aggressive pedestrian.

i guess this is coastal culture shock. ever since i can remember, i have been a fast walker, impatient driver, and aggresive pedestrian. and i always felt like - if you're from boston, you might understand this - there's some kind of unspoken competition among fast walkers, impatient drivers, and aggresive pedestrians.

for example. say, you're waiting to cross the street at a crosswalk (in boston). everyone leans a little bit forward, just to see how dangerously close they can get to the road from the curb without getting clipped by a bus. and they wait for the exact moment when they can propel their bodies forward across the street. they may not have a walk signal (they probably don't). they will not run (other people need to look out for *them*. once you're in that crosswalk, it's yours, and no speeding car has the right to take it away from you until you've finished with it). and there is always that magical moment when the traffic abates, and they all rush to be the first to put a foot down on street pavement. who makes it first? who steps too soon, and has to take a step of defeat back onto the curb, to wait for the next traffic opening?

So, you can imagine that it came as a great shock to me when i came to the west coast and this competition doesn't seem to exist. people WAIT FOR A WALK SIGNAL. it's no longer a battle of wits between pedestrians and traffic (who has the best instincts about when to cross? who will take the first step?). here, it's a simon says game - you just do what the little blinking man tells you to do. where's the sport in that?

not only do they wait for a walk signal, they wait patiently. they don't look at the opposing traffic lights to see if the walk signal is coming sooner rather than later. they don't shift on their feet and look up the street for oncoming traffic, in case they can scurry accross without a signal. they just stand there patiently. and they DON'T jaywalk. i jaywalk everywhere. why? because the shortest route between two points is a straight line. the fastest way for me to get from one block to another is to cut a corner. those are the rules.

other things:

today, while walking around with marit and meg, we heard someone walking up the street singing "streetlight people" (you know, "don't stop believing! hold on to that feeeeeeeeling!". a favorite of the swinging johnsons). it was hilarious.

also had a meeting with people at the school arm of the ODC dance company in sf. which was really exciting and great. they need someone to pull together and coordinate their community outreach. i would LOVE to do this. but they have no money. typical. so, we have another meeting next week. what the heck? i have the time.