I am usually a patient person. At bus-stops and train stations I always stand to the right and allow other people off first. If I miss a train I am happy to wait for the next one, even if it costs me a few missed minutes of class. And today was no exception, but it struck me odd that the other people around me, specifically this man standing in front of me, weren’t as kind to others. He jumped right through the doorway, giving no regard for the people who had been lining up outside on the platform for the last half an hour. He went straight in for a seat and sat down, dumping his belongings on the empty space next to him. The train wasn’t particularly crowded that day, but on any other occasion what he did would have been considerably rude. I took a seat directly in front of this man, which I don’t think he took too kindly to, but it was called public transport for a reason, and if he had any problems with the situations he was free to move as he pleased. He stayed there in his seat, and after the initial awkward eye contact one usually makes with the person less than a metre in front of them, he proceeded to look down at his feet and rigorously bite his nails. I was shocked by his ability to comfortably do something that most people only do in their own privacy in such a public place, but that wore off quick into disgust. The disgust wasn’t towards what he was doing, but how he was doing it. Violently gnawing at the cuticles of his thumb, then his index finger, then his middle, and so on and so on. He would repeat the same action over and over again, and over the course of a half an hour train ride this man did not once stop his methodical mutilation of his nail beds. This man just didn’t seem to be ale to relax, probably anticipating the next location he had to be in, and as I watched this man bite his nails for half an hour I began to sympathize with him and wonder what could be at the end of the train line that could make a grown man so uncomfortable that he would no longer care to be patient.

A character analysis, similar to seeing a moment in time, but not seeing the end result. We watch as this man is anxious, rude and careless. But as the train ride continues along we notice that his hair may be falling out, or that he is more nervous as the train gets closer and closer to his destination. We have shots of people commenting on his behavior, believing this man to be just a common jerk. But his expressions, and biting of finger-nails shows that he’s just on edge, regretting what is to come. The film could end with us arriving at the hospital in his local area, or walking towards a house, and leaving the audience wonder why he was so rude in the first place.

The children rushed in front of me towards the filling school bus. Many not caring about the innocent bystanders, specially me, that they were trampling over in the process. The small girls and boys were dressed in private school uniforms, complete with formfitting blazers and grey/navy stripped ties. The girls all stayed together, sitting close to the windows and avoiding the boys on the other side of the bus, probably because they had cooties. I managed to make my way through the slowly dwindling crowd of 12 year olds and reached the other side surprisingly unscathed. Turning my back to the children I noticed a lone girl lingering behind her classmates. She had her hair tied up and eyes focused on a mirror in her left hand. Her right hand held a brand of chap-stick that most parents would buy for their young children to subdue their requests for real makeup. With the lip-balm in hand she walked slowly, carefully trying to make her way across the busy footpath, while almost maintaining her focus on the important task of applying generous coats of the moisturizing product to her lips.

The car in front of me was driving way too fast, especially on a road where the limit was already high at 80. The white vehicle swerved in and out of traffic, and eventually came to rest in front of mine. It’s number plate was covered in dust, but the rest of the car was immaculate. Not a scratch, dent or indication of fading paint. This car looked almost brand new, and yet the number plate was so abused that something must have been amiss. But what was more peculiar was the 6 Elmo dolls sitting in the backseat window area. The entire back window was almost covered completely by the unblinking monsters, and I wonder if the person driving could see through all the red fur.

A small quiet road during mid-day, with very little cars driving along it. A white car appears on the street suddenly, looking completely immaculate and average. Nothing is amiss about the car except for the few red detail in the paint, and the abundance of Elmo’s living inside it. It is completely filled, and the car eventually has to be pulled over to the side of this quiet road. The driver struggles to get out, there are Elmo dolls everywhere.

I imagine an absurd situation where nothing truly makes sense about the situation. Especially the comedic situation of being completely immersed with Elmo dolls, or other plush toys. Something very light-hearted and completely absurd possibly. The driver would probably take this all in stride, and a passing driver may just slow down and observe this driver repack all their toys in the overloaded car.

On my way to a friends house my phone was running low on battery. I knew that the train commute was going to take at least an hour, so to conserve battery life I opted to turn my phone off and travel in silence. My destination was on the other side of town, and with no familiar scenery or people to occupy my time I watched the people around me. I was disconnected from the world on this train, or at least that’s how I felt at the time. With no indication of time, no access to Facebook, and no music to listen to, I was finally cut off from my phone like I had never been since receiving this iPhone 3 years ago. Looking back I know I was being paranoid about my dependency on the device. I was worried I would miss an important call, or text, or meme. But after the initial shock of having my ears clear of headphones I began listening to the things around me. I listened to small quiet conversations between people I don’t know, I could hear the train engine stop and start, and bizarrely enough I could hear the music of other people around me, despite the earphones they were using. There was a man in particular next to me who played his Led Zeplin particularly louder than is safe for his ears, but the familiar sound of music blasted anywhere was comforting. And as I watched the people around me for something interesting to write about, I realised it was a perfect time for me to observe. I also realised that I could have been doing this way more often than just on train rides, but that my connection to my phone always distracted me in a way that made me less aware of the world around me. Disconnecting myself got me to wake up and actually fully dedicate my attention to this exercise, to this experience of noticing things around me which for the last two years I have been distancing myself from slowly. My phone, which is suppose to be a tool to connect me with the bigger world ended up constricting my freedom of consuming the real world, and actually disconnected me more with the world I was currently standing in.

He stands there leaning against the front of the parked car. As I walk to my next class he disregards all of the other students, just tending to his lit cigarette, which he keeps in his left hand. I briefly glance over him as I walk by. My friends are still discussing the upcoming readings for class, but my mind just picks up on this one man. He was short, Asian, and had a black jacket on. Over his jacket he wore a puffy winter vest, which was the usual attire international students tended to sport. His hair was wet, or I assume it was, judging by the way it was glistening in the day light. Either he just had a shower before coming into university, or was a fan of excessive gel use. He was overweight as well. Not by the general standards of fitness and beauty, but from a medical standpoint this man looked to be struggling to stand for a long period of time, hence why he was leaning against the bonnet of the car. But when I think about how he must have health problems, I questioned why would he take up smoking. It was a fad in high school which I never took up. This man however, seemed to really enjoy tobacco and all the side effects that come with smoking it. This man just seemed like he gave no regard for his health or future, and as he stood there leaning against the car he glared at me as I walked by; making a point to flick some ash in my direction.

I had a friend explain to me a situation he was in and as we were discussing things we would interject innuendo and sexual undertones at every chance. Anytime I said something was “huge” or how “she was shocked by you” he would comment the stereotypical “yeah she did” or a “yeah it is”. This male friend whom I’ve known casually for a year now was succumbing to the stereotype that men think about sex every 7 seconds and I really wanted to point out to him that it was getting annoying. I mean I am not one to shy away from sexuality or the mature themes it provides, but the immature way he was commenting was just so annoying that it stuck with me.

At work I saw two grown adults mocking one of their friends for playing Pokemon Go. The man was waiting alone and the two others came up next to him and pretended to catch Pokemon with him. But they did it in a condescending way. Like they truly thought the game was stupid, mimicking the game-play and screaming like children the words “I caught it, I caught it!”