Citizens of the Subway

yuppie child and frum child

 I love watching people on the trains. It is always fun to guess the relationships of those sitting in such close proximity to one another .
  The two little girls in yuppie child and frum child are just so cute.  I purposely cut out the parents from the photo. The kids were just so cute and just acting like kids   proving that people are people no matter where they hail from.
   The second photo was more confusing. At first glance it seemed as though this was a couple wearing blue on the train together on a random Sunday. After a closer look I am not sure that they even know each other's names.
   

are they together or just sitting beside each other?

As we approach the last photo I posted called together , we see that though there are so many disconnected people on the train  there still are some who 

ride with their friends  and it is apparent that they indeed are friends. It is so refreshing.

 When I first moved to New York I used to people watch
constantly. After awhile I got caught in my own
bubble and started looking inward instead of outward on the trains. Sometimes that
has been to my advantage. Sometimes there is
just too much weirdness on the trains that it is better to
be engrossed in a novel or a song on my ipod.
     Lately I have been paying more attention
to my surroundings and noticing the photo opportunities on
the subways. Now that I have an iPhone it is a lot easier
to secretly snap a photo. I feel like there really is a softer
side to New York City that I had not noticed until I
began photographing random individuals. It has been a
nice surprise.

together 

iPhone addiction

     For the past two years that I have had my iPhone there was free wi-fi at work. Now there isn't . This means  that when I am bored at work and troll facebook on my phone it will be part of my data usage plan.  I think its a great way to unplug people from their cell phones at work. Lest you think I am giving the powers that be credit, this is not why they did this. There were other reasons. People will go back to texting in abandon when they are bored. I won't be texting more. Though I am a texter I am not part of Generation Text.
   It is so easy to to get addicted to checking your smart phone at work. Its the high-tech evolution of passing notes in class only more sneaky. Its so smooth to furtively glance at my phone when there are brief moments of downtime. Its so quiet . I don't think it will make me more productive at work, maybe just more bored  or more chatty when there is a lull.
    Constant checking of my phone during the day makes it harder to go long stretches without checking it and I recognize that this is not healthy . Its good to be a little bored. Boredom inspires me to find real things to do  with free time .

IPhone Fever

     A co-worker of mine was so psyched when she bought her new iPhone 5s that she made sure her outfit matched her iPhone case the first day she brought it to work. She is all of 33 years old.  I'm all for appreciating the little things in life but somehow I found this bordering on the ridiculous. I don't recall her dressing to match her iPad case when she purchased her iPad but then again maybe she had.

"Color Red" app warns Israelis of attacks

This is really cool. Only in Israel. It shows how dumb war is and that even a 13 year old kid is smart enough to create something to outsmart the enemy.

now i am one of "them"

 i have had a cell phone for ten years and i have finally updated to the iphone. i had resisted updating my phone service for various reasons. number one on my list of course was cheapness. i did not want to have to pay for  a data plan. the only thing is that  so many of the better phones require a data plan with their phone. and of course i wanted a better camera. the better phones have better cameras. i have a camera that i love and use, but for everyday i don't always want to lug around a camera , so its nice to have a cell phone with a good camera for those occasions when i spontaneously need a camera.
another reason i resisted getting a phone with internet service is that i was afraid i'd get too addicted to it. of course this has happened but i'm still glad that i have the data plan. it has already made my life better . i have weight watchers online at my finger tips and easier access to my e-mail when im at work.  i don't have a job where i sit in front of a computer all day. there is free wifi access at work which is a plus.
though i have gotten a little addicted to the internet portion of my phone i know that the novelty will wear off a little over time
 now i have joined the twenty somethings at work who are constantly checking their phones. the difference is that  they are checking and texting and i am checking and web surfing.
oh and the iphone has incredible reception when i make phone calls. the most important feature for a cell phone.