Friendly February: When People are Stupid, Obnoxious, or Daft...
I'm trying to see the good in people, even when they annoy me, today, giving them the benefit of the doubt, as per my new year resolution.
Most of the time I've been trying to remember that people aren't doing things on purpose - the slow walkers in front of me when I'm trying to get somewhere aren't just doing it to annoy me, people aren't appearing suddenly from around blind spots to annoy me, and the people who didn't bother to mask up on the train this morning may well have been exempt.
With other people, it was harder - like the cyclist who sped through a crossing this morning, ignoring a red light, despite the fact that several people, including me, were trying to cross.
I let Mum do some cleaning in my flat when I was in the office; I found that she'd tidied up all the mindfulness quotes that I'd laid out on a surface in a neat little pile. I had to remember her good intentions (and, as she explained, she was trying to dust).
It was good to be in the office today, though at times I was just trying to tolerate some of my louder colleagues. I was expecting a lot of noise from down the other end from the "cable works"; maybe people shouting at each other, arguing, but it was quiet, and there was just one person sitting down the other end doing a video call, who I assumed to be the person doing the works (or was it one of my colleagues sitting in a place where he wasn't meant to be?)
I managed some pictures for photo_scavenger...
I intended to take a picture of something I've seen near work for years; there's a flat where they've displayed a "family" of matryoshka dolls in their front window all the time when I've been working in the area.
I walked past on my lunchtime walk; I just about snuck in my fourth and final 20 minute walk for the week, if a little cheekily as I switched Strava on as I walked down the stairs in the office.
I took my camera phone out a little cautiously, and got ready to take a picture without being too obvious, but as soon as I spotted a man about 20 metres behind me, I changed my mind, getting a mental image of him asking me WTF I was doing.
I do have experience of being challenged taking pictures of private property, just because it looked interesting to me, and didn't want to have to explain exactly what I was doing, so I left it.
Again, I had to not blame the man for appearing suddenly, and who was probably out on his lunchtime walk too, but yes, the worry about being under scrutiny got to me.
This is my best effort so far for "family"; the figures sort of look like a family - I doubt anyone could argue otherwise. I've walked past it often, and it's the site of an old hospital, as I found out tonight when I checked the placard underneath.
This is my effort for "storm"; the weather was lovely until I was almost home on the train; I was trying to get a shot of the point where the good weather ended and the heavy clouds began.
I'll be working from home for the best part of the next two weeks; after then, all the works in the office should be over - apparently Boris is lifting all the remaining coronavirus restrictions on 21 February, according to the Metro.
Most of the time I've been trying to remember that people aren't doing things on purpose - the slow walkers in front of me when I'm trying to get somewhere aren't just doing it to annoy me, people aren't appearing suddenly from around blind spots to annoy me, and the people who didn't bother to mask up on the train this morning may well have been exempt.
With other people, it was harder - like the cyclist who sped through a crossing this morning, ignoring a red light, despite the fact that several people, including me, were trying to cross.
I let Mum do some cleaning in my flat when I was in the office; I found that she'd tidied up all the mindfulness quotes that I'd laid out on a surface in a neat little pile. I had to remember her good intentions (and, as she explained, she was trying to dust).
It was good to be in the office today, though at times I was just trying to tolerate some of my louder colleagues. I was expecting a lot of noise from down the other end from the "cable works"; maybe people shouting at each other, arguing, but it was quiet, and there was just one person sitting down the other end doing a video call, who I assumed to be the person doing the works (or was it one of my colleagues sitting in a place where he wasn't meant to be?)
I managed some pictures for photo_scavenger...
I intended to take a picture of something I've seen near work for years; there's a flat where they've displayed a "family" of matryoshka dolls in their front window all the time when I've been working in the area.
I walked past on my lunchtime walk; I just about snuck in my fourth and final 20 minute walk for the week, if a little cheekily as I switched Strava on as I walked down the stairs in the office.
I took my camera phone out a little cautiously, and got ready to take a picture without being too obvious, but as soon as I spotted a man about 20 metres behind me, I changed my mind, getting a mental image of him asking me WTF I was doing.
I do have experience of being challenged taking pictures of private property, just because it looked interesting to me, and didn't want to have to explain exactly what I was doing, so I left it.
Again, I had to not blame the man for appearing suddenly, and who was probably out on his lunchtime walk too, but yes, the worry about being under scrutiny got to me.
This is my best effort so far for "family"; the figures sort of look like a family - I doubt anyone could argue otherwise. I've walked past it often, and it's the site of an old hospital, as I found out tonight when I checked the placard underneath.
This is my effort for "storm"; the weather was lovely until I was almost home on the train; I was trying to get a shot of the point where the good weather ended and the heavy clouds began.
I'll be working from home for the best part of the next two weeks; after then, all the works in the office should be over - apparently Boris is lifting all the remaining coronavirus restrictions on 21 February, according to the Metro.