how a conversation deteoriates

I first noticed the girl standing across the platform from me because of her dress. It was a short dress with one black strap going from one side to the other, and onto her shoulder. The dress was white, with huge bold brushstrokes of colors streaking across. In a sea of jeans and t-shirts, she stood out in her short and loose dress. She also had immaculate hair and looked fairly attractive.

I pointed her out to my friend. Since he was a guy, I decided that it would be futile to describe the dress in detail. "What do you think of that girl on the other platform across from us? With her boyfriend or something. I think she's kinda hot. Her dress looks like a pillowcase."

Oops, did I really say that? I wasn't really thinking but it was true. You can call it a short loose dress, or a pillowcase (the dimensions looked right). The sub-conscious is honest and brutal.

"She looks kinda of big."

"Really? I didn't notice. Hmm...come to think of it, her boyfriend is not so big. He might be shorter than her since she's in sandals and he's in dress shoes. Oh yeah, he isn't as wide as she is. I still think she's kinda hot though. He's skinny so that makes her look bigger."

"I don't really see a waist."

"It's a loose dress." On hindsight, the word "pillowcase" does work perfectly to describe how she looked in that dress.

"You have bad taste."


I think he was the first one to say the fat word. The train arrived, and we were going to get into the same carriage from different sides. "We're getting into the same door as the fat girl. Try not to stare."

Staring is a natural reaction for me if I'm curious about someone and trying to size them up. In other words, I was stealing glances at the couple while we were in the train. They were being affectionate, hugging each other and possibly kissing.

Then I said it. *Nudge* "Look, the fat girl is making out with the small guy."

"I can't believe you just said that."


Somehow, I just don't have the innate ability to check girls out. My picks don't ever agree with the guys. It was an interesting dress though.

Efficiency versus?

Shaw's at Porter Square has had their self checkout machines for a couple of years. Those machines were fun to use when they first came out, and they are still somewhat fun to use. However, they are not terribly efficient, at least not from the customer's point of view.

Perhaps for someone with a couple of items, the self checkout might look just as quick as having someone check you out if there isn't a line. Beep. Beep. And you're done. But when your basket has several items in it, it gets slow. Yourself aside, look at the other people in line. Someone will be trying to find the barcode, or trying to figure out why the machine insists that there is an unidentified item in the bagging area. You've probably faced those very same problems yourselves. Then you have to go through 2-3 screens while you try to pay. Because customers don't use the checkout often enough, they always seem to need to pause and read the screen again before pressing the right buttons. And I get the feeling that because the machines talk slowly, people feel obliged to hang around a little longer, or until the machine stops talking, instead of moving on.

I guess there is the one breed of customers who likes to take their own time to read the screen and make sure that every discount was taken. The girl at the checkout counter is usually too fast for you to take that thorough glance at the prices.

All that said, I still like using the self checkout for one reason: it's fun to check things out. I definitely could save a few minutes letting someone else check me out, but I'll be missing out on that little bit of fun. However judging from the flashes of annoyance from people experiencing difficulties at the checkout, I don't think it's all that fun for everyone.