I think that if I was a smoker I would be the most polite smoker there was because I would want to be a “good smoker” to prove that not all smokers are jerks. I’d exhale above me and put my used cigarettes into a case a la Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4.
However, the people smoking on the sidewalk the other day weren’t smokers like that, and the woman who was blowing smoke right into our path passive aggressively said this when Anna coughed slightly.
I’m not even going to complain that smokers throw away their butts in a provided receptacle. All I’m asking for is to step on it after throwing away a half-smoked cigarette. Is it that hard? I’m not a smoker, but if I were I imagine I’d kind of like stepping on cigarettes ’cause it’s fun to put out fire. Do they care that little or are they not extinguishing it as an act of charity for the guy on the street who will pick it up and finish it off?
My girlfriend was commenting on how lots of smokers don’t just step on their cigarette or even just toss it on the sidewalk a few feet away, but instead flick it as far as out into the street. Why is this? Cigarette throwing contest? They leaving it for the machine street cleaners to pick up? And why not use the smoking pole when one is clearly available for use? Apparently in Japan it’s against the law to just chuck cigarettes in that fashion so everyone has their own personal ashtray or something. I’m sure there are a lot of city workers who would love that.
Maybe he used it to store quarters for the parking meter like my family does. It wasn’t odd just that he preferred to ash his cigarette out of the window, it’s that he used his hand which was closer to the car ashtray to do it.
I’ve seen people take cigarettes off the ground and smoke them before, but this is the first time I saw a guy who looked like he was just scouring the floor for them and collecting them in his hands. He didn’t even look like the usual type of person you see taking cigarettes of the ground (Yes, if you’re wondering I picture the typical cigarette-off-the-ground person to look very messy and unkempt, most likely homeless). After that all I had to do was picture someone trying to bum a cigarette off of him and this comic was born.
I don’t know know of many subway grates that are actually above a platform, but I would love to do something like this. I hate watching smokers throw their butts away. Most don’t even step on them afterwards. I think I get even more pissed when there’s still a half cigarette left and they toss it because they’re about to go into the subway. If you’re going to do it, then at least smoke it all!
I like measuring items in terms of other cheaper things. Like if I hear about some insane designer clothing item worth thousands of dollars I’ll say “That’s like four Playstation 3s!!!” The five dumplings for one dollar place(s) in Chinatown have completely changed my perception of the value of a dollar since I first went there. I often cite that place as the place I’ll eat at often if I were ever homeless. Hence, I have no sympathy for homeless people smoking $8/pack cigarettes who say they’re hungry.
My friends and family note that I walk like a New Yorker, yet there are still people in New York who walk so unsufferably slow. I get really excited when I find someone who walks my pace, it’s like finding a person on the highway you can drive behind without switching lanes. Then this one morning there was a person who walked at my pace, but since they smoked that just meant that if I stayed behind them I’d be getting smoke in my face the entire time. I can’t remember if I sped up to get passed them or just endured it until I got to the subway.
I think the braille is only there to fulfill some sort of rules and regulations. I’d like to ask a blind person about this someday though. I really don’t picture blind people using any of the braille on general signs like this, it just makes no sense to me.
