Isn't It Ironic?

On the bus last night, during the treacherous 55 minute trek home in the snow (uphill both ways barefoot), the accordian bus I was on was packed to the gills. I was standing, balancing a shoulderbag, holding onto the pole above, and reading, which I've gotten very good at doing.

A young girl was seated by the window, in the front 1/3 of the bus. I was standing just one and a half rows in front of her, facing her side. She got a phone call.

Flipping open her jeweled cell phone, she loudly answered and began a conversation that was peppered with "like" and "uhm, yeah, totally!" and the volume just got louder and louder. She went on to talk about "how, like, I'm a great manager and I just, like, don't understand why that guy got so mad! I'm, like, really good with people, and can almost always, like, help the customer! I, like, am organized and like, get things done, and totally help out."

She was talking so loudly that everyone, like, knew her business.

Instead of glaring at her, I prefer to watch the other passengers. Silent grumbling. Wrinkled brows. Exchanged looks between couples. Smirks shared by strangers. And, the occasional old person who just doesn't give a hoot about what other people think anymore just loudly ranting about how rude that girl is. Well, rudeness goes both ways, but you're old, so I'll let you get away with it.

Anyway, my only complaint is this: when you're reading, it is hard to have a loud conversation infiltrating your mind while you concentrate on the written words. The story gets jumbled, and you end up re-reading the same paragraphs over and over. All the while you could care less about the stupid chatter you're hearing, but you just can't avoid it. So, I would have just liked to tell this "like, little, rude great manager" to just turn down the chatty volume a touch.

Just then, God interfered.

Ok, so it wasn't God. It was the CTA pre-recorded voice. But, to the masses on the bus, it was divine intervention.

"Please be courteous to others around you while talking on your cell phone." the automated female-voiced announcement said, to an almost-silent -except-for-her bus of people.

Everyone started laughing. Cracking up, actually.

She didn't even hear it. She was still, like, totally, uhm, talking too loud.