hurry sickness

(this was written a little earlier today at work)

(these things may seem petty, but they add this subtle, stressful undertone to life that is totally unnecessary and completely annoying)

I don’t know if this is an actual sickness, but I think it is. I have experienced it. Not in myself, but in those around me. especially in new york city, where it’s the norm to have everything fast-paced and crazy. It can be annoying though when you don’t feel like rushing, when you just want to walk at a normal pace and not feel pushed. I absolutely hate it when I am crossing the street and there is a car waiting impatiently at a stop sign, and the moment I clear the way, they peel off as if I was taking 100 years to cross or something. It always unnerves me. it’s to the point that I find myself often running across the street so as not to incite the driver’s anger. This happens practically on a daily basis.

And I hate it when I’m on my way to work and people step on the back of my shoes in the process of rushing to pass me. now, I walk very fast as it is. It’s impossible NOT to, especially during the morning rush our in downtown NY or any part of NY, and these people are STILL trying desperately to pass by me. I find it similar to cars that cut you off on the road. It’s like, give me some room to walk, you know? I’m a human being too. I’m not invisible for fuck’s sake. Maybe I have somewhere I need to be, just like you.

I’ve had it happen several times where people will step on the back of my shoe and actually make me almost trip, or make my shoe come off in the middle of the street. And this has been with every type of footwear: sandals, sneakers, flats, heels, whatever. They find a way to step on them so hard that I have to stop and regain my balance, or stop to put my fallen shoe back on. They sometimes, not always, utter an embarrassed (yet insincere) and rushed ‘sorry’ as they pass, and I always just glare at them. I fight the urge to call them morons. I mean how hard is it to watch where you’re going and not slam into the person in front of you??? I don’t think it’s that damn difficult.

Another shining example of this is on elevators, why is it that once I get to my floor, if there are still people on the elevator- they feel the need to press the ‘door close’ button like a maniac before I even step out? Isn’t this a little extreme? Are you that much in a hurry that you can’t wait a few seconds for the doors to close on their own? It’s not like you’re going to grow old in there waiting. I find this to be incredibly rude for some reason. Like you don’t have the right to ride an elevator if you’re holding other people up from getting to their floors, even though you are trying to get to work too and just happen to work in the same building! I never do this to anyone. I wait however long it takes for them to step out of the elevator without implying that they rush out as quickly as possible because they are inconveniencing me. These are the mysteries of our modern, urban workaday culture. Talk about a rat race.