the trouble with big headphones and ipods

i often wander this dirty city with big headphones on listening to one of my ipods. i go through ipods like i go through men. :)

i feel naked without listening to my music. sometimes i do walk home and just listen to the traffic, the sirens, and just absorbing the sounds of the city. but most of the time, a walk clears my head, my shuffle list calms my soul.

my sister and i usually try to hang out once a week. usually it involves getting food, walking around, people watching, book browsing, coffee.

one of our favorite thing to do is grab a hoagie after work and go home and watch a movie.

one day we stopped into subway to pick up a hoagie. my sister was ordering hers. i was next to her. headphones on, but not on full volume. i stood there looking at the smudgy plexiglass that covered the bins of peppers, onions, lettuce, mayo.

we always get the same hoagie. italian bmt. i had my hoagie card ready. it is sad when you have a subway sandwich card. sadder when you are only one hoagie away from a free 1/2 hoagie. not a full hoagie. only 1.5.

the subway guy behind the counter was busy making the hoagie. he was talking to my sister. then he turned to me. i smiled and replied to his question. i responded, "pickles." he asked me again. "pickles," i replied. why was he not putting pickles on the hoagie?! for the third time, i replied, "pickles. pickles." he stopped talking to me. my sister was paying for the hoagie. she was speaking to the counter dude. man, i was really hungry.

as we walked away, my sister busted out laughing. i gave her a look. a raised eyebrow.

"what is so funny?"

"that guy.."

"who? the subway dude?"

"yeah, he wasn't asking what you wanted on the hoagie."

"yes, he was..wasnt he?"

"he asked where you were from. he wanted to know your name. and all you kept saying was "pickles!"

"oh..."

"so i told him you were retarded. he seemed to understand after that."

we both burst out laughing. we ate the hoagie, yes, it had pickles. i never did get my hoagie card filled, but i figure it is ok.

the trouble with headphones is that i don't listen to people. the trouble without my headphones is that i don't listen to people.