Monday, February 05, 2007

Little metal capsules

I'm spending a lot of time in my car at the moment, the product of multiple train cancellations. Unfortunately, lots of other people are spending the same amount of time in their cars, so I'm spending a lot of time people watching.

Our cars seem to be a very big part of our lives. When you spend a lot of time in it, you start to view it as an extension of your home. I've developed this theory after watching the odd things people do in their cars.

This morning I saw a man driving towards me with his toothbrush sticking out of his mouth, and a bottle of water in his hand. I really hoped that he wouldn't be spitting out the window. One day last week, the woman in the car next to me was plucking her eyebrows. I'm a big sook and would prefer to pay someone else to remove the excess hair from my eyebrows, and I cannot imagine being able to sit in the car with a pair of tweezers, using the rear vision mirror to yank the miscreants out, one hair at a time. I'm not so sure that I would want to arrive at work with red dots above my eyes either, unless the concealer was lined up ready for another set of traffic lights or a traffic jam. I had a house mate once who would use his electric shaver in the car on the way to work - that way he could get up at 8.40 and be at work by 9. No thanks.

I've started wondering what people think of me when they look into my car. Depending on what time I leave in the morning, I am either listening to the local ABC radio station, and probably arguing with the news or a politician, or I decide I need to play nicely and put my ipod on shuffle. Anyone who looks into my car will either see me yelling at the radio (note for future reference - do not do this with the window open, people look at me strangely!!), laughing at the radio or singing along at the top of my lungs. Again, probably not something the world needs to hear, but I'm happy. This morning my trip to work involved No limit by 2 Unlimited, Happiness by Regurgitator, I want to be loved by Bon Jovi, The Fool on the Hill by The Beatles, I wanna dance with somebody by Whitney Houston (I think I scared someone with this), Common People by Pulp, 7 Seconds by Youssou D'Nour and Neneh Cherry (in my head all day - the bit about when a child is born), Everloving by Moby, Body and Soul by Jenny Morris, Buy Now Pay Later by the Whitlams and Love Song by AC/DC. I love the shuffle function. Oh, and Hungry Eyes from Dirty Dancing.

The most disturbing thing I've seen while driving - the public display of affection between a man and his hand. Mate, tint your windows - please!

1 comment:

Liz Dwyer said...

Eww...tinted windows are definitely needed! Everyone's on their cell phone in LA, obviously, but I also see a whole lot of nose pickers! The worst is the folks who pick, study and then eat! I think people believe that because they're in a car, they are invisible or something. Nooo...we can see you eating the boogers! Yech!