One of the reasons I wake up at 6a.m. is for the sense of solitude the early morning affords. This morning, however, has not been so peaceful.
There was the cyclist who rode my ass all the way to the pool. Why don’t you just pass me? There isn’t any traffic. If I go faster will you give me some room? No? So why don’t you just pass me? I don’t understand you.
Then there was the hairy man at the pool who didn’t read the sign on the slow-lane that read “swim counter clockwise”. The sign even has arrows to make it really obvious what “counter clockwise” means. But as we approached one another head-on, I was the one who caved in our game of swim lane chicken. Then everyone else started swimming counter clockwise, too, and I spent my whole swim wondering when everyone would start going the right direction again. They never did. Am I crazy for finding this so unsettling?
When I left the pool, someone affixed their helmet to my bicycle. Thanks, but I’ve already got a helmet. It even matches my bike. So what do I do with this thing? Leave it on the ground, I guess.
I could bitch about the jack-ass drivers who wouldn’t share the narrow lanes of Shoreditch with me and my bike. Or the constant supply of crazies who make animal noises outside the bedroom window at 3a.m. every morning. Or the drunkard passed out in the middle of the sidewalk. But this is nothing new to London, a city of 7.7 million people perpetually encroaching on each other’s personal space.
Good news, though: the people may be pervasive, but their cigarette smoke won’t be. London has banned smoking in all workplaces, restaurants, and pubs!
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