On Distraction
Lonely Planet describes Tysons Corner as a shopping mall that metastacized. I may have mentioned that before, it's just that it's so very true. It's a cluster of high rise office buildings that surround one giant mall, and another large one across the street from it. Winding between the buildings is a cluster of over-crowded multi-lane roads and confusing intersections. Yet you can coun the number of cross-walks in the area with one hand. Sure there are bars and restaurants, a few cafes, but who wants to drive ater going out? The closest Metro Stations from there are a few miles down the road, and you can forget about flagging cab. Just call and hope they come, because nobody wants to drive there, Which is ironic considering the traffic.
Route 7, which dissects Tysons, was said in the Washington Post to be wider at its widest point, (which is where I work), than the Champs Elyses. I believe it. I play my own little live-action game of Frogger across it every day to get to the bus stop, which takes me to one of two Metrorail stations which are tucked away down the road in quiet, peaceful neighborhoods, precicely where they're not needed.
A few months ago, there was a guy next to me, also waiting to take his chance across the route 7 gauntlet. He was decked with the signature white cord of an iPod dangling from his ear. He was nodding his head. Singing. And not aware that an oncoming car could not hear his personal stereo. He pulled him back, and he kinda laughed it off. (Ooops).
I call them iPod People. Totally unaware of their environment while they go about their mundane daily communtes, walking in the malls, the streets of DC, andI often wonder if they're even paying attention the world around them. I never bought one, always wondering why sopmeone couldn't wait until they got home to listen to music.
I got an MP3 player for Christmas. When I left work today, I put it on the radio setting, and listened to NPR. I only had one phone in at first, but after I crossed the highway I put in the other. And I sort of got it. Sort of. I always bring a news[aper with me for the commute, keeps me busy. But here I was, gettingo n the bus, swiping my Metro card, finding a seat, getting off the bus, swiping my card through the Metro gate, riding/walking the escalator, waiting for the train, getting in, finding a seat, all the while listening to All Things Considered. Great show today, all about Bush's approval rating and his response, how attitude across the country has changed. It was about conservative backlash essentially.
Before I knew it I was in my neighborhood, almost home. My entire commute had become a dissociative action, a sleepwalk. So here we are, stripping ourselves of the mundane repitition of daily necessities, slipping entertainment into an empty slot. I wasn't alone of course, there were little white wires everywhere, as well as mobile phone ear pieces, blackberries, laptops. So very efficient. If you don't have time for entertainment, work. The commute is wasted space in the day, right? Fill it with something right? Why not? What's my problem with this?
Well, how much of our lives do we really need to control? What if I were to meet a fascinating person on the commute? Or if I'm able to pull someone else away from an oncoming car? What if I miss a shooting star? What if I just start thinkiong on my own terms, and come up with a great idea for this blog? Or something else? A eureka solution for a problem I'm having at work, or a new idea for my department? Why not call my sister> Or my niece?
Escapism is important. I have no doubt. Our best ideas come to us when we're not looking for them, sure. But if you're either on the internet, watching television, talking on the phone, or listening to an MP3 player, when do you have time to generate a new idea? And lastly, how far does it go?
How many tasks in your daily life, at work or at home, have either been shortened or recently been filled with some form of entertainment or communication? I know this is a tired question, but it seems so relevant lately. The other side of that coin is, if we were still filling our days hunting and gathering, how much our lives would we miss? Or would we just me living it?
This is kind of a weird tangent, I know. Not a new one either. Funny, had I not used my MP3 player today, the idea for this rant might not have occured to me. Maybe it's a bad thing, maybe not. I'll let you know how it goes. There's a voice-record feature on my device, maybe I'll record my ideas as they come to me now. Maybe I won't forget so many of them. Maybe I'll get inspired by All Things Considered.
I'm going to go program that staion into memory now. Have a good night.
Route 7, which dissects Tysons, was said in the Washington Post to be wider at its widest point, (which is where I work), than the Champs Elyses. I believe it. I play my own little live-action game of Frogger across it every day to get to the bus stop, which takes me to one of two Metrorail stations which are tucked away down the road in quiet, peaceful neighborhoods, precicely where they're not needed.
A few months ago, there was a guy next to me, also waiting to take his chance across the route 7 gauntlet. He was decked with the signature white cord of an iPod dangling from his ear. He was nodding his head. Singing. And not aware that an oncoming car could not hear his personal stereo. He pulled him back, and he kinda laughed it off. (Ooops).
I call them iPod People. Totally unaware of their environment while they go about their mundane daily communtes, walking in the malls, the streets of DC, andI often wonder if they're even paying attention the world around them. I never bought one, always wondering why sopmeone couldn't wait until they got home to listen to music.
I got an MP3 player for Christmas. When I left work today, I put it on the radio setting, and listened to NPR. I only had one phone in at first, but after I crossed the highway I put in the other. And I sort of got it. Sort of. I always bring a news[aper with me for the commute, keeps me busy. But here I was, gettingo n the bus, swiping my Metro card, finding a seat, getting off the bus, swiping my card through the Metro gate, riding/walking the escalator, waiting for the train, getting in, finding a seat, all the while listening to All Things Considered. Great show today, all about Bush's approval rating and his response, how attitude across the country has changed. It was about conservative backlash essentially.
Before I knew it I was in my neighborhood, almost home. My entire commute had become a dissociative action, a sleepwalk. So here we are, stripping ourselves of the mundane repitition of daily necessities, slipping entertainment into an empty slot. I wasn't alone of course, there were little white wires everywhere, as well as mobile phone ear pieces, blackberries, laptops. So very efficient. If you don't have time for entertainment, work. The commute is wasted space in the day, right? Fill it with something right? Why not? What's my problem with this?
Well, how much of our lives do we really need to control? What if I were to meet a fascinating person on the commute? Or if I'm able to pull someone else away from an oncoming car? What if I miss a shooting star? What if I just start thinkiong on my own terms, and come up with a great idea for this blog? Or something else? A eureka solution for a problem I'm having at work, or a new idea for my department? Why not call my sister> Or my niece?
Escapism is important. I have no doubt. Our best ideas come to us when we're not looking for them, sure. But if you're either on the internet, watching television, talking on the phone, or listening to an MP3 player, when do you have time to generate a new idea? And lastly, how far does it go?
How many tasks in your daily life, at work or at home, have either been shortened or recently been filled with some form of entertainment or communication? I know this is a tired question, but it seems so relevant lately. The other side of that coin is, if we were still filling our days hunting and gathering, how much our lives would we miss? Or would we just me living it?
This is kind of a weird tangent, I know. Not a new one either. Funny, had I not used my MP3 player today, the idea for this rant might not have occured to me. Maybe it's a bad thing, maybe not. I'll let you know how it goes. There's a voice-record feature on my device, maybe I'll record my ideas as they come to me now. Maybe I won't forget so many of them. Maybe I'll get inspired by All Things Considered.
I'm going to go program that staion into memory now. Have a good night.
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