So, I have a confession to make.

I’m typing this blog so that I don’t have to talk to the guy sitting accross the table from me on my train ride home.

No – it’s not Gregg.  … that would be funny though *devilish grin* …

Every once in a while a strange person will get on the train and sit close by.  What makes that person strange varies.  Sometimes it’s the way they smell.  Other times it’s what they’re reading (WHOA – sometimes I don’t even want to look).  Other times it’s what they’re eating or they way they’ve done their hair (sometimes it’s hard not to stare).  In today’s case it’s the fact that this poor guy cannot sit and not talk. 

I bet he can’t walk and not talk either.  I’d even bet that he can’t not talk EVER.  But he’s trying.  For my case, I’m sure.

When he got on I was really absorbed in a spreadsheet I was working on (yes, I’m rambling – remember my cause).  As soon as I moved an inch – literally, all I did was move my hand from one side of the keyboard to the other – he told me that he had a question for me.  He said that he has an older phone and noticed that mine is newer and wanted to know if the newer phones have better spam blockers.  Huh?  It didn’t register for two reasons – (1) abosorbed in spreadsheet and (2) I didn’t realize that phones had spam blockers.  I just stared at him for like 2 seconds so he repeated the question and then elaborated.

“I get lots and lots of text messages to my phone and lately it seems like I’m getting more and more texts that I don’t want.  I’m wondering if the newer phones have a way to block them so that I don’t get them because right now I have to call the number they send me and tell them to take me off their list.”

Still not registering with me.  I’ve never received a spam text message.  I get random ones from my phone company sometimes, but I’ve never received a spam one.

I just said, “I don’t know – I’ve never had that problem.”  Yeah – I’m not a very nice person.

Then he repeats everything he’d just said to me again.  I just repeated, “I don’t know – I’ve never had that problem” and went back to work.

About 30 seconds later he asks me if I’m getting off in Oceanside.  Huh?  Oh, (trying to be nicer) “Yes, I am.”  Then he says, “Oh, ok, well if you want, you can get off before me.”  My face must have said what my brain was thinking – “What the what?” because then he said, “I always make it a habit to let people off the train that are carrying more stuff than I am.”

“Oh,” I said.  Pause, “That’s nice.”  What I MEANT by that was, “That’s nice of you” but what came out was more like “Dude, I don’t really give a flying rat’s tail and I’m busy so stop talking to me.”  Then I felt bad and couldn’t concentrate on my spreadsheet so here I am. 

Yeah, I already said that I’m not a very nice person.  A nice person would have carried on a conversation.  Instead, I’m writing a blog that maybe two people will read while he reads the comics from Sunday’s paper and chomps on his second bag of Peanut M&M’s.

Ok – he’s moved on downstairs.  It’s funny what people will do when we get close to Oceanside.  Some start moving downstairs when we’re in the middle of Camp Pendleton.  There’s still 10 minutes of the ride left at that point and they’ll move downstairs and just stand there waiting to pull into the station.  There really isn’t a point in doing that since there’s going to be tons of people all pushing their way off at the same time.  It’s better to just sit and enjoy the view and wait until we stop at the station before even bothering to turn off the computer.

Anyway – we’re here now.  I guess I should get moving…