Night Haiku #1

Emerging conscious,
   Trees, rocks, water, people, wow!
What do we do now?

The Same, Just Different Crap

The clock has pretty much just struck 10 PM EST, not a bad time to pack up the work.

I have no complaints about the last couple days. At least, not since I got inspired after The One Man Star Wars Trilogy.

OK, maybe I've got one thing to complain about. The next day, I woke up early, had a bit of coffee throughout the day then had a couple drinks that night. To celebrate someone's birthday, a bunch of us went out for dinner and drinks then to their place to hang out. I felt out of it, tired and not very scoial. Because I felt tired and beat, I think I didn't have such a great time.

Oh well, I was pretty productive that day, nonethetheless.

Sunday, I did some miscellany but nothing too important.

Tonight, I did real good. Figuring out how to fill out a stupid form that I feel like I didn't need to fill out so that I could correct a stupid mistake with a financial firm frustrated me.

After clearing all that up, though, I edited a couple job searching templates then figured out that I don't have much more editing to do until I actually start posting my resume and really look for jobs. Woohoo! This stage helps me feel a lot better after realizing, at the birthday party the other night, just how small amount of time that I have until April, when the fiancee and I move to Chicago.

Oh yeah. . .another great thing: Got a random call from a Chicago friend who just got a new cell phone with a Chicago number. Great to hear from him.

Services Rendered and Personal Responsibility

Just how responsible should the consumer be when the salesman practically gives them the product?

Practically every morning and evening, I commute from home to work using public transportation. In the morning, I walk a bit to catch the bus in hopes of making it to the commuter rail on time so that I can either grab an hot apple cider or tea at the local cafe before boarding the rail and/or get to work on time. It really isn't important for this topic, but these tasks can get difficult, depending on when I wake up.

In the evening, I pretty much follow this course in reverse except that time doesn't enter so much as a factor except that I'd like to get home ASAP. I want to get as productive as possible. The local cafe generally doesn't enter the picture, either, unless I want to stay away from home for a change of scenery.

The conductors, in the morning over the last half year or so, have gotten somewhat lazy and unobservant. They seemed to have ignored me and didn't collect my fare.

Now, a lot of people would just go with it and take the free ride. I did that for awhile, but then I started thinking about it. The money I would pay helps to keep the fares for the whole MBTA system down (but they also can increase them if more people use the public transport) and my fare goes to keep food on the table of families, clothes on the backs of families, helps families go on vacation and so on and so forth.

On top of that, this trading money for a ticket also creates the chance to interact with another human being and make a connection with someone. It can remind me and this other person about the interdependence that we have on each other and the rest of humanity and nature.

After awhile of one conductor, a pretty enthusiastic and upbeat guy, of not collecting my fare, I made a point to getting his attention and making him take my fare. After all, I would have my cash in view and ready to pay. I would be reading at the time, but that's no excuse for this guy not collecting my fare. I had to work a couple weeks to train the guy but eventually he would stop by me and collect my fare.

Almost every morning, this enthusiastic, upbeat guy helped to brighten my day and made me warm up to people that much more.

Then. . .

Then. . .

Then. . .

Then he disappeared!

One morning, maybe a half month ago or so, my friendly conductor didn't stop by my seat to ask for my fare.

In fact, no one stopped by my seat to ask for my fare. Some young punk just got back on the car, walked down the aisle, hardly paying attention to anyone then sat back down at the front of the car.

This young whipper snapper followed this routine for a couple days after that, so I figured I would have to train another conductor. Instead of just sitting there, waiting for him to ask for the fare and offer me a ticket, I tried getting his attention.

The young punk hardly even paused. I think he might have for a second. My request for him to collect my fare registered with him for just that one little second. . .

But then he just kept walking toward the back of the train!

I didn't even see him for the rest of the train ride until I got off at my stop.

I forget how long ago that ride was. The experience really annoyed me. The young kid didn't even acknowledge my existence.

Not yet have I gotten up from my seat, walked up to a conductor, handed them my fare then said, "Give me a ticket."

I'm thinking about doing it. I feel that it is my responsibility to do so, to keep the costs of the consumers at market value, to keep the families of the MBTA employees going strong, hell, to keep the fabric of society together so that it doesn't fall apart by the strings to become Thomas Hobbes's State of Nature.

The acceptance and legislation of same-sex marriage won't destroy society. The merchant's failure to collect on their service or product rendered will destroy society.