Cell phones, Rude-Commute, AGONY -- Forced an iPod on Me (I hate this!) (1 Viewer)

[MichaelBA]

I bought an iPod yesterday, and I feel like I suck SH*T for it. I'm a LOSER. I opted IN to something trendy, something for the kiddies, bless 'em, but I'm too DARNED OLD for this! I saw Ozzy with Randy Rhoads in 1981! I saw VH with DLR in 1982! I even had a pass ready for the up-coming Zeppelin tour in the Fall of 1980, that never happened! I still have and listen to and treasure my VINYL records! I hate any music after, I don't know, 1984 or so. What the HELL am I doing with an iPod!

I'm so embarrassed, abashed, ashamed, disgraced.

I feel I deserve abuse for this purchase, but at least I can attempt to explain what happened. Explain, not justify.

I commute to work. I commute on the train. I'm never not going to be doing that. I work in New York City. I have to take the train. I have NO choice.

What I LOVE to do on the train is read and rest. That's IT. I do NOT have an URGE to listen to music.

But over the past six months, and really even about a year, I've found that -- like NEVER EVER before -- the manners of other commuters have gone straight down the toilet, through the sh*tty sewage system, and dumped in a massive, swirling cess pool of DISCOUTESY the like of which I have NEVER EVER beheld... and I'm a NATIVE New Yorker!

I simply canNOT get away from RUDELY NOISY people! The biggest culprit is the cell phone users. They TALK, man! They talk LOUD and they talk CONSTANTLY. LOUD AND CONSTANTLY!!! And it's not just the cell phone, you know, but it's also that walky-talky kind of thing, the one that beeps every time the other person on the line talks, or whatever, and you can hear BOTH people. MUTHER-flipping-F*CKERS!

I... I... just could NOT take this anymore. Cell phone users have ruined my commute for a LOOOOOOOONG time now, but I'm saying that over the past year or so, the INSOLENT INCIVILITY has risen beyond a level even my black, cynical heart could ever have imagined.

My camel's back has clearly broken. I can't censor the following: The other day I turned around and told this guy who'd been lip-flap-yapping for over FORTY-FIVE minutes: "Listen, man -- do you EVER shut the fuck up?" He was NOT happy with my approach.

Now, what am I supposed to do...? Get into friggin' FIGHTS over cell phones? And I can't exit a rail car and go to another. I can't do that anymore because now these cell phone asswipes are in EVERY car!

I was at my wit's end! So, I hunkered down and got myself -- oh F*CKING argh! -- an iPod JUST to DROWN OUT these INCONSIDERATE BITCHES and BASTARDS!

Lookit, when those cell phone jammers get legalized in NY, I'll get one and sell the damn iPod, or give it away or whatever.

But, in the meantime... I simply could NOT take the ASSAULT on my SOLITUDE anymore!

They used to have smoking cars on the LIRR -- now they need to have CELL PHONE cars!

Who the F*CK decided that *I* have lost all PUBLIC rights to the divine gift of QUIET?!

I'm despondent over this....:frowning:

 

[Jason Seaver]

You know, they make earplugs. A guy on my bus uses 'em.

What makes an iPod "something for the kiddies"? I mean, unless you're determined that getting older means settling into a rut where you can't try anything new...

 

[Dave_Brown]

Why would you think you ever did? You're out in PUBLIC, you take your chances. Could always stay home......

Next time you're dealing with the annoying nextel two-way chirp, jump in on the conversation. I do it in restaurants all the time. Guy pushes the button, I start talking over him. He gets pissed and moves away, problem solved.

 

[DaveMcS]

Counter their conversation by reading your novel out loud...
Should'nt take too long before they get the hint

Don't feel too bad though. I've been commuting 90-100 minutes a day (round trip) into/out of Boston. I used to do the sleep/read the newspaper. But then decided to tune out the world with a portable DVD player and eventually a subscription to Netflix. Made my ride much more satisfying

 

[MarkHastings]

Embrace the technology. Hating it is what makes you sound old.

Why do you feel like a loser because you own an iPod? The iPod has the capability for high quality files, as well as being a portable hard drive.

Hell! The Lord of the Rings rough cut was stored on an iPod. Would you call Peter Jackson a loser?

 

[Michael Reuben]

Only a New Yorker would ever describe the LIRR as "quiet".

M.

 

[MichaelBA]

You're right, Michael!

Earplugs hurt my ears after a short while, and I have a long commute. Earphones don't bother me.

Oh, Mark, you're correct about embracing technology. I don't mean to be fuddy-duddy about this. I'm mixing rage at aging with WRATH about the loss of public civility. Now that I have the darn piece of equipment, I might as well find creative uses for it.

But... I'd still rather have people SHUSH!

Boo.:frowning:

 

[DonRoeber]

Amtrak has quiet cards on the Accella run in the North East corridor. I'd love it if some of the commuter rails had quiet cards, at least during rush hour.

I also commute every day by rail, in Philadelphia. It's not too bad during the morning usually, since most people like to sleep or read the paper. The stuffy businessmen reading the paper are kind of annoying though, they haven't yet learned how to fold the paper so that they're arm isn't in your face the whole way.

 

[RichP]

And to think, you could have simply gotten a $12 portable CD player; saved hundreds of dollars, and spared yourself the indignation of ::gasp:: owning an iPod. :rolleyes

I wish inconsequential things like this were all I had to worry about.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Don't forget to sing along with the music

PS: You could have bought a rival MP3 player too ya' know. Like a Zen or one of those Sony Walk-thingies (like that name will ever catch-on )

 

[Yee-Ming]

Given that this is HTF, I would've thought that a portable DVD player would be a most appropriate way out, rather than an iPod. Plus, you can make a point of watching a comedy, and if some annoying cellphone user is talking loudly, counter that by laughing extremely loudly when appropriate...

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Fortunately, most of the T lines have no cellphone reception, so I haven't had to deal with many loud chatters — at least not for very long.
If I had one nit-picky bitch about my commute, it'd be (ironically enough) the iPod users who feel the need to crank the music in their ear buds up loud enough so the entire car has to listen along too. I console myself with the fact that in another decade, they'll probably all be deaf anyway.

 

[Michael Caicedo]

Michael, I feel for you man. Embrace the tecnology is right approach. All is not lost. For example, you don't have to listen to music on the ipod. You can get podcasts on many different subjects you may be interested in. What about audio-books? Any other ideas for content?

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Actually, this isn't a bad idea. Why don't restaraunts ask me, "Would you like to sit in a cellphone or non-cellphone section?"

 

[BrianW]

I recently got an MP3 player (though not an iPod -- not that it matters).

I'm old. I listen to Vivaldi and Bach. I enjoy it immensely.

Am I a middle-aged man trying to be hip and trendy? Who cares? It's technology that fulfills a need (okay, desire), and that's all I care about.