headphones

so as our luke page (who's blog seems to have been cut off at the two-post mark sometime ago) said, he doesn't like wearing headphones any more because it's anti-social.

for a while i agreed with him. i still agree with him that it's anti-social. but after living in london for a while, i both think it's anti-social, and continue to do it. there's something about this town that encourages anti-social behaviour, even if in such a week way; you come to realise that all these people around you are just in your way. the only comment you could ever make to them is 'excuse me please'. and so i wilfully, and knowingly, wear headphones partly to cut them out.

they ask for it. there's something very depressing about being surrounded by people reading the same dreadful paper full of sleb rubbish and anti-news. someone gets up, leaves the paper, someone else sits down, picks it up. it's like my neighbours are the papers rather than the people.

that said, i wouldn't go as far as the man i saw last night. round the corner from work, there's a pub with free wifi. often i see a chap in there playing world of warcraft, or others checking their emails (it would be fun for a bunch of us to go into a wifi pub or cafe and play quake or something. sitting at different tables of course). but last night there was someone in there, (no laptop or anything, that was by-the-by), pint in front of him, headphones on, eyes closed, head down.

he was probably waiting for someone; but until then, he was obviously content to have nothing to do with anyone else at all. sat in a little warm bubble, alone. are personal stereos are the new opium?