The Commuter
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008Remember when I made a passing reference to the dude I think has been hitting on me during my commute? The one who got all handsy that time?
Well, since then he’s become a fixture on my way to and from work. He’s overly friendly and chatty and STILL handsy- what the heck is that all about anyway? At first I thought he seemed like a decent guy, if a bit presumptuous, but now I’m not so sure. He’s kind of annoying the hell out of me. Okay, maybe not kind of; he is.
Literally every morning I see him pacing the platform looking for me. That is, if he hasn’t tracked me down on the bus to the train first. And before I get off the train, he tries to nail down the exact train I will be on after work so he can also take that train and ride the bus with me. Again.
And then last Wednesday, he unwittingly took my phone from my hand and proceeded to type his number into it and call his own (so, what, now we’ve exchanged numbers?). Since then, he’s been texting constantly for me go on bike rides or join him for tea at Argo or meet him out at a bar or come over and watch The Office. Emo, my friend at work, says I should tell him to “slow his roll.” A wise man that Emo.
The thing is, in addition to the angst I’m feeling toward The Commuter for hijacking my beloved reading time, I’m not interested. At all. Which means it’s a very big deal that I’ve even tolerated him for as long as I have (I do realize this makes me sound like a total biznatch).
So, in an effort to avoid him and catch up on some dearly missed reading, I’ve begun switching up my routine. Yesterday, I took a different bus route and sat in a different train car than usual. I even got the train conductor in cahoots with me by keeping my whereabouts on the train a secret (which is good because apparently I was being looked for).
This morning, I even managed to take an earlier train (no small feat for someone who HATES MORNING) and ended up sitting in front of Angry-Page-Turner-Woman (I nearly asked her why she was so pissed at the magazine she was tearing through for forty whole freaking minutes. Unless it was an article about how *awesome* Palin is, I can’t see what a magazine could do to receive such abuse….sorry, couldn’t resist).
As for avoiding The Commuter, last night I wasn’t so lucky. I took a super late train home, but then there he was the only person waiting at the bus stop. Wait, let me rephrase- he actually came running from an adjoining park where I guess he’d been “hanging out.” He wasn’t even on the train I was on! WTF!?
On the bus, he proceeded to high tail it to sit beside me (while I immediately dialed my mom and blew him off). And, what’s worse, he stayed on the bus past his stop. Not because he had anything to do- he did this last week as well- but because, he told me, sometimes he “just likes to ride the bus all the way to the end.” Again, WTF!?
Maybe I’m overreacting, but it’s starting to give me the creeps.
Holy shit. Honey, it is time to break out your bitchface – or to recruit a travelbuddy. Or to have phone conversations within his earshot about people invading your personal space and….doing what he does.
Or flat out tell him that he’s creeping you out and he needs to give you some space or some shit.
OR you could shank him while on the train. If that doesn’t send a message, nothing will.
oh yeah, he’s a creepy mccreeperson for sure. he grabbed your phone and put his number in it?! i mean, how do guys think that this is all actually part of the courting process anymore? lame. wicked lame.
ah, i guess just try and steer clear of him as much as possible. you might need to be totally blunt and just say you’re not interested or that you’re dating someone serious.
“handsy”- ha, i like that (the word, not the idea!).
Oh my. I would be scared of that guy! I have a hard time telling people to back the eff off, but this guy really needs his ass kicked.
Yep, he’s a total creep. I would be seriously freaked by such behaviour. Having the conductor in cahoots with you to keep your whereabouts on the train a secret is hysterical, but the creepy outweighs the funny! Eek! What’re you gonna do? Maybe get your burliest male friend to accompany you one morning and allow him a little fake handsy in the hopes the dude gets the message? x
Yep, definitely creepy. Be careful.
A couple ideas. First, put a ring on your wedding finger. See what that does. Second, Get a knife and tell him to leave you alone or bad things might go down. Third, go ahead and call your cellphone provider and block his number from being able to call or text yours. The other option is go to the police and call it harassment (cause it is!).
Creeps like that just don’t take hints. You’ve got to make it clear.