Irritation

Was reading J's post about 10 things that irritate her, and it reminded me of a recent encounter that really irritated me. Well, predictably, it happened on board a public bus, and predictably, the source is the passenger sitting next to me...

This middle-aged male boarded the bus and sat next to me. He was balding slightly. Throughout the whole journey, he seemed very concerned about his hair. Every 2 minute or so, he would raise his hand to attempt to sweep his hair off his face. I believe that it was just a habitual motion, since his fringe was not out of place at all! It appeared as if he were dusting at his hair, as if sweeping dandruff off his head, towards me! Yes, I was becoming rather paranoid that some of the dust/dirt/dandruff did actually fall on me. Errrgh!

In my mind, I was deliberating what to do - to tell him outright not to do it, to hint or show my disgust by staring at him, to choose to get out of my seat, or to quietly 'tahan' it and pray and pray that he will alight soon... For those who know me, yes, I chose the last option, coupled with the occasional stares at him. Yet, he did not get the hint. Sigh.. Boy was I glad when he finally alighted, say, about 20 minutes later.

Guess I am not the confrontational type eh... This is a rather trival matter, but I do hope that should I be faced with a more significant issue(s), my response would not be that of shying away or avoidance.