The way you stare at people

I woke up this morning with the concern that some people might think that I am a big complainer - after all this is a blog about annoying things. If you'd know me better, you would know that that's only partially true. Fear not, this isn't a blog about ranting. To prove my point, I have decided that the annoyance divulged should be counterbalanced by a self-help tip, or some kind of positive thought to help readers (if there are any) look at the annoyance under another angle.

With that in mind, today's annoying thing is staring pedestrians.

As I was biking to work this morning, I realized that as I was passing a number of pedestrians, a lot of them were staring at me as they were waiting to cross an intersection or simply standing in line waiting for the bus. And when I say "stare", I don't mean it in a good way. Some had funny looks on their face (though they might have been blinded by the sun but that's besides the point), some were almost staring in fear that I might run them over, some seemed envious that I was enjoying a pleasant morning bike ride while they would have to stand on a crowded bus next to smelly people. They might also have wondered why the heck a biker was wearing a t-shirt with "taxi" written on it but that's also besides the point. My point is that pedestrians have become scared of bikers because most of us have simply gone mad: after all, I rarely respect roadsigns and traffic lights! Do you?

Then I tried to put myself into the pedestrian shoes I myself wear in the winter months. I figured that if pedestrians are as scared of me on a bike as I am scared of car drivers who would do anything to keep me from making my way in between their car and the sidewalk, I perhaps should make a nice gesture that would signal my understanding. So I stopped at a red light. I smiled in contempt although I'm not sure if the pedestrians who were waiting to cross the street really understood how this little action was so satisfying. I, for 1/2 a second this morning, felt like a better person....

...then I continued biking downhill like a crazy maniac but that also is besides the point.