So, here we go. Earlier this week, yesterday if you want to get all specific here, I left work to board a very packed bus to head home for the evening. Like just about every human being on the planet, that is not a pickpocket or a pervert, I do not enjoy being on packed modes of public transportation. It's uncomfortable for one and secondofly if I don't get a seat, I cannot read a book or often times get to my phone for entertainment. It's just the worst and worsened (yes worsened from the worst) by the fact my stop is towards the end of the route. But back to the whole no book or phone access thing.
Now, I did have a friend to chat with for the beginning of the ride, but do to people getting on and off the bus and certain logistical difficulties, we were separated. I know, it's a bus and I'm sure you would all expect me to still converse with a friend, over, around and through people and, rest assured, I have done this in the past, but not this time. This time, I was immediately drawn into some people watching or, more to the point, phone watching.
I was quickly drawn into the smartphone activity of the young lady in front of me. First it was run of the mill stuff. A quick scroll through the Facebook newsfeed, click on a link to a delightful little Buzzfeed post, etcetera, etcetera. Then she clicked to a page with contacts and pulled up one that really caught my eye. Mike Bus Stop (Weird). It was listed as his home number. Now, I want to know the story. First thought is, it is a guy named Mike (not much of stretch, I feel) whom she met at a bus stop, maybe a bit weird, but also cute or possessing a certain quality? Enough so that numbers were exchanged, or he just gave her his, which, in today's society, may seem a bit weird. That has to be it, right? Or is it just a good friend who she decided needed a strange name in her phone? Or, maybe it was designed for people like me, knowing that I would be racking my brain wanting to know the story behind this, but would definitely not have the cajones to admit reading her phone and now wondering about the possible story behind this name. Now, I will never know. But wait, there's more!
The young lady proceeds to engage in a conversation of the text variety, over her phone. I didn't really hone in on the convo (sorry), but did catch one thing. I saw her type "LOL". No big deal, right? You see it all the time and don't even flinch. So what's the big deal? Well, I will tell you what the big deal is. This young lady did not laugh out loud. Not even a snicker. Not a giggle, not a shoulder jostle cause by trying to not burst out laughing on the bus. None of it. I mean, what is wrong with society?! Is "LOL" just something used to dismiss something supposedly funny? Does anyone use acronyms that are true to their situation at the time? Has LOL replaced the courteous yet, at times, ambiguous "haha"? I mean the "haha" is tough to read already, but now if LOL is losing all it's meaning and pomp, then what kind of world has this become? Even the "ha" is more firm, but the "haha" is like "clearly you think this is funny, so I am going to make it seem like I feel this way about your message so as to spare feelings".
I am at a loss, right now. Does anyone really know the reaction they are getting on the other end of a text message? An email? An instant message? A mailed letter? I don't think anyone does. I for one, picture the reaction in my head, when I receive the return message. This, has now been ruined for me by a young lady who just throws her reactionary acronyms out all willynilly, like they're candy on Halloween and her message recipients are costumed little trick-or-treaters! What an indictment of society on the whole. Sigh. Oh yeah, football.
SEAHAWKS 24-16
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