fact: somehow the people that work in my building have no concept of common courtesy.
after getting to my train destination 20 minutes later than normal because the train was malfunctioning (read in a bad mood), as i walked to my building (psb), an older woman was walking directly in front of me, and was aware that i was right behind her. yet, as we both approached the first set of doors to enter, she made no attempt to hold the door open, or even just push it a little bit open after she had gone through. thus, when i got to the door a mere 3 seconds later, the door slammed shut - in my face.
how can a woman in her 50's be so devoid of courtesy or even manners? there is a second set of doors we have to walk through before getting to the turnstiles, but there was a line in front of her, so she and i ended up straddling the 2nd doorway. i wanted to say something to her like, 'are you going to hold the door this time or are you going to let it slam in my face like you just did 5 seconds ago?', but i resisted the temptation.
this happens to me occasionally, and most times i just let it go. but how are these people ever going to learn?
here's another example. recently because of my foot, i have been taking the elevator. the other day i was leaving work and hobbling towards the elevator. apparently people were already waiting for the elevator before i got there, so by the time my slow ass got there, the people were already getting on. but as they got situated on the elevator, they saw me limping (i picked up my pace too), yet no one did anything to hold the elevator doors. now, is it my fault for not yelling 'hold the doors please'? quite possibly. but if you had any common sense, wouldn't you have held the elevator doors for someone that was limping even if the person hadn't yelled out to hold the elevator? i mean, i would, but maybe i'm more courteous and thoughtful than others.
it's things like this that really irritate me about people. there is no standard by which people live. most people go on about their day not thinking of or considering others. and i'm not talking about philanthropy or anything on that grand of a scale. i'm talking about the little things. the day-to-day things that make life go a lot smoother. most of the time i let it pass and make excuses for it (well, maybe the elevator was packed and i wouldn't have fit in there anyway). but times like today make me reevaluate my own life and wonder if there are (little) things that i do that make others feel the same way i feel now about people: hopeless.
Labels: work