in DC: metro seat hog blues

So it’s already Monday, right? I made it halfway to the metro station when I realized I forgot my phone. I go back upstairs to get it and just as I lock the door, realized I forgot one other thing.¹

Made it to the metro station, a little bit later than usual, but it’s Monday, right? As our Green line train is a few minutes away, I hear the familiar WMATA announcement informing customers that there’s a delay on the Orange line. While thankful I don’t take that line to work, it’s still a bit hard to swallow since WMATA’s only been open about an hour and there’s already a mechanical issue. Most annoying is that they end the announcement with “we apologize for the inconvenience”. It’s not an inconvenience, it’s a service interruption which may well result in who knows how many customers arriving to work late. Many of which, I’m sure, have already learned to arrive at the metro station earlier than usual just in case of delays–which are getting to be the norm.

Still, Green line is good to go–knock wood–and our train arrives without much fuss. Because we were later than usual, there were no double seats. My guy and I like to sit together and chat–or not, if we haven’t had enough coffee yet–but in situations like this, we try to find a pair of aisle seats next to each other and make do. Unfortunately, I chose poorly and ended up next to a seat hog so annoying that most of the following was written on my phone while seated–for as long as I did–next to her…²

By the time I’d moved back around to snap a photo, she placed her purse on her lap. Had she done that when I sat down next to her, I probably would have been fine. But the movement of the purse had nothing to do with being courteous. She was just positioning herself to exit the train.

I see and deal with seat hogs all the time, and I’m desperate not to be one, even when traveling with large bags. I’m broad-shouldered enough that with winter layers, just trying to read books on my iPad comes close to shoving out the average-sized passenger so I try to be as mindful of it as I can.

Still though, marking your territory like that on a Monday morning is just plain rude. Worse so is the refusal to move your stuff that is clearly only there to dissuade others from sitting next to you. If you’re that much of a misanthrope that you can’t stand anyone in your space on your commute… just drive and save the rest of us the annoyance. Because it only starts with being a seat hog and before you know it you’re developing a bunch of fake tics and mannerisms and then you move to being outright aggressive to keep people from sitting next to you. Which admittedly would be great blog fodder for me, no lie, but I think if I see her again, I’m going to steer clear and rely on the kindness of others to keep my morning commute pleasant.