Thursday 30 August 2012

Roasted sardines

No, this is not a recipe for a new culinary delight, but a description of my daily commute. With summer electricity saving measures in force many train companies have turned down the air conditioning on their trains. This makes my commutes warmer and rather less pleasant - sweaty stinky salarymen are not the nicest of seat companions!

This morning I found myself even more crowded than usual. The seat on my left was taken by a biiiiig Japanese guy. It isn't often that I feel small, but his knees stuck out a good four inches farther than mine, and his shoulders could have covered another half me! I felt like I had drunk an Alice in Wonderland bottle and shrunk down, very curious!

it wasn't until just before I got off that it all made sense. I blearily looked at the mini DVD player he had pulled out mid-ride, and realized he was studying a rugby game with great concentration. Every few minutes he'd practice his elbowing techniques and jab my side as he used the remote control to rewind and rewatch sections.

On the plus side, different from most of the other commuters he was neither sweating nor stinky (did I catch a faint whiff of cologne?!) and his muscled shoulder sure would have made a nice pillow... ;)

6 comments:

  1. Rugby is an apt metaphor for the daily commute, because it's a bit of a scrum! I'd rather sit next to a big sweet-smelling guy than a skinny ponging-to-high-heaven one.

    Actually I'd prefer a private carriage. Sigh.

    I can't figure out air conditioning on trains: some trains (on the same line) are freezing, others are normal, some are stuffy. Does it depend on the driver?

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    1. One of the lines I was on today they did an announcement apologizing for the AC and saying if people thought it was too cold they should go to the low AC train. I didn't did that train as chilly ad the next one I was on, so who knows? Somebody tolde last year that JR has their own electrical generation plants and thus wasn't as harmed by the electrical shortages. I don't know if it is true, but it was used as a reason why JR trains were still cranking the AC while the subways had cut back.

      And yes, I totally agree about smell vs size. Although I'd add the dampness factor too. Even worse than a smelly neighbour is one who leaves damp patches on your clothes, weather he smells of sweat or not! Ugh!!

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  2. Just pretend you are still drunk from the night before and cuddle right in!!

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    1. He did seem surprisingly cuddly for such a muscled guy! ;)

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  3. Too funny! I didn't realize that DVD playing elbow techniques were so useful on the rugby field... hugs, C

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  4. I'm not sure whether his elbowing would be useful on the rugby field. I do know if he had tried it in a hockey game he'd have gotten two minutes in the penalty box!!

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