lupestripe | It's Good To Talk

Watching people on the bus is fascinating - are we all so scared of each other that we would rather sit alone than next to a stranger? Or perhaps we just dislike our fellow countrymen, or that the collection of loud talking people who liberally swear, masticate furiously and use personal stereos at their maximum settings have all got us down. It's an interesting phenomenon as some of the most interesting conversations I have had have been when I have had to interact with random people.

I used to be the same when I went swimming - get in, do my lengths and go. The fewer people to get in my way the better. However by isolating myself from everyone I wasn't part of their discussions and I felt exactly that - isolated. In lanes some swim faster than others so communication is essential to keep everyone moving and I felt an inconvenience to other swimmers. Plus I never got involved in their conversations when they relaxed after a few lengths, my determination to get done probably giving the impression I was a rather bitter and angry person. As the same five people tend to use my lane at the same time as I, over time this feeling began to become noticeable.

On Tuesday I started talking to people, admittedly by accident, and it turned out they were very pleasant. I continued this on Wednesday and now going swimming is part social part exercise and wholly more fun because of it. It also made me realize that the cynical bitter me of recent weeks is just one facet of my personality and things are better when the positive friendly me is in town. This is easier said than done at the moment - with the UK becoming an increasingly desperate place to live as well as taking stock of recent violent global events.

P.S. Good to see the Culture Secretary has given more power to Rupert Murdoch's empire by allowing him to buy the remaining stake in BSkyB. I really do despair - let's just hope his selling of Sky News won't affect media plurality. I somehow doubt it though - governments tend to only look after their own interests.

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