Um, hello?

In my last post I wondered what could I gripe about in paradise. Naturally, I found something. On my last day I was hanging out on Waikiki beach when a woman set her towel down right next to mine. As you can see from the picture, the proximity of her towel would have been pushing the limits of personal space invasion if she’d been a pal but it was just plain odd for a stranger. Granted, the beach was even more insanely crowded than it was when I lived there (which is why I used to drive a couple miles to another beach even though I lived just two blocks from Waikiki beach) but there was still a good 15 feet of space around me for her to use as her own. To make the situation even better, she then lit up a cigarette. In all fairness, she did ask if it was okay– after about the third puff.

It would be one thing if I were the asshole who plopped down right in her lap and then she started smoking but what kind of person does what she did? A Canadian, that’s who. How do I know she was Canadian? Because I made the mistake of taking off my headset for a quick dip in the water (very quick, with my eyes aimed at my bag the whole time since she was eight inches away from it) and when I returned she took the opportunity to chit chat. I can’t stand small talk with strangers, particularly Canadians because sooner or later they’ll say “about” in their funny little way and I’ll start giggling uncontrollably. I can’t help it, I just do.

As much as I wanted to ask her if she was completely oblivious about her inconsiderate behavior, she was an older lady watching her grandson play in the water and I’m a bit of a softie when it comes to old folks so I let it slide. Or maybe it was just because she was Canadian. It’s like they possess a weird power for avoiding conflict.