleepers are of different types.

• Nodder - slowly moving head up & down
• Snap-Nodder - slowly moving head down, then snapping it back in wakefulness
• Side-slider - someone headed for your shoulder
• Curler - someone who unconsciously tries to get into a foetal position
• Stretcher - someone who tries to take up as much space as possible when asleep

Try & spot the differences on your next afternoon train ride.