"Hey Brown-Brown!"

Sooo, why'd I get called a heifer in Central Square for not giving money to the homeless woman outside CVS? I did kind of ignore her three requests for change :-/ My bad. I think that was the breaking point really. You have to acknowledge your fellow man or in this case, woman, even if it's just to say no. Even still, no need for verbal abuse, ma'am! I so prefer the guy outside the McDonald's in Kenmore Square who calls me (and possibly others...) by shouting: "Hey Brown-Brown," and expects nothing in return except maybe a head nod.

Pick Up Lines

A couple of weeks ago as I was standing, bundled up, reading the Boston Metro on the platform of the T station, an older gent approached me. He might've been 55+. In my peripheral vision I saw him cheesing as he walked in my direction. He passed behind me, then walked as far as three feet away before he started moving in from the right, still cheesing, and started making conversation. Something about the weather, and if I was on my way to work, and THEN! Theeen, old gent boldly went where no man [I'm actually interested in] has gone before - he asked, at 8:30am on a workday, if I had time for coffee! I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't mad at his game, and it wasn't even a bad idea, but I definitely was not interested. What it really left me wondering was, why in the world aren't you teaching these swagalicious skills to the men of my generation??

Blind leading the blind

Sitting on the T listening to a drunken man relay the "life as a drunken man" woes really made me realize I've abandoned my blog for too long. This stuff is too ridiculous to be televised, but it can be blogged.

Yesterday witnessed an ambiguously gendered person sitting with his/her feet up and covering three otherwise available seats on the train. Luckily it wasn't rush hour. Enter mature adult drunken man. Much differnt than drunken college students, because at this pont you're actually an alcoholic. So, he walks into the car and immediately comments on the he/she sitting next to him. "Oh you got it like that, eh? You could take up three whole seats? Life must be good." Clearly no one took offense because pretty soon the he/she and the drunken man were giving each other dap. But things went downhill after the he/she asked the drunken man if, ahem, he was drunk. To which he responded: "I should be asking you that! With your feet up..." mumbles some more, then, "I am drunk, this is how it is."

Here's my question. When all this happens in front of you is it ok to laugh? I held it in for fear he'd find a sass comment for me too, but seriously, I didn't know whether to look at the ceiling or the floor. What in the world!

Red Line Fiasco

Commuting on the MBTA red line just got more exciting... Seriously. The red line is shut down on weekends from now until whenever for the 2-5 mile stretch between the edge of Cambridge and the outskirts of Boston/Dorchester. So I got to ride a shuttle bus, normally only acceptable at airports, through the streets of Boston. It felt a little touristy, and I did see a lot of lost-looking people, including a semi-homeless man who asked me to come watch the game with him, but it still beat walking.

Did we lose power?

I'm really starting to wonder if the MBTA has hired undercover subway stop announcers. It's like the PA-system has stopped working on the T or something. Why else is there yet another man calling out the stops en route? WHAT is going on???

Paranoid Pursuit

Is it just me or do people in this city walk a little too closely behind you? Maybe I'm paranoid, but they are most definitely too dang close to me. Case in point, I was walking home a few days ago, and turned around - because, I'm not completely oblivious to the sound of oncoming footsteps - to see a tall man with a curly mullet and a white sweater practially power-walking not quite 5-feet behind me. #1 violation: do you have a Jerry Curl AND a mullet?? Really? #2: Sir, you're too close. #3: In the words of the Rape and Self-Defense class I'm so happy I took, "GET BACK!!!". And #4: This is why I packs a blade!! LOL, thanks Dad! Ok, well it's a 1.5" swiss army keychain with a nail file and scissors on it, and in an adrenaline-rushed moment, I honestly think my elbows would be stronger sources of defense, but it's on hand nonetheless. Plus I just saw Colombiana... so GET BACK, Boston!

Something's a little off

Such randomness on the train on a Saturday morning! A boy, who looked like he was 15, was standing up announcing the stops as though he'd been hired by the MBTA, except that he deboarded at some point and walked out on the job. Then, an old man got on with a bik that he rattled violently, to the point where most people got off or switched cars at the last stop. Whaaat in the world?