Or does anyone else find public transport in Melbourne a really hostile these days?
I caught the train to work yesterday morning as the weather was doing its unpredictable thing. Bad, bad choice. I was in a filthy mood for the whole day.
It didn’t start well. The train was late, which meant it was packed but there was a 15 minute gap to the next one so I had to get on. Joy! At the next station there was a woman on a mission to get on the train at the very door I was squashed against, even though it was patently obvious no one else could really fit. But she barged on in anyway and nearly knocked me over with her enormous handbag. But I really shouldn’t have been worried about falling over because we were jammed in so tight, I wouldn’t have fallen very far.
When I finally got to work, I was so angry I was ready to pop. I got asked if I would’ve preferred to have ridden in the rain and I emphatically answered yes! (I think I nearly shouted it.)
The train ride in certainly didn’t help my mood but I was stunned by the rudeness of the woman who nearly knocked me over. She really didn’t care about anyone else on the train. She was getting on and that was that. Sometimes I wonder if people have gotten ruder these days or if I’m less tolerant of crap like that. An apologetic smile would’ve made all the difference but she acted like it was her right to be rude and pushy because she obviously had somewhere important to be.
I don’t know… There was such an unhappy feeling on the train. It felt oppressive and gloomy. I’ve never really paid attention to that sort of thing on a train before but it felt like every single passenger wanted to be somewhere else. It tainted my mood for the rest of the day. Lots of little things went wrong and I wasn’t at all happy.
So, no more trains for me. I’m too worried I’ll snap and get into a stoush with someone which will lead to me getting my arse kicked. The weather is worse today but I just don’t care. I’d rather crawl along on my bike, being hammered by the wind and overtaken by pedestrians than have to put up with all that hostility.