Commuter Lifestyle

I have a bad habit, well many, but this one is a habit that I undertake almost daily. I love watching people around me, I like to see what people are wearing, whether or not they have wedding bands on, how they hold themselves, what they are carrying… all sorts of details of totally random strangers intrigue me. As I mentioned in my last post, I now commute to work which means every day I get on the same train at the same time and head to work with the same bunch of commuters. And so, I now have a bunch of strangers in my life who I recognize and watch. And it’s probably a little bit crazy.

There’s a guy who gets on at the same stop as me and commutes to school as well. We always stand at the same spot on the platform and get into the same train car. I presume he’s done the same optimization as me, since this car is the one that stops right next to the door at the next station that leads to the bus terminal where we catch our bus to school. He always wears the same thing, it’s like he’s just a copy-pasted figment of my imagination.  He wears a pair of black canvas vans that are covered in salt stains and has the longest eyelashes ever.

Then there’s resting bitch face girl whom I’ve decided I really dislike. She also commute to the university and must be on the train before I get on, but she’s in our optimization team as she is also always in the same car as me. She has the snobbiest presence I have ever seen on a person, and bolts out of the train almost before it has had the chance to stop so she can get the ‘best’ seat in the bus. She drives me absolutely crazy.

There’s also a girl who gets on a couple of stops after mine whose hair is always done really nicely. She is really good as braiding her hair and so it’s always in one kind of a braid or another.

One of the people I am most curious about is this British woman who I sometimes see. She works at the university and everyday wears a black trench coat and this absolutely hideous hat that’s been pulled really far over her eyes. She was wearing this ensemble when it was still 25 degrees outside. She’s incredibly pale so I think she’s either a vampire or then just very British and can’t handle the sun. I always think about how hot she must feel.

Then there’s me. The crazy one who watches everyone else wondering if they’ve noticed that we’re always on the train at the same time. wondering what features they see when they notice me. The blue coffee thermos I have with me everyday, my beanie with its’ huge pompom, my Fjällräven bag or absolutely nothing, because they aren’t insane?

This weird stalking and listening to podcasts makes my commute a rather interesting one!

-Elli