Monday, November 3, 2008

7 - Nudging your chair from behind

You probably have had similar situations happen to you before, where a person sitting behind you nudges you from behind. Those are common, but have a listen of the following story and tell me if you've had this ever happen to you before. :D

I was sitting on the bus to school, minding my own business, and some guy, older than me, sat down, not in the seat behind me, but in front of me. In front? Not behind? That's odd, you might think, but what I experienced was, indeed, sort of odd. This man managed to sit down and have his back nudge me by sitting down forcefully. He not only did that, but for the whole trip, he kept squirming in his chair, causing me to be uncomfortable and squirmy as well. He was nudging me whilst he was in front of me. In the moment, I just thought... wow.

And in the usual case (where people nudge your chair
with their knees from behind), whether we're on the bus, at the movies, sitting in a classroom, or taking a flight in economy class, the most annoying thing of all is that this so small and petty, yet it can irk you so much. The mere force of one man's knees on the back of your chair is something that is so insignificant, yet it can distract you, anger you and ruin your day.

I can remember two or three times when I asked the person behind me to try to stop pressing his legs into my chair. People in Hong Kong usually comply, but they get annoyed at me for asking. I instinctively avoid little things like that. Walking in the street slowly, talking on the phone loudly, giving people free massages through the back of their chairs... anything that strangers in public would possibly find annoying. I'm sorry if I don't find a person's knees digging into my back pleasant, however, because I try to consider others, I (wrongly) expect the same in return and a mutual relationship between me and the community is proven to be non-existent nearly everyday.

5 comments:

J.J. in L.A. said...

I know 'exactly' what you mean! I've taken 3 plane rides in the last 1 1/2 years. I've been bumped from behind, from in front and from the side. I don't plan on any more trips for at least a year so I should get over the annoyance by then (and be able to deal with it).

One thing that's probably unique to my situation...people bump my wheelchair ALL the time. Cracks me up when they ask, "Are you all right?" They're more likely to be injured than I am because they're hitting metal, not me. lol!

Anonymous said...

I'm not exactly sure if this would count as a form of chair nudging, but it's especially annoying when you go to the movie theater and the person behind you puts their feet on the top of you chair. I've had this happen to me many times and it's lost beyond me why some people just can't find the common courtesy to keep their feet on the ground. after all, their feet probably get in the way of the screen for the people who are sitting behind them.
I never have to worry about accidentally nudging the person's chair in front of me because I'm short so my knees barely ever reach. another advantage of being not so tall.

Douglas said...

When I was young, I often took buses to other cities and towns (I had the bug of wanderlust all my life, it seems) but don't recall any nudging. Ah, but airplanes, yes. And I do so dislike the nudging and try to avoid both disturbing the person in front and the one in back, not to mention the one (or two) beside me. What to do about elbow superiority on that dinky little, uncomfortable, armrest?

Great blog. You have a flair for observation that I jealously admire. Now, if I could just get you interested in swing and classical music...

EiTheL said...

You reminded me of the bus uncle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSHziqJWYcM

similar situation but not really O_o"

Owlsley said...

i have several instances where the person behind be puts their feet on the basket underneath my desk and starts shaking their leg.the vibrations move up into my seat and i cannot focus when that happens. i try to be polite and tell them if they can stop but usually they continue doing it after a while