just returned to the office from quick coffee run. was assaulted to and from by four wrigley wraiths hawking new and improved gum. on the "to" pass, i kept my head down. on the "fro", i was confronted by a hispanic woman in her early twenties, wearing a parka indoors, emblazoned with a wrigley wintergreen logo, perched lazily against a railing, limply offering sticks of gum, uttering the phrase "even cooler, even better" in a vaguely disembodied monotone. it said "i have a shit job, and i know it, and i couldn't care less about it, you or this product". isn't the point of people passing out samples to at least feign enthusiam about the product? still not sure if i'm baffled, horrified, or inspired.

stepping into the elevator yesterday after same quest for caffeine, was trapped with single white female, perusing obvious vacation pics from a jaunt to somewhere sunny. had that wintertime post-holiday tan, splash too red and uneven. kept glancing furtively at me, trying to make eye contact, desperate to share the remnants of her good fortune. finally, i gave in, looking up to meet her gaze. face lights up immediately and begins spouting effusively about vacation, and ain't it great and hate to be back, etc, until elevator opens and again i am alone with myself. why do people need to share with strangers? living here has been a fairly consistent challenge to my sense of boundaries between public and private. this HAS been an ongoing exercise instigated primarily by the ubiquity of cellphones. But, until relocating to chicago, it was limited to the uses and abuses of this new technology. At least, this shifting of boundaries is indirect. here, the compulsion to share, to make one's private life public, is direct and in your face. remind me to stop complaining about cellphones.

later, someone's cell phone rang and it had the exact same ring as eddy's phone in that episode of ab fab where saffy has written a play about her life. by the second ring, "IS IT A BEE?!" was screaming in my head. i stifled the urge to laugh out loud, as i was unwilling to try to explain just what was so funny. but the night before, i did let out a huge belly laugh during the opening sequence of smallville as pa kent sped down the road, getting his "just a good ol' boy" on. if you are not in the wb know, pa kent is portraying by none other than john schneider, bo duke, and even though the idea of him listening to the theme from the dukes of hazzard was a smidge too "in-jokey", it was a hoot nonetheless.

on the train last night, sat down next to this dorky, trenchcoat guy who was reading the tv guide. isn't reading the tv guide something you do in the privacy of your own bathroom? again with the boundaries between public and private. i didn't want to think about this guy on the john, but this is the image evoked by "reading the tv guide". but then again, i thought "good for you". either you don't know or you don't care that reading the tv guide on the train is a no-no. i've been thinking this alot lately. whenever i find myself thinking "what the hell is s/he thinking?", it is immediately followed by "not for me, but more power to you". is this what they mean my maturity? hmmm.

sometimes people make it sooooo easy. elevators seem to be playing a prominent part in my rants these days. on the way to lunch, i overhear these three typical folks, two women, one man, in a spirited conversation about points of view and sides and who's on what side, etc. i have NO idea what they were talking about, but it must have been important. then, one woman says to the man about the other woman, "but she ain't got no side!". this just as i was thinking about how perfectly round this woman was. it was uncanny. i had to stifle a "that's cause circles don't have sides". she replied, "that's right, i'm right in the middle!" and they all laughed. so did i. but not about that.

this reminded me of another bout of unintended meanings. on sunday, the new york times published an article about josh hartnett, which included an unbelievably hysterical quote from jerry bruckheimer. "you get the sense that josh isn't acting. with some actors, you see the wheels turning, but not with him." MAYBE he meant that mr. hartnett's style was natural and effortless, but these words coming from mr. bruckheimer, so famous for his association with deft and subtle work, ended up conveying an altogether different meaning. and frankly, i saw josh host SNL. i'm going with the literal translation.

peace out.