...to be crotchety. Fa! La! La! La! La! La! La! La! La!

The holidays are approaching and it certainly doesn't feel festive to me. Perhaps it's because there is barely any snow here in Toronto, or because I've been preoccupied with the baby...or because people are just not jolly at all!

1. I was taking the subway to the hospital the other morning and an elderly person collapsed and fainted. The subway was packed and this poor old man was on the floor! I asked people to hit the yellow emergency button, but no one responded. I don't know if it was out of sheer indifference, or that people didn't know how to react...or that they didn't want to have a subway delay and be late for work. I was livid. The man was fasting for surgery and just passed out. Finally someone hit the emergency button (I wasn't anywhere near it, otherwise I would have done it myself) and the paramedics arrived at the next station. This experience totally left me feeling awful about humankind and how people react in situations like these. God forbid you're late for work because someone was ill on the subway! Shame on that person for disrupting your lifestyle. (Note the sarcasm?) I am not a fan of delays either, but if it meant saving someone's life, then I'd rather ensure that the person were taken care of. I just think of how I'd feel if it were me in that situation. I'm just glad that the man who collapsed got help. I would feel awful if he had something serious like a heart attack and no one bothered to push that emergency button!

2. I'm generally a happy, smiley, friendly person. I usually greet people good morning. I understand that sometimes people aren't in the mood to smile, say hello, or just be kind. Each morning I have been saying "good morning" to the bus driver when I get on the bus, and he always lets out a grumpy "hmph"! Well, the other day he was extremely rude! This is no complaint against all Toronto Transit drivers, because there are many really friendly ones out there. On of my friends is a TTC driver and he is really pleasant, personable and polite. This driver I was talking about slammed the door on my arm the other day! I was the first one waiting at the bus stop and then a man arrived, followed by an elderly woman. When the bus arrived, the man motioned for me to go first because I was the first one there, but I motioned for the elderly lady to go first because I was always taught to respect my elders and let seniors or anyone needing assistance to go first. The lady told me to go first and as I was getting on the bus, the bus driver closed the door on my arm and said, "Well, you friggen people can't make up your mind and I need to go!"

Ummm...We weren't even two seconds in our deliberating! That just really ticks me off! Being in the city, although I have missed it, really makes me want to be back on the Island. People on the Island acknowledge each other, say hello and good morning, and most of the time they are helpful and accommodating. People on the Island wave, nod, or honk their horn as they see you when driving. It doesn't matter if you know the person or not. It's a courtesy thing. I think I'm suffering from reverse culture shock! Ha!

3. My friend drove me from the hospital to the place I'm currently staying at while the baby is in the NICU. There was a person at the side of the road who looked like she was in need of assistance. Her car looked like it had broken down. On the Island, people would most likely stop to see if the person needed help. It's happened to me before when I ditched my vehicle. A dozen vehicles stopped (not all at the same time) to see if I was okay. One guy even called the tow truck for me. Here, no one stops to help. I totally understand why though. I could be dangerous to stop to help someone in the city. You never know if the person really needs help or wants to rob you. That's the sad part of it though. It saddens me to think that we live in a world where helping and trusting people is something that isn't as natural as it ought to be.

4. People are so rude during the holiday season! The malls are crowded and people don't seem to care about apologizing when they bump into others or anything. I was watching as a teenager pretty much plowed into an elderly lady at the mall. In her defense, she did say "Excuse me"...but it was more the tone in her voice that implied that she didn't mean it that way. She was really, really rude.

5. For some reason, in the past few weeks, whenever I hear Christmas carols I am reminded of shopping malls! It's really, really odd! I never felt that way before.

I do love Toronto. I love my friends who live here, the culture, the diversity, the arts and entertainment, the restaurants, the shopping...but I don't miss #'s 1, 2, 3, and 4.