Rainy Days

What do these three images have to do with each other? Well, if you live in NYC you can probably easily put them all together. Yesterday we had a lovely afternoon and evening of rain. I don't mind the rain, it doesn't make me sad or grumpy I actually like when it rains. However, living in NYC, when it rains, the streets become dangerous. Granted, a typical street on a given day/time does not necessarily look the street in the picture, but it sure feels like it! Now add an umbrella for every person walking down the street and it is like an obstacle course, with the losers risking body parts being lost, eyes being poked out, and downpours of umbrella rain. NYC isn't known for it's etiquette (in my opinion) and that is never more evident than when it rains. The first thing you notice when umbrellas come out, is the sheer massiveness of said umbrellas. Everyone here owns the jumbo size golf umbrella and feels they must use it even when they are by themselves. I see nothing wrong with these umbrellas, but use it like an HOV lane... when there is more than one of you!!! These things take up half the sidewalk, making it quite difficult for another person, let alone another person with an umbrella to pass by (imagine if two of these massive umbrellas tried to pass at the same time? Yo'd have chaos!) Perhaps it might not be so bad if people would learn to share the sidewalk (with or without an umbrella). If you are passing another person, and you each have an umbrella, it is very easy for one person to lift their umbrella up a little higher and the other to lower their's, thus making passage easier for everyone... no umbrellas htiting, no being poked by an umbrella spoke, easy, simple, and injury free. Also, please don't decide to de-raindrop your umbrella when there is someone in close vicinity to you! Noboday wants to be sprayed by the rain that has collected on your umbrella. It is quite easy to politely shake off the rain from your umbrella without claiming casualties. And please... when you are entering the subways, could you close your umbrella BEFORE you enter the stairwell so that you don't poke my eye out when I am coming up the stairs and you are coming down the stairs? It would make my life easier to continue one with two semi-functioning eyes.

This is just one of my NYC petpeeves when it comes to Etiquette and the City.
Here are some of my others:

• people who walk like the dead in the middle of the sidewalk
• people who walk like the road runner and then stop dead in their tracks in the middle of the sidwalk
• spitting in public
• littering
• subway door crowders (you know who you are!) both trying to enter the train and standing in the train, not making room for anyone else to get on
• the people who get out of their seats on the train 3 stops before they need to get off, just so they can position themselves in prime train exiting locations
• bags and purses that remain on people's shoulders on a crowded (armpits in your nose crowded) train - take them off your shoulder!!!
• people who cut in front of you trying to get on the train, like they don't even see you standing there, just so they can try and find a seat before you!
• when you are waiting for the train and there is tons of room on the platform but someone has to come and stand directly beside you like it was the only place in the world that allowed standing
• people who push their way to the front of the crowd to get on the elevator first and then stand right in the doorway so that they can be the first off, but don't make it easy for anyone else to get on the elevator!! (same goes for the ladies on the Roosevelt Island red bus - you know who you are)

Well... I am sure I have many more petpeeves, but I don't want to make this the world's longest blog entry, so I will quit now while I still possess the slightest amount of optimism! If I have left off any of your favourite NYC pet peeves let me know!