Space bubbles

I think train seat habits are curious.

In the subway, where the seats mostly line the walls of the subway cars, with the occasional two seaters lining up perpendicularly, people seat every over space and then fill in the blanks without hesitation.

On the lirr, where the seats are all perpendicular, broken into double seat and triple seat benches, people don't hesitate to take the second seat in the double bench and the triple bench, leaving the middle empty in the latter scenario. But lots of people stand rather than ask for that middle seat on the triple bench.

So it is ok to get close if you're invading personal space on one side but not on both?

I think it is weird. I'd rather share than stand. But it is probably a function of western culture where we are trained to demand our space bubbles and share them as a sign of intimacy.

So in that middle seat there is no escape or lean away room and that, I guess, is a bubble violation.

But, the only way to guarantee your bubble is by staying home.

So thank you for moving over for me.

I solemnly swear to always shower and use minimal scented products.

Daily Battles

Every morning, as I slowly slide open the glass closet door, I stare down into the unblinking eyes of Furry Terror (cat II), as he contemplates... To do or not to do. And every morning, he comes to the same conclusion, his furry little body darting past me to hide under the white shelf below my hanging skirts and pants... Definitely and absolutely to do.

And so, every morning, I reach for the spray bottle and attempt to imitate machine gun rounds with water for about ten seconds before he concedes defeat and hurriedly departs the field of battle.

Dumb cat never learns.

But at least he has an excuse. He's just a baby cat.

What excuse do people have?

Death to Meme

I have noticed I am becoming more peevish in my old age. 

Example:

I know people are all about the picture memes on the social media lately. Someone posts a picture which contains some kind of absolutist statement. And everyone hits like and reposts because Oh Em Gee look at the amazing wisdomity (TM) of that statement.

And, when I look, all I can see is the five different ways that statement becomes utterly absurd if you follow it to its logical conclusion. Maybe I am practicing reductio ad absurdum and maybe I'm bored of people not thinking through the ideas that they throw their staunch support behind.

The thing is usually these memes are ostensibly positive things. So would it be wrong to just take a pointy thing and go STABSTABSTAB to their delusion balloon? Because I kind of think the world would be a better place if people tried to actually do good things rather than just repost meaningless memes as if it somehow absolved them of responsibility to be contributing members of the global society. [Not that destroying their delusions would actually force them to take real action... but alas a woman can dream...]

Or I just a bad person? [Cause I'm okay with that too.]

Juxtaposition

A slim man, hair just beginning to silver, tucked into a corner of a crowded train car right against the doors, a book held reverently in his hands as he quickly devours the pages. The train stops, people get on. A young woman, slim and professional, steps inside, and when the train moves again there is little space between the kindle held gently in her right hand and his small tome. 

I watch. I hope to keep watching forever.

[Originally posted today at 6:41pm.]

Tech and Trains

I have now been riding the train for over two weeks and today is the first time I have actually chatted with a fellow passenger (might be the only reason that the screaming brat in the front of the train car is still alive - go on brat, thank the nice man for distracting the crazy, homicidal lady from the urge to kill). This man has been taking the train for twelve years. 

That's a lot of stories. 

He told me that before everyone had tech toys, cell phones, tables, ipods, you would regularly see strangers chatting to each other to keep the boredom away.  Now, everyone is absorbed in their technology.

One step forward for science might be one step back for culture?

[Originally posted on June 12, 2012, at 7:50pm.]

Obstacles

I don't have anything clever to tell you today. 

It's been a day fraught with obstacles. 

Someone's death delayed the train. FOIL prevented the retrieval of fairly mundane documents which should be available without red tape. 

How often, without need and for want of courtesy, do we stand in each other's way? 

How often, even more tragically, do we stand in our own?

[Originally posted on June 11, 2012, at 6:34pm.]

Girrrrl Power

On my way to the train yesterday, I saw Penn Jillette in the street and really wanted to give him kudos for naming his daughter Moxie Crimefighter. Little girls are named Hope or Charity or Faith or other sweet and kind words. We got enough of that. Little girls are raised with enough sweetness and kindness and all the sugar in the world.

Little girls need more Moxie. And maybe even more crimefighting.

(And no, I didn't approach him.)

[Originally posted on June 6, 2012, at 9:06am.]

Introduction

Welcome.

This blog is my exercise in groping towards life meaning through humor, thought provoking and plain old love of word.

Ultimately, I hope to publish a book but meanwhile this is where I hope to dwell in harmony, in chaos and in hope.

I'm a lawyer, a writer, a dreamer, a cynic and a fan of sparkly things and furry creatures, of which my husband and I currently serve two [you don't own cats - they either own you or you just... kind of coexist semi-peacefully?].

I am going to be moving all of my recent posts of note from elsewhere so I will be posting a lot right now and I hope to keep up a decent pace.

If you want to engage me in conversation, I'm wide open to ideas.

The end... for now?

-Vixen

PS. Requisite legalese:

This website and its content is copyright of Vixen - © Vixen 2012. All rights reserved.

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:

• you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only
• you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material

You may not, except with my express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.