I think New York is more impatient with tourists when they block the sidewalk and take too long to order in the delis.

Hey now, I get annoyed with everyone who blocks the sidewalk and can't figure out what they want for lunch by the time they get to the front of the line.

Lately, the people who have been feeling my Tourist Rage are the people standing in the bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge to take pictures. Dude, I know it's a great view, but there is a picture of a bike RIGHT FUCKING UNDER YOUR FEET, and a picture of a person THREE FEET AWAY. Quick, try to guess which one you're supposed to be standing on so the bike commuters don't run you over?

(I know I could just take Manhattan Bridge instead, which has a completely dedicated bike lane, and it's paved instead of boardwalk, but the trade-off is I end up in Chinatown instead of City Hall and have to navigate much narrower streets with fewer bike lanes before I get over to the greenway. So any time I'd save on the bridge I'd lose in downtown Manhattan.)

Cities like NY and Chicago have enough critical mass that unless you are in some specific areas the tourists aren't really a bother.

I work in River North. Tourists bother me. I am bothered.

I'm a super aggressive pedestrian... with other pedestrians, not motor vehicles, obviously. I also get asked for directions by tourists a lot.

I still am super bitchy about "walk left, stand right" on escalators from living there.

People are terrible about that at the State/Lake stop. Makes me crazy. That is a tourist heavy spot, but not all the offenders are tourists.

I also get asked for directions by tourists a lot.

So do I. I always wonder why they pick me out of the crowd to ask.

How did she weather the plagiarism thing and make the jump from fic plagiarist to fiction author with huge posters in bookstores?

I don't know the plagiarism part of the story.

New York is one of the few places someone's approached me and offered directions. Which was a great call on their part. I'd imagine there are tons of opportunities to learn that flavour of perplexed.

I have been approached multiple times in New York w. people offering me directions. And one time I fell on my ass when I tripped over some uneven sidewalk on 5th Avenue, and three different men came over to help me up. IOW, I found New Yorkers to be v. friendly and helpful. In fact whenever I see anyone w. a map in Halifax, I think of how nice people were in New York and ask them if they need any help.

You ever have days when you think "One more TV Tropes link, one more, and I will snap and hand you the keys to the closet where we keep the Nilly of the pseudicide. One more. Try me."?

Probably not. But I do, which is why I'm saying it out loud here so I don't do something so highly stupid.

Shit, I'm still in the office and I have errands to run and then get an MRI. Fucksnacks.

I kept having to remind R to stand right on the escalators (didn't help that we were on the metro during rush hour.) She was the first to admit she's lost all her big city savvy. I was a little surprised at how much she stood out.

Me, I get asked for directions by tourists even when I am a tourist. Sometimes even natives to the region, but not the locale. And everyone seems to assume I speak their language. Sometimes they are even right, sometimes not. It even happened in Nepal, but that was fellow tourists of all flavors, not the locals, for obvious reasons. It's mildly amusing.

Cassandra Cla(i)re: [link]

Me, I get asked for directions by tourists even when I am a tourist.

Me, too. I have no idea why, although when I can actually give the requested directions it feels like a very happy accident.

Cassandra Cla(i)re: [link]

Thank you. That site looks like one more rabbit hole I can fall into. Yet another tab left open...

Fandom is weird. It's like soap opera, only less believable.