Mine takes pictures, plays Millionaire, and can record my various rants - What can yours do?

So, as inspired by Derek's talk of blogs, I've decided to make more of an effort to write. As a means of forcing myself into it, I've even made Blogger my homepage, so we'll see how it goes. I'll try to keep the useless rants to a minimum. Starting tomorrow.

So I was driving home today in the parking lot that was the QEW and flipping radio stations trying to find something decent (Okay. I was looking for the new Fergie song. I'll be honest.) and I stumbled across The Strombo Show, which was quite entertaining, as far as Edge personalities go. Anyhow, Bob, one of the hosts, posed the following question:

Is it rude to talk on your cell phone while riding the bus?

He thinks it is, but this guy was met with a ton of opposition. All but one person who called in told him that he is wrong, and chatting on your cellie while riding the TTC is, indeed, okay.

I felt the need to tell the Internet that I'm on Team Bob and all those callers are wildly incorrect. There are few things that irritate me as much as a poorly placed cell phone call. (Irritate is too light a word - listening to Random 16-year-old talk about this week's crush sends me into a blind rage.) When I am on the GO train, I just want to sit in silence, do my crossword puzzle, occasionally crack open a school book and mind my own business (see previous entry on GO etiquette.)

It all comes down to the fact that GO and TTC riders are sharing a very small common space, so the personal bubble becomes a huge issue. Not only do I not want people touching me, or really making eye contact with me, but the sound waves emitting from the extremity attached to their cell phone are invading my personal space. I feel a mild sense of violation, which often leaves me with a scowl on my face.

I can accept that if one is riding the train with a friend, it's unrealistic to expect them to sit silently for an hour, so a quiet conversation between two people is only mildly disruptive, but what has the world come to when someone can't sit still for an hour (or, in the case of bus rides, 10 minutes) without feeling the overwhelming need to talk to someone they likely saw no more than 12 minutes ago.

While we're at it, I have taken the time to compile a list of places that Emily Post would deem cell use unacceptable (excluding obvious places, like classrooms, churches and movie theatres.)

• Buses, Trains, Streetcars, etc.
  
• Restaurants
  
• Stores (exception being if you're walking quickly through a mall)
• Checkout counters
• Libraries
• Anywhere where you're sitting/standing within three feet of another person
• Anytime when you're in the company of another person (you should be paying attention to them, not a piece of plastic.)
  

As Bob pointed out during his rant, unless it's an emergency or a pragmatic call ("Okay, I'm almost here." "Hey, I'm leaving now - want me to pick up anything from the store?" "Hey man, I just drove past your house and it's on fire. What's up with that?") it probably isn't necessary for you to be talking to them at that very second. If you absolutely have to, you should excuse yourself to a more secluded area, and finish the call as quickly and as quietly as possible.



For the record, I do own a cell phone. I'm pretty certain I couldn't get along without it.