If you ride public transit long enough, you become accustomed to see the ones who have their fingers so far in their nose - I do not know how they release them (gag reflex here).
Then there are those women who insist upon putting on their full make-up on in view of other onlookers (most of the onlookers have a frozen state of disbelief on their face).
Well this week, I have seen two new performances that I have never witnessed before.
The first occurred on Monday, when I sat down in the seat next to a man. I was sitting on the side seat, and he was sitting on the seats that face forward (or backward depending on the direction of the train). I am reading my book (I find that the less eye contact one makes, the fewer weird ones come your way) - and this man stands up. Nothing out of the ordinary yet, and he is dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. He opens up his gym bag, and the next thing I realise is that I am hearing the clanking of a belt buckle (in addition that he is now closer to my personal self). This man has actually changed into a business suit - right there on the train. What I missed (thankfully) was the changing or adding (I am not quite sure which) his dress shirt. When I heard the clanking of his belt, he had started to tuck his shirt into his pants. Then, he fastens his pants (and we all hear the sound of his zipper), and then he hooks up his belt. I was dumbfounded, and unfortunately for me it was probably written all over my face. I could never be a poker player for one would see the type of cards I have on my face (shhh, but do not tell anyone in case I start to play). I just could not believe both the sight before my eyes, and the sounds that were picked up by my ears.
Next day, again I was sitting in the same type of seat. Only this time, a woman was sitting where the man was the previous day. When I saw odd movements coming from the person in this seat. The woman was not only putting on her full make-up, but she was doing the full skin care routine (and making the oddest faces). She must have used at least 2-3 different types of creams on her face, not to mention lip balm (and this is only what I caught glimpses of..Who knows what I missed). Then, she starts blowing her nose and it is making my stomach turn by the way that she was not using a tissue properly.
On Wednesday, there was this man who got on the subway for one full stop (thank goodness it was only one). He begins to look around as if to see that no one was watching (and we all were) and proceeds to go exploring with his fingers. I think that he was trying to locate the brain within.
Of course, all eyes are on what areas of the train he touches when he leaves - so we can all avoid them.
And this is why I now carry hand sanitizer wherever I go.
