So today, this morning, I started my walk to work realizing that I had read all of my news on AvantGo already – so I needed to do an OTA (over-the-air) sync on my lovely Treo 650.
It wouldn’t work. I tried full syncs, partial, just one channel – still no go. So I finished reading my mail on the train, then thought – hey, this might be cool, I can just sit and relax on the train. I’ve been having a lot of work-related anxiety lately (yesterday I was convinced for hours that the primary server was down, even though it wasn’t), so the prospect of sitting and letting my mind wander wasn’t so terrible. Luckily, I got my favorite seat on the F train (the 2-seater, window-side), so it would be a good 30-45 minutes of relaxation.
Except there’s a woman seated about 4 or 5 feet away from me with Tourette’s. It’s worse than a regular Crazy Person in that you can’t predict when an outburst will occur. She’ll be near silent, with a slight smile on her face, for 5 minutes or so, the suddenly an explosion of a syllable here or there. I don’t actually know if it’s Tourette’s, because it’s not curse words she’s coming up with.
“EPPP…………UPPP….GEPPPP…….GEPPPPPT…..HESH” With various delays between each. I think “Gept” was a correction on “Gep” – perhaps she felt she wasn’t clear enough. “GEPPP” again “GETcho motherfuckin eyes…” Intriguing.
I originally thought this was a technique to clear the seat next to her (she’s on the 3-seat bench, the seat closest to my across-the car 2-seat neighbor), as it was effective, and she was silent for 3 or 4 stops after it was implemented. But it kicked in againm even when she sits with no companion. “SETCH” “GETFUH” and now lots and lots of noise, someone must be looking at her. Silly tourist. Never look at the crazy people. They’re like the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.