dimanche 11 mars 2012

Le métro

Le métro, c'est au mieux ennuyeux, et au pire, entre la panne technique juste à l'heure de pointe, l'attente pour régulation du trafic compressés comme des sardines, des malaises qui s'en suivent, sans parler des dramatiques "accidents graves de voyageurs", éprouvant nerveusement et physiquement.

C'est néanmoins le moyen le plus rapide pour moi de rejoindre mon lieu de travail.

La meilleure parade pour supporter le trajet, à part adopter une attitude zen, c'est d'être absorbée dans un échappatoire: lire un roman divertissant (en ce moment la série de Robin Hobb), écouter de la musique sur mon iPhone, consulter mes Apps préférées, toutes ces stratégies qui me permettent de tenir le coup le plus gracieusement possible.

Il y a peu, un sondage a fait la une démontrant que la plupart des gens préféreraient perdre leur portefeuille plutôt que leur smartphone. Alors qu'il y a quelques années encore, je dédaignais le portable, il m'est aujourd'hui indispensable surtout grâce (à cause?) au métro! 

En fait, il me sert de bouche-trou pour cet espace et ce temps, cet entre-deux où je ne suis ni en mode professionnel ou/et formel.

A moins d'y être réellement obligée, je ne téléphone pas avec mon portable parce que je déteste tenir une conversation personnelle dans un espace public.

Paradoxalement, je trouve assez triste qu'on soit presque tous rattachés à nos gadgets, fixés dans nos bulles respectives mais j'avoue que je me sentirais perdue sans mon téléphone ou au moins de quoi de me distraire.

Que faire sinon? Regarder les affiches pour se tenir au courant des prochaines sorties ciné (Je n'avais pas réalisé que The Hunger Games et La Dame en Noir sortaient bientôt), des concerts à venir  (Tiens, Alanis Morissette est de retour, Guns N' Roses aussi!) et se rappeler que c'est bientôt les 8 Jours en Or/ TBM/ 3J et autres promos, c'est vite lassant et surtout que faire entre les stations? Espionner mes compagnons d'(in)fortune? ça m'arrive par inadvertance mais je trouve cela indélicat et je ne le fais jamais intentionnellement.

Bref, mon téléphone est devenu mon doudou, un filet de sécurité. Me voilà donc faisant joujou avec mon portable histoire de tuer le temps jusqu'à destination.


Commuting is boring at best, at worst between technical breakdowns at rush hour, the crowded wagons, faintings resulting from such transportation conditions, not to mention the tragic suicides/accidents happening occasionally, it can be nervously/physically challenging.

Still, the subway is the quickest way for me to reach the office.

The best parry to bear the frequent commotions, besides a zen attitude is to be absorbed in escapism: entertaining reading material (right now Hobb's The Tawny Man trilogy), listening to music on my iPhone, flicking through Apps will get me through my journey as gracefully as possible. 

A few months ago, a survey made the headlines showing that most people would prefer losing their wallet rather than their smartphones. To think that a few years ago, I despised cellphones and now I must admit being addicted to mine.

 As a matter of fact, my phone is rather a filler for that in-between space and moment when I don't have to be in professional and/or social mode. 

Unless I really have to, I don't really phone with it because I hate holding a personal conversation in the open.

Quite paradoxically, I find it dispiriting that we're all attached to our gadgets, set in our own bubbles but I'd feel lost without my phone or at least entertaining material to distract me. 

Really what else can you do in the métro? Looking at billboards at each station to check the next movies (hadn't realized The Hunger Games nor The Woman In Black were coming out so soon), concerts coming up (Well well, Alanis Morissette is back and so are Guns N' Roses!) and a reminder of the latest department stores promotions? It's quickly boring and not a remedy as to what to do between stations... Spying on fellow commuters? It happens inadvertently but I find it quite tactless so I never do it purposely.

As a result, I turn to my phone and use it both like a security blanket and safety net. So here I am fooling around with my toy phone in the métro, just to kill time till destination.


Bout de manteau Bator d'Isabel Marant, de manche de cardigan Etoile Isabel Marant, tshirt rayé New Look, sac City Balenciaga / a bit of Bator coat by Isabel Marant, a piece of Etoile Isabel Marant cardigan, striped tee New Look, City Balenciaga


 Du coup les week-ends, j'évite le métro au maximum et me rabats sur les bus et le tramway ou mes pieds. Pour une fois en ce samedi matin, le 27 était quasi vide, je me suis amusée à faire la touriste prenant quelques photos (troubles, désolée) des quais rive gauche et de la cour du Louvre.
As a result I tend to avoid the subway on week-ends and ride the bus and tramway instead or my feet. For once the bus 27 was almost empty on this saturday morning and I played the tourist taking (blurry, sorry) shots of the left river banks and the Louvre courtyard.





12 commentaires:

  1. What I find hilarious and pathetic is the show-off effect it generates in some people. It's like a contest: see I got an iPad, see here's the latest iPhone and so on...
    A few months ago, I was on the subway platform after a disturbance just checking the map on my phone for another way and this guy next to me drew out his iPad and kept giving me glances, litteraly showing off the thing. The whole behaviour left me incredulous and incredibly amused!

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  2. Le petit bout de tenue me plaît beaucoup! Je n'ai pas de smartphone en raison du rapport coût / utilisation que j'en ferais. Je fais tout mes trajets en voiture... et j'ai le net à la maison : du coup je n'en vois pas l'utilité.

    Je t'ai tagué, je serais ravie d'avoir ton point de vue sur les basiques..!
    http://carnet2style.blogspot.com/2012/03/le-tag-des-11.html

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  3. I love the extra reading material smartphones provide for my commutes (eg, the NYT app), but I've been forcing myself to ease off because it's had a bad effect on my eyes - I realised since I started using them, my eyes have ached more at the end of the day.

    But I love how apps like whatsapp have allowed me to stay in touch my friends who have moved overseas. It feels good to be able to chat with them and send pictures of what we are doing, it's like they never left. We're in the middle of planning a friend's wedding on whatsapp, haha.

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  4. I wish I had that view when I take the bus!Just like you, I used to dispise cellphones and couldn't believe the amount of money some people spent on them. Now I'm also addicted to my iPhone, I couldn't live without it. I take the train to work, it takes about 45 minutes. I spend about 15 minutes of that time online on my phone, but mostly I read the neewspaper and a book. I can hardly do that at all at home with the kids around, so I really enjoy that time alone.

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  5. Kaÿte , ça me rassure de voir que tu raisonnes l'approche du smartphone en termes d’utilité et de rapport au prix. Quand je vois des gamins manifestement encore au primaire avec leur sac au dos et un Blackberry dans la main, j'ai comme un choc.

    J'apprécie vraiment d'entendre un autre son de cloche sur les smartphones, comme le commentaire de Prêt à Porter P également, en porte-à-faux avec le discours ambiant qui insinue qu'on doit tous avoir telle ou telle chose même si on en ressent pas le besoin ni l'utilité.

    Ah le tag: je ne suis pas une fan de ce genre d'exercice mais pour une fois j'aime tes questions alors ça va! Il me faut juste un peu de temps et puis je voulais aussi réagir à ton excellent article sur les basiques aussi !

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  6. Lin: Spending so much time on screens can be straining for our eyes. Commuting can be a good time to rest. I always admire people who are able to actually sleep in the subway. Sometimes I nod off but still remain alert and aware of my surroundings.

    Oh, I didn't know whatsapp, I'll check it out as it could be useful. That's really what I enjoy the most about my phone: to be able to keep in touch almost anytime anywhere without the hassle of a PC.
    I also find that it sparks lots of conversations and debates especially as we're in a major political run in France right now. Anytime there's an alert everyone at work is instantly discussing the matter at hand.

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  7. Garderoben: yes, the view around that part of Paris is indeed beautiful and for once, so quiet. I really enjoyed that ride!

    Hands off to the late Steve Jobs really. His iPhone device is so handy and simple to use, it makes it truly seem irreplaceable and so personal but not to the point of idolizing it and looking to get the new model coming out every 6 months. As long as mine works, it's fine.
    I've always been a frequent and avid reader but Amazon must be really thankful for my commuting habits because I'm always ordering new books!

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  8. Well, I can (almost) live without a mobile phone. Since I am always losing mine, i have the dumbest of phones. It does the trick because whoever finds it always returns it.

    Also, like Prêt à Porter P a dit, I blocked text. And since I'm not salaried, when I'm out of the office, I'm not available and don't want to be.

    I just wrote about an idea to put into action in a few steps, and was wondering if you had any input.

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  9. hello!i really admire your sophistcated, yet simple, well thought out but not too concocted sense of style.thank you for the inspiration!

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  10. La Copine: smart move about the phone. I also hate when work gets mixed with my personal life.

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  11. Anonyme: Thanks a lot for the kind words which brightened up my day!

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  12. i actually do the same with my beat-up crackberry. i hate sitting around waiting and not having anything to do in public, so i'll fiddle with text messages and the very limtied other 'apps' just to not be idling about. i expect that when i get an iphone this will be all the worse! :P

    and your bal city is breaking in quite beautifully. :) i was just thinking the other day that i wouldn't mind another one in a different color/size. hmm...

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