territorial pissings
japan is like mainland europe in many ways. the unusual lanaguage, the healthy diet, the weather, the closeness of family, the punctual trains, even sometimes the smells. what I haven't been so keen on seeing recently is the similarity to the infamous german technique of picking your sunlounger the night before.
despite the japanese skill for queuing (for many reasons it's just essential) my scottishness has been greatly disturbed of late by finding myself standing about, tired and weary, looking at perfectly good empty seats which I wasn't allowed to use. they had been 'reserved'. it brings into question what first-come-first-served actually means. should you applaud the ingenuity of calling ahead or getting up early to mark your area or have we moved forward from being dogs who piss around our territory to keep others at bay? or should you have other fucking things to worry about? it's a fine line.
I've been scuppered a few times in coffee shops, I've experienced it in a near empty club and the other day we couldnt get a spot under the cherry trees for all the empty blue tarps laid out. selfish bastards.
it reminded me of an austrian friend who visited glasgow a few years ago and, on seeing a well ordered, snaking queue at the cinema, started to laugh. what, I asked, would you do in austria in this situation - "it's evreyman vor himselv" he smiled.
there isn't even a word for queue in many languages (including italian) which is why large international airport's should be avoided whenever possible.
Posted by stupot at April 17, 2006 11:51 PM
I was going to blog about that very same thing. I once sat down at an empty table in Starbucks, then noticed a pink, glittery bag on one chair. I stayed anyway, wondering who had left their bag behind. The owner of the pink bag was not amused when she arrived 5 minutes later to claim the space she'd marked as hers. In Scotland, someone would have nicked it and the seat.
Posted by: timorous beastie at April 21, 2006 08:18 PM