It baffles (read: usually aggravates) me how completely unaware people are of their surroundings at any given time. Like in the picture above, I’m dumbfounded at how people are so incapable of judging distance, that they are completely incapable of being able to use a drive-thru ATM through normal means, and have to resort to this embarrassing and more time-consuming exercise of opening their door and practically standing at the apparatus. Not only can I maneuver whatever vehicle I’m driving to where I can competently use an ATM from the driver’s seat, I can get within two inches of the point where my rear-view mirror would collide with the wall. I’m like fucking Takumi from Initial D when it comes to my spatial awareness.
But it’s not just in cars; simply walking around is often a grating experience based on people who have zero awareness, zero peripheral vision, and zero sense when it comes to their surroundings. I’m in a store, and some asshole is walking backward, or doesn’t seem to grasp that I can’t pass him/her in the aisle because they’re simply taking up too much space. I alter my walking routes and I’m always thinking on the fly on how to get from point A to point B, not necessarily the most expedient and the fastest, but often times the path of least resistance. If I have to take a wide berth so I don’t collide with a group of people walking side-by-side-by-side, I’ll take it, or if I see people that are likely not paying attention, I’ll do my best to avoid them.
However, it’s a lot like the lesson you’re taught when driving, or cycling. You have to assume that everyone is out to kill you. I think I’m a pretty competent driver, but in the end that doesn’t really matter because a shitty driver will always manage to hit you when you least expect it. I think I have that kind of mentality when walking about, like I have to assume that everyone around me is a retard, and they’re going to collide with me, no matter what measures I try to take to avoid it. Nobody bats 1.000, and eventually something’s going to happen.
I like to believe that every single person, no matter how stupid and retarded some may act, is a genius when it comes to something. Personally, I think I’m a spatial genius. I think I have a great understanding of space, distance, and my immediate surroundings. I’m competent when it comes to “eye-balling” things, and I think that goes a long way in my line of work, to boot. I know when I can squeeze into a turn lane or make it into a space while in my car, and I’m fairly astute and considerate to know that if I pull forward, the person behind me could feasibly fit, and I can help a brother out in traffic. I feel that I have superior peripheral senses, which isn’t to say I have eyes on the back of my head, but I think I’m pretty good about sensing when there are others nearby or behind me.
Needless to say, I guess I can’t be frequently mad at the rest of the world for having shortcomings that I don’t have. It’s not their fault that they don’t have the spatial awareness that I have, but you would think that some people would at least try to get better in things they may have to multiple times over, such as trying to utilize proper positioning at the drive-thru ATM. Oh well, regardless, I’m still going to scoff at their inferiority, because that’s just how I am.
