Serenity now!

Yesterday while I was waiting for Kristie in the lobby of the clinic, I couldn't help but people watch.

What are people wearing? Tattoos and piercings? What are they talking about? Who is watching to God awful "When Animals Attack" episode on TV? What are people's kids doing? What magazines are people reading? What are they doing here?

These are just a few of the thoughts that ran through my mind as I was waiting. No doubt others were wondering the same thing about me too.

Then one young gal sat down that shattered my peaceful people watching, for she took out her BlackBerry and began to watch rap videos on it via Youtube.

This would not have been a pet peeve, had she been intelligent enough to actually bring headphones.

You'd think she'd look around at the dozens of people in the waiting room minding their own business (or like me - watching other people's business while reading). But no.

She continued to play her music loudly and watch the tiny little screen on her cell phone, completely oblivious to the dirty looks the ladies sitting next to and across from her.

I love my iPod and BlackBerry, but I don't subject anyone else to my tastes in music.

After ten minutes of listening to seconds of the song and then silence while the video loaded and then listening to more of the song and then more silence as it loaded again and then listening to the entire song over again when it finally loaded completely and she re-watched it, I was hoping one of the gals shooting her dirty looks would say something (I would have loved too, but I could only say things in my head . . . or on my blog).

Then in a twist of fate, one of the ladies who was shooting the young gal dirty looks had her cell phone go off loudly (I think the ringtone was a country song). Of course, it took her close to half a minute to dig it out of her pocket and then look at who was calling before deciding to answer it . . . all the while subjecting us to her music! Oh the irony.

Then she answered it and talked briefly before gracing us with her absence as she got up and left to take the call.

I thanked my lucky stars right then and there for two things: having a book with me and leaving my cellphone in the damned Highlander.

I have no problem with our technology allowing us to walk around totally immersed in ourselves (our music if you've got an iPod, our reading material if you've got a Kindle or iPad, our daily drama if you've got a BlackBerry), but I do have a problem when others force people to join them in their immersion.

I mean who has the gal or just lack of higher order thinking skills to assume dozens of people won't mind listening to music . . . some of it inappropriate? Who assumes that other people don't mind their ring tone and then listening to the first 30 seconds of their conversation? And who assumes that they're so important that they have to take a call while in the waiting room?

In the wise words of Cosmo Kramer, "Serenity now!"