I almost missed my stop on transit; it’s the second time in two days. It’s reading on my phone app that’s to blame. I tend to get, so wrapped up in the story that I forget that I will need to get off my station. It happened before, once or twice, while I was chatting with a co-worker, and I once missed my bus stop while I was vegging out: I got lost in my thoughts.
Distractions come in many forms: reading, chatting and even daydreaming (or vegging out). These distractions make it easy to miss one’s stop. Luckily, they are rare events. However, I find it frustrating when I miss my stop.
On the Skytrain, it can mean having to get off the train go either climb up or climb down a flight of stairs to cross over the other side of the tracks to get back to my station. On the bus, it means I must walk back a stop, or two, to get home.
Lately, reading is one of the biggest distractions that I am experiencing; since, I write in the evenings and most of the weekend. The time I spend reading on transit is the only time, which I get to read an enjoyable book. Now, I need to consciously stop reading one or two stops before I need to get off to prevent missing my stop. It’s ridiculous, but I find I must do it.
Oh well, for the enjoyment of reading, I will do what I must do.
—Robert Confiant 29 April 2017