Red-haired Guy

So today I had my first encounter with the red-haired guy since I changed my hours in February. He's the guy I'd rather not sit next to if I had a choice between him and that lady...the guy I made a point to move away from because he was irritating me so. I think the feeling is mutual. Perhaps when I decided to get away from him, he had decided to get away from me?

I was reading -- trying to finish my book before I got off the train (didn't happen) and I knew that I was one of the last people to be sat next to. We got to Oakland Coliseum, and I was thinking to myself that someone would probably sit next to me now. My time was due. Someone got on and went to my bench, they paused, and then sat down in the empty seat on the bench in front of me.

I thought, "Wait a minute! This is red-haired guy's stop...." So I looked up at the person who just sat down, and low and behold -- red-haired guy! He was going to sit next to me and for some reason changed his mind. Was it because I wasn't asleep (I usually am at this stop) or was it because it was me? Hmm....Interesting.

Red-haired guy dislikes me just as much as I dislike him.

When we got to Montgomery (his stop as well -- but he used to sit there for days sometimes, trapping poor little me -- hence my dislike for red-haired ), I got up quickly and since he lagged in getting up, I stepped in front of him. I'll show you, stupid red-haired guy and your darn newspaper. Don't cross my path!

Flashback -- this was the ultimate topper with him, when my dislike towards him peaked so high that I had to move seats to avoid him:

It was in the winter during the super stormy times. I was asleep when we got to Oakland Coliseum, and red-haired guy got on and sat down next to mmane. It was extremely quiet that morning -- no one was talking, either just reading or sleeping. And here comes stupid red-haired guy with his stupid cell phone and his stupid talking. As soon as his butt hit the seat, he dialed up someone to tell him or her it was really raining outside. Again, this was a very stormy morning -- really bad wind and rain and everything. Maybe even thunder and lightening. But no one else felt the need to call up someone and tell that person how it was raining and how it was affecting their morning. That was, except red-haired guy. And he did this while sitting next to me as I was sleeping. Obviously I wasn't sleeping anymore after he started yowling about the weather.

And in all my times of having to sit next to him, he's never once made a phone call. So that was annoying by itself. I don't want someone who talks on the phone sitting next to me. That is probably the most annoying part of BART -- being trapped in someone else's conversation. If they're interesting, then that's another story.

Anyway, so to show my annoyance, I sighed very loudly and gave him a hard stare. Nothing. Then I scrambled with my iPOD to turn it up, which, as I've said before, if I'm mad and crazed, I usually just end up popping my ear buds out of my ear. So I was stuffing them back in, turning that baby up as high as I could to block him out, and then sighed loudly again. Get my point? Shut up! Why do cell phone talkers pick quiet people to sit next to? Go stand in the corner and leave us alone....

He eventually got off the phone. But was does he do right after? Began reading the newspaper. How does red-haired guy who was the only one affected by the storm read the newspaper? With both arms held wide open so that the left arm was poking into my personal space. Oh my. I was ready to kill him or punch many holes through his newspaper or shove him in his chubs. Red-haired guy was my nemesis!

The next day, I moved to the front of the car, only to find that red-haired guy planned to do the same. I believe he actually sat next to me that morning. And that was when I got to correlation between the guy who reads the newspaper every morning as he sat next to me, the guy who thought the storm was his personal ruiner of good times, and the man who was now sitting next to me. He was the same man. The same stupid red-haired guy! I live by the BART rule of "see no evil," so I hardly really look at the people who sit next to me. Unless they're trying to strangle me...

So, long story short, obviously red-haired guy has issues with little ol' me. And to think that I would affect someone so much? Usually I'm asleep. But I guess when you make me crazed, then I'm pretty noticeable....