posted May 29, 2006 09:32 AM         

I saw X-men 3 last night (yay!) and..... I was so super excited about it, I made the date with my son and hubby, I made the plans, I really really looked forward to it.( this is saying something, since my attitude toward plans are generally vague and non-commital)

We sat a few seats over from a family. About ten minutes into the actual movie, this guy wanted to come on in, so my guys got up to make room for him to pass by, No problem. He sat beside me, next to his family, I suppose. We missed an important part of the dialogue because of that. Next thing I know, this guys on his phone. IN THE MIDDLE OF A MOVIE!!! He is saying ... "Oh, yeah , I'll text you" but then proceeds to keep chatting.. in a normal voice!!!!! He texted for a little while, then went back to chatting.
My husband asked in a regular voice.. "Is that guy really on the phone?"
I said, toward offending dude.. "Why YES, he IS on his cell phone!"

Hint not taken.. he continues to talk.
When he isn't taling, his screen is illuminated and distracting me, and he's clicking away at the keys to text.
I turned to him, looked him in the eye and said
"If you insist on talking on your phone, can you please do so in the lobby?"
He looked at me back, and sort of stumbled through an "okay".. ( he also looked at me up and down and sort of rather than being annoyed, wanted to make a play or something, which offended me even more)
He texted for a while still, then shut off the phone.

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

What possesses people to disrespect others?
Is this so important that you must talk during a brand new movie that I paid money to see?

Also... at checkouts or in a retail environment.. do you have to keep chatting as if the person ringing out your purchases is a machine, instead of a human being that you should acknowledge? Is it so hard to put your phone down for a minute to say hello, and communicate to a human being?
Oh, it irks me.. as if manners went away with the invention of portable phones.

posted May 29, 2006 05:11 PM         

Didja like the movie???? CJ is all excited to see it!!

Thanks for your rant!! I daresay there might be one or two people (even here at LL) who might see a tiny smidgen of themselves in this guy who cannot release his phone even for the duration of a movie….. how rude to the rest of his family, not to mention the rest of the people in the theatre, that he could not enjoy himself watching the movie with them, and instead ignored them in favor of whoever he was on the phone with. I feel for his kids – Dad didn’t care about seeing a movie with them, only talking to some unknown other person on his phone…..

I was at the mall yesterday. One of every four people who passed me was on their cell phone. Now, I appreciate multi-tasking as much as the next person, but 60‘s relic that I am, I have not forgotten the phrase that I integrated into my life and behavior then – BE HERE NOW. My perception is that even walking thru the mall on your phone, totally disconnected from any live people you might bump into there and have a face to face conversation with, is rude – it’s like you’re telegraphing people “don’t bother me, I’m having an important conversation elsewhere.”

Driving and talking on cell phones incenses me. Perhaps those that indulge in this practice really don’t realize how much their driving is impaired. Or they just don’t care -- or think they’re invincible, or such astoundingly proficient drivers that they can avoid mishaps when only 1/10th of their attention is on the road and other drivers (whose attention may only be 1/10th on the road). After riding to a meeting downtown with my boss one day, I went on a mission at my work. He was driving down the freeway at 65 mph, talking on his cell phone, and when he got out pen and paper to write down a phone number and was steering the car with his knees, I flipped out and told him I hoped his wife would raise my son if he got us both killed. I actually grabbed the wheel with my left hand, so he knew I meant business, and got off the phone. I sent an email to the safety director of our company, asking that all personnel who had cell phones also be supplied with a handsfree setup, and I illustrated the adventure with my boss without naming names. I didn’t entirely succeed, but posters went up in the hallways and on the bulletin boards recommending pulling off the road to use one’s cell phone, and turning it off whilst driving – no one takes offense at getting voicemail, and no businessperson should be upset that the person they need to speak with is not immediately available at their total beck and call.

I take advantage of the convenience of my cell phone. I’m glad to have it when travelling in the winter or anywhere out of town, as insurance in the middle of nowhere. The free long distance minutes in my plan for weekends and after 9pm are a godsend for budgets shrunken by the continually-mounting attack on my paycheck by health insurance copays.

I plead for common sense and CONSIDERATION from those who insist on having their cell phones glued to their ear in public. And the annoying habit many have of speaking even louder on the phone than they would in a normal f2f conversation. And PLEASE turn off your cell phones in restaurants.

The funniest cell phone experience I’ve had involves a woman at my work who sits on the toilet yakking away
Does anyone need to be THAT connected??????????

posted May 29, 2006 05:22 PM         

In the middle of a film...ummm...why was the guy actually there? Is there no request made plainly in the cinema to turn mobile phones off?

posted May 29, 2006 05:43 PM         

pls guys if anyone of you or your friend or relative falls into any of the above category i kindly request you to firmly apply scotch tape

posted May 29, 2006 05:44 PM         

It is not only cell phones that irk me, but the rude drivers that cut you off, will not let you in in bad traffic, the people in the grocery store that leave their carts smack dab in the middle of the isle so no one else can get by, the moms (and dads) who ignore their SCREAMING kids in public places, so the rest of us have to deal with it,geezzzzzzzzzzz, the list goes on and on!

What ever happened to respect for one's fellow human? Forget about kindness and compassion, most folks are just not there, but c'mon, a little RESPECT atleast for one another?!

posted May 29, 2006 06:01 PM         

Pix, i would have marched right up to the usher and complained. they are very strict here about cell phone abuse. that jackass. did you throw a psychic dagger is way?

I had a situation recently in the elevator where a lady next to me was talking in an elevated tone. I stared at her, shook my head and said "wow"..and she appologized and then continued on.

The grocery store thing irks me too.

posted May 29, 2006 06:40 PM         

That grocery-store-aisle thing is another of my pet peeves, thanks for bringing it up -- guess I'm not the only one Usually I shop on weekends (when lots of other full-time workers do too). (shopping midweek or mid-day has its hazards too, more on that in a bit ). But there are those people -- men, women, couples, old, young -- who think they are the ONLY persons in the store, stop their cart in the EXACT middle of the aisle (it couldn't be more exactly the middle if they'd measured it), and stare intently at the shelves for several minutes at a time. As I'm normally obnoxiously particular about behavior in public, I will say in a loudish (p/a) tone of voice to my 10yo son, "see honey, this is why you should pull your cart over to the side of the aisle, so other shoppers can get by." And he'll say (in the way of innocent kids ) "Excuse us!!" And the offender will look up, surprised, like Oh dear how could I have EVER known that I would be in someone's way, golly, I would never be so rude.....

Or, if they haven't noticed that someone's waiting to get by their cart (and usually there's someone on the other side of them heading the opposite direction down the aisle waiting patiently (and more quietly than I), I will push their cart over to the side a few feet. When they notice I've invaded their boundaries, they'll frown like I'm out of line, but somehow they don't miss the glares from the other people waiting to get by (and silently cheering me on ) so they don't say anything (even "Excuse Me").

Grrrrrrrr..... how have people become so totally oblivious to others?? Is it because there are so many of us too tightly clustered together??

posted May 29, 2006 06:44 PM         

Regretfully WAY too true!

posted May 30, 2006 06:16 PM         

I also can't stand kids screaming and parents blithely acting as though nothing was happening. If a kid of mine screamed I would want to know why. When I was a kid and got walloped and cried I was told in no uncertain terms to shut up, or I'd "get another one".

Then again, there are so many of us on this planet and so many points of view to get in the way of each other, perhaps we ought to move around via Brownian motion

posted May 30, 2006 07:26 PM         

I don't even like speaking on the phone in front of people at home. I will usually go to the other room so I don't disturb anyone watching TV or listening to music. When I am at dinner, my phone is off -just like I won't answer the house phone when we are eating.

I especially get annoyed with people that leave their phones on during a meeting (or answer the phone and start talking like they are so important and those of us at the meeting have unlimited time to wait for their phone call to be over).

I even try to spend a limited amount of time on the phone when I am with my family. I let Mr. Leo know that when I am with my dad and stepmom my talk time is limited since we are usually on the go (and my father is HUGE on respect) etc...

posted May 30, 2006 07:56 PM         

The grocery thing??? YES!!! I KNOW!

AND

posted May 30, 2006 09:30 PM         

But I'll only do this in public -- out on the road can be another matter. I lost my temper one time decades ago when someone cut me off, so I sped up, went around them, returned the favor and flipped them off for good measure (I was young and stupid then ) They chased me for miles and I tried everything I could to get away -- finally found a cop car and drove right next to him until they gave up. I've never retaliated on the road since then.....

posted June 03, 2006 11:45 PM         

• I have a BIG problem with people who drive while talking on cell phones.
  
• I have a BIG problem with people who come over to my house and talk on their cell phone while they're here.
  
• I have a big problem with people who receive a call on their cell phone while I'm hanging out with them and they chat away.
  
• People that grocery shop while talking on their cell phones look like idiots.
  

posted June 03, 2006 11:50 PM         

cellphones= electric leash...

------------------
"WHATEVER the soul longs for, WILL be attained by the spirit"

"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation"

posted June 04, 2006 03:48 AM         

Now this sort of thing isn't just lack of consideration, but pure stupidity.

posted June 04, 2006 02:05 PM         

I'm not one that would knowingly have it on inappropriately, though. Also, the theaters around my house all ask people to turn off their phones before the movie starts, so all those people who just turned off their cell phones would assuredly get p!ssed if someone were to even consider trying that.

I also get annoyed being behind the cell phone talker in line at the register.

posted June 04, 2006 05:20 PM         

quote:

---

What possesses people to disrespect others?
Is this so important that you must talk during a brand new movie that I paid money to see?

---

Sheer stupidity is what Im convinced of. Ive had a similar experience and wanted to grab the cell phone out of the jerks hand and throw it (Only a fantasy...but it helped )

Writesomething,

quote:

---

cellphones= electric leash

---

posted June 04, 2006 07:39 PM         

AG ~ How's it going? Long time no talk. If you don't need one, don't get one! I only got a cell phone 2 years ago, and I rarely use it. I use it for long distance, or emergency. My classmates call me on my cell phone 'cos it's easier to talk with the earpiece when doing homework, than holding a landline phone and comparing homework or study notes.