Today’s reading material introduced me to a piece titled ‘Urban Etiquette: Thanks for not sharing’. The article talks about three types of violators to an apparent ‘unspoken urban code’.

• ‘The Literalist Lifers’ – the ones that enjoy their music by tapping their feet thus distracting those who read Eat, Pray and Love
• The Accompanists – the ones who can’t hold a note but sing to Poker Face
• The Surround-Sounder – the ones who think loud speaker is a gift to mankind and should be shared with everyone (lets call them the musical socialists shall we?)

Now the Surround-Sounder are a real pain in the behind I’ll give you that but as for the others, where to these people get off? After a crazy day of your boss yelling at you for getting something really inconsequential wrong, maybe I want to let go and listen to my music and nod my head while doing it. And maybe I don’t have my freaking Grammy Award yet but perhaps I would like to sing “Pa pa pa poker face pa pa poker faaace!!’. The last thing we need in these hard times is another wing of the society police trying to dictate how we should all behave according to their uptight ideals. Sure why don’t we all just become like you (the society police), all dressed in boring clothes, stand upright and uptight and extend our pinkies while drinking diet coke (or coke whatever beverage that suits your fancy. Oh wait maybe there is a police for that too).

What was even more fascinating was one of the comments. It complained about how a Starbuck’s barrista didn’t allow her to be angry (by asking her “a pretty girl like you shouldn’t look so angry” – before anyone jumps to point out that the barrista was being sexist allow me to explain that it appears to be a compliment to cheer someone’s day up and nothing more). Seriously, you are going to sit here and complain when a total stranger tries to brighten your day? Wake up people, life is hard enough as it is and the little things are the VERY THINGS that make life bearable (be it jiving to music in public and perhaps a stranger trying to brighten your day etc etc). So get off your high horses and live life a little.

Rule#32: Enjoy the little things!