Eclectic Spaghetti


People Watching….People Listening
March 19, 2008, 4:53 pm
Filed under: "This-N-That"

Sounds like I’m paranoid from that title, doesn’t it? Actually I was the one doing the people watching and listening….again. This time it was at the post office. A delight for at least two of my five (or six?) senses.

I drove through the rain during my lunch hour to get to the post office so that I could pick up a much desired gift I ordered for myself. When I got there, it seemed like everyone else decided to go to the post office at the same time, because there was a very long line. Two people were at the desks, but technically there was just one who could help other customers. The other one was dealing with a family of three getting their passports.

Since I had time on my hands, I just took a deep breath and stood in line. A girl came in soon after with a pink cellphone attached to her ear. She was carrying on a conversation with someone on the other end, obviously. At one point I even heard the girl on the other end. I was not standing next to the girl, she was a few people behind me. This is what I picked up:

Girl in Line: “[So-and-So] gave me a card for my birthday with a coffee cup on the front, and then [so-and-so 2] was like, ‘But you don’t even drink coffee! Any of your friends would know that!’ And I was like, laughing so hard.”

Enthralling. Aren’t you glad I shared this with you?

Then another postal employee opened up shop so the line moved along a little better. I picked up another phone conversation from a guy two or three people behind me (the girl must’ve left, because I didn’t hear her at all and she kept telling her friend that it was ridiculous to wait so long and that she had to go). Anyway, this was the thing I heard from the guy in line:

Guy in Line: “I talk to the man upstairs, but he never answers. He’s not big on communication. Maybe you could use your connections?” Then he laughed. 

Now….When he was mentioning “the man upstairs”, was he referring to God or was he referring, literally, to the man upstairs at his work? We’ll never know. But I think he was referring to the first option. Why, I do not know.


9 Comments so far
Leave a comment

I vote for literally the “Man Upstairs at his work”. I like to vote for the oddest answer :)

Comment by Suze March 19, 2008 @ 5:11 pm

Hmm..could be either one. Interesting! I am amazed that they even let these people on the phone. You get yelled at my post office for doing that. Understandable…

Comment by Manuel March 19, 2008 @ 5:25 pm

Maybe he was talking about the voices in his head?

As you know, I absolutely love being a spectator in this theater called life. It seems that you have run into one of my species, but in a different habitat.

I do not go to the post office too often, I know species hang out there. maybe one day I will have to find an excuse to go on a busy day.

Comment by evil-e March 19, 2008 @ 6:32 pm

I need to get out more.

Comment by silverneurotic March 19, 2008 @ 8:08 pm

Suze: You could be right…Maybe he doesn’t know the name of the man upstairs at work.

Manuel: It would be nice to have a ban on cellphones at the post office, but on the other hand, I was glad I had something to listen to while standing in line. :) If they don’t care about talking on the phone in public, then they should be okay with people eavesdropping.

Evil-e: Yes, voices in the head is also a good option. You should definitely get yourself to the post office, apparently lunch hour is a good time, or at least a time when you can go there and have time to wait in line. You’re a good observer, I’m sure you’ll find some good stuff.

Silver: Go get some stamps and stand in line at the local post office! :) Or go to the mall and just hang back to listen and watch.

Comment by Tara March 20, 2008 @ 9:10 am

I love it. I’m sure I’ve told you that I wish I were invisible sometimes. I really do like to watch and listen.

Comment by churlita March 20, 2008 @ 11:14 am

Cell phones have given us unprecedented looks into the personal lives of others. I call it a blessing and a curse ;-)

Comment by laura b. March 20, 2008 @ 4:53 pm

Churlita: It was definitely an entertaining line to stand in!

Laura B: A blessing and curse is right.

Comment by Tara March 20, 2008 @ 6:29 pm

[...] I didn’t have dinner plans with friends, I was just wandering around the conference location and people watching. I just kind of absent-mindedly followed a bunch of people into a room with dinner food-thinking [...]

Pingback by 12 Days In New York On $130 WithOUT Resorting To Prostitution March 30, 2008 @ 10:51 am



Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>