The NY Monitor Watchers
Location: Penn Station, New York City (although this may take place in other train stations in the U.S., I don't know)
Time: All the time
Activity: Intently watching the monitors displaying train departures and rushing off to your respective train track as soon as it is announced
For those of you who have traveled through Penn Station, the above will sound familiar. I had noticed it before, but today when I was leaving NYC, I really took notice. There were some people standing literally less than a foot away from the monitor and staring at it so intensely as if willing it to display the track number for the train they were taking. I found this scene almost ridiculous. Obviously, whether you stare at the screen or not won't really change the time, at which your track (gate) is announced. Also, the track is usually announced 15 mins before departure, so you have plenty of time to get to the right place, EVEN if you missed the exact moment in which the numbers appeared on the screen. However, sure enough, wherever there were monitors, there was also a huddle of people around them. I mean, seriously, don't people have something better to do with their lives during those 15-30 mins while waiting for their train than to stare without blinking at a monitor?
I guess some things about American society I will never get...
15 comments:
you said: don't people have something better to do with their lives during those 15-30 mins while waiting for their train than to stare without blinking at a monitor?
You just have to wonder about the compulsion to be first in line. At Penn Station, they could be off having a Nathan's hot dog instead of staring at those stupid monitors, trying to will them to change!
I don't know if I would necessarily go with the Nathan's hot dog option but yeah, that's the idea :)
Your writing "compulsion to be first in line" made me think of another thing I have very frequently encountered, but this time with Bulgarians. Flight has landed and we are moving to the airport gate. As soon as the plane stops (although it may not be at the actual gate yet) all Bulgarians unbuckle their seat belts and spring out of their seats. And I'm thinking, "You won't be able to get out of the plane until the doors open anyway, and then often times you also have to get on a bus if you are not at an actual terminal gate, so what's the rush? To get three steps ahead of the person next to you?" It's one of those "shake your head in disbelief" kind of moments. Maybe it's the herd instinct, I don't know.
I suspect that's it exactly - a herd instinct. Everyone else is getting up, so I'd better do the same or... Well, I never have figured out what bad thing will happen if they don't.
People are funny.
The "getting up before the seatbelt is switched off" phenomenon is very widespread in Turkey as well... In fact, I figured out that it is the easiest way to spot a Turk in a non-Turkish airline. Marcus always wonders why Turkish people are always in a hurry, and I always remind him that it is definitely not to save the world... probably to have a cigarette though :))
Of course I meant seatbelt sign. still too early in the morning here!
Oh man, so all those people I thought were Bulgarians were actually Turks, huh? :)
just kidding. Guess we are a very impatient bunch when we fly, we from the Balkans:) and I can just compare this to the very calm Scandinavians :)
Hm, I was just going to chalk all this up to "people" in general...
I mean, surely you remember the "I can't move more than 50cm away from the door area because I might miss my stop despite the fact that we are at least two stops away" phenomenon on buses here?
And I don't think I can ever remember a single flight anywhere, where everyone didn't jump up immediately.
There is the opposite though - once I was stuck on the inside blocked by a pilot who was clearly in no rush to get to whereever he had to be while I was about to miss my flight. I actually had to ask him to let me out after half the plane had gotten off because he was still sitting there!
Heinz
P.S. I got the job!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Very exciting! I am very very happy for you!
on a tangent, I recently came back from Bulgaria and was dismayed to find the return of the "clapping-upon-landing-to-congratulate-the-pilot-for-the-good-landing"
ritual.
I thought it had disappeared 10 years
ago when Balkan Airlines was flying
directly from New York to Sofia and one could smoke on the plane, which a lot of people did, unfortunately. :)
Haha--actually you know I always thought that this was a non-Bulgarian thing that Bulgarians had seen while flying other airlines and adopted (cause it has happened to me on other airlines more frequently).
And re: SOF-NYC flight... that was the very flight I was on when I first came to the States. And, yes, I very vividly remember the clouds of smoke and crowds in the back part of the plane, which was the "smokers'" section... not that it really matters in an airplane, cause the smoke gets everywhere regardless.
btw, do you mind my asking, how long have you been in the US and where? (If I remember correctly you are somewhere in/around DC currently)
ohhh also reminded of the ATHens - NYC line, as it used to be
+ yeah full of smoke
+ the 'herd' instinct
+ the absolutely embarassing clapping
all of these have disappeared now, yeap even the 'herd' instinct, which i encountered only recently in germany (!) on a flight from munich to leipzig
but then again, i almost clapped myself on that flight, a wonder we arrived and landed safely ...brrr
I came in 1996 for college in Vermont. Then I moved to the DC area to work, currently in Arlington.
I think I might have seen you at a birthday party in a house around Cleveland Park circa 2001, involving a woman who I believe was studying at UMd and who liked to drive barefooted :) I remember chalga, mp3 files, and Finlandia Cranberry.
I might be wrong, though.
Was the woman's name by any chance Silvia? I think that's the only person from UMd I know...anyhow, I would probably remember if you tell me your name, but obviously don't want to jeopardize your anonymity. so if you feel like sharing it, just email me: djilkova at yahoo dot com. If not, that's ok too :) (and apologies that it took me forever to respond... work is really piling up...)
long time no read :)
I am not sure the name was Sylvia,
I was there as a friend of a friend of hers from Bulgaria, all I remember was that her would-be husband was from Hungary? or Slovenia? and she was studying econometrics at UMd.
I know, where did you disappear to? I was starting to get worried ;)
I think I know who you are talking about now, but I was not at that party... anyway, perhaps our paths will cross at another party in the future
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